#Venezuela’s Opposition Held Talks With Government on Ousting #Maduro

"In the end, the ex­act rea­son the talks broke down couldn't be de­ter­mined. On Tues­day, Mr. Guaidó, joined by only a hand­ful of Na-tional Guard troops, called for a re­bel­lion, lead­ing to two con­sec­u­tive days of wide­spread protests. But only one se­nior regime of­fi­cial—the head of Venezuela's se­cret ser­vice—has switched sides."

"The per­son fa­mil­iar with the talks said not every­one on the Venezue­lan gov­ern­ment side was act­ing in good faith. This per­son said Gen. Padrino feigned his role as a con­spir­a­tor, while at the same time in­form­ing Mr. Maduro and top of­fi­cials in the regime, as well as the Rus­sians."

Read the whole article here: Venezuela's Opposition Held Talks With Government on Ousting Maduro

#Venezuela Moves Closer to Ridding Itself of #Maduro & Co., But It's Not Yet A Done Deal

Today has been pretty crazy in Venezuela.  

Caracas woke up to Juan Guaido announcing that #OperacionLibertad was under way.

En el marco de nuestra constitución. Y por el cese definitivo de la usurpación. https://t.co/3RD2bnQhxt

— Juan Guaidó (@jguaido) April 30, 2019

Venezuelans the world over were (pleasantly?) surprised that Leopoldo Lopez was beside him, and out of his house where he has been under house arrest since his transfer from prison last year. (He was released by SEBIN agents that turned on Maduro, along with some other Political Prisoners.)

Within hours, the streets of Caracas and other cities in the interior, especially those where major military installations are located, were filled with opposition members.  In Caracas, Guaido and his supporters went to the Carlota Airbase on the eastern side of the city. Soon enough the Colectivos showed up.  These are the local militias that Chavez and Maduro armed to "defend the revolution." 

I initially posted a tweet believing the shots were being fired by these Colectivos against the opposition demonstrators. But I quickly found out that this time, it wasn't the usual script playing out.  Instead, it was the national guard and SEBIN forces that had turned on Maduro to support Guaido, that were shooting at the Colectivos that had come to harass and intimidate the demonstrators. 

No sooner had I realized my mistake, I posted a Correction within the hour.

CORRECTION: I’ve been informed by reliable sources that this is actually a video of military supporters of @jguaido fending off an attack by the #Colectivos. So I got a taste of the power of Twitter!

— MasterFeeds (@MasterFeed) April 30, 2019

  It was too late, the power of Twitter had worked its magic.  It had gone (semi) viral.  The susbsequent tweet is still waiting to hit it big....

As opposition supporters gather near the #Carlota Airbase in #Caracas, National Guard troops now loyal to interim president @JGuaido fire on #Colectivos who’ve come to target the demonstrators. #Venezuela pic.twitter.com/qhVqbSD9sM

— MasterFeeds (@MasterFeed) April 30, 2019

Reports of the demise of #liberalism are greatly exaggerated

Los Angeles, 1952. Photo by J R Eyerman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty

Critics...all seem to agree that liberalism can no longer solve our deep social, cultural, political and economic problems, and that it has become 'unsustainable'.

Not coincidentally, all of these critics are living, writing and publishing in liberal countries. 

The many deaths of liberalism

More than a century of death notices have not diminished the achievements and the necessity of liberalism

Daniel H Cole is professor of law and public and environmental affairs at Indiana University in Bloomington. He is a founding member of both the Midwest Law and Economics Association and the Society for Environmental Law and Economics. He is the author of seven books.

Aurelian Craiutu is professor of political science and adjunct professor of American studies at Indiana University in Bloomington. His most recent book is Faces of Moderation: The Art of Balance in an Age of Extremes (2016). He lives in Bloomington.

Modern democratic governments are founded on liberal principles meant to create the basis of a fair and just society. Liberalism emerged as a reaction against absolute power, in favour of individual autonomy protected by freedom of conscience and the rule of law. As the political theorist Judith Shklar put it in Political Thought and Political Thinkers (1998): 'Liberalism's deepest grounding is … in the conviction of the earliest defenders of toleration, born in horror, that cruelty is an absolute evil, an offence against God or humanity.' That is why liberal principles include, among others, limited government under the rule of law, with individual rights enforceable against the government. 

Liberal societies have not always lived up to these principles, which in some respects are always aspirational. But it cannot be denied that political societies based on liberal principles have been more successful, on almost any measure, than regimes that are more authoritarian, communitarian or sectarian.

So why do we read so often today that liberalism is in crisis, failing or already dead?