Warnings from Venezuela, Turkey, and Hungary

We can learn from real examples in various parts of the world. Venezuela was once known as one of the most stable democracies in Latin America after 1958, when the dictatorial regime was overthrown. However, the election of Hugo Chávez in 1999 became a bleak turning point. Armed with populist promises, Chávez consolidated power, changed the constitution, and weakened democratic institutions. Gradually, Venezuela became increasingly authoritarian, especially under his successor, Nicolás Maduro, who ruled in the midst of a severe economic and political crisis kompasiana.com. A similar fate befell Turkey. The country, once seen as a progressive Muslim democracy, has experienced a drastic decline in the last decade. Following the failed military coup of 2016, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used the event to remove checks and balances democratic as well as eliminating his political opponents turkishminute.com. Freedom House even rates Turkey as now “not free” with a score of only 32/100 – on par with authoritarian countries like Russia and China turkishminute.com. The Erdoğan government tightened control over the courts (by regulating the appointment of judges) and passed “disinformation” laws that are considered to further silence the opposition and independent media ahead of the elections turkishminute.com. Another example comes from Hungary in the heart of Europe. Under Viktor Orbán, Hungary has transformed into what the European Parliament calls an “electoral autocracy hybrid regime” – a country that still holds elections but no longer respects democratic norms europarl.europa.eu. The 2022 European Parliament report states firmly: “Hungary is no longer a democracy.” The rule of law has deteriorated at an alarming rate due to the Hungarian government's systematic efforts to weaken democratic institutions, to the point where a large majority of MEPs agree that this is a wake-up call for Europe europarl.europa.eu. These three cases warn us that without vigilance, a state of law can turn into a state of power in a short time.