Introduction
Corruption is a social, political, and economic vice that causes economic problems due to mismanagement of public resources (Girling, 2002, p.81). Corruption in Venezuela rates among the highest standards in the world due to its prevalence in the society. The country ranks among the top 20 most corrupt nations in the world; it is ranked position eight. Seventy-five percent of the Venezuelans believe that corruption is widespread in the government hence difficult to eliminate. Protests witnessed in 2014 cited corruption as the main reason for their discontentment with the government. The right question to ask in this case is: does democracy lead to corruption in Venezuela?
History
Corruption has been a part of Venezuela’s history associated with the rise of democracy in the country. Its early rulers had knowledge of the country’s struggle with corruption hence used anti-corruption slogans to gain and maintain power. A perfect example is Bolivar, who made a decree that perpetrators of corruption should receive a death penalty although his intention was to maintain his position in power. The early leaders of Venezuela set a bad example to preceding leaders since they used manipulation to secure their positions and mismanaged public funds. The culture of corruption, therefore, began as early as the 1800s and continued thriving to date (Lieuwen, 2000, p.83). The oil discovery in the region is attributable to the rampant rise in corruption as the government found the perfect avenue to enrich individuals. The rich, therefore, benefit from the oil at the expense of the poor leading to an imbalanced society.
Democracy involves important parties meant to protect the rights of citizens and oversee exercise of the law. Political parties, parliament, judiciary, police, and public officials are part of democracy and have the mandate to uphold the rule of law (Buxton, 2001, p.64). These parties, however, tend to be the most corrupt since they have access to public resources and lack supervision from other bodies. This creates an enabling environment for the exercise of corruption, which goes against the objectives of democracy. They abuse their positions of power and act in their own interest rather than of the citizens they represent.
The government of the people puts into power a large number of leaders to represent various interests. This includes the interests of various society members in decision-making and distribution of resources. Just as the saying, many cooks spoil the broth; it becomes difficult to monitor the actions of all these leaders. This creates an opportunity for them to carry out activities in their own interest and initiate a blame game in case issues arise. Running away from responsibilities becomes easy due to a large number of officials. Some of the most corrupt officials get away with embezzlement and benefit from public funds while still maintaining their position of power. The pressure of re-election also motivates these officials to partake in the theft of public funds to fund their campaigns and bribe voters in their favor (Morris & Blake, 2010, p.105).
A democratic government gets into power through elections since it is a government of the people for the people. This means that voters are very important to leaders since they determine who gets the position. Elections, however, create an environment of competition and resentment among opponents, which may eventually lead to political instability (Girling, 2002, p.73). The high level of competition forces leaders to engage in corruption and obtain resources to woo supporters. It, therefore, promotes bribery in the streets as leaders seek support from ordinary citizens. This creates a culture of corruption since the voters expect continued material gratification from the leader after their election. Leaders who gain power through corrupt means will continue being corrupt even after getting into office. The people will, therefore, elect a corrupt leader who embezzles their resources for their selfish gain. Eventually, the ordinary citizens fight a losing battle against corruption due to lack of understanding the roots of this corruption menace.
Democracy is a symbol of fairness and a tool by which the government protects the rights and interests of its citizens. It can therefore not lead to corruption but rather offer means to deal with corruption. Democracy elects leaders who represent the interests of the people hence decisions made cover every individual’s interests. People can, therefore, get the assurance of fair distribution of resources to various parts of the country and protection of their rights. In fairness, corruption has no ground since it involves the selfish accumulation of resources by certain individuals. The presence of elections means that citizens get the opportunity to choose their leadership after a certain period. This keeps leaders in check and ensures that they fulfill their mandate within allocated time (Lieuwen, 2000, p.63). Failure to attain set objectives results in their loss of office hence they need to put in a lot of effort to ensure their re-election.
The rule of law is a guide of every democracy since democracy seeks to uphold the rule of law in any country. The law protects the rights of citizens and prevents exploitation of the vulnerable members of society. This law, therefore, prevents corruption through persecution of individuals involved in corruption at various levels. Equity is an element of law, therefore, does not exempt anyone from facing persecution regardless of his or her political position (Morris & Blake, 2010, p.47). This ensures that officials found guilty of corruption face necessary punishment hence introducing a culture of intolerance to corruption.
Contradictions
Controversy emerges when the democratic government meant to protect the interests of its people becomes the source of their oppression. Leaders rise to power bearing anti-corruption slogans but become the most corrupt individuals after attaining the position (Morris & Blake, 2010, p.52). People have the power to elect leaders with their best interests at heart, yet they choose corrupt leaders due to their love for instant gratification through bribery.
Opinion
Mismanagement of democracy can become the tool for destruction of a nation since it gives power to the wrong people. It also leads to inferior decision making due to the extreme politicization of every issue concerning the government. Politicization of issues shifts focuses away from important matters of corruption (Lieuwen, 2000, p.92). Proper management of democracy, however, can be the source of redemption for a nation undergoing political problems such as Venezuela.
Policy Recommendation
The rule of law should govern every aspect of a nation and offer protection of citizens, particularly the vulnerable ones. Venezuela should, therefore, consider including restrictions in its constitution that prevent interference of the judiciary by any arm of government. Periodic auditing and assessment of performance would help in detecting any cases of corruption and undertake persecution of concerned officials (Buxton, 2001, p.111). Prevention of re-election of officials to office will prevent officials from overstaying in office and personalizing operations. Primarily, the election of moral leaders with a good reputation is the key to eradicating corruption.
References
Buxton, J. (2001). The failure of political reform in Venezuela. Aldershot: Ashgate Publioshers.
Girling, J. L. S. (2002). Corruption, capitalism, and democracy. London: Routledge.
Lieuwen, E. (2000). Venezuela. New York: Oxford University Press.
Morris, S. D., Blake C. H. (2010). Corruption & Politics in Latin America: National and Regional Dynamics. New York: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
