The recent statements by Nicolás Maduro that the regime is worthy of the Nobel Prize in Economics, considering the supposed improvement of the country despite international sanctions, in addition to being a mockery, puts back on the table the fact that it was precisely the model policy that led to the widespread disaster. The solution is not just an economic issue that depends on easing sanctions, it is necessary to rebuild the foundations of the Venezuelan State.
The permanence in power of the Chavista regime is done at the cost of the lives of the population. While more than 94% of Venezuelans live in poverty, Nicolás Ernesto Maduro, son of Nicolás Maduro and better known as Nicolasito, lives a life of luxury, as seen in his most recent trip to Thailand, and María Gabriela Chávez, daughter of the leader history, accumulates a fortune. This demonstrates that Venezuela’s problem does not seem to be exclusively a lack of resources. Therefore, it is worth questioning the effectiveness of international sanctions to put pressure on the dictatorship, given that they served to justify the disaster and the systematic violations of human rights.
In fact, corruption is largely responsible for the great impact on the right to food and poverty in the country, according to the Venezuelan Human Rights Action and Education Program in its recent report. An example of this is the great corruption network of the Local Committees for Supply and Production, which in principle aimed to distribute basic necessities to the population, but which in practice was a mechanism that allowed transactions between public companies and societies to launder money in different tax havens.
It is therefore not surprising that Venezuela is seen as the most corrupt country in the region and that it ranks at the bottom of the world, according to Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index. Democracies and dictatorships cannot be measured by the same standards The interests that a democratic government could have in fighting corruption do not exist in dictatorships. In fact, her permanence in power is largely due to her. And it is precisely here that we find the trap from which it is so difficult to escape.
As the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, among other bodies, has pointed out, both an independent judicial system and the real exercise of freedom of expression are necessary to fight corruption. Therefore, when these types of regimes undermine, from the beginning, civil and political rights, they foster a climate conducive to large-scale corruption that will impact the guarantee of economic and social rights.
This makes it possible that when the guarantee of these rights is totally degraded, the demands are concentrated on the minimum conditions of survival and, in this way, the issue of political rights passes into the background. In short, when a population has nothing to eat, its interest in structural issues diminishes, and its concern is centered on day-to-day problems.
Therefore, it is not possible to think of a real improvement in the conditions of the Venezuelan population without talking about corruption; in fact, this is precisely what gave rise to the conditions of the country: the belief that the oil bonanza allowed deep corruption without affecting the lives of the population. This is one of the great fears regarding possible presidential elections in 2024, since, although they will not be competitive, they will require the mobilization of a sector of the population, for which public spending and large clientelistic networks will be increased.
This, in the context of higher incomes, could generate a false sense of improvement. Corruption is a human rights issue Corruption and human rights considerations cannot be treated independently, they are key pieces to talk about democracy and Venezuela is a clear example of how corruption affects the integrity of human rights.
Organizations such as Provea and Transparency Venezuela have denounced that the crisis in the electricity system is largely due to corruption in recent decades. Last year it became known that there was no trace in the public accounts of 300 billion dollars, however, this is only part of the huge gaps in public administration. It is precisely the absence of data, which has been the official policy, which does not allow us to know exactly the magnitude of the embezzlement in the country.
This discretionary use of resources, widespread impunity and the concentration of institutions have created the favorable conditions for large-scale corruption, and this is precisely what allows them to remain in power. So what incentives might there really be for a negotiated transition? While it is important to make the networks of corruption visible, it is necessary to admit that unfortunately, protection systems are made for the strengthening of democracies, for those governments that are willing to cooperate, but that have little or no impact on the transition from authoritarian governments.
