Keep the peace in Venezuela's protests
As in Ukraine, Venezuelan leader Nicol谩s Maduro is losing the moral high ground as his forces shoot innocent protesters. He must adopt the nonviolent tactics of his political opponents.
As in Ukraine, Venezuelan leader Nicol谩s Maduro is losing the moral high ground as his forces shoot innocent protesters. He must adopt the nonviolent tactics of his political opponents.
During February鈥檚 protests in Ukraine, the world witnessed one of those tipping points when an elected government, entrusted to keep the peace, ends up killing unarmed demonstrators 鈥� only to then quickly fall. A universal moral preference for peace persuaded Ukrainian security forces to no longer take orders to shoot their own people.
Might Ukraine鈥檚 lesson of peace now apply to Venezuela, where a dozen protesters have been killed since Feb. 12?
鈥淭his is not Ukraine,鈥� President Nicol谩s Maduro has declared as he faces the largest protests since he took power last April. He may well be right, but only if he tells the National Guard, National Police, and the paramilitary gangs known as colectivos not to kill the vast majority of protesters committed to nonviolent tactics.
Mr. Maduro, who is a much weaker leader than the strongman he replaced, the late Hugo Ch谩vez, has lately shown a desperation to cling to power by resorting to violence and jailing his political opponents, such as Leopoldo L贸pez. He leads a divided government that is held responsible for Venezuela鈥檚 rampant inflation, extreme shortages of basic goods, and a murder rate unsurpassed in any country.
His economic and political failings have not yet cost him the moral higher ground among the country鈥檚 masses of poor. Many of the tens of thousands of protesters in recent weeks have been from the middle class. But as in Ukraine, the blatant killing of innocent protesters will likely come at a high moral cost. And in the age of Twitter and Instagram, the images of police shootings are reaching the world faster.
Groups such as Human Rights Watch are collecting videos of the shootings and decrying the excessive use of force. US Secretary of State John Kerry and some Latin American leaders are also speaking out. President Obama said last week that 鈥渁ll parties have an obligation to work together to restrain violence and restore calm.鈥�
Despite Maduro鈥檚 attempts to control TV exposure of the official atrocities, the spread of social media is working against him. Even Venezuelan pro baseball players in the US are speaking out. Texas Rangers pitcher Martin Perez has tweeted the words of the 19th-century liberator Sim贸n Bol铆var: 鈥淐ursed is the soldier who turns the nation鈥檚 arms against its people.鈥�
Top opposition leaders, such as Henrique Capriles, have consistently called for peaceful protests. And Mr. L贸pez wrote from his prison cell last week: 鈥淭o the youth, to the protesters, I ask you to stay firm against violence, and to stay organized and disciplined.鈥�
One phrase now commonly heard in the country鈥檚 urban slums is 鈥淵a esta bueno ya鈥� (Enough already). That usually was applied to shortages of goods like toilet paper. Now it is being applied with greater force to a government losing trust over its violations of peace.