“The situation is really bad… this is impossible… any moment now things will explode… people are furious… Chavez won’t make it through this year…” We’ve been hearing this for 11 years. Cubans have a saying that sums it all up, and they repeat it frequently: “it’s not easy.” They, now aware that the dictatorship will end when the Castros decide, have modified their phrase; they no longer hold any hope and have resigned themselves to a life that “isn’t easy.”
Venezuelans seem to struggle to grasp the type of criminals they are dealing with, and, worse still, they seem to have resigned to a difficult life. There is still no sign of a rejection of caudillismo in the Venezuelan political leadership, nor any projects that do not revolve around a single person. After 11 years of all kinds of abuses, some still hesitate to define Chavez’s regime as a dictatorship. There are still people who believe that Chavez’s departure will come after elections in which the strongman, who controls everything, will accept defeat, knowing it leads directly to prison. Some political leaders still think they can defeat Chavez on TV shows or through messages to his thousands of followers on Twitter.
I disagree with those views. Chavez won’t be removed by Henrique Capriles Radonsky, or Maria Corina Machado, nor Ocariz. Chavez won’t be taken down by Chucho Melean, or the dreamer Leopoldo Lopez, or the protégé of Manuel Rosales, Pablo Perez. Only a sustained, coordinated effort from all opponents, across the country, that’s right, FROM EVERYONE, will bring Chavez down. For those of us with the advantage of observing things from a dispassionate distance, it is clear that tensions are rising. It’s evident that people are getting angrier faster than the strongman would like. But the people remain an amorphous mass, lacking direction and leadership. A prime example is Chucho Melean, who has become a national hero simply for stopping INTI thugs from entering his property. You have to wonder, is Chucho Melean the only Venezuelan who stands firm against what he considers an injustice? If any Venezuelan out of the 28 million is confronted by a thug, is it reasonable to expect only one to react?
What has happened in the South of the Lake was to be expected. For urban people, it’s hard to understand the effort involved in establishing a farm, where taming the powerful nature is a daily challenge. Anyone who has worked in the fields, as I have, knows that unlike urban activities, there’s no rest, no breaks. Cows need to be milked every day, often twice a day depending on the breed. Crops and livestock must be monitored daily. There are no long weekends, and parties must wrap up before milking time at 5 AM. Every single day. Thus, the term farm, because more than administrative work or office tasks, it’s a foundational effort. Chucho Melean is simply being true to himself, to the people who work with him, and to the hard work he has put in during his 90-plus years. In my view, that’s the example to follow: the work ethic, the fighting spirit of those who toil the land, trying to bend nature to their will. Of course, it isn’t easy. But if all Venezuelans understood that this is the only way to break free from the Chavez curse, that one man cannot do it all, nor handle every task efficiently, then and only then, we could plan the end of Chavez.
Chavez cannot withstand a well-organized effort from opposers on a national level. I have said it, and I reaffirm it, he lacks the logistical capability and enough thugs to control a national uprising. And the uprising, before Eva Golinger comes out to say I’m calling for assassination, doesn’t even have to be violent. Our brothers in Andean countries have made roadblocks a very effective strategy for demanding respect for inalienable rights from their governments. Why not do something similar in Venezuela? Are there not enough stones? Or are people just protesting verbally, waiting for “someone” to solve it? As a good friend says, “someone” hasn’t come. It’s not easy, but those who really want something must work for it. Initiative must start at an individual level, like Chucho, who didn’t wait for anyone’s instructions to confront organized crime. It’s not easy, but freedom, dignity, and human, civil, and political rights are non-negotiable.