If politics is the art of what is possible, survival is the art of that which is necessary

Carlos Sánchez Berzaín

(Interamerican Institute for Democracy) The thought that “politics is the art of what is possible” implying the limitations in the interaction of various political positions to be able to find a result, is being applied to delay the demise and end of 21st Century Socialism’s dictatorships in the Americas. Resorting to politics to continue masking its organized crime’s nature, Castrochavism seeks to maintain its systems, authorities, and non-democratic methods in pursuit of impunity. The end of non-democratic regimes bears on the very life of peoples’ towns, and in these circumstances, it implements politics as the art of what is possible. Lest we not forget that survival is the art of that which is necessary.

Aristoteles, Maquiavelo, Bismark, Churchill, each one in his time and historic circumstances said, coined, or used the phrase; “politics is the art of what is possible” and some even thought of it as a definition. Let us remember that politics, as a science, “deals with the government and human society’s organization” and that politics as a service should be “the acts of those who govern or are hopeful to govern the public affairs” and that as a right it is “the citizen’s acts in public affairs”.

Castrochavism, or 21st Century Socialism who, using the methodology of Fidel Castro’s Cuba and Venezuela’s embezzled oil resources by Hugo Chavez, got to control just about the entire Latin America, including the Organization of American States (OAS), is since several years back in a decline and in a process of extinction. Its project to supplant democracy with “vote-catching dictatorships”, holding-on to power indefinitely, making the “rule of law” and the “separation and independence of the branches of government” disappear, institutionalizing violations of human rights, judicializing political persecution, assassinating reputations, building narco-states and holding-on to power as a group of transnational organized crime, has failed.

In the violent agony of the 21st Century Socialism, the leadership is Cuba’s dictatorship who controls Venezuela with Maduro’s dictatorship and his criminal group, Nicaragua with Ortega Murillo’s dictatorship who has the support -disguised as ideology- of Argentina’s Fernandez/Kirchner and Mexico’s Lopez Obrador. The peoples from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua suffer socialism’s “defenselessness”, famine, and misery. Venezuela, with its legitimate President Juan Guaido, has not been able to end the usurpation that now pretends to hold another “election under a dictatorship”. Nicaragua fights for its freedom with over one hundred thousand exiles and hundreds of political prisoners, all while the regime prepares another “election under a dictatorship”.

In Ecuador a difficult transition process is underway, a process that has resulted in; the sentencing of Rafael Correa to eight years of prison, the restoration of the war against narcotics’ trafficking, the gradual comeback of individuals rights and freedoms, and more. In Bolivia, the dictator Evo Morales was ousted but the dictatorship as a system and control of the branches of government still remains intact, the country is hostage to the narco-state’s criminal system and the government that was supposed to be a transitional government is now an interim government of continuity that is going to have another “election under a dictatorship”.

In Colombia, Castrochavism at the Supreme Court has placed former President Alvaro Uribe on home arrest in a case typical of the judicialization of persecution, all while guerrillas, terrorists, and narcotics’ traffickers have been incorporated into the political arena and the FARC and ELN increment their criminal activities associated with the dictatorships from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua as further proof that 21st Century Socialism is organized crime usurping politics.

Under these circumstances, in Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, and the entire region, it is not feasible to say that “politics is the art of what is possible”, not even as an argument. Organized crime uses it to maintain its presence in politics, to sustain its despicable laws, to continue controlling legislators, judges, and government officials to protect ill-gotten fortunes, to coverup narcotics’ trafficking, and above it all to have “impunity” all while they prepare the next assault against a society condemned to a state of “defenselessness due to the absence of the rule of law”.

Politics, as the art of what is possible is today the alibi of 21st Century Socialism to prevent the liberation of the nations and to keep its system in-place. What is now at stake is the survival of the countries facing a growth of the axis of confrontation and globalism. At this historical moment the fight is for life and freedom, survival is now the art of that which is necessary and not of what is possible.

*Attorney & Political Scientist. Director of the Interamerican Institute for Democracy.

Translated from Spanish by; Edgar L. Terrazas, member of the American Translators Association, ATA # 234680.