Last Wednesday, a group Georgetown students protested outside the building of the Organization of American States against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for its violent response to anti-government demonstrators. Despite greater national media coverage of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, Georgetown students have demonstrated remarkable organization and political awareness in response to the situation in Venezuela, befitting the University’s international involvement and reputation. Georgetown students should recognize the severity of both situations. Each merits activism and is significantly important for regional relations in the future.
Numerous articles circulated on social media have lambasted American media for its apparent favoritism for the Ukraine over Venezuela, with some even claiming conspiracy. It’s important to recall, however, that the Ukrainian situation is far more developed than that of Venezuela thus far. In the former case, demonstrations quickly escalated into violence, leading to the deaths of over 77 protesters and policemen, the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych by Parliament, and the freeing of anti-regime political prisoners. In the latter, although 13 protesters and government agents have been killed and students continue to protest in cities across the country, radical political shifts have yet to emerge. Allegations of reportorial negligence and conspiracy are as unfounded as they are unhelpful.
Nevertheless, Georgetown students’ relative lack of political involvement in the Ukrainian crisis compared to the Venezuelan one departs notably from this trend. One reason may be that the Venezuelan student leaders who have emerged to spearhead action against the Maduro government are without analog in the Ukrainian case. The Venezuelan situation has also united disparate political ideologies under a single cause. On Wednesday, some critics decried Maduro’s socialist policies and ties to Cuba while others lamented human rights violations and economic disparity. A campus solidarity effect is also at play, since many of the Venezuelan protesters are students themselves.
This unity is harder to discern in the case of the Ukraine, where rival political entities who share nothing but their distaste for Yanukovych are already squabbling in the wake of his removal. Higher international stakes, including Russia’s response to the upheaval and the question of the region’s energy and political future, also make the issue more complex.
But similarities between the two cases should motivate Georgetown students to stay both active and informed. Like Maduro, criticism of Yanukovych preceded the current demonstrations, and questions remain about both countries’ future direction. Issues of human rights and self-determination are at stake in both cases. Politically active students at Georgetown should regard the Ukraine and Venezuela as two equally significant international issues and should also seek to recognize the commonalities, rather than differences, between them.
