A Deal That Could Save Venezuela

It was a stunning victory. As results began to trickle in from around the country, they showed the opposition winning by a more than two-to-one margin. The once-formidable political machine in power proved to be no match for millions of voters who sent a clear message to their authoritarian leader: Your time is up.

But despite the landslide, the ruling party ignored the will of the people, and the leader’s allies proclaimed him president.

Those events took place in Poland in 1989 under the rule of Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski. But they could just as well have described Venezuela in the aftermath of its presidential election on July 28. The cases differ in key ways — unlike Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, Mr. Jaruzelski was never accused of misrepresenting election tallies (as I strongly believe Mr. Maduro has done), and the election in Poland was for the legislature, which then appointed Mr. Jaruzelski president. But I believe there is something to be learned from this comparison, and especially from its aftermath.

As the international community contemplates how to react to Mr. Maduro’s