They say that when the people want change nothing will stand in their way. At the weekend Venezuelan voters expressed their desire for change and voted out the socialist President Nicolas Maduro's party after a fiery election during which many of those who opposed the government were jailed.Maduro, who took over from the populist Hugo Chavez, tried to oppose the people's desire for change but the arrests and Utopian socialist slogans failed his party.There are lessons to be learned from the Venezuelan experience - and mistakes to be avoided.Our ANC leaders are in denial when it comes to the frustrations of our people. They have convinced themselves that "our people" will defend the revolution at all costs, just as Chavez and Maduro maintained when people voiced their frustrations and complained about the dire state of affairs.The people, they said, will defend the revolution against the capitalist class interests.What happened in Venezuela, and the possibility of the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, tells us that change cannot be postponed once the people have demanded it.Recently we saw students force the government to take drastic measures to provide affordable higher education. We are seeing unionised workers in the public sector flexing their muscles, forcing parliament to listen. We continue to see communities across the country take to the streets and demand better service delivery.So it is important that the ANC consider what is happening in Venezuela and Brazil.South Africa is preparing for local government elections in a few months.But infighting, factionalism and corruption have taken centre stage in the ANC and in state-owned enterprises.With President Jacob Zuma on his last mile, it remains to be seen whether the ruling party has a plan for satisfying the desire for change...