Does SA’s position on Venezuela matter?

SOUTH Africa can be pigeon-holed as an ex-British colony and a former apartheid state. Its politics is ideologically inconsistent.

The fact that South Africa was once colonised by the British had an impact on the manner in which the apartheid government organised itself. They used the fact that Britain and the US were against communism to mobilise support from the two countries.

In addition, the ANC was associated with Russia and communism. This also meant the ANC was the enemy of democracy and capitalism. More so, the apartheid government emphasised this, knowing the West would perceive the ANC as their adversary.

In 1994, communism was never introduced, at least formally. The ANC chose to use some of the principles of communism or socialism per se, such as providing free houses, education and social grants.

It is worth highlighting that while pro-capitalists say the ANC-led government is nothing but a subtle form of communism, those at the bottom of the food chain believe its emergence to power brought nothing but capitalism.

South Africa is now a two-in-one country pulling in different directions.

Those who benefited (white South Africans) are mostly in support of capitalism, since their lives flourished under capitalism and continue to do so. In contrast, those who continue to linger in poverty (mostly black South Africans) believe the ANC has sold out to the capitalists.

The line between supporting communism for the purpose of elevating the poor and supporting corruption has proven to be thin in the case of the ANC. Thus, their support for Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro is quite concerning in as much as the proposed coup (or regime change) by the US is.

Venezuela under Maduro has implemented some appealing economic policies, such as the taking of the land and giving it to the poor. Such a move has led to criticism by the proponents of private property rights.

Venezuela is now in tatters due to heavy sanctions by the US and EU. These sanctions are based on the understanding that Maduro’s government has infringed upon human rights, silenced the media and there have been reports of political intolerance. The consequences of Maduro’s socialist regime has somehow led to the prevalence of excessive poverty.

The US (supported by Britain) has a bad record of toppling governments and leaving the countries in ruins while extracting their natural resources. Thus, it is not clear as to whether the US and its allies are concerned with the state of democracy in Venezuela or the aim is to get to the oil reserves. Russia is against the proposed regime change. South Africa is not the only country in support of Maduro.

However, Russia is economically stronger than South Africa, which relies on investment from the West.

Hence, South Africa can be easily swayed into agreeing or voting with the US in the UN Security Council.

South Africa’s position is unfortunately in the hands of the West, since the country is economically dependent on their trade. This is not to undermine the fact that South Africa does trade with China and Russia. Nonetheless, the West still plays a significant role in shaping the economy.

Gift Sonkqayi is pursuing a Master’s degree in Education at the University of the Witwatersrand, and writes in his personal capacity