Democracy seems like a broad term; after all, many different nations qualify, at least in a minimal sense, as democracies. It probably makes more sense to evaluate the relative success of a democratic nation compared to the generally accepted goals of democracy, rather than serving as gatekeepers of an ideal. As you might imagine, there are literally dozens of approaches to analyzing and evaluating democracies--some more complicated than others. The Economist, a British magazine focused on global affairs, created a useful approach in 2006, which it called the Democracy Index. To apply the method, they evaluate governments based on five categories (listed below). See if you can guess what kind of analysis is involved with each category. Then click the category to see if you were right.
| The Electoral Process | Is the process free and open? Are there laws to prevent voting irregularities and voter suppression? |
| Civil Liberties | Does the constitution and the government protect the kinds of individual rights enshrined in the U.S. Bill of Rights, such as freedom of the press, speech, and religion? Can the judiciary operate free of political influence in upholding these rights? |
| How Government Functions | What systems exist to protect the democratic process, such as checks and balances? Are these systems used regularly and properly? |
| Political Participation | How strong is voter turnout? What percentage of citizens participate in national elections? |
| Political Culture | How do citizens and politicians view democracy? Is it a treasured or popular idea among the general population? |
Using its Democracy Index, The Economist ranks nations as full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid governments, or authoritarian regimes.
You can use the categories and questions described above to perform your own evaluation of one of the nations we’ve studied. Try it with Venezuela. Based on what you’ve learned about Venezuela already, see if you can guess how the nation might rank in each category: free, somewhat free, or not free at all. Then click the category to compare your answer to ours.
| The Electoral Process | Not free. Venezuelan elections are not scheduled at regular times, and term limits have been suspended to allow President Maduro to remain in power. Opposition parties are often left off ballots, which causes them to boycott elections entirely. Ballots are routinely altered, and international observers have been prohibited from monitoring the process in national and regional elections. In 2017, the electoral authority suspended a legal referendum on Maduro. |
| Civil Liberties | Not free. The media in Venezuela is basically state-controlled. Private television and newspapers have been pushed out of business or their impact has been significantly reduced in favor of state media. Religious freedom is very limited despite constitutional protections, and the Catholic Church sees attacks regularly because the socialist government views organized religion with suspicion. Academic freedom is also limited, and criticism of the government can result in serious punishment. |
| How Government Functions | Not free. The National Assembly, Venezuela’s national legislature, is the last place Maduro’s opponents have been able to have a voice. In fact, they were able to orchestrate a sweeping 2015 election in favor of anti-socialist parties. In response, Maduro’s packed Supreme Court ruled all laws passed by the Assembly as null and void, and the Assembly began to function instead as a rubber stamp for any policy Maduro chose to issue. |
| Political Participation | Somewhat free. Of the 30 million citizens, over 19 million are registered to vote, which is a 60% registration rate. However, in many elections, only 8 million on average vote, due to voter repression, apathy, or voting irregularities that obscure the actual numbers. The desire to vote exists, but many feel it doesn’t get them anywhere because Maduro is essentially a dictator. |
| Political Culture | Somewhat free. Recent Assembly elections and protests have shown that citizens are very critical of the autocratic socialist rule of Maduro and his ruling party. Opposition parties clearly favor democratic rule and pressure the government to honor the constitution and/or repeal socialist amendments. The ruling party, however, is decidedly nondemocratic despite wrapping themselves in the name and image of democracy, a trait very common among socialist and communist nations. |
Question
So is Venezuela a democracy?
