Recently, comparisons between Israel and Poland and Hungary regarding the reform promoted by the current coalition made headlines.
But I actually think (and fear) that the case in Venezuela is more relevant for us, citizens of the State of Israel.
Unlike Poland and Hungary, enough time has passed in Venezuela to see the devastating consequences of the institutional crisis that began more than two decades ago, with Hugo Chávez's ascension to the presidency in 1999, after a landslide victory in the elections.
Compared to Poland and Hungary, Venezuela was a country with a democratic tradition, with two central parties that knew how to reach compromises for five decades.
It was a relatively economically developed country, mainly due to the oil it possessed, and a destination for immigration within Latin America, and even from Europe.
Venezuela was considered a respected country in the world, and an ally of the US in dealing with the security challenges of its neighbors (Colombia and Ecuador), which received huge investments from international corporations in the fields of infrastructure and trade.
But Venezuela gradually fell into a catastrophic situation, after the political system fell apart, the separation of powers was violated, the economy collapsed and the suppression of the protests left chaos in the streets.
GNP per capita decreased by a third in the years 1999-2021. As a result of the sanctions of the international community, Venezuela became a "leper" country, and Russia, China, Cuba and Iran took the place of the USA and Europe as its allies.
Most of the multinational companies and investors left it a long time ago.
Due to extreme poverty and personal insecurity, more than 4 million people have emigrated from Venezuela in the past decade, and surveys show that about 80% of the population aspire to follow in their footsteps.
What happened in between?
The leadership deepened the polarization between the "people" and the "elites", while portraying itself as the only embodiment of the "will of the people" in this struggle.
True, all this came after a long period of crises of representation, inequality and discrimination that were not dealt with properly.
But instead of uniting in the face of these challenges, a "full-on" left-wing national government decided to promote a revolution that would lead to a "decision".
In the new constitution of 1999, the judicial and legislative authorities lost their independence and powers.
After the checks and balances continued to erode between 2002 and 2006, and following the persecution of the "gatekeepers", the restrictions on the unlimited election of the president were removed in 2009.
The institutional crisis led to an economic crisis, which became more and more acute, and with it also the leadership crisis after Chavez's death in 2013.
From there, the distance to the dissolution of the Congress in 2017 was short, after a defeat in the parliamentary elections and a falsified referendum under the auspices of a supreme court "on behalf of".
Since then, anarchy has ruled Venezuela.
I am worried about the possibility that the case of Venezuela will happen here as well.
I immigrated to Israel from South America out of a Zionist belief that this is my national home, and knowing that the task of building a progressive model society in the land of ancestral greed has not yet been completed.
We are not Venezuela, and we must not repeat its mistakes.
It is still not too late to internalize the words of the gaucho "Martin Piero" in a song by Jose Hernandez: "Brothers were united, because this is the essence of the law... because if they fight between them, they will be devoured from afar."
were we wrong
We will fix it!
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