Advocacy Communication and Peacebuilding in Colombia and Venezuela Managing people´s claim for change

Abstract

Peace-building is increasingly associated with the defense and promotion of Human Rights. No doubt, it implies some kind of “political management”.“Political management applies strategic tools and techniques to make democracy work”, is written on the portal of the George Washington´s Graduate School of Political Management. We can but read it with skepticism. What about authoritarian regimes like Venezuela´s Bolivarian version? Do not they manage, or try to manage, political distress of the people to remain in power and mock Democracy? What about governments wanting to impose their vision to the people in the name of a supposed majority like in Colombia´s last referendum on peace agreement?