The Future of Venezuela: Resilience, Reconciliation, and Refoundation

Venezuela today is a great unknown. Conflicting information from ideologically driven media outlets is everywhere, often accompanied by grandiose statements such as “Trump wants Venezuela’s oil” or “The neocolonization of the U.S. is a reality,” among many others. However, the reality is quite different.

Under market principles, oil belongs to whoever purchases it. Since 1975, Venezuela built one of the most profitable companies in the world, PDVSA, owned by the Venezuelan state.

PDVSA, owner of CITGO, is an oil company in the United States with three refineries and more than 4,000 service stations across the country. In addition to operating the second-largest refining complex on the planet, with a capacity of 900,000 barrels per day, PDVSA holds the patent for Orimulsion, a fuel created for electricity generation that is more economical than other fuels used for that purpose.

All of this was created in Venezuela, with Venezuelan personnel and technology. The fundamental idea to convey is that Venezuela is much more than the oil beneath its soil—it is a developed industry designed to become a global energy hub. It has the capacity to develop technology to generate affordable energy for the world and to build a competitive industrial economy in the region.

Now is the time to adapt. As a society, we must be aware of our weaknesses and understand that we have made mistakes that triggered this chain of events. The social errors committed over more than 30 years have led us to this historic moment, in which, with seriousness and determination, we must “pay” the price for those missteps and recognize that conditions are not yet in place for a “moral reconstruction” of Venezuela.

Resilience is the ability to adapt to new circumstances. In this regard, Venezuelan society has vast experience. It has managed to adapt to all the calamities generated by the regime’s policies and has continued moving forward. In this exceptional moment, resilience is an asset Venezuelans will use wisely, with hope for a peaceful and orderly change in the nation’s leadership based on the rule of law, respect for democratic values, the pursuit of peace, and the preservation of freedom.

The next phase is reconciliation. Reconciliation means reestablishing an agreement among all sectors of society to respect the social rules we set for ourselves. We must be clear: our current social agreement neither includes everyone nor is respected. Therefore, we must create new rules of the game that include all sectors, both supporters of the Bolivarian regime and those aligned with the opposition.

For reconciliation and a proactive transition aimed at refounding the nation, a political and legal mechanism based on morality and ethics must be established to define the harm caused by this regime. Those responsible must be identified, along with the consequences for those who knowingly and intentionally took actions and made decisions that caused such damage. In short, justice must be done.

Once the harm is acknowledged and a fair judicial process has been carried out, forgiveness and reconciliation can follow. Venezuelan society as a whole deserves to forgive and be forgiven. Within its wisdom lies also the naivety of having trusted a small group of people with anti-values who contaminated everything with ideology. It will be time to restore the values of a modern society—respect, tolerance, dissent, freedom, and above all, fraternity. Above what we think or the ideology we hold stands what we are: Venezuelans, always willing to work, help, collaborate, show solidarity, and build a nation that is whole, valuable, brave, and grounded in ethics and morality.

Refoundation is the final phase of a complex process that requires collective effort from the entire society. Two fundamental principles must prevail: ethics and common sense.

Ethics is the foundation of every individual’s decision-making. It includes morality, responsibility, and reflection on the national impact of individual and collective behavior.

What is needed is not a “reconstruction of ethics,” but rather a “rescue of Venezuelan ethics.”

To rescue ethics, direct action guided by common sense is essential in two fundamental areas of society: education and justice.

Education is the set of ideas and values that shape citizens. We are not referring to technical training or academic subjects, but to education that begins at home—with family and parents. Society itself must become the first father and mother of the nation, educating citizens in the values necessary for coexistence. This can be done from any space in society, grounded in ethics and civic responsibility. Citizens must not only obey the law and act ethically but also help others do the same. Teaching civic responsibility is everyone’s task.

Justice is a system in which trained individuals resolve conflicts effectively in accordance with the law, ethics, and common sense. We must be the foremost defenders of justice as the institution responsible for resolving disputes and determining the consequences for those who violate our laws and social agreements.

The path requires time and effort, but the seed of a better Venezuela has already been planted—even in the most adverse conditions.

The Diaspora: A Living Encyclopedia

From afar, Venezuelans who have built their lives outside the country also bear a major responsibility. We have witnessed firsthand what happened in our nation and have learned from the strengths of other societies. We are living proof of how to structure a plural and prosperous society based on universal values and how to pass those values on to those who bravely fought for Venezuela and will rebuild it.

The Venezuelan diaspora has the great task of sharing knowledge, showing Venezuela what the world is like and showing the world what Venezuela truly is. We must be patient and consistent in our words and actions so that the world comes to know our nation, ethics, and culture—just as the countries that welcomed us shared theirs with us.

Penultimate Reflections

Reflection is constant for me, and surely for many Venezuelans living through this historic moment. That is why I never offer a final reflection.

While what has happened in Venezuela in recent months may seem like the impulsive act of a cowboy delivering justice, it is actually the trigger of a series of events poorly managed by bureaucrats lacking ethics and common sense, fully aware of the absence of justice for their actions.

What happened in Venezuela is just one in a series of actions by an administration that claims to represent frustration with the inefficiency of the current system. It was not the first and will not be the last until the international community recognizes that the politicians who represent us are not acting in favor of ethics, common sense, and justice. Instead, they avoid making decisions and allow time and forgetfulness to take over.

As I have stated before, law exists to be followed, and states must adhere to it strictly, as it is the only tool citizens have to protect themselves from oppression, anarchy, and barbarism. If we want the law to be upheld, we must be the first to respect it and demand that those who represent us do the same.

To conclude—for now—we must reflect individually and collectively on these questions:

What should our response be when a government violates national law, international law, human rights, and international criminal law?
What should we demand from our governments when human rights are violated and democracy is undermined?
What should governments do (not just say) when another government breaks the law?
How should justice be applied to those who violate the law and democratic principles?

I do not know the answers. We have seen how the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, the UN, and the OAS have reacted.

If you were the citizen being oppressed, would you expect a speech expressing another nation’s disagreement with those harming you?

So far, words without action have changed nothing. Ultimately, it is up to each of us to ensure that—even through changes some may question—better societies emerge.

In the First Part, the article provides the historical and political context of Venezuela under the Bolivarian regime, how institutions and legitimacy have been eroded, and the opposition’s strategy to confront this reality.

The Second Part reflects on the consequences of looking the other way in the face of violations of the rule of law, and how even the proposed solutions create new challenges.