Venezuela on the brink

Venezuela on the brink
OUR OPINION: Maduro can stop the violence by opting for compromise
HERALDED@MIAMIHERALD.COM

On the surface, the upheaval in Ukraine and the political unrest in
Venezuela seem far apart in distance and character. But dig a little
deeper and the parallels are striking — and ominous.

Protesters in Ukraine want their country to join the West by becoming
closer to the European Union, but President Viktor F. Yanukovych prefers
to sidle up to Russia. The conflict playing out on the burning streets
of Kiev may be the last battle of the Cold War as a new Europe emerges.

In Caracas, as in Kiev, the underlying issue is whether the country will
follow a worn-out and discredited authoritarian model from the last
century — Cuba — or ally itself with regional democracies that honor
human rights and political freedom.

In both countries, the strain between competing forces has produced a
polarized society. And in both places, the elected leaders have opted
for repression instead of addressing the legitimate grievances of the
protesters.

The result: The streets in Kiev are on fire, and Venezuela's cities are
teeming with protesters and growing unrest.

Demonstrations in Venezuela have not yet reached the deadly levels of
those in Ukraine, and hopefully they never will. What happens next
depends on the choices made by President Nicolás Maduro. Thus far,
unfortunately, he has opted for a show of force rather than a show of
compromise.

Mr. Maduro's supporters make much of the fact that he is the freely
elected leader of the country. That is precisely why he should be held
to a democratic standard. In democracies, leaders represent all the
people, not just their own followers. They have a duty to listen to the
other side and engage in dialogue before political differences
degenerate into violence.

Mr. Maduro is having none of it so far. He has chosen to put
government-supported paramilitary thugs and club-wielding riot police on
the streets, cursed his opponents as fascists and tried to impose a
media blackout (on Friday he kicked out reporters for CNN en Español).
In some cities, the military has been called into the streets to restore
order.

All of these actions serve only to exacerbate the crisis rather than to
turn down the heat.

Furthermore, Mr. Maduro also jailed opposition leader Leopoldo López on
what are widely seen as trumped-up charges of inciting violence, though
he dropped ridiculous charges of murder and terrorism. This, too, is a
tactical mistake that elevates Mr. López, who has adopted
confrontational tactics, into the position of de facto leader of the
opposition. The longer Mr. López remains in custody, the more his
stature will grow and the more difficult it will be for the government
to end the crisis.

As this is written, the opposition has called for more street protests
over the weekend. Former opposition presidential candidate Henrique
Capriles, who does not agree with the defiant wing of the protest
movement, has pleaded for demonstrators to avoid violence, but Mr.
Maduro is playing into their hands by staying wedded to a hardline
stance that promises to generate greater bloodshed.

In Ukraine on Saturday, Parliament voted to remove Yanukovych and
released jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. In response, some
barricades in the streets came down.

Mr. Maduro should pay heed. It's not too late to pull Venezuela back
from the brink, but it will require compromise and dialogue rather than
tear gas and bullets. Is he capable of that?

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/22/3952120/venezuela-on-the-brink.html