"The disintegration of a democracy is a deceptively quiet affair. For a while, everything looks the same. Each authoritarian milestone-the first political prisoner, the first closure of an opposition media outlet-is anticipated with fear. Then the milestone goes by, and after a brief period of outrage, life continues as before. You begin to wonder if things will be so bad after all."
"Substantive change came to Venezuela, but it took time. In 2001, Chávez purged the nationalized oil company of managers and engineers who weren't politically aligned with him. The company's embittered ex-employees warned that national oil production would decline, and they were right, but that would take five more years to manifest. Chávez expropriated millions of hectares of farmland, and farmers went on TV to say that a food crisis was approaching."
Democratic disintegration can unfold quietly, appearing normal even as authoritarian milestones accumulate. Early repressions—political prisoners, closures of opposition media—produce brief outrage but often fail to halt the drift. Economic mismanagement, graft, and attacks on institutional independence can erode capacity over years before crises become visible. In Venezuela, purges at the national oil company and widespread expropriations gradually degraded production and food security, while high oil prices initially masked shortages through imports. Symbolic changes and everyday adaptations can hide deeper shifts, creating a delaying illusion that meaningful repair remains possible until it becomes too late.
Read at The Atlantic
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