By Daniel Nardini
At the Lima Group conference, Mexico was the sole Latin American country NOT to sign a declaration that was critical of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro taking control of the presidency despite the fact that any and all elections now being held in Venezuela are a sham. Since current Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office, his foreign policy has taken a decided left wing course. In fact, Maduro had been invited by Obrador himself to Obrador’s presidential inauguration.
What Obrador is doing is tantamount to accepting a dictatorship that has been a total disaster for Venezuela. Millions of Venezuelans have fled the country since 2014. Most are barely making a living in other parts of South America. For those Venezuelans still in Venezuela, life is a struggle. People have to wait in hours long lines just to get the basic foods they will need for the week or even just the day. Even then they cannot get even that. Medical care is virtually non-existent in Venezuela—it is not even possible to get aspirin in a hospital! The agricultural sector has collapsed—most farmers cannot even grow their own food since people will steal the grain or the farmers have no seeds for planting anyways.
The ruling United Socialist Party elite of course can get anything and everything. Lord, they can even buy the finest Swiss watches at a time when the average Venezuelan goes hungry or does not even have enough electricity because the electric grid is in a state of collapse. Under these circumstances, how can anyone say that there should be no criticism of the Nicolas Maduro regime? Canada, Colombia, Brazil, Chile and Argentina have all called Maduro’s presidency “illegitimate” and have demanded that he hand power over to the National Assembly which was legitimately elected. Fat chance of that. Is Obrador simply accepting a dictatorship because it is ruled by a left wing party? It seems so. If Mexico is changing political course and prepared to support dictatorships because they are left wing, then there is much we all in the Americas have to worry about.
Mexico on Maduro’s Side?
By Daniel Nardini
What Obrador is doing is tantamount to accepting a dictatorship that has been a total disaster for Venezuela. Millions of Venezuelans have fled the country since 2014. Most are barely making a living in other parts of South America. For those Venezuelans still in Venezuela, life is a struggle. People have to wait in hours long lines just to get the basic foods they will need for the week or even just the day. Even then they cannot get even that. Medical care is virtually non-existent in Venezuela—it is not even possible to get aspirin in a hospital! The agricultural sector has collapsed—most farmers cannot even grow their own food since people will steal the grain or the farmers have no seeds for planting anyways.
The ruling United Socialist Party elite of course can get anything and everything. Lord, they can even buy the finest Swiss watches at a time when the average Venezuelan goes hungry or does not even have enough electricity because the electric grid is in a state of collapse. Under these circumstances, how can anyone say that there should be no criticism of the Nicolas Maduro regime? Canada, Colombia, Brazil, Chile and Argentina have all called Maduro’s presidency “illegitimate” and have demanded that he hand power over to the National Assembly which was legitimately elected. Fat chance of that. Is Obrador simply accepting a dictatorship because it is ruled by a left wing party? It seems so. If Mexico is changing political course and prepared to support dictatorships because they are left wing, then there is much we all in the Americas have to worry about.