By Luis Manuel Aguana
Many times we have asked ourselves why in other moments of our history,
for much less than what we are going through now, the changes that have been
necessary to twist the course of events have effectively materialized. Not in
vain has the situation worsened to levels never imagined by Venezuelans for
this last day of the year of the Lord 2018.
But in reality it is a composition of factors, which is presented as an
evil equation that makes the result even worse. All the strategies to stop the
course of the destroyers of our way of life have not been effective, and apart
from the fact that the regime has as a corrupt and/or stop what we do to solve
the problem, much of what we have done bears the seal of a withered leadership
whose leadership will hardly take this ship to a good port.
A bad driver can crash even the best car. A lousy captain sinks the best
equipped boat with the most experienced crew. This leads us to analyze that one
of the reasons why we still haven't got out of Maduro's castro-chavista-madurista-communist
quagmire and his gang of delinquents resides in the quality and effectiveness
of the political performance of those who are at the forefront of the
opposition struggle.
However some will say that we do not have another and that with those
oxen we have to plough. If we pay attention to that perspective, we will have
to wait for the natural and generational relief that only nature gives to get
rid of this nightmare. It is valid for those who want to wait but not for this
writer.
Since those of us who have no intention of expecting boys to grow up to
solve what our generation messed up, I would at least like to walk around with
some alternatives that allow us to at least make way with what we already have.
First of all our
next generation is migrating massively. There are fewer and fewer young people
left to face this tough struggle for change, but I am comforted by the fact
that those who remain have multiplied in interest and democratic passion.
Something must have remained in us that we were able to pass on that heritage
despite the fact that the parties dedicated themselves to co-opting the youth
leaders coming from the university fights, many of them being perverts in the
practices that characterized the old leaders as the real causes of the tragedy
that gave rise to Hugo Chávez as a political phenomenon.
I am not particularly reluctant to hand over the baton to a new
generation of politicians, many of them with no more work experience than they
have had in the same parties that recruited them. I am concerned that many of
these young politicians have had no real work experience, without a boss to
whom they have reported and from whom they have learned before engaging in
political struggle. They entered the National Assembly, Mayoralties and other
positions of responsibility suddenly from the street university struggles
without having gone through the forging that only gives the touch of
professional formation after the university.
I understand that for them things have presented themselves in this way,
but I believe that many of the mistakes that have been made in the conduct of
the opposition strategy have had their origin in precisely that inexperience of
life of many of them, added to the twisted way of doing politics of the older
ones. The cocktail resulting from this has been an erratic conduction at the
service of the worst interests of the Nation and artfully exploited by a regime
of delinquents.
In view of the fact that 2019 will be strongly marked by the decisions
that these young people in relevant positions in the opposition leadership of
the country, and that our future will depend on many of the decisions that
these young people take - something that does not cease to worry me for the
reasons mentioned above - I would like to land a little more the dimensions of
credibility to which I referred in my note last Christmas. (see Christmas 2018,
a matter of credibility, in https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_58.html) and who knows if they'll be of any
help.
Indeed, I
had mentioned in that last note that the European Consortium for Political
Research-ECPR, on a working paper entitled “Credibility
as a source of political capital: Exploring political leaders’ performance from
a credibility perspective”, outlined the three dimensions of political
leadership credibility: competence, trustworthiness and solidarity.
I will not
repeat the meaning of these concepts that are already referenced and
sufficiently explained in that note, but I will complement them with some
practical advice, which although they are not precisely oriented to the
political sphere like the previous ones, they come out of the executive
experience to build the credibility of leadership, whether they want it or not,
they equally apply to the work that will correspond to these young people next
year if they want to have successful results for Venezuelans.
In a paper published in Forbes in March, 2018, Victor Lipman
collaborator of this prestigious magazine (5 Time-Tested Ways To Build Leadership Credibility, https://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2018/03/24/5-time-tested-ways-to-build-leadership-credibility/#3ac678a73fa8) summed up
with some success and simplicity five fundamental aspects that in the
experience of those of us who have worked for many years in our respective
fields of expertise, we can attest that they generate credibility for a driver
of wills, and that I believe they can be applied to what these young people
will have to do in the political field. I
will go in the same order as Lipman:
Deliver results. None of these boys will earn a credible
position in public opinion if they do not produce results. Results can be
measured. Henry Ramos Allup DID NOT PRESENT RESULTS IN 2016 after promising a
solution in six months. You can't make the same mistake.
Transparency. Lipman summarizes it clearly: Want credibility?
You've got to be straight with people…” And
the people are all Venezuelans. DON'T LIE, tell the truth in any
circumstance...
Don't
duck tough decisions. It's easy to say, but doing it is another
story. The whole of 2019 will be extremely difficult but the worst thing that
can be done is to avoid and not face difficult decisions, regardless of whether
it costs the post or freedom...
Show
consistency in your behavior. Do it your way but always
consistently. Inconsistency is disturbing and people always respond to the
leadership that does what it has to do: “In
an uncertain world, people understandably like things they can depend on. If
they can count on you, it means people believe what you say and you're
credible. Simple as that”.
Lead by example. It's a
basic concept, even of family education, but it's fundamental. People won't
believe in anyone who doesn't give the example. People do not follow anyone
about whom they do not feel the ability and courage to do the same.
Venezuela will be from tomorrow January 1st in the eyes of the whole
planet. The leadership that has to lead the opposition or resistance struggle
-if any- will have the highest responsibility to be effective. Years of failure
can no longer be tolerated. Perhaps the next 100 years of life for Venezuelans
will depend on the outcome of 2019. The commitment is that size. May God
enlighten us...
To all the followers and friends of TICs & Derechos Humanos, my
gratitude for accompanying these notes throughout 2018, wishing you the best
for 2019, hoping that this will be truly the year of Freedom... Happy 2019!
Caracas, December 31,
2018
Email: luismanuel.aguana@gmail.com
Twitter:@laguana
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