Back in the Chavez days, defenders of the tyrant had one response. He took and held power democratically. Sure there was all sorts of repression in the process, including snipers murdering opposition protesters, but there were technically elections with opposition figures on the ballot. So Venezuela was democratic and socialist. Soon it'll just be socialist. Or democratic.
Because the two are not compatible for very long.
Venezuela's government is considering asking the high court to dissolve the legislature controlled by President Nicolas Maduro's opponents who are seeking to remove him from office, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Let's translate that from mediase to English.
When Maduro, Chavez's successor lost control of the legislature, the left just decided to pack the Supreme Court and rule that way. Now Maduro, who controls the court, will move from ignoring the results of the election, the way Obama did with ObamaCare, to asking his pet judges to simply get rid of it.
Bolivar said the government in its latest action would charge the opposition lawmakers with abuse of power, treason and breach of the constitution.
Which is the line at which Venezuela becomes a dictatorship, Maduro turns into a dictator and Venezuela's last lefty defenders become tankies supporting a totalitarian regime.