Este jueves, a pedido de Almagro, se considerará en la OEA la activación de la Carta Democrática Interamericana contra Venezuela. Si bien es probable que la region no apruebe que hubo una alteración del orden constitucional en este país, el mero acto de debatir la situación aumentará la presión para que Maduro acepte el referéndum revocatorio.
For a moment, it looked like Venezuela’s beleaguered opposition had a powerful new ally in Buenos Aires. But it didn’t take long for principles to give way to big politics.
The new leader of the Organization of American States (OAS) has openly rebuked the country’s ‘Petty Dictator,’ but it may be too late to avert disaster in Venezuela.
One thing in Venezuela is definitely not in short supply: presidential rhetoric. In fact, while the economy veers toward 700 percent currency inflation, Maduro’s never-ending daily national television speeches, if anything, have created hyperinflation of presidential verbiage.
Venezuela’s descent into chaos is making headlines, not least because no one knows what will come next. The only other country to go through such an economic meltdown in recent history is Zimbabwe.
On June 23, the Permanent Council of the OAS will meet to discuss Venezuela, a country in the throes of an economic, political and humanitarian crisis. It now appears that it’s only a matter of time before Venezuela implodes and becomes a failed state.
The international community is trying to encourage the Venezuelan government and the opposition to sit down to a dialogue. But democratic dialogue requires commitment to principles, and the government has never shown—nor is showing now—any willingness to commit to those values.
On May 30th, OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro invoked the Inter-American Democratic Charter in the case of Venezuela, political “red card”. The question now is, will the Permanent Council uphold the red card or denounce the ref?
With massive food shortages and many citizens not finding enough to eat, more and more Venezuelans are surviving on the country’s bounty of tropical fruit. But what happens when the season ends?
Secretary General Luis Almagro has invoked the Democratic Charter of the OAS, calling for a meeting of the body’s Permanent Council to discuss the situation in Venezuela. How the hemispheric body responds will be a test of its role and future in a divided hemisphere.
