What the Global Left Should Learn from Maduro’s Fall

 What the Global Left Should Learn from Maduro’s Fall

The president, or better to say the former president, of Venezuela has been detained by  US forces in Caracas. Everyone, including Maduro himself, were expecting for a full-scale military intervention. Maduro regime has even trained the population for a guerrilla war-fare. Trump administration, however, have chosen a spot-on and well calculated limited military operation to solve the “Venezuela issue.”

It’s still too early to analyze what the operation has unfolded or what its political consequences will be. Although open-source are reporting so-called “details” of the operation they are more like speculation and misinformation.

What we know so far is that Maduro and his wife were detained and, as of the time this piece is being of written, were on their way to the United States. Social media quickly filled with videos claiming “massive explosions” in Caracas, under title of “beginning large-scale military invasion.” However, apparently the explosions were limited and tactical, targeted air defense systems, most-likely the systems that provided by Iranian regime and some other specific target and faithfully no causalities reporter yet. But beyond the operation itself, the real issue does worth to discuss is Maduro’s long-standing political contradiction and mistakes.

Firstly, Maduro has always portrayed himself as a socialist, a leftist, a defender of the oppressed and a frontline opponent of  “the  US imperialism”. On paper, that sounds familiar and even admirable to many on the international left. In practice, however, his alliances tell a very different story. 

The Reality Behind the Slogans

It is true that the US sanctions have isolated Venezuela. And Caracas has been desperate for allies. But shallow anti-Americanism is a poor compass and it didn’t work but rather it led straight into the strengthening of authoritarianism.

A man is known by the company he keeps so lets have a look Maduro’s closest partners. First and most-known one is Iran, a regime that routinely jails and executes political prisoners and oppress minorities especially Kurds and Baluchis. Turkey, which ranks near the bottom in globally freedom of expression lists and where elections increasingly lack meaning. Also where the opposition politicians and journalists do not feel safe anymore. Turkey, also, has a long and bloody history of massacre of socialist activists during the Cold War which they call “struggle against Communism”. So it must be obvious that Maduro does not partner with these regimes because of their “contributions” to socialism!

Most of socialist leaders are recognized not just as presidents, politicians or leaders, but also socialist theorists and intellectuals- whether they genuine are or not. However, unlike many socialist leaders, it is widely observed that Maduro doesn’t pose to have a significant depth in socialist ideological thought nor left solid theory except a sole anti-Americanism. Perhaps that is what explains Maduro’s preference of “making international friends” - its not ideology but a shallow anti-Americanism.

Famous, Sun Tzu says in his well-known book, Art of War; “Don’t encircle your enemy from all directions. Leave at least one side for he escapes; otherwise fully encircled enemy would fight till to die.” We don’t know whether the US followed Sun Tzu’e advice or not but apparently Maduro found a way to escape meaning flirting with authoritarian regimes. Obviously its real politic and geopolitical dynamics. In all fairness, Maduro didn’t have plenty of options to make friends because of the US sanctions. Therefore, seeking back of other anti-American regimes can be understandable in real politic theory and geopolitical dynamics- Venezuela is not an exception.

However, here the mistake of Maduro was relying on the idea that anti-Americanism and revisionism would be enough to get back of his friends. Turkey, for instance, didn’t demonstrate any intention to help Maduro. Despite loud rhetoric, Iran’s support for Venezuela has been limited. Even the defense systems it reportedly sent were never capable of seriously protecting the country against the US military. Also, anyone knows Turkey’s foreign policy would see my point, most probably Turkey didn’t risk its policies in Middle East (Gaza, Syria, Israel…) by supporting Maduro against the US- in an other word; Turkey sold Maduro out.

What’s Next

It is still too early to analyze the outcomes or long-term consequences of the US operation. The operation apparently is not something seems to be in boundaries of international law and diplomatic norms. However, from a purely military point of view, the operation stands out as one of the most successful US actions of its kind since Operation Neptune Spear that killed Usama ben Laden. 

Although it may be early to analyze the operation, it is an exact time for the global socialism to have a come-to-Jesus moment. For years, populist anti-Americanism has pushed the global socialism movements into wrong directions which even more weakened them. To interpret global current affairs through scope of the Cold War doesn’t bring anything but failure and romanticism of past. Whether you are socialist or anti-socialist, one must admit that socialism is an ideology that requires deeper analyzes and rather than shallow anti-somethingism. To support and/or have emphatic Maduro and Maduro alike regimes only because their anti-American discourse brought socialism and authoritarian theocratic, dynastic republics together. Perhaps not all socialist would mind about authoritarianism but they should with theocracy and dynastic republics.

To sum up what lessons should the global socialism take from Maduro case; siding by authoritarian regimes only because they are anti-American push back. Defending the oppressed has always been a core claim of socialism. Oppressed minorities, women, journalists and political opponents under “anti-imperialist” regimes do not become less oppressed simply because these regimes shout slogans of ant-imperialism - the oppressed ones under these regime should not be exceptions.

If the global socialism wants to be consistent with its own values, it must move beyond populist rhetoric and produce deeper, principled politics or risk repeating the same mistakes again.