Thirsting for a Government of Dignity and Justice

The next installment of our Dominican Month for Peace in Venezuela series, for the First Sunday of Advent. Also available in Spanish.

Advent, a season of hope! As a Dominican Family, it is a time recognize the cry of our voices for dignity and justice in the world thirsting for hope. Today we hear in the reading of Jeremiah, “In those days, in that time, I will raise up for David a just shoot, he shall do what is right and just in the land. (Jer 33:15).  The International Dominican Month for Peace reaches its fifth edition. After joining forces to accompany and help the Dominican family in Colombia (2017), Democratic Republic of Congo (2018), India (2019) and Ukraine (2020), it is the turn of Venezuela, the country with the largest oil reserves on the planet, but which for more than two decades has been going through the greatest political, social and economic crisis in its history.

This Advent we join in solidarity with the Dominican family in Venezuela. It is a challenge to be able to convey to the whole world the complex reality that is being experienced in this South American country and that has its origin in the destruction of democracy as a system of government and a way of life.

This process consisted of re-founding and modernizing democracy through the change of the constitution, which took place in 1999 and is still in use today.

Democracy, in the Venezuelan case, was understood as the Welfare State, which a government should support through state measures to improve the standard of living and quality of life of the population, in addition
to the voting in elections to determine the legality-legitimacy of such government; this vision was dismantled with the deterioration of the quality of life that the Chavista government caused to the country, which led
to the understanding that there are many factor that must be taken care of for there to be a real democracy, such as: Rule of law, transparent elections and political parties, human rights, freedom, among others.

As we light our first candle of our Advent wreath this first Sunday of Advent, the prophet Jeremiah reminds us still today, “In those days Judah shall be safe and Jerusalem shall dwell secure”; let us be vigilant in building communities of hope in the world in places like Venezuela that all peoples may dwell secure.