Ruben Blades: Open Letter to Venezuela

By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

*Editor’s note: This is perhaps the most well-reasoned plea for an end to the instability and disturbances that plague Venezuela that I have read. Ruben Blades is an icon of classic salsa music, he is loved throughout Latin America. In his open letter he denounces the government as well as the opposition for their power hungry divisiveness. He calls for an end to the violence and asks for reasoned dialogue – which he says must come from the student movement. The letter has been published in newspapers and periodicals across Latin America. It’s a good read. (Translated from Spanish by NewsTaco)

Even though I was not born in Venezuela, I feel respect, affection and gratitude towards this nation and its people. So I think it appropriate to outline an opinion about the current situation in the neighboring country. I fully understand that my positions will not satisfy some, but that’s not surprising. Intransigence is precisely what defines the groups at issue – government and opposition.

These two political factions have had, each in its own time, the opportunity to serve the country in a real way, but they have failed, perhaps because each has chosen to serve their own agenda, failing in the attempt to integrate the majority of the country. It is perhaps for this reason that the arguments made by the representatives of both sides, sound demagogic to independent ears. Neither side has majority support, hence the paralysis. Both arguments have a bit of truth, but both refuse to join those truths in order to create a common ground that will lead to a plan for all Venezuelans.

The country is sadly polarized and therefore today Venezuela is in pain. The apparent absence of a solution is due to a lack of leadership that can establish a purpose for unifying the country, rather than divide it. If you are in favor of the opposition, you are a bourgeois parasite, agent of the CIA, sold to the Empire. If you favor the government you are a communist thug, sold to Cuba and the Castro brothers. Neither of these definitions speak of Venezuela or of her need. They just paint the hatred and the personal expectations of those who wield the argument, preventing the possibility of an intelligent and patriotic dialogue.

The government has failed monumentally in the task of public administration and has squandered, in an irresponsible manner, a unique economic flow in Latin America. It has tried to consolidate its power by changing laws and adjusting its ideological argument, censuring those who don’t toe the line that it seeks to impose. President Maduro, who is said to be the appointed heir with entitled power, does not seem to possess the sufficient clarity, sagacity and administrative knowledge that is required to lead a complex country.

Henrique Capriles, on the other hand, does not have the charisma or the programmatic approach to convince the huge amount of skeptics and independents, not to mention the popular sector that identifies him as heir to the rapacious policies of Adecos and Copeyanos of old, disqualifying him as an option. This lack of confidence seems to prevent him from gaining the support of other sectors that are critical of the current government and its judgments.

The need for new players that present an objective and patriotic, not demagogic or ideological agenda is vital at this moment. That is why initiatives like that of the students, the formation of truly independent groups, can be the beginning of a movement that allows national reason to overcome partisan rage and class hatred.

Something similar occurred in Panama. I remember at the time of the Noriega dictatorship, some opposition groups attacked me for not joining them. They even falsely accuse me of supporting the dictator, and of being part of the military government. I imagine many Venezuelans are in the same situation; they refuse to participate unconditionally or refuse to endorse the hype, slander, and other pamphleteering phrases and ways with which traditional politics seeks to conquer adherents. These are tactics that both government and opposition have used yesterday and today.

At this point, I find it truly incomprehensible how it came to be that a country with both natural and human resources, with such quality, nobility and talent, is now mired in a precarious situation, without understanding that when one falls into a pit, the first thing you have to do to try to get out, is to stop digging. That’s why at this moment I have more trust in the potential of the students’ argument that in the  government and the opposition.

With the love and respect I have for these people, I dare suggest that the Venezuelan youth prepare their arguments objectively, committed to the task of convincing their parents and neighbors, from across Venezuela, to organize themselves outside of the boundaries of the sterile division created by government and opposition, and make those results public. Clear-eyed youngsters, act with the maturity demonstrated by the musicians of El Sistema.

My hope is that you achieve the basis for a discussion of the country that can be, and not one that the two sides in conflict are trying to impose. Don’t be forced to choose between alternatives like a cancer or heart attack. Students of the country, from El Guajiro to Cumana, raise your life’s agenda and present it to the two groups that are currently struggling for power. Tell them about the country you want, and clarify that you will not accept the proposals made by both sides in dispute as your only alternatives.

There is no doubt that President Maduro, as Head of the Venezuelan State must take responsibility for the safety and physical integrity of Mr. Leopoldo López, as well as the safety of those who participate in the political protests as a legitimate right. But it is also necessary that the demonstrators not unleash violence. They should argue peacefully; he who has reason need not shout, or strike the other to validate what he says.

Some may think that as a Panamanian I meddle in matters that do not concern me. I do it for the love and support that Venezuelans have given me for over 40 years, making theirs the music and lyrics of my songs. For their dedication, Venezuelans are doomed to my love and my respect.

Viva Venezuela!

by Ruben Blades
February 18, 2014