Editorial Desk :
The Venezuelan opposition leader spearheading efforts to unseat Nicolas Maduro has rejected his rival’s claim that his campaign has failed but admitted the “trickle” of military defections to his side had so far been insufficient to force change. Juan Guaido – now recognised as Venezuela’s legitimate interim president by more than 50 governments – insisted his country’s march into a new political era was unstoppable and Maduro’s “cruel dictatorship” doomed, as per international media reports.
He repudiated Maduro’s claim this week that the opposition’s challenge had collapsed as a mix of propaganda and delusion.
The walls of the Caracas headquarters of Guaidó’s centrist party, Voluntad Popular (Popular Will), are decorated with inspirational quotes from pacifists and freedom fighters including Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela.
Nearly a month after Guaidó sparked a showdown with Maduro – who inherited Hugo Chávez’s leftist Bolivarian revolution after his 2013 death – huge crowds of demonstrators continue to take to the streets in support. But with Maduro showing no sign of budging, some fear Guaidó’s movement could lose momentum. In 2017, mass anti-Maduro protests also convinced many Chávez’s heir was finished only for him to emerge strengthened.
Guaidó insisted the 2019 revolt was different, largely because of its international backing and sky-high discontent among citizens and members of the military suffering the consequences of their country’s economic collapse. Guaidó claimed 80 percent – 90 percent of Venezuela’s population opposed Maduro and 80 percent of Venezuela’s armed forces wanted political change. But he also hinted at opposition frustration that an anticipated wave of high-level defections from the military had not yet materialised.
All tyrannical regimes have to come to an end, and Maduro’s is no exception. Relying on the armed forces or on regional superpowers are not good ways to prop up a regime which is hostile to the people. We have seen how the Cuban revolution removed a dictator, Batista, who had strong support from both the country’s elite and armed forces as well as a regional superpower–the United States. In his desperate attempt to survive in a hopeless situation, he employed death squads to suppress popular uprising against him.
In recent years there has been the Sandanista revolution in Nicaragua and the overthrow of the drug lord Manuel Noriega who was himself an army chief and had very close ties to the US. Yet even he was overthrown because he knew too much. So Central and South American governments are replete with such situations where dictators look for their power not in people but in so-called godfather nations who have tremendous influence on the armed forces.
A group of Latin American countries including Canada have also asked the army to be with the opposition. It is said that the ranks and file in the army are not happy with the seniors. The question is if Maduro will be sensible to avoid military coup.
That President Maduro cannot depend long on army support is becoming clear. He bought the senior army officers with illegal financial gains.
The Venezuelan opposition leader spearheading efforts to unseat Nicolas Maduro has rejected his rival’s claim that his campaign has failed but admitted the “trickle” of military defections to his side had so far been insufficient to force change. Juan Guaido – now recognised as Venezuela’s legitimate interim president by more than 50 governments – insisted his country’s march into a new political era was unstoppable and Maduro’s “cruel dictatorship” doomed, as per international media reports.
He repudiated Maduro’s claim this week that the opposition’s challenge had collapsed as a mix of propaganda and delusion.
The walls of the Caracas headquarters of Guaidó’s centrist party, Voluntad Popular (Popular Will), are decorated with inspirational quotes from pacifists and freedom fighters including Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela.
Nearly a month after Guaidó sparked a showdown with Maduro – who inherited Hugo Chávez’s leftist Bolivarian revolution after his 2013 death – huge crowds of demonstrators continue to take to the streets in support. But with Maduro showing no sign of budging, some fear Guaidó’s movement could lose momentum. In 2017, mass anti-Maduro protests also convinced many Chávez’s heir was finished only for him to emerge strengthened.
Guaidó insisted the 2019 revolt was different, largely because of its international backing and sky-high discontent among citizens and members of the military suffering the consequences of their country’s economic collapse. Guaidó claimed 80 percent – 90 percent of Venezuela’s population opposed Maduro and 80 percent of Venezuela’s armed forces wanted political change. But he also hinted at opposition frustration that an anticipated wave of high-level defections from the military had not yet materialised.
All tyrannical regimes have to come to an end, and Maduro’s is no exception. Relying on the armed forces or on regional superpowers are not good ways to prop up a regime which is hostile to the people. We have seen how the Cuban revolution removed a dictator, Batista, who had strong support from both the country’s elite and armed forces as well as a regional superpower–the United States. In his desperate attempt to survive in a hopeless situation, he employed death squads to suppress popular uprising against him.
In recent years there has been the Sandanista revolution in Nicaragua and the overthrow of the drug lord Manuel Noriega who was himself an army chief and had very close ties to the US. Yet even he was overthrown because he knew too much. So Central and South American governments are replete with such situations where dictators look for their power not in people but in so-called godfather nations who have tremendous influence on the armed forces.
A group of Latin American countries including Canada have also asked the army to be with the opposition. It is said that the ranks and file in the army are not happy with the seniors. The question is if Maduro will be sensible to avoid military coup.
That President Maduro cannot depend long on army support is becoming clear. He bought the senior army officers with illegal financial gains.
