• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Friday, June 2, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Regime Change is Only Way to Save 32 Million Venezuelans from Downright Starvation

Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat by Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat
02/14/19
in Opinion
People scavenging for food in the streets of Venezuela's capital Caracas

People scavenging for food in the streets of Venezuela's capital Caracas. Photo: AFP

274
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The U.S. government’s recognition of Juan Guaido as interim president of Venezuela in late January triggered accusations of the Donald J. Trump administration’s “interventionist reflex.” This view is not just misguided, but deeply harmful to my country’s only chance at a peaceful return to democracy.

The Venezuela I grew up in during the early 1990s was flawed: its politics lacked inclusiveness and transparency. But the Venezuela of today has sunk to an abyss that makes it barely recognizable as a country. At this juncture, nothing short of a complete change in leadership will save Venezuela from collapse.

Many people cringe at the phrase “regime change.” But this visceral response needs to be questioned. The current push for “regime change” in Venezuela is not just an existential necessity for 32 million Venezuelans deprived of food, essential medicine, and all other basic rights, my own family among them. It is the only legal, legitimate, and feasible way out of a man-made humanitarian catastrophe.

Maelstrom of Fear and Violence

I am a U.S. citizen and a final year law student at Yale University. My relatives in Caracas are less fortunate and live each day in a maelstrom of fear and violence. My grandmother, who is 90 years old, depends on shipments of essential medicine we send from the U.S., and my aunts are trapped without a visa to travel abroad. Their only option is to cling onto hope – they do not blindly expect that foreign forces will intervene, or that piles of aid will appear on their doorstep. But they have hope that the world may recognize great injustice and offer its help.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Photo: AFP

Yet, if my own progressive social and academic circles here in the U.S. are any indication, media coverage of Venezuelan developments in recent days has left the American public confused and conflicted.

So, let us return to the basics.

Nicolas Maduro has no constitutional claim to the Venezuelan presidency. His claim to power is based on invented results of an election supervised by his hand-picked Electoral Commission (CNE) and held in direct violation of the Venezuelan Constitution’s explicit electoral provisions.

Maduro’s Self-Proclamation as President

To put it in a domestic American context, imagine that an incumbent U.S. president unilaterally decided to hold elections six months ahead of the traditional and statutorily required “first Tuesday after November 1” date, disqualified all major opposition party candidates from running, and banned all election monitors and observers.

Because the Venezuelan Constitution, like the U.S. Constitution, explicitly prohibits such acts, Maduro’s self-proclamation as president of Venezuela in January is constitutionally null and void.

In these circumstances, Guaido is arguably obligated under Venezuelan domestic law to act as interim president. There is no single article in the Venezuelan Constitution that applies neatly to this situation. However, Articles 233, 333 and 350 – read in conjunction – compel Guaido to assume the role of interim president for 30 days so that new elections can be held.

Guaido is the equivalent of the U.S. Speaker of the House. Under Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution, a power void at the upper two levels makes the person in that role “acting president” and gives them the duty to call new elections for the restoration of the democratic order, as called for by Articles 333 and 350.

External Interference

There is no international legal rule against recognizing Guaido as head of the Venezuelan government. Under international law, a state deserves recognition insofar as it is administered by an “effective government.” The narco-kleptocracy run by Maduro, which has been unable to prevent large-scale starvation and has failed to hold up a functional administrative apparatus, is not an effective government.

A sign reading "No Bread" is displayed at a bakery in Caracas, an increasingly common sight at Venezuelan bakeries
A sign reading ‘no bread’ displayed at a bakery in Venezuela’s capital Caracas. Photo: Federico Parra, AFP

By contrast, in just one week, Guaido has managed to make a detailed plan and gain commitments for the delivery of tens of millions of dollars worth of humanitarian aid.

Politicians and commentators who decry external interference of any kind in a country’s domestic politics should recognize that standing by to watch a country implode is tantamount to signing a death sentence for millions of Venezuelans in critical need of humanitarian aid.

When a regime has the monopoly over the armed forces and the evil readiness to use it, no amount of internal popular mobilization by itself can emancipate a people. In this situation, external assistance becomes decisive.

Rethinking Regime Change

It is time to rethink the old, black-and-white view of the term “regime change.”

The U.S. has an opportunity to set a new, positive precedent in its democracy promotion. We ought not resort to easy historical comparisons and quick conclusions about the legitimacy of current efforts. In this case, the U.S. has followed the lead set by other countries – notably countries in Latin America, Europe and, increasingly, parts of Asia – in retracting recognition from a corrupt, not to mention incompetent, administration that has ruled Venezuela for far too long. We should celebrate rather than criticize this move.

Venezuela presents an opportunity for the U.S. to assist a peaceful democratic transition. Let us not condemn Venezuelans to another decade of destitution and darkness.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
Share274Tweet
Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat

Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat

Venezuelan-American student at the Yale Law School. She received her BA from Princeton University (summa cum laude) in Politics and is a PD Soros New American Fellow

Related Posts

A man holds US, Taiwan flags
Business

US and Taiwan Ink Trade Deal as China Issues Warning

by Staff Writer
June 2, 2023
A noose is seen on makeshift gallows as supporters of US President Donald Trump gather on the West side of the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021
National

Militia Leader Gets 18 Years in Prison Over US Capitol Attack

by Staff Writer
May 26, 2023
A billboard showing the debt limit is seen in Washington, D.C.
National

US Republicans Upbeat on Prospects for Debt Deal

by Staff Writer
May 19, 2023
Military hardware rolls through Dvortsovaya Square during a Victory Day military parade in central Saint Petersburg
National

Pressing Russia, US Shares Nuclear Warhead Data Under Treaty

by Staff Writer
May 16, 2023
A man holding a gun
Opinion

The NRA’s Continuing Agenda of Fear

by Stephen J. Lyons
May 12, 2023
US Panel Recommends Nonprescription Use of Contraception Pill
National

US Panel Recommends Nonprescription Use of Contraception Pill

by Staff Writer
May 11, 2023
Next Post
Rescued Cameroonian migrant Josepha, 40-years-old, rests on board the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms boat as it sails back to Spain in the Mediterranean Sea on July 17, 2018

Migrant Containment at all Costs: What is Left of European Humanity?

school violence parkland

One Year After Parkland, Trump Vows He Will 'Not Rest' Until Schools Safe

Recommended

A man holds US, Taiwan flags

US and Taiwan Ink Trade Deal as China Issues Warning

June 2, 2023
Migrants waiting at the Turkish border.

Beyond Numbers: Confronting Europe’s Broken Border System

May 30, 2023
A noose is seen on makeshift gallows as supporters of US President Donald Trump gather on the West side of the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021

Militia Leader Gets 18 Years in Prison Over US Capitol Attack

May 26, 2023
Customers queue to enter a re-opened Zara clothes shop

EU Targets Fast Fashion in Push for Durable Goods

May 23, 2023
A billboard showing the debt limit is seen in Washington, D.C.

US Republicans Upbeat on Prospects for Debt Deal

May 19, 2023
Military hardware rolls through Dvortsovaya Square during a Victory Day military parade in central Saint Petersburg

Pressing Russia, US Shares Nuclear Warhead Data Under Treaty

May 16, 2023

Opinion

Migrants waiting at the Turkish border.

Beyond Numbers: Confronting Europe’s Broken Border System

May 30, 2023
A man holding a gun

The NRA’s Continuing Agenda of Fear

May 12, 2023
US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

A Supreme Folly 

April 24, 2023
Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
An earthquake survivor reacts as rescuers look for victims and other survivors in Hatay, a Turkish province where hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake

Heed the Call of Our Broken World

March 1, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post