What Does Corruption, Petroleum And The Government Of Venezuela Have In Common?

Changing our nature is not impossible, but it takes time and requires inspiration. In this regard, there is hope for the nation. Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez is a man comparable to the likes of Mandela. Imprisoned since February 2014, he is accused of inciting a crowd to violence, when he was in fact peacefully protesting against the rising crime figures. Recently, he underwent a 30-day hunger strike that nearly ended in his death, protesting the incarceration of political prisoners, as well as the government’s indecision in setting an election date. His absurd sentence and farcical trial are at the very heart of the culture of corruption that is holding Venezuela back from prosperity. Lopez is a man of vision, and arguably history in the making. But if he is to set the country on a stable course of democratization he will have to reconcile the pre-existing polarization between rich and poor, but also weed out the corrupt elements of our cultural ethos. More…