# Venezuela becomes a dictatorship

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-becomes-a-dictatorship/783390>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [March 30, 2017, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-becomes-a-dictatorship/783390 "2017-03-30T23:45:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-becomes-a-dictatorship/783390/21 "2017-04-04T17:24:08Z")

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> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> So it was a democratic process.

Resulting in a document that lacked the essential element of self-protection. Which is why the US must avoid a constitutional convention at any cost - such an “emergencies only, we pinky-swear, promise!” clause would no doubt be added… no matter which party was in power. It would probably be a complex, three- or four-part “clause” too nebulous for TV newsers to understand and would be argued for by pointing to all the troubles of the past few decades.

And the US as a democracy would become a walking corpse.

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**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-becomes-a-dictatorship/783390/22 "2017-05-06T06:57:33Z")

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\<Revives the corpse\>

No need to fear any clauses getting snuck in. Wouldn’t it be scarier if it’s not so much the document, as it is those chosen to interpret it?

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-becomes-a-dictatorship/783390/23 "2017-05-06T11:14:57Z")

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> [@voltaire](#):
>
> \<Revives the corpse\>
> 
> No need to fear any clauses getting snuck in. Wouldn’t it be scarier if it’s not so much the document, as it is those chosen to interpret it?

I’m not sure how that’s different from any national constitution - the document itself does nothing, it’s only ever been the interpretation and (ideally) there are enough controls so that any group of people who might decide the constitution describes the means by which they can seize power will be opposed.

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