Iraq never had democracy before, while Venezuela was a pretty functioning democracy for half a century. And the civilizational distance between Venezuelans and

Iraq never had democracy before, while Venezuela was a pretty functioning democracy for half a century. And the civilizational distance between Venezuelans and democracy was quite a bit shorter than for people in Iraq. Even non-democratic countries in Latin America are still the beneficiaries of a millennia of European social development, specifically the erasure of extended family, clan, and tribal identities (which makes functional democracy impossible).