Der Preis für die Demütigung von Nicolás Maduro

Gisela Salim-Peyer: “For many years, Venezuelans understood instinctively what was meant when someone invoked ‘la situación’ in conversation. The rich started leaving the country because of ‘la situación.’ One would be crazy to drive at night, given ‘la situación del país.’ The main features of this ‘situation of the country,’ in the years around President Hugo Chávez’s death in 2013, were an economy in free fall, empty supermarket shelves, and the normalization of new forms of criminality—such as ‘express kidnappings,’ or abductions in which ransoms were paid by speedy bank transfers and the victims released within a couple of hours. [https://theatln.tc/EbaBszNu](https://theatln.tc/EbaBszNu) 

“People no longer speak so much about ‘la situación.’ But they have begun using a word that rhymes: ‘la represión.’ Since the July 28 election, in which plausibly two-thirds of voters rejected incumbent President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuelans have entered a ‘silent tunnel,’ the historian Edgardo Mondolfi told me. They breathe fear, watch what they say, and mind their own business.

“To international observers, the news that things are bad in a country where things have been bad for so long must seem unremarkable. Since Maduro, Chávez’s successor and heir, came to power, one in four Venezuelans has left the country. Why would anyone be shocked that Venezuelans fear the erratic tyrant who rules them?

“And yet, for some Venezuelans, the months of mounting repression are painful because they followed a brief period of hope. In the two years leading up to the July election, everyday life in Venezuela seemed to be improving, even if only in illusory, unsustainable ways. Maduro looked aside as businesses skirted some of his most ludicrous regulations, allowing certain segments of the economy to flourish. Foreign currencies remained technically illegal, but Venezuelans could now pay in dollars—cash or Zelle—in place of their own hyperinflationary currency. Maduro seemed to have struck a deal with the citizenry: ‘If you don’t challenge me, life will become more bearable.’

“… By nearly every report except his own official one, Maduro lost the election. Yet he clung to power … Venezuela is not new to repression. Before the campaign season even began, Maduro’s government had jailed more than 15,000 politicians, protesters, activists, and journalists, subjecting an unknown number to torture. In the months leading to the election, such arrests became more common, but Venezuelans who weren’t looking to visibly challenge Maduro could take comfort in the fact that most of those arrested had political profiles. 

*“…* Now the repression feels more pervasive. Protesters aren’t just swept up during protests; since July, the authorities have plucked low-profile demonstrators from their homes days after they were seen on the street. 

“… ‘La represión,’ in Venezuela as elsewhere, derives much of its power from unpredictability. And so the Maduro regime has made its redlines and allowances ever harder for ordinary people to tell apart.”

Read more: [https://theatln.tc/EbaBszNu](https://theatln.tc/EbaBszNu)