Violence in Venezuela Amidst Election

The American presidential race has been so all-consuming, especially in the last few weeks, that little else has made the front page of the papers. A short article in Reuters today though was attributed to Venezuelan politics, a country also currently preparing for an election. As I was reading the article I was surprised by the number of ways in which the election was similar to the US’s. Incumbent President Hugo Chavez has, among other accusations, been criticized for his nationalistic leanings.

On a political level, nationalism has hurt the country by detracting foreign investors and alienating business. Venezuela’s cost of closure is most certainly higher than China and Iran, countries listed within the article as potential investors because of a background as allies. While the economic benefits for the country are relatively clear, I was surprised that the authors of the article focused only on the potential benefits for Western investors. Removing trade barriers would certainly help western countries in their trade with Venezuela, but the effect on the nation itself would be much larger. Moreover, in an article focused on the Venezuelan election, it seemed ironic that the effects of that election would be analyzed from a decidedly Western perspective.

Returning to the election itself and similarities to the US, the candidate challenges Chavez is Henrique Capriles. Capriles is described as a supporter of “pro-business government with strong welfare policies” but has been called a “heartless capitalist elitist” by Chavez. In terms of big business, then, there’s a connection between the two versus Obama and Romney. Perhaps it’s in light of these similarities that I was even more shocked by the recent news that a government-issued van had killed three pro-Capriles activists. The violence isn’t as surprising to native Venezuelans who have listed crime as their first concern in the election—the country’s crime rate is exceedingly high.

And yet Chavez insisted that “it’s not with violence that we face off. It’s with votes, ideas, peace.” Given that the Chavez himself appears to promulgate the crime rate within the country, his hypocrisy is overwhelming. Perhaps I’m just feeling the effects of our discussion last week on Obama and Romney’s campaign ads on trade barriers with China, but it seems as though that’s the running similarity in global politics today—hypocrisy from those in or running for office.

Here's the link to the Reuters article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/01/us-venezuela-election-idUSBRE88T0CC20121001