{"id":1175792,"date":"2021-12-31T14:49:25","date_gmt":"2021-12-31T19:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1175792"},"modified":"2021-12-31T14:49:28","modified_gmt":"2021-12-31T19:49:28","slug":"caruzo-3-years-later-venezuelas-true-president-is-just-background-noise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/caruzo-3-years-later-venezuelas-true-president-is-just-background-noise\/","title":{"rendered":"Caruzo \u2013 3 Years Later, Venezuela\u2019s True President Is Just Background Noise"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcaruzo-3-years-later-venezuelas-true-president-is-just-background-noise%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1175792&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">CARACAS \u2014 Juan Guaid\u00f3\u2019s interim presidency of Venezuela will soon reach its third year in a most weathered and worn-out state.<\/p>\n<p>It has been three years of corruption scandals, unprecedented international and diplomatic support, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vozdeamerica.com\/a\/canciller-del-gobierno-de-juan-guaido-manejar-empresas-nos-ha-desenfocado-\/6250408.html\">controversies<\/a>, and ultimately, not much improvement in the daily lives of Venezuelans.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>A glaring lack of progress with regards to ousting the authoritarian socialist regime and the looming threat of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.es\/internacional\/abci-freddy-guevara-negociacion-maduro-incluye-convivencia-chavismo-202109010913_noticia.html\">coexistence<\/a> between it and the opposition is the end result so far and, as such, much of the population has given up supporting what was, at the time, a longshot but possible breakthrough for freedom in the country.<\/p>\n<p>More than anything, the recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/latin-america\/2021\/12\/06\/venezuela-guaido-top-diplomat-quits-says-his-presidency-must-disappear\/\">departure<\/a> of Guaid\u00f3\u2019s top diplomat, Julio Borges, served to remind the general populace that Guaid\u00f3\u2019s government existed at all. Most had already forgotten about him. While he is, in fact, the rightful president of Venezuela following the circumstances surrounding the illegitimate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/national-security\/2018\/05\/21\/venezuela-maduro-reelected-with-record-low-turnout-rampant-fraud\/\">elections<\/a> of 2018, he hasn\u2019t been able to exercise any sort of tangible power in the country whatsoever.<\/p>\n<p>Guaid\u00f3 <a href=\"https:\/\/presidenciave.com\/presidency\/guaido-cessation-of-usurpation-transitional-government-and-free-elections-is-not-a-slogan-but-a-constructed-route-ratified-by-parliament\/\">made<\/a> three concrete promises to the Venezuelan people in 2019: the end of dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s \u201cusurpation\u201d of power, the formation of a transitional government, and free elections. We\u2019re at the eve of 2022 and none of it is even remotely close to happening \u2014 on the contrary, the opposition is now very much content with participating in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/latin-america\/2021\/11\/22\/venezuela-sham-election-yields-unsurprising-sweep-socialists-gunpoint\/\">sham<\/a> elections that elevate Maduro so long as they get a slice of the metaphorical electoral cake.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_10018041\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Juan-Guaido-points-up.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10018041\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Juan-Guaido-points-up.jpg\" alt=\"Juan Guaido, head of Venezuela&#039;s opposition-run congress, declares himself interim president of the nation until elections can be held during a rally demanding President Nicolas Maduro&#039;s resignation in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. (AP Photo\/Fernando Llano)\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Juan Guaid\u00f3, head of Venezuela\u2019s opposition-run congress, sworn in as president of the nation until elections can be held during a rally demanding President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s resignation in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. (AP Photo\/Fernando Llano)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In his resignation press tour, Borges <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wradio.com.co\/2021\/12\/06\/julio-borges-renuncia-a-su-cargo-en-el-gobierno-interino-de-juan-guaido\/\">stated<\/a> that Maduro had tailored an opposition that suits him and blamed both sides for this. For the past two decades, the socialist regime has been content with tolerating the Venezuelan opposition, as they\u2019ve always loved to find ways to coexist with each other and keeping the political status quo. Many of the opposition\u2019s prominent figureheads are members of the Socialist International, so they have no true ideological disagreements with Maduro.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than fight them, Maduro skillfully stalled on any changes, waiting for the opposition to deflate. It pains me to give Maduro any sort of credit, but Napoleon Bonaparte\u2019s old saying, \u201cnever interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake,\u201d is exactly all that Maduro had to do during these past years.<\/p>\n<p>Maduro has let the interim presidency collapse on its own and coated Venezuela with a false paint of normality through the easing of some of the draconian regulations that brought the country to ruin \u2014 even if such flexibilization goes against the two decades of the ideology espoused upon the country. Among the examples of this is the easing (but not complete removal) of currency control laws that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/latin-america\/2021\/02\/02\/caruzo-socialists-killed-venezuelas-currency-ushering-in-the-reign-of-the-dollar\/\">destroyed<\/a> the country\u2019s currency. Casinos, the \u201ccapitalist vice\u201d once banned by the late Hugo Ch\u00e1vez, now have the blessing of the socialist regime, and <a href=\"https:\/\/panampost.com\/sabrina-martin\/2019\/12\/12\/venezuela-gran-parte-de-dolares-circulantes-son-de-lavado-y-narcotrafico\/\">blatant<\/a> money laundering runs rampant in the country.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18246906\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Venezula.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18246906\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Venezula.jpeg\" alt=\"A health worker wearing a face mask and shield holds a one dollar bill in one hand and its equivalent in Bolivar bills -his salary- in the other, during a protest for the lack of medicines, medical supplies and poor conditions in hospitals, in Caracas on October 29, 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. (Federico Parra\/AFP via Getty Images)\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>A health worker wearing a face mask and shield holds a one dollar bill in one hand and its equivalent in Bolivar bills -his salary- in the other, during a protest for the lack of medicines, medical supplies and poor conditions in hospitals, in Caracas on October 29, 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. (Federico Parra\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Maduro\u2019s party, has not forsaken its haggard ideology, examples of which can be found in its ongoing desire to implement a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/elestimulo.com\/maduro-ya-cumple-amenaza-de-imponer-estado-comunal-en-venezuela\/\">Communal State<\/a>.\u201d But in this moment, they need some small doses of capitalism not just to save face with the international community, but to ensure the ongoing survival of the regime and its narco-terrorism <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/news\/us-indicts-venezuela-leader-maduro-for-narco-terrorism-2\/\">machinery<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Partly due to these changes, and partly due to the opposition offering little to root for, there is little to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/latin-america\/2021\/02\/01\/venezuela-poll-88-says-biden-allied-guaido-government-does-not-exist\/\">none<\/a> of that once effervescent support placed on Guaid\u00f3 and the Venezuelan opposition in early 2019 these days, and long gone are the intense days of protest lived during the first days of his presidency. Nowadays, the name \u201cJuan Guaid\u00f3\u201d is something rarely spoken about as Venezuela, and all of its latent problems, continue with or without him.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Amidst the palpable fade into irrelevance, Guaid\u00f3 continues the now tired and exhausted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ntn24.com\/america-latina\/venezuela\/es-momento-de-reunificar-a-toda-venezuela-juan-guaido-389307\">discourse<\/a> of reunifying opposition forces and calling for free elections in 2024 with no guarantees of such a thing happening.<\/p>\n<p>The nature of Juan Guaid\u00f3\u2019s presidency was always intended to be a transitory one, hence the interim denomination. The opposition-led parliament had an original tenure that expired in January 2021, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/es\/am%C3%A9rica-latina\/20201227-venezuela-opositora-asamblea-nacional-prorroga-su-per%C3%ADodo-en-otra-muestra-de-los-poderes-paralelos-que-rigen-el-pa%C3%ADs\">extended<\/a> for a year following the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/latin-america\/2021\/01\/06\/venezuela-socialists-remove-juan-guaido-legislature-call-exorcism-dissidents\/\">aftermath<\/a> of the sham legislative elections in 2020. As no free elections have taken place yet in Venezuela, the continuity of the opposition-led National Assembly and by extension, Guaid\u00f3\u2019s presidency, was extended for an additional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lapatilla.com\/2021\/12\/27\/legitima-an-respaldo-la-continuidad-de-juan-guaido-en-la-presidencia-e-de-venezuela\/\">year<\/a> on December 27, 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Support among the opposition has been mixed. While the majority of the opposition parties support the move, Mar\u00eda Corina Machado, a conservative opposition party leader, has <a href=\"https:\/\/efectococuyo.com\/politica\/maria-corina-machado-reforma-del-estatuto-de-la-transicion-liquida-la-presidencia-interina\/\">withdrawn<\/a> her support to Guaid\u00f3\u2019s presidency. Jos\u00e9 Ignacio Hern\u00e1ndez, Guaid\u00f3\u2019s former Special Prosecutor of the Interim Government, has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elnacional.com\/venezuela\/politica\/exprocurador-especial-de-guaido-la-reforma-al-estatuto-para-la-transicion-viola-la-constitucion\/\">stated<\/a> that such a move violates the constitution.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_14355847\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Maria-Corina-Machado.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-14355847\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Maria-Corina-Machado.jpg\" alt=\"Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks during a rally in Caracas on February 24, 2015. Venezuelan pro-government deputies seeking the withdrawal of the parliamentary privileges of opposition deputy Julio Borges asked the General Prosecutor&#039;s office to investigate his alleged participation in a plot to oust President Nicolas Maduro, the General Assembly informed Tuesday. AFP PHOTO\/FEDERICO PARRA (Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA\/AFP via Getty Images)\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks during a rally in Caracas on February 24, 2015. (FEDERICO PARRA\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>On a practical level, the continuity of Guaid\u00f3\u2019s presidency for an extra year changes nothing for the lives of Venezuelan citizens. Despite the aura of normality that you may perceive at a first glance, Venezuela\u2019s healthcare and education infrastructure lie in shambles. Regardless of whether you support Maduro, Guaid\u00f3, or neither, 76.6 percent of Venezuelans now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/extreme-poverty-venezuela-rises-766-study-2021-09-29\/\">live<\/a> in extreme poverty and, when measured at an income level, 94.5 percent of the country\u2019s remaining 28,4 million inhabitants live in poverty.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond extending Guaid\u00f3\u2019s presidency and the National Assembly that was legitimately elected in 2015, the opposition has no effective strategy to play at the moment. Undoubtedly, some manner of reform or a new approach would have to take place, as nothing has come out of the past three years of this interim presidency.<\/p>\n<p>Our constitution stipulates that any elected official can be subject to a recall referendum after half of his or her elected term has elapsed \u2014 but to do this to Maduro would mean having to recognize his presidency as a legitimate one. The opposition\u2019s National Assembly attempted this path in 2016, but its efforts were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-37724322\">thwarted<\/a> by the socialist regime\u2019s electoral authorities.<\/p>\n<p>At the reality of Guaid\u00f3\u2019s irrelevant presidency, Maduro\u2019s illegitimate one, the lack of any tangible solution, and with no politicians to place their faith on, most Venezuelans have but two choices: keep going with their lives, tacitly accepting Maduro\u2019s false normalcy but knowing full well that things won\u2019t really get better other than the fact that you can get some imported U.S. snacks with ease (provided you can afford them) \u2013 or flee and never look back, vowing to never repeat the mistakes that inflicted all of these calamities upon Venezuela in the first place.<\/p>\n<p><em>Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter&nbsp;<a class=\"x5l\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KalebPrime\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CARACAS \u2014 Juan Guaid\u00f3\u2019s interim presidency of Venezuela will soon reach its third year in a most weathered and worn-out state. It has been three years of corruption scandals, unprecedented &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":239,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1175792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1175792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1175792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1175792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1175792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}