Venezuelan spring
A troubled nation must seize freedom now
The people of Venezuela have a chance to alter the course of their nation’s history, and they cannot afford to let it slip through their fingers. The political standoff that began in January — when the National Assembly refused to recognize dictator Nicolás Maduro’s re-election and opposition leader Juan Guaidó claimed the title of interim president — has come to a head.
After Mr. Guaidó called Tuesday for outright rebellion against the Maduro regime, protesters took to the streets. Even some members of the nation’s security forces joined the demonstrations, a sign of how deeply corrupt and pervasively ruinous Mr. Maduro’s rein had become.
The violent clashes between protesters and Maduro loyalists are horrifying to watch. Yet the suffering Venezuelans have endured for years makes the uprising simultaneously agonizing and heartening.
To be clear, it is an uprising, not the coup that Mr. Maduro claims. This is the rightful ouster of an illegitimate regime — one guilty of massive human rights abuses, of killing hundreds of peaceful protesters, of disastrous economic policies.
After accusations that Mr. Maduro rigged a vote last May to keep his grip on power, Mr. Guaidó called out the fraudulent election for what it was and declared the Venezuelan presidency vacant. As the leader of the National Assembly, he claimed the title of interim president.
Mr. Maduro has alleged that Mr. Guaidó’s attempt to remove him from office amounted to nothing more than a U.S.-led coup. The country’s near-total economic collapse — with astronomical inflation that has rendered Venezuela’s currency useless and devastating shortages of food, medicine, electricity and other essentials — is really an American plot, Mr. Maduro has claimed.
As they suffer, the Venezualan people see through this. Much of the free world has seen through it, too.
The United States could use a democratically-elected ally in South America. But the Maduro regime is so bankrupt that more than 50 other nations, including most of Venezuela’s Latin American neighbors, also are backing Mr. Guaidó.
The community of nations stands ready to embrace a democratic Venezuela and support its rebuilding. But right now, pressure from an everlarger global coalition of countries is necessary to encourage Mr. Maduro’s opponents to press on. It can help convince more soldiers propping up the strongman to walk away from the military and prompt more everyday Venezuelans to join their countrymen in the streets.
If they fail, Mr. Maduro will crack down on journalists and dissidents and further erode civil liberties and political rights, cementing his grip on power for years to come. Venezuelans cannot wait for another chance at freedom. The suffering in Venezuela must end now.