EDITORIAL - Coming up short of expectations

A twisted form of inspiration

There is now tension in Venezuela following their presidential elections. The camps of both incumbent President Nicolas Maduro and his challenger Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia have declared victory and now political and civil unrest may just be simmering beneath the surface.

As of this writing, Venezuela's National Electoral Council has yet to provide a detailed breakdown of the votes garnered by Maduro, an autocrat following in the footsteps of Hugo Chavez, even after they said Maduro had already won.

On the other hand, Urrutia’s side has released the results from hundreds of polling stations and these tell a completely different story.

Various South American countries have come out to condemn Maduro’s declaration of victory, with Panama even going as far as to suspend relations with Venezuela, calling the election results fraudulent.

Even at the risk of isolating itself in South America, Venezuela itself decided to pull the trigger anyway by cutting ties with several of its neighboring countries.

It seems Maduro is determined to preserve his hold on power, no matter what.

Why should this development in South America matter to the rest of the world? For most Filipinos, their interest in Venezuela would only likely be limited to how their candidates for Miss Universe will vie against ours. However, it does matter.

Any nation that becomes an autocracy and props up a dictatorship serves as an example --a twisted form of inspiration, if you will-- to another would-be dictator that grabbing power can be done, that suppressing opposition can be done, that mass indoctrination of people can be done, and that they can get away with it.

And where one more dictatorship can rise, others can quickly follow.

Over 20 years ago, Hugo Chavez led Venezuela down a path it is now struggling on with his misguided socialist principles, which bordered on a hate for the US and western nations in general more than the need to improve his country.

More than 20 years should be enough time for Venezuelans to realize they have been misled.

Autocracies and dictatorships are a silent threat to the Free World. These threats are made even more “secret” by events that grab worldwide attention like wars and conflicts --many of them started by autocrats and dictators-- and even sporting events.

Before we know it there is another, then another, then another.