Will you still have democracy once Corina Machado realizes her plan to privatize oil companies?
I have little doubt she did a lot of good practical work for Venezuelan democracy (to expose Maduro's government). But her ideology - accept foreign invasion (which will inevitably kill innocent venezuelans) and privatizing oil reserves (which will inevitably result in undemocratic fallout of the profits) - is unfortunately not that of peace and democracy.
I wish she would more look at Norway as an example, which is a rare case of oil profits being shared collectively and democratically.
I’m not advocating for an invasion don’t get me wrong.
Venezuela had the biggest oil earnings of its history during the early Chavez years and all that money was pilfered. The oil industry infrastructure, the electric infrastructure is currently in shambles due to lack of investment, maintenance and corruption. Part of the recovery of Venezuela will require external investments just to get production back to the levels we had before this calamity.
They also took massive loans in exchange for future oil at insane prices, when people argues that we are going to lose our oil if X or Y happens to me it doesn’t mean anything, because we already lost it with these inept criminals in the government anyway.
Edit: even Maduro is now offering our country’s riches to the US in exchange for remaining in power:
> I’m not advocating for an invasion don’t get me wrong.
Note that while you're not, the Nobel Peace prize winner unfortunately is. And honestly, much more so than privatizing oil, I think this would be the end of even the sham democracy that currently exists. The examples of countries becoming more democratic after a foreign military invasion intent on regime change are entirely restricted to the losing powers in WW 2.
> Will you still have democracy once Corina Machado realizes her plan to privatize oil companies?
Yes. Norway is basically the only real democracy with a nationalized oil firm, and they found oil after having been a democracy for like 100 years. Everywhere else state oil companies are piggy banks for tyrants and prevent the country from investing in economic development because they don’t need private tax revenues. State oil companies are a trap.
I think you missed my point - how can you claim you have democracy if you're not allowing your citizens to decide what to do with national resources (by privatizing them)? Privatization is a trap as well.
Private/state distinction matters only a little in practice for democracy. What matters is whether people have democratic control (equal participation on decision-making) over these structures.
I have little doubt she did a lot of good practical work for Venezuelan democracy (to expose Maduro's government). But her ideology - accept foreign invasion (which will inevitably kill innocent venezuelans) and privatizing oil reserves (which will inevitably result in undemocratic fallout of the profits) - is unfortunately not that of peace and democracy.
I wish she would more look at Norway as an example, which is a rare case of oil profits being shared collectively and democratically.