That is what usually happens when a despot rules a country for a long time and then dies. Puts a country and its people in turmoil, and often civil war breaks out over the power struggle for who the next despot will be. Would be nice to see if Venezuela can get back to being democratic and the people can get back to living normal lives free of oppression from their government. I worked with a woman from there. She returned home to help her parents because of the turmoil.
It takes time, history and a lot of work to build a functioning democracy.
Unfortunately a working democracy has several characteristics which are seldom all found under a dictatorship.
The control of the country needs to be routinely submitted to a genuine secret ballot. A reasonably large percentage of the citizenry must be allowed to, and in fact actually does, participate in that process. The method of voting and presenting candidates must provide for a real choice, with incumbents and challengers free to campaign openly.
Just as important for places like Venezuela, a true democracy cannot easily develop with =out several preconditions in place historically. Besides an honest and uniform Judiciary,
there must be a minimal level of literacy, there must be a more than subsistence economy, a reasonably uniform system of free communications and hopefully transportation, candidates must have a free and orderly opportunity to publicize and criticize existing policies offering real alternatives, power must be able to be transferred peacefully should an opposition win, all or part of the election, and most importantly, the losing party and its members must be willing to work within the system and its Constitution cooperating and compromising with the election's winners
It is more than Venezuela's postal service that needs untangling, a functioning government must be developed. What should be interesting to stampers will be the philatelic emissions that are produced as they struggle to put the country in order.
For some of these reasons our best efforts in Iraq were doomed from the start. It requires time to develop the system of democracy and work out the kinks that may be required by the country's cultural differences. It cannot be simply grafted atop a dictatorship as one might install new tires on a used vehicle.
It did work in Japan, but only because in the aftermath of the war a curiously well intentioned and well read individual took power for the term needed to develop democratic principles and supervised their implementation.
I fear that in this nation a negligent distracted electorate and certain self-serving obstructionist policies of an organized group will undermine the very roots of the democracy that took, not just two hundred and forty years to evolve, but the preceding several hundred years to create.
I'm sorry that my thoughts have been straying from a strict "On Topic" comment, but often while I may start with a philatelic thought I wander afield.
Insightful as always, Charlie; further, also as always, your comments are appreciated regardless how "off topic" they may stray.
Bobby
While doing some online searching for recent used Venezuelan stamps, I learned that their postal service is a huge mess. They have piles of international mail sitting at airports because the airlines have dropped them (and their flights!) for nonpayment. Then I read something about postal workers barricading themselves in post offices? I'm not sure how much of this is truth as reliable news from that part of the world is sketchy at best.
What a disaster of a government, using the term very loosely. Sigh - so much for getting used Venezuelan stamps! Pretty tough without a postal service!
re: Venezuelan postal service
That is what usually happens when a despot rules a country for a long time and then dies. Puts a country and its people in turmoil, and often civil war breaks out over the power struggle for who the next despot will be. Would be nice to see if Venezuela can get back to being democratic and the people can get back to living normal lives free of oppression from their government. I worked with a woman from there. She returned home to help her parents because of the turmoil.
re: Venezuelan postal service
It takes time, history and a lot of work to build a functioning democracy.
Unfortunately a working democracy has several characteristics which are seldom all found under a dictatorship.
The control of the country needs to be routinely submitted to a genuine secret ballot. A reasonably large percentage of the citizenry must be allowed to, and in fact actually does, participate in that process. The method of voting and presenting candidates must provide for a real choice, with incumbents and challengers free to campaign openly.
Just as important for places like Venezuela, a true democracy cannot easily develop with =out several preconditions in place historically. Besides an honest and uniform Judiciary,
there must be a minimal level of literacy, there must be a more than subsistence economy, a reasonably uniform system of free communications and hopefully transportation, candidates must have a free and orderly opportunity to publicize and criticize existing policies offering real alternatives, power must be able to be transferred peacefully should an opposition win, all or part of the election, and most importantly, the losing party and its members must be willing to work within the system and its Constitution cooperating and compromising with the election's winners
It is more than Venezuela's postal service that needs untangling, a functioning government must be developed. What should be interesting to stampers will be the philatelic emissions that are produced as they struggle to put the country in order.
For some of these reasons our best efforts in Iraq were doomed from the start. It requires time to develop the system of democracy and work out the kinks that may be required by the country's cultural differences. It cannot be simply grafted atop a dictatorship as one might install new tires on a used vehicle.
It did work in Japan, but only because in the aftermath of the war a curiously well intentioned and well read individual took power for the term needed to develop democratic principles and supervised their implementation.
I fear that in this nation a negligent distracted electorate and certain self-serving obstructionist policies of an organized group will undermine the very roots of the democracy that took, not just two hundred and forty years to evolve, but the preceding several hundred years to create.
I'm sorry that my thoughts have been straying from a strict "On Topic" comment, but often while I may start with a philatelic thought I wander afield.
re: Venezuelan postal service
Insightful as always, Charlie; further, also as always, your comments are appreciated regardless how "off topic" they may stray.
Bobby