Venezuela: The Tale of Perfect Socialism

I thought about writing this in Spanish but, since most of the opinions I've encountered about this issue have surprisingly been coming from foreigners (alarmingly NON LATIN AMERICANS) I decided to write it in English in order to make myself clear. I would like to clarify that every single word or quote that I put here is absolutely real and that I have no hidden intention to lie, because to start with, I am NOT a sympathiser of right wing groups, or right wing political parties, also I would like to clarify that I am not seeking to discredit anyone but only exposing a part of the reality of Venezuela I have been in contact with. I am perfectly aware of the fact that in the end I am a foreigner to Venezuela, BUT I am NOT a foreigner in what respects to how close I feel the tragedy that has been hitting Venezuela since the last elections. Latin America has something in particular: in what respects to culture, behaviour and politics, we are not that different from one another and political tendencies as well as leaders, are very similar if not, the same.

Venezuela had a tough history in what respects to the beginning on the XXI century. Like many other countries in Latin America, they were subject to pressures coming from the US, and in 1998 the former President Hugo Chàvez won elections but in 2002 he was asked by the Armed Forces to resign due to the protests derived from reforms related to land and distribution of wealth, which were regarded as arbitrary by some and continued after he was put into the power again. The fact of the middle and high classes fleeing from the country did affect the future outcome of elections. 

Now, it is important to mention that one of the most distinct features of Latin America is the unequal distribution of wealth as a regional problem, and along with corruption in the political sphere, the combination of charisma plus 'benevolence' proves to be a deadly combination, because then those who do not produce anything for the country, get money for free and those who work carry the load of huge taxes. In many countries of the region it is from the low income or uneducated population where these leaders get their votes and ignore other important matters such as how these practices improve inflation, unemployment and of course crime, because those who are part of the productive sphere, are the victims of both criminals and the government. This, in very short terms is called 'populism' and it has been a tendency in many countries of the region. 

The fact of using the discourses of equality, communism and putting everybody on the same level has been a common tactic to populist governments and, since working classes are being exploited and even stolen though taxes in order to support that faction who keeps populist leaders in power, then a stark division of classes is given. The worst of this division are political leaders talking about equality and how horrible rich people are when they are richer and lots more responsible than any of the ones they are blaming for the problems of the country. In fact, the best cannon meat for these leaders in order to win elections are uneducated people, because being a low income person does not necessarily relates to education, for there are Latin Americans who come from low income sectors and are remarkable in all fields of national life therefore, money and education are not related in a 100%. We should not forget that being educated is also a choice.

We call these people '(name of expensive shop, brand) socialists' (i.e. Hugo Boss socialists, Louis Vuitton socialists, etc.)because they talk about the principles of communism and socialism and the like, and they are the last ones to practice it. Obviously this does not apply to all leaders in Latin America, because there are exceptions such as the Uruguayan President Josè Mùjica and figures like Che Guevara or Jacobo Arbenz. We should not confuse however, how communism was preached and practiced from the 50s to the 90s and how it is practiced today. Now, thanks to the high corruption indexes in Latin America, sadly of the most corrupt countries we find the ones who claim to be 'socialist' and Venezuela is no exception. 

What has been happening in Venezuela for the last years shows that populism and taking advantage of people's ignorance is the worst alternative a nation can have. In the country people who had big houses, or places like gulf courses were turned into living spaces for poor people. This looks great from the surface but nobody bothers to ask what happened to those who owned those spaces and what happened to people who earned money fair and square and who had a job. Taking from the ones who have thanks to their work and effort for giving to those who do not have for mere election of laziness is not fair (and this is one of the voids and questions regarding communism) and it is even more unfair to do such things 'just because the government orders such thing'. I want to clarify here that one of the worst defects we, Latin Americans have is that most of the times we want things easily,for free and without effort so, laziness is a regional problem and our politicians know that. Who would say no to money without working? 

Thanks to these policies, many Venezuelans ran away from the country and went to Mexico or the US or anywhere they were able to, and of course the government took account of this and immediately issued the 'You go, but your money stays here' decree. Business people were also applied such things, and the best example of it is what happened between CEMEX (a cement making company of Mexico) and the government of Venezuela, when Chàvez unilaterally nationalised every company he encountered and currently, Venezuela owes CEMEX more than a couple of millions of dollars. It is extremely relevant to mention here that apart from blaming the US for the protests, President Maduro is also blaming Mexico by saying that 'leftist groups are training the fascists'.

 Left wingers defend Chàvez and his measures by saying that he was 'a remarkable leader who helped poor people, who made people's lives improve and who also goes against the US imperialism' Seriously? A remarkable leader is the one who claims for respect through fear? People's lives improved? How come if Venezuela has a violence rate that is six times bigger than the one in Mexico with the Drug War? Go against US imperialism? Has somebody actually taken a look into the millionaire deals the US has with Venezuela inside the oil industry? Maybe there has to be a line drawn between façades and reality. 

I will cite some small stories I was told by Venezuelans inside and outside the country.  In the airports, foreign pilots are subject to threats and 'favour requests': 'I was landing and the military police came to me. They asked me to buy a box of whisky for them because it was their boss' birthday, and when I said no they looked at me as if I was insulting them. I was scared because I thought they would put me drugs on the airplane or my bag. I told this to our security manager and he immediately sent the airplane to be surveilled and also took me with special guards to the plane, because most likely these people would hurt me.' 

In the cities it is even worse: 'You cannot go out from the hotel, because if they see that you are a foreigner or a middle class person, you will be robbed in no time. That is why we always take taxi. I've had cases of flying attendants who have been robbed more than once walking from the restaurant to the hotel. Now, you go to restaurants and they request you to pay in USD, because for you it is cheaper and for them it is better because thanks to inflation and USD black market, they get a higher income. The worst that happened to me in a restaurant was that they offered me a prostitute, a very good looking girl. I immediately said no because besides that I hate that, you never know who or what is behind that, moreover here. Sadly, prostitution has become a common activity in Venezuela'.

Venezuelans also say that 'Apart from the police, Chàvez has his 'ears' all around Venezuela. Policemen, taxi drivers, waiters. They ask you to give your opinion and if you say something that does not go with the official point of view, most likely somebody will be waiting for you outside'. Having the Venezuelan passport is also a problem, particularly for parents who live outside, 'I did not want my child to have the nationality. Why? Because Chàvez said that every child born in Venezuela is property of the Republic.' Naturally not everybody who works around the city agrees with the government. A pilot said that a taxi driver was telling him about the whole situation, while he drove him to the hotel in Caracas: 'Sir, if you see those houses there, falling apart and made of paper? I will tell you something: those are the places where Chàvez supporters live and also where you can find criminals, who by the way, also support him'.

Like these stories one can hear many more and, they are real (yes, even academics must follow the official line in the universities).Therefore, is it human and sane to live like this? The tale of 'the fascist opposition being backed up by the US and composed of white rich and middle class people' is nothing but a simple argument derived from ignorance. It is very easy for everybody to blame others for our problems. What interest can the US have in such thing? They have everything they need because the government is corrupt enough to give anything they are asked for, and it is not exclusive of Venezuela. Those who say that the US is always behind everything here, remember that in order to have intervention, there has to be somebody inside our nations who ALLOWS such thing (invasion is different, please do not confuse it!) I would also like to say that 'the fascist opposition' is formed by people who were crushed, abused and who had relatives killed by government officials, and fascism is not something exclusive of the right wing.

Lastly, I want to request to all those people in European universities and in left wing parties groups who believe that the Third World is only certain countries in Africa or the the Middle East or in Asia, take into consideration that Latin America EXISTS and that therefore they should INFORM themselves (yes, current communism here is VERY DIFFERENT and style was and is NOT like in Russia or like in China) before expressing their blessings to such governments in my region, because those opinions might be offensive and yes, ignorant to us. Since some intellectuals of such groups have been cynical enough to give their opinion about Venezuela and saying that 'Mexico is responsible for the Drug War' or that 'the Drug War has no implications on international security' or 'who cares about Latin America' or who talk about Venezuela but have no clever idea of where it is located, please remember that it is better to look ignorant by being silent than actually talking and showing it.