Venezuelan Democracy Quivers

Venezuela’s popular, flamboyant president, Hugo Chavez, was elected last December with a huge mandate to rewrite the constitution and rid the country of the corruption that has saturated every cranny of public life. But by eliminating all opposition from the reform process, Chavez is making a mockery of the democracy that brought him to office. Outsiders are rightly worried that his dictatorial style puts Venezuela’s democracy in peril and will discredit the results of his reform.

The ex-paratrooper, who led an unsuccessful coup in 1992, got off to a promising start as president by having an elected assembly rewrite the country’s 1961 constitution and overhaul the government and the judicial system. But the panel soon turned into an instrument of Chavez’s power grab. Crammed with his supporters, including family members, the assembly Monday shut down the opposition-controlled Congress and moved to purge the courts and local governments of his opponents. On Tuesday, he took control of the state oil company, the mainstay of Venezuela’s economy.

The Venezuelan strongman has augmented his populist message with a $950-million program to open new schools, rebuild old ones and repair decrepit hospitals. He spends long hours touring hospitals and the poorest regions to demonstrate a commitment to social justice. This, combined with his promise to root out corruption and make the state answerable to the people, has earned him a cult-like following among Venezuela’s largely impoverished population.

As commendable as his antipoverty agenda is, this does not make Chavez a democrat. He maintains that the overwhelming popular support gives him the power to govern without any interference from other branches of government. But without a system of checks and balances, his largely benevolent rule could turn into a dictatorship if he lost public support.

The jury is still out on whether Chavez is a skillful political manipulator using his popularity to build unlimited power or a misunderstood leader trying to offer, as he puts it, a democratic reform that “will be a model for countries in Latin America and around the world.” The evidence against him is mounting, and there is every reason to be concerned.