Our Democracy is in Decline – Are We Noticing Too Late?
September 7, 2024
For years, and indeed since the beginning of this year, I have been warning with increasing urgency that our democracy is on a slippery slope. I’ve compiled these concerns in my book Dissent is Democracy. It was a way of saying, "I rest my case." I felt misunderstood for a long time. However, in recent weeks, I have heard echoes of dissent in the media, particularly from one journalist on his news show. Yet even that coverage seems limited.
What caught my attention recently was when Mercelina, a Staten (Parliament) member, was relegated to the opposition benches. In his remarks, he raised concerns about the erosion of checks and balances, warning that our democracy is increasingly becoming dictatorial. This sentiment was echoed by a leader of a political party who explained how the new Public Finance Act (Comptabiliteitswet) is slowly stripping power away from Parliament and centralizing it in the Council of Ministers, particularly with the Minister of Finance.
Then, on the front page of the Antilliaans Dagblad on Friday, De-cember 6, the headline read: "Bonden bezorgd; CGTC stelt herstructurering kabinet-Pisias voor" (Unions Worried; CGTC Proposes Re-structuring Cabinet Pisias.) The article highlighted concerns that the cabinet governs unilaterally and authoritatively without respecting the country's legitimate institutions. In the Extra of September 7, Faneyte of PAR also expressed his concerns about the deterioration of our democracy and the rule of law.
I thought to myself: ja, je gaat het pas zien als je het doorhebt (yes, you only start to see it once it’s already happening). The question now is, will we act in time to prevent further decline? Or are we already too late?
The warning signs are there, and they have been there for a while. What is troubling is that more people are beginning to voice these concerns, but only now, when the erosion is becoming undeniable. We must remember that a democracy is not just about voting; it is about maintaining the systems of accountability, the checks and balances that prevent any one branch or individual from holding too much power. When these systems begin to fail, democracy turns into something else — something far more dangerous.
As citizens, we need to be vigilant. We must not only listen to the voices of dissent but also act upon them. Dissent, after all, is a fundamental part of democracy. Without it, we lose the ability to correct course, and once lost, democracy is hard to regain. Let us hope it is not too late (Goede, 2024).
Miguel Goede
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