A priority issue
Editorial What is happening in the neighbouring state of Venezuela is nothing short of revolutionary. Last week the Constituent Assembly which was initially set up with a view to writing a new constitution, assumed emergency powers which would allow it to intervene in, or suspend bodies including the Congress and the Supreme Court. President Chavez is a radical in the traditional sense of that term. Institutional tinkering is clearly not his style; he intends a fundamental restructuring of government. Whatever form the new constitution will take - and there are already dark mutterings about that from his detractors - Mr Chavez has already changed the face of Venezuela irrevocably in his few short months in power. Lacking confidence in the civilian officials, so many of whom are known to be corrupt, he has bypassed the traditional bureaucracy both at the local and national levels and has turned to the military instead. It is the armed forces who are implementing his social reconstruction programme, and according to Time Magazine, the military approach has even found its way into the school curriculum. The accent now is on discipline, hierarchy and obedience. By-passing the civilian authorities and relying on the army means that Mr Chavez has accumulated a great deal of power in his own hands. While the President insists that he is a democrat, in practical terms by operating directly through the military, he is undermining the very democracy he seeks to enhance. No one could deny the endemic corruption which has characterized the Venezuelan system for so long, but in the end democracy requires a variety of solid, and in many cases, independent institutions in order to function effectively. Abolishing the institution in order to get rid of the corruption, cannot make Venezuela a more democratic society. Reforming the institutions, so they function with systems in place for strict accountability, and, where appropriate, with greater independence, just might. Democracy is more about devolving power than concentrating it, and for that matter, more about management than it is about power at all. One thing that most observers are agreed upon is that President Chavez has paid very little attention to the economy. Since acceding to office, the Venezuelan economy has continued on its inexorable downhill slide. The head of state has indicated that he wants foreign investment; however, foreign investors are biding their time until the direction of the wind becomes more certain, and the rules are made clear. And what does all of this signify for Guyana? A combination of economic depression, political uncertainty and a populist President with military associations next door, is probably not good news for this country. We have muddled through for seven years without a coherent border policy, and we cannot afford to procrastinate for much longer. In domestic affairs, Mr Chavez is obviously a man in a hurry, and his approach to the border controversy, therefore, might also reflect a greater degree of impatience than was typical of his predecessors. This country too, has a new President with precious little experience in foreign affairs and none at all in boundary matters, and that in itself might just constitute a temptation to take advantage. Guyana's territorial integrity is not a party issue; it is a national issue. There are many ways in which the governing party, given the very limited expertise it has at its disposal in this field, can reach out to tap the larger pool of knowledge residing beyond the perimeter of Freedom House. One of them it had put forward itself, namely, a Standing Committee of Parliament, yet that does not appear to have materialized as yet. However, there are others as well. The new President is probably confused by the plethora of matters demanding his attention. This one, however, is a priority.
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