The Dictators Behind Venezuela’s Unravelling

David Smolansky on Venezuela’s democratic crisis and the network of autocrats fanning the flames.

By Sohan Mewada

After years of suffering from economic ruin, food insecurity, and corrupt public institutions, Venezuelans wanted more than what Nicholas Maduro’s authoritarian regime could offer them.

A presidential campaign run by the democratic opposition presented a different vision. The campaign was fueled by promises of moving Venezuela from “division to unity, from abuse by a few to the rule of law for all, and from this undignified present to a dignified future for all."

Those promises—and the courage it gave Venezuelans to rush to the polls on July 28th—represented the single greatest challenge to Maduro’s reign in over a decade.

Dictators lie often, so it came as a surprise to few that, despite widespread evidence that he lost, Maduro declared himself the winner of Venezuela’s presidential election.

To help make sense of the situation, I sat down with the RDI-SNF Agora Dissident in Residence at Johns Hopkins University David Smolansky to discuss what happened during Venezuela’s election, the network of dictators helping to subvert it’s democracy, and what democracies are doing to respond.

The Atlantic released the first episode of “Autocracy in America”—a podcast hosted by RDI advisor and author of Autocracy Inc. Anne Applebaum and British journalist Peter Pomerantsev. The episode features a conversation with former Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger and Arizona election official Stephen Richer on how the deliberate undermining of reality made it impossible for them to do their jobs in service of American democracy.

2. What happens in Venezuela will matter in the US. Here’s why.

If Venezuela's political situation continues to deteriorate, then America’s immigration problem will get worse. RDI’s Dissident in Residence at Johns Hopkins University David Smolanksy estimates that if dictator Nicholas Maduro stays in power and exacerbates the country's economic and political problems, Venezuelans will have few reasons to stick around, and the US will soon see a new surge of migrants reaching numbers of one to two million.

3. Misinformation is rampant on the Right. Have you looked Left?

Tuesday’s presidential debate showed the American people just how far misinformation can travel. No, Haitian migrants are not eating neighborhood pets. But It’s become a popular conspiracy on the Right. And the Left has their own affinity towards bad information and narrative that is politically convenient too. Just look at Democrats repeating claims that the attempted assassination of former President Trump was “staged.” Political affiliation matters little—no one is immune from this information disease.

4. The slow motion resurgence of the Islamic State

“Remember the Islamic State?” RDI advisor Max Boot asks the question in his latest column for the Washington Post documenting the terrorist group’s global resurgence. ISIS is based in Syria and Iraq, but it has numerous affiliates scattered across the globe—most notably those active in Africa’s Sahel region. With little US presence in the Sahel, mercenary organizations like Russia’s Wagner Group opportunistically use the chaos caused by ISIS to upend governments and secure lucrative mining rights to fund Vladimir Putin’s war efforts.

5. The year of global elections is two-thirds over. Here’s how things are going so far.

In democracies, conservatives won national elections in countries like Panama and Finland. Both the Right and Left saw gains in France’s elections. And the UK, Conservatives were dealt a blow, losing overwhelmingly to the Labour Party. In autocracies, elections went as you would expect—sort of. Regimes like Iran and Russia cemented their hold on power, but the popular uprising in Bangladesh and the widespread evidence of the democratic opposition in Venezuela put the precarious nature of closed societies on full display.

Understanding Partisan Defectors

By Evan Gottesman — September 6, 2024

Will our children inherit a world that is more free or less free than it is today? Students are asking themselves this question more and more.

For the first time in history, an entire generation is seeing the gruesome realities and complexities of war and injustice filtered through their smartphones. And while they are rightfully upset about these realities, they have become all too comfortable playing the politics of grievance.

It is now time to present them with an alternative—something and someone to fight for rather than against.

RDI celebrates and amplifies the stories of democracy dissidents through our Frontlines of Freedom programs. Now, we are bringing the dissident perspective to students on college campuses and high schools across the country through intersession courses, after-school clubs, lecture series, and prestigious Dissident-in-Residence programs.

With the amount of turmoil and uncertainty students are seeing in the world it is easy to lose sight of the heroes fighting on the frontlines of freedom every day.

Dissidents are uniquely able to break through partisan shields, reveal how the enemies of open societies are collaborating, and remind us how inspiring and delicate our democracies truly are.

We have some inspiring projects in the works that I am excited to share with you in the coming weeks and months. If you are interested in supporting our dissident network, I invite you to donate to RDI today. And if you would like to learn more about how you can get involved or bring Frontlines of Freedom to your campus, please email [email protected].

—Caitlin Forrest, Frontlines of Freedom Program Officer