The age of corridors

The role of the Venezuelan people in the political crisis of the past decade is ironic. The legitimacy of a leader, in principle, can only be recognized by the people. The paradox here is not so much the will of society, as the capacity for that will to pass through a recognized procedure and become legitimate power, such as elections. When electoral bodies, courts, media, and security forces operate as checkpoints; the people can reject a government/authorities in the collective consciousness. But in reality, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do so. Therefore, the protracted electoral crisis is no longer just a dispute between two candidates or two parties but a dispute over the right to define the outcome and the right to call a procedure “valid.” Venezuela has been, and continues to be, caught between legitimacy and validity. One side may hold social consensus; the other holds the coercive apparatus and the ability to legitimize itself on paper. And so, the role of the people here (as people in other countries under authoritarian governments/rulers) is consistently pushed to the margins. The “power vacuum” left by Maduro, if not filled by a rational mechanism belonging to the majority, will continue to draw the majority into another cycle of battles by/under other “fascist” forces, both inside and outside the country that attack, invade, and shape the country for their benefit.