As a Venezuelan citizen, I am deeply concerned about the current state of my country. While many had hoped that Edmundo González Urrutia would be installed as the new president or that new elections would be called, these possibilities now seem further away than ever.
The United States’ recent bombing of Venezuela has left the country in a precarious position. Rather than respecting the democratic process, the US has claimed that it must first “rebuild” Venezuela, suggesting that we are incapable of holding our own elections. This is a troubling and paternalistic stance that undermines the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people.
We are now left at a crossroads, forced to choose between two equally unpalatable options: a leader who cannot even rebuild his own country, and another who has no intention of allowing a fair vote to take place. What my country needs is self-determination through clear and transparent elections. We do not need bombs, and we do not need contracts with the American oil industry. We must be allowed to choose our own path.
Only when the world values democracy more than oil will we finally be able to chart our own course. As Gabriel Moncada Belisario, a Venezuelan citizen, eloquently stated, “Only when the world values democracy more than oil will we finally be ourselves.”
It is time for the international community to respect the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their own future. We must be allowed to hold free and fair elections, without interference from foreign powers. The world must recognize that Venezuela’s path forward can only be chosen by Venezuelans themselves.
