With a month and a few days until July 28, it is a good time to take stock because, in the midst of the controversy over the result of the presidential election, the subsequent protests and arrests, there remains that strange uncertainty of not being able to determine the final balance with precision and force.
But although the quantitative nature of the electoral result remains, according to multiple national and international actors – including the main director of the electoral body and the organizations invited as observers by the government – far from providing a clear outcome, we can make a qualitative approximation of that particular and historic electoral day.
And democratic Venezuela, without a doubt, won. Our country’s democratic vocation was put to the test and once again we passed, and we did it together, in unity, and those same cohesive democratic forces demonstrated against all odds that they have a solid and robust strategy that “is working” in the words of their leaders, who have also demonstrated that they have the character that is only forged by learning the lessons of each of the previous battles, of each of the past defeats. Abraham Lincoln said: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Well, the democratic forces seem to have sharpened their strategy to be and make a difference.
There is also the international level. The day of July 28 and the hundreds of displays of support and solidarity from Venezuelans and friends around the world managed to put Venezuela at the center of the world debate, which is no minor event, much less when there is a war between Russia and Ukraine, a military conflict between Israel and Palestine and with the United States in the pre-election stage with two candidates who, according to the most recent polls, are in a very close fight; to name just a few international conflicts that compete for the world’s attention. Meetings to discuss the single issue of the situation of Venezuela in the OAS, attempts at mediation by Colombia and Brazil, the concern expressed by bodies such as the European Union or countries such as Chile and Uruguay and even complaints before the International Criminal Court, are a sign that the fate of Venezuela matters to the international community. This time our voice seems to be being heard although silence apparently prevails within our borders.
In the domestic arena, we have also seen how historical government officials of the stature of Juan Barreto, Andrés Izarra or Marypili Hernández, to name just a few, have shown themselves for the first time in more than two decades with opinions contrary to those of the process initiated by Hugo Chávez and which they supported. In addition, we have experienced episodes such as the change in the presidential cabinet or that curious moment of “separating the wheat from the chaff” in a national broadcast in which it is recognized that many Venezuelans went out to vote out of love for the family scattered throughout the world.
It is true that we cannot speak of the definitive result that all Venezuelans expected the presidential election to yield. This has confirmed one of the least desired scenarios: the deepening of the Venezuelan political crisis and its impact on an already battered and diminished national economy. Ordinary citizens are the most affected in the midst of the conflict, but precisely that average citizen, who lives and struggles every day to bring sustenance to his home, that mother who raises with effort, that public employee who juggles to make ends meet, are the same ones who went out to vote on July 28, convinced that the solution is —and has always been— electoral. This is the case of the millions of Venezuelans who, accompanied by the republic plan, the witnesses of all the political organizations and the operators of the CNE, lived that Sunday and witnessed what happened and we know that for many reasons it will remain in the memory and history of Venezuela.
Therefore, thinking that everything remains the same or, worse still, giving up the battle is to reduce the analysis too much. There is no doubt that we are still living through very delicate times, but when we add up everything that has been achieved, we cannot but conclude that the road is not over and we must walk with more care and foresight, yes, but continue.
Success is not where we are now, success is not even everything we have traveled and achieved, success is where we look together and where we walk from this point, because Venezuela was born to be free and democratic and true generosity and altruism for our own future and that of our children and grandchildren is to give everything on the path we have before us today, a little more than a month away from July 28.
Maria Eloina Conde
September 01, 2024
@MariaEloinaPorTrujillo
#month #María #Eloina #Conde
2024-09-01 08:05:33
