Articles and opinion columns by Latin American analysts who take an unwavering stand for freedom, including members and directors of the IID.
This 2021 starts marked by the confrontation of two Americas, the democratic one and the dictatorial other. Castrochavism implements all kinds of superfluous, unnecessary, and trite changes (“gatopardismo” in Spanish) pretending to appear to be transforming their dictatorial regimes with agreements, and false transitions in order to keep themselves as political actors and enjoy impunity. The fundamental question is that dictatorships end only when essential components of democracy are restored and no impunity is granted.
An essential belief of democracy is that when people argue openly with each other, good arguments will prevail. As John Milton argued, we must have unlimited access to the ideas of our fellow citizens in “a free and open encounter.” To remain viable, democracies must promote a marketplace of ideas, insuring that freedom of the press does not become democracies’ paradise lost.
Unlike the Utah Monolith, 2021 is not in the possession of any branch of government as most governments are focused on getting their population vaccinated and on filling the growing income vs debt gap arising from the economic paralysis triggered by covid19. But like the monolith it is giving rise to all kinds of stories about a potential unnoticed visit by extraterrestrials or about the desolation of artists with the destruction of the moab desert .
In both cases, the inexistent transitions were at the hands of the opposition parties that today are suspicious of being “functional oppositions” or accomplices. In both countries there are very concerning signals of “corruption of the opposition parties in the dictatorial system” and noticeable signals of “under the table” arrangements (explicit or implicit) with -possibly- the granting of “impunity”. Time, in this case very brief, shall prove or refute these heinous crimes against the homeland.
But above all, we have learned that we humans are incredibly resilient. In the midst of a massive and treacherous change we are learning new lessons every day in caring, in supporting others, in self education and in commitment. The world we knew suddenly changed and while we have been anxious, sad at losses of loved ones or afraid of surrendering our life alone in some ICU seeing our relatives through a cell phone screen, we are making the best of this trial. And that will increase the human content of development post covid19.
Over six decades of crime and permanent aggression against the peoples and governments of the Americas, over sixty years of institutionalized violation of human rights and of attributing those crimes to the victims and manipulating individuals and organizations. Far too long for the region’s and the world’s democratic leaders to be blindfolded and not realize that -for their own sake- their main strategic objective to keep international peace and security and restore democracy is to end dictatorships, eradicate Castrochavism and end the nucleus of organized crime that Cuba’s dictatorship is.
And this is how the horrific tragedy that surfaced in the Port of Guiria last week. There corpses began to be washed up by the sea. The bodies men women, children and even babies popped up by dozens. Messages retrieved from relatives of the death cellphones told the world a story that reveals the entente cordiale between Trinidadian authorities, the Venezuelan regime and the criminal gangs trafficking with people. Because Trinidad obviously could not exact any punishment either to gangs or the regime in Venezuela, it thus chose to join in the profits.
The concept “divide et impera”, divide and conquer, used by Julius Cesar and Napoleon seems to be working for Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia’s dictatorships facing the massive rejection of their peoples. Twenty-first Century Socialism or Castrochavism’s regimes hold power with impunity over the popular rejection, the worsening of the crises they have caused, the narco-states they have implemented and manage, and the regional conspiracies they promote.
But 2020 promises to be a time release kind of evil. Its presence and impact promises to be with us for an extended period that no one seems to ascertain how long it will be. This has many heads of state in our region cliff hanging as their floor has moved and their grasp of power has slipped and here while there are no signs that the pendulum will swing back to the pre 2020 situation.
Twenty-first century socialism’s dictators, or Castrochavism, have the distinctive feature of announcing and promoting the crimes they are going to commit, publicize them internationally, commit them and end-up imposing them as a political agenda. That is the strategy, under Cuba’s command, that is being applied in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, to present the most horrendous and diverse crimes as political acts and indefinitely remain in power with total impunity. This is the case of the criminal undertaking that is being called “Venezuela’s parliamentary elections” that took place on 6 December (6D) that is proof of the peoples’ defenselessness.
