On Wednesday Putin announced that Russia would work to provide political and economic aid to Venezuela in order to keep President Maduro in power.
For the last few years Venezuela's economy has deteriorated rapidly, and President Maduro has autocratically unified his power over all branches of the once-democratic Venezuelan government. The legislative branch of the government, which was once controlled by the opposition party, was shut down months ago by Maduro's allies in the Supreme Court. Maduro even swayed a vote to rewrite the country's Constitution in order to give himself more autocratic, dictatorial power. In many ways, Venezuela's government once resembled that of the United States (legislative, executive, and judicial branches), but the lack of checks and balances and widespread corruption led to the degradation of this system with Maduro's ambition for power. As James Madison once warned in Federalist #51, "ambition must be made to counter ambition", or else episodes such as the current events in Venezuela might occur.
Putin's decision to offer support to the Maduro government shames President Trump, who recently threatened Venezuela's actions. It serves as a shame because it reminds the global observers that Trump's threat was merely empty words. Furthermore, lending support to the Maduro government is highly controversial considering how Maduro has been globally condemned. Putin's support comes at a cost, however. Putin is extracting oil resources from the country in return. Putin likely sees some sort of reward to come from establishing new footholds in America's backyard. Putin's motives of lending support to Maduro are inherently suspicious, considering how his intervention in the Syrian Civil War disrupted US plans of regime change there several years ago and were purportedly even helping to assist the Assad government. In light of this news, Russia could be blamed for yet again trying to meddle with US foreign goals and interests.
Also, ironically, maduro is Spanish for "mature". :)
Links to Articles:
Putin Lends Aid to Maduro
How Venezuelan Government Has Degraded
Discussion Questions:
1) What weaknesses do you believe existed in the Venezuelan government to allow for this downfall and degradation of democracy?
2) What do you believe are Putin's inner, anti-American, intentions in lending aid to President Maduro?
4 comments:
Like this article said, I think that the poor system of checks and balances within the Venezuelan government was what ultimately led to the tyranny. In class we have learned that simply separating the powers within a government will not prevent this kind of tyranny. In addition to separating these powers, it is important that the different branches can keep another branch from becoming too powerful for there to be a balance of power. Regarding Putin's motivations, I think that, for this case, Putin is supporting Maduro for economic reasons (the oil). However, given his actions in the early 2000s in helping the Assad government, it is clear that Putin is supportive of a dictator-like government, and is helping Maduro because he believes that is a better form of government.
I remember Mr. Silton's MWH class sophomore year and how for our United Nations class debates, I represented Venezuela. from the information I gathered researching the country's politics, they are in a deep mess that will take years, if not decades to get out of, and it is largely due to their reliance on oil exporting. When oil prices dropped down a few years ago, Venezuela's economy dropped with it, and huge inflation problems arising, making their currency worth very very little. It didn't help that they're leadership has been corrupted for a long time as well. I think that Putin's actions supporting Maduro are wrong, but I think that it is good that at least someone is helping them get out of their economic woes because the Venezuelan people are starving, broke, and more vulnerable than ever.
It seems that Venezuela's biggest loss and weakness was the drop in oil prices, as Theo mentioned. The suffering economic system pushed Venezuela into a downward spin, with poverty and crime spreading. Hence, Maduro has tightened his control on the government and removed the democratic system in efforts to slow their downfall, even though it clearly isn't making much of a difference. I suppose Putin sees this as a good opportunity to take advantage of Venezuela's oil source, while also fortifying the ties between Russia and Venezuela, as the latter struggles to stay afloat.
As Emma and Theo mentioned, the current economic situation in Venezuela (due to a drop in prices for petroleum) largely accounts for the degradation of democracy in the country. The lack of checks and balances among the branches of government, while a clear weakness in the Venezuelan government, is just a by-product of the economic crisis that has sparked the chaos and corruption within the country. In addition, although there's definitely an economic component to Putin's support of President Maduro -- the Russian government's interest in oil has largely defined the relationship between the two countries -- Putin's aid could also be seen as a way to diminish America's influence in foreign nations, given Russia's previous interference in the Syrian Civil War.
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