Héctor Sánchez, Sociologist —
Venezuela’s crisis has reached a point of exhaustion that goes far beyond a simple struggle for power. Following the consolidation of an imposed system that distorted the nation’s fundamental principles, the country’s reality reveals a systemic failure brought about by all its elites. This arrangement laid the groundwork for the institutional breakdown and the surrender of resources that the Republic now endures.
Today, this system survives through a dynamic in which both its current administrators and the traditional opposition have contributed, through action or omission, to the country’s destruction. The spectacle is troubling: while the existing order quietly surrendered national sovereignty, sectors of the traditional opposition not only remained silent but even argued that it should have surrendered it more quickly. Both camps have managed economic disorder in ways that serve their own political interests, leaving the population at the mercy of a suffocated nation. Politics has deteriorated into a struggle for access to resources and the preservation of power, abandoning any genuine project of sovereignty.
On the economic front, this arrangement has functioned as a machine for liquidating public assets. Under the pretext of acting in the name of the people, authorities implemented reforms that shattered historic achievements and pushed the country back to the XIX century in terms of labor rights. At the same time, a business elite emerged and prospered through the underground economy, speculating on scarcity and hoarding foreign currency. These sectors now position themselves as junior partners to transnational corporations in the exploitation of resources that should belong to all citizens, while imposing some of the lowest wages in the world on workers to protect their own profitability.
None of these elites acts on behalf of the citizenry. Instead, they pursue their own interests and seek greater access to the centers of power. The nation has been turned into a protectorate of outside interests, with its sovereignty mortgaged by those who had a duty to defend it.
Overcoming this crisis requires the definitive departure of both the current government and the traditional opposition from national politics. Venezuela’s reconstruction will only be possible through the emergence of alternative political actors capable of putting the country back on course. New voices must arise that can prioritize genuine sovereignty and substantially improve Venezuelans’ living conditions by guaranteeing efficient public services and decent wages. Only through this renewal of the political class can the current plunder be brought to an end and the task of rebuilding a nation that truly belongs to its people begin.
