In the new era of revolutions, tyrants often are reluctant to send troops in to shoot when the millions of people roll into the streets demanding justice. They don’t want CNN’s cameras on them and 20-year war crime trials in the Hague to follow. That’s one reason why the whole world has seen a democratic awakening – in Ukraine – in Kyrgyzstan – in Lebanon – in Bahrain – in Kuwait – in Maldives – in Philippines – in Russia – in Georgia.

But in countries with certain authentic tyrants determined to cling to power past their mandates, like Venezuela and Zimbabwe, there is something different going on. Nimble tyrants like Hugo Chavez are adept at creating the veneer of democratic outlet to end the marching in the streets. With high-tech voting equipment that political observers like naive Jimmy Carter know nothing about, they proceed insouciantly, pretending they are democrats like any other and the massive evidence of voter discontent in their streets is just a few rich discontents.

They set up these voting mechanisms – as the world applauds. And then they steal these elections, the democratic end of these massive people’s revolutions, and savage the people’s revolutions that appear in the streets.

What happens when long awaited quests for justice are spoiled through fraud? What happens?

Shock. And a spoiled democratic revolution whose only alternatives are cold anger, immigration or civil war.

My dear friend Bruni Sanso writes a truly profound and moving first-person piece about her revolutionary experience during the Hugo Chavez Recall Referendum a year ago this week, an event that ended in cold brazen fraud. She is a scientist and surrounded by other scientists, and together they worked day and night to find out the truth of the matter. If you read her piece, you will have no doubt left in your mind that fraud is the real event that spoiled Venezuela’s democratic revolution.

It’s a must-read. Read it here.