What Can We Learn from Venezuela Crisis

Pajamas Media has a thought-provoking list:

•First, as Samizdata pointed out,
democracy is no sure defense against tyranny: Indeed, history, from back in
Roman times, shows that tyranny frequently comes to power through legitimate
means.
• Constitutional guarantees mean nothing without the support
of independent and strong national institutions.
• International organizations do not carry much weight:
Reporters Without Borders, The Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights
Watch, the Human Rights Foundation, and Amnesty International all filed
resolutions condemning the closing of RCTV. They were ignored.
• Many left-wing voices in the U.S. are not interested in
freedom of expression. Daily Kos, Tariq Ali, and others believe that RCTV got
what was coming to it.
• Chavez is not at all interested in the opinions of other
countries: Chile, Peru, the US Senate, and the European Parliament have condemned Chavez’s decision not to renew RCTV’s license. What he
wants is to implement his “informational hegemony”.

Yes, it is sad Jimmy Carter and others who seem so concerned about imaginary civil rights abuses in the US are silent on this.