THE VALUES OF DEMOCRACY

The first diplomatic action taken by the Venezuelan government after the unfortunate crisis caused by the appearance and detention of the Colombian FARC guerrilla leader known as Rodrigo Granda, was the participation of Venezuelan Vice Minister of foreign affairs for North America, Maria del Pilar Hernandez, in a forum at the Washington based Inter American Dialogue.

The event took place on February 1 at the organization's headquarters and attendees included recognized members of the diplomatic and politic communities of the Americas. Also in attendance were a number of international citizens living in D.C. interested in the Latin American political affairs. The Venezuelan spokeswoman began her remarks with a lengthy description of what she called the Latin American political crisis at the end of the last century. The audience became somewhat restless during the presentation, judging by the murmurs and rustling in the room. She then continued a long discussion of the different stages the "Bolivarian" government has undergone leading us to the present state of affairs.

According to the Ms. Hernandez, the most important achievement of the government of President Hugo Chavez has been its ability to begin a revolutionary process in a "peaceful and democratic way". From her point of view this accomplishment is a landmark in the internal policy of Venezuela in that without this characteristic, such a revolution would not have been possible. After her formal remarks, the audience asked several questions regarding the politics of President Chavez, and the speaker provided rather clever answers, which left many attendees wondering, what she really meant when she spoke of "democracy".

Democracy can be defined in many ways but over time, its value is lost for those who have grown accustomed to the exercise of power for their personals gains. Democracy is not only the political doctrine that allows a nation to guide the destiny of its government; it also is the equal and just execution of power based on respect for certain principles.

One does not live in democracy by the decree of our elected officials but through their conviction. In democracy one acts in conformance with the most intrinsic human values, such as: social justice, legal security, respect for the principle of the separation of public powers, freedom in all its various shapes and forms, self actualization through the opportunity to seek suitable employment for fair wages, access to health services, education, the right to private property, respect of human dignity, the expectation that one's elected officials be imbued with a true sense of service, absence of discrimination under all circumstances, the incentive for progress, respect for honesty, and tolerance in the face opponents and critics.

For almost two hours those in attendance heard reference to the need for speakers to treat each other with respect. The obvious question arose regarding the Venezuelan president's declarations against United States Secretary of State, Ms. Condoleezza Rice. The answer came quickly. It came in the form of advice to the recently appointed secretary of state. It was simply, "show respect in order to be respected".

In response to the concern over the presumed collaboration of the Bolivarian government with Colombian guerrillas, after a laborious explanation regarding the appearance of the guerrilla member, Granda, in Venezuelan territory, the speaker resorted to inexact dates and scenarios. She then spoke of the supposedly excellent relations and fraternal love that exist between Colombia and Venezuela, and the extensive border that joins the two countries in an attempt to explain how the nationalization of the Colombian guerrilla leader by Venezuela could have occurred.

The explanation given did not take into account that Granda had presented himself to Venezuelan authorities using his nom de guerre and not under a forged identity as he might have been expected to do had he feared discovery. He was also able to obtain Venezuelan citizenship in 2002, the year in which his organization was named as a terrorist organization by most countries of the world and all countries of the Americas with the exception of Cuba and Venezuela.

The speaker made frequent reference to the success of the programs "Barrio Adentro", and "Misi�n Robinson" as important elements of the economic policy and the social plan of the Venezuelan government. According to her, the first involves providing assisted healthcare for 16,500,000 Venezuelans of the country's population of 24 million. Were this program doing all the things described, it would make Venezuelan public healthcare comparable to countries such as Canada, the United States and England.

With respect to "Misi�n Robinson", she highlighted the impact of this project in which she claimed that in very little time, 1.2 million Venezuelan citizens have been taught to read and write. If this were true, that effort would have virtually put an end to illiteracy in Venezuela. Interestingly, according to international organizations such as the United Nations, in spite of the shortcoming of many previous Venezuelan governments, indications are that the country has for many years had the lowest levels of illiteracy in the Andean region.

But the importance of this forum was not what the speaker said but what she didn't say. Nothing was said about the political prisoners confined in Venezuelan jails; it would have been interesting to hear how such actions are justified. The efficiency of the government was not mentioned; nor was the failure of the opposition to credit the government with the so-called accomplishments of a revolution that it refuses to recognize. Nothing was said regarding the decrees that have resulted in the invasion and expropriation of private properties. Such decrees are part of the Venezuelan government's policies to promote the redistribution of wealth and property. Nothing was said about the impunity that has been afforded those responsible for the numerous deaths that have occurred among protesters during marches and manifestations of the opposition. The topic of the terrible murder under suspicious circumstances of the esteemed former Venezuelan public prosecutor, Danilo Anderson, while he was doing the government's "dirty work" against the opposition was never touched.

No mention was made of the creation of civilian militias to protect the revolution. Nor was a word said about the new mission of the armed forces. The claim by senior Venezuelan military leaders of their recent discovery of a plan by the United States to invade Venezuela is another subject that was overlooked. The Venezuelan government's recent weapons buying spree was likewise ignored. No comments were made regarding the increase in the number of magistrates to the Supreme Tribunal of Justice or why such an increase was needed. No explanation was given as to why that highest of courts appointed members to the National Electoral Council when that duty belonged to the country's National Assembly. We didn't hear any reference regarding the controversial appointment of the president of the electoral council, a man who just recently was named a supreme tribunal magistrate.

The speaker chose not to address the trials of important Venezuelan political and social leaders for their presumed participation in a conspiracy against the Venezuelan government. The subject of the huge increase in the number of Venezuelan citizens that have left the country to seek a better life elsewhere or the many who have requested political asylum in neighboring countries was not addressed. The repeated attacks against the Venezuelan Catholic Church escaped mention, as did the threatening answers of the Venezuelan government to the questions and opinions of highly respected representatives of the church to include Archbishops and the Apostolic Nuncio's representative. By no means was the subject of the numerous cases of corruption of high ranking Venezuelan public officials discussed.

Also omitted was any talk of how laws are being discussed and approved by the National Assembly. There a majority, which backs the government, is deciding the legislative future of the country under the amazed look of an opposition that has been rendered powerless to make any substantial modification to the proposed legislation. It was thus not surprising that no mention was made of the National Assembly's recent approval of legislation authorizing a far-reaching program of mutual judicial assistance between the governments of Venezuela and Cuba.

The lack of independence of public powers (moral, electoral, legislative, judicial and executive) and the lack of credibility of the country's judges was not discussed.

For sure many important issues were overlooked in the debut performance of Venezuela's newest high-ranking diplomat in North America. However, the message that was conveyed to each of those present was the same. That is, either the Venezuelan government does not have better arguments to offer in its attempt to justify the unjustifiable or there are substantial differences among us as to what we mean by "democracy."

Surely, we will have future opportunities to deal with these troubling issues. At the end of the day, actions, not words determine the nature of a man. Hopefully the next exhibition will not include fireworks.