Yesterday I was listening to a famous Venezuelan comedian Laureno Marquez. Everyone in Venezuela has probably heard or even seen him on tv. He also does stand up shows which he certainly has loads of talents in the field. I have often laughed at his jokes. Now the past 10 years or so Laureano has taken an edge on the political situation in my country. He started doing the Reconstituyente I remember at the time that the Venezuela constituency process for drafting the 1999 Constitution. The typical Venezuelan scenario of comedians cashing in/laughing at our political and social situation. Laureano Marquez was a guest at a radio talk show, and started analyzing the current political situation in Venezuela. He started off by saying that we (as Venezuelans) must start to recognize that the Chavez regime is not a dictatorship. He continued "just because of the fact that I can openly critize the government on radio means that this is not a dictatorship". Laureano has over the past years over-indulge on his title of political scientific or something like that...
Now, is it true, is the policy towards free and open press the only element to consider whether or not a government is undemocratic or a dictatorship? Can we say that in a country where free and open press is found can never consider itself a dictatorship? Now I understand the argument that Laureno was trying to make because the traditional style of dictatorships, specially in Latin America, free and open press was never found.
However, without a doubt we can say that even though there is a free and open press in Venezuela, the regime of Chavez is a dictatorship. Why? Well you can start by arguing that the government has more than 40% of the media outlet in the country. That is directly controlled television, radio and newspapers stations. Not only that but central news services (wires) and even international television stations (telesur). It is ridicilous, even though that in Venezuela still exists a considerable percentage of private media outlets, the (economic) efforts done by a 40% of government media outlets without commercial interest can never be seen as a "fair" in any market. Constantly relaying government propaganda.
Besides, we can never say that this is not a dictatorship. Chavez dictates everything from the Judicial system (naming, removing any Judges from lower courts all the way to the Supreme Court), Electoral systems (can anyone argue against this? i.e. Francisco "tramparencia" Carrasquero? or Jorge Rodriguez?). The Legislature (asamblea nacional) is a true joke. Or what is even worse the brutal economic power that has made almost everyone in this country, whether directly or indirectly, to kneel (from a broad to the specific sense) before Chavez´s power? For instance, in the state of Barinas, where the kidnappings have gone so out of hand that the press has stopped covering the news. Or what is worse, Venezuelan citizens scare to come out publicly against Chavez´s government because they are afraid to lose their jobs or government benefits.
How many people in Venezuela say they publicly support Chavez just because they depend economically on his regime? Sure Laureno we can openly and freely say what we want to say, but do you know how many people have been put on "blacklists" to block them to access legally available funds or opportunities? Or what is worse, do you know how many Venezuelans have been rejected over other Venezuelans who deem themselves Chavistas or loyals to Chavez?
When the government directly dictates the conditions of granting access to public jobs, positions or public funds, is when we see a dictatorship. When Venezuelans are conditioned of whether or not they support the revolution to get what they legally are entitled to, is when we see a dictatorship. Laureno please hit the books, start by reading Locke on Civil Society then move on to Hobbes Leviathan...
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