Arcadia Foundation

María Fernanda Polini is a graduate from Universidad Monteávila in Caracas, majoring in social communications. She been part of multiple opposition movements against Hugo Chavez. Below is an exclusive, on-the-ground perspective of life under his brutal regime, one of repression and indeed of radicalism.

The combination of facts that have been affecting Venezuela over the past ten years are now worse than before. First, Chavez’s totalitarianism can be observed by the constant government abuse over basic human liberties. Secondly, the social and economic problems that are absolutely evident and haven’t been solved have been deteriorating every day.

During the last two weeks, of an election year, the streets in Venezuela have been full of different groups of society participating in social demonstrations and protests. On one hand, we have seen students who are against the government asking the President to start taking care of Venezuelaa’s basic problems, such as the deficits in the electrical and water services and personal insecurity and violence. On the other hand, people have been publicly supporting the owners and workers of a TV company called RCTV International that was closed up by the official authorities. The closure of RCTV means not only that thousand of workers are losing there jobs, but more importantly, that the Venezuelan people are loosing their freedom of speech.

The answer that the government has given to all of these problems are different than before, and by different we mean more radical. Today, Venezuelans are suffering from a deep energy crisis due to the ineptitude of our government, represented in more than ten years of disinvestment in the sector. The proposed solution was to bring a Cuban revolutionary leader called Ramiro Valdes to solve the problem. Valdes is known as the man who created the idea to intervene with their internet, with the privacy settings of the Cuban people.

In conclusion, decisions have been taken; decisions that bring consequences for every citizen in this country. The main question to be answered is why Chavez wants to become more radical and expand communism in Venezuela during an electoral year, where our new Congress will be elected. The answer we would assume is that he actually knows his popularity decreases every day, so he will not hide behind a democratic mask anymore and will play his last cards.

Venezuelans will have to pick between Hugo Chavez and a country where liberties and human rights become the base of democracy. A place where a people will listen to one other with respect; and especially, a land with governors that will include every part of the society with no prejudices, without forgetting the recent past.

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