Friday, December 03, 2010

Falcon under water, Chavez swiming against the tide, once again

Globovision has a photo gallery of some areas of Falcon under water after a small damn cracked and let a lot of water out (fortunately it did not collapse and did not send a true wave, or so I understand).

And yet for all the dramatic news and scenery an air of dejà vu pervades the whole thing.  In spite of the major disaster of 1999, in spite of the warning of 2005, it seems that once again the regime is caught pants down, nothing prepared, not even able to raise supplies to the point that it has to steal food and water from charitable and other political organizations to distribute them as if it were its own.

The fact of the matter is that the regime is worried because besides a rainy wet interior minister, the lone politician of a sinistered state that is repeatedly wading through flood water is Miranda Governor, Capriles Radonski, unshaven now for a few days.  The "pueblo" is wading besides him....

So irksome it is for the regime that Tal Cual reports today that firebrand Iris Varela is even accusing Capriles of all sorts of declarations for which there is no record.  That is, they accuse him of anything hoping that something will stick.  Elias Jaua the Vice President went as far as saying that Capriles was not doing shit, in spite of pictures proving otherwise; and despite the well known fact that Capriles cannot do more than what he does because his revenues have been slashed by the regime and a lot of the state equipment for natural disasters was taken away by Diosdado Cabello when he lost his reelection bid two years ago.  Capriles is, well, rubbing the regimes nose in its incompetence, and I guess that a lot of people in Miranda state are not going to buy the regime's line against Capriles, as we can see already from some reports.  His reelection is probably now a given..

Let's face it: there are no refuges for example.  That is, the regime is requisitioning even hotels who charge by the hour, and in a display of demagoguery we even saw Chavez offering some ministerial office space for refugees, and even Miraflores Palace corners....  Why?  Because in 10 years since the Vargas disaster the regime has not had the prevision to organize schools and sports facilities as potential shelters as you see in the US, namely in hurricane and tornado states, places that in normal day time host kids basketball games but places that in a few hours can be transformed in shelters.  Find one such example in Venezuela today, I dare you!  Sure, some are been used as such but almost because they were taken over, not led to.  And you will not see the display of beds, mattresses, outhouses, etc....

So, once again, waking up late to the reality of the floods, we see a regime in a hurry, Chavez ahead, making all sort of last minute shows and going as far as promising 10,000 homes, FREE for refugees within the next 4 months.  I kid you not!  A regime that has not been able to build 30,000 homes a year in normal times of plenty will build 10, 000 in a time of crisis, for free, in two months.  Maybe a new bridge in Brooklyn while we are at it....  And of course, all is the fault of capitalism even if that asshole in a very few weeks will have been in office for 12 years!

Natural disasters happen, everywhere, but preparation for them can make them a real disaster or just a tough moment to go through.  Ask George Bush after Katrina......  The amazing thing here is that too many in the chavista electorate carried by the emotion of the moment are stupid enough to once again buy vague promises...  Well, they'll get what they deserve.

15 comments:

  1. Excellent post, Daniel.

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  2. Completely OT, but a "must read" to share, regarding foreign news reporting.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/12/AR2010111202857.html

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  3. I agree with Kepler. Good post.

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  4. No emergency can compare to the utmost importance of keeping Hugo in office.

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  5. Juan Cristobal2:59 PM

    Nice post, Daniel. I've been struggling with what to say about the rains since it's hard to take stock of the problem and the blame from so far away. But you've hit the nail on the head: the ridiculous offer to host people in Miraflores or (gasp!) the Palacio Blanco, the proposal to turn the Sambil La Candelaria into a refuge - all those things reek of incompetence.

    It would be nice to compile a comprehensive list of failures by both federal and local governments.

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  6. Douglas Novo4:05 PM

    Right on Daniel. Keep hitting them where it hurts.

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  7. You know, Jaua *might* be correct about Capriles, that he's just going for the photo-op without really helping, putting appearances above substance. (Might not be, either - I'm considering the statement rather than analyzing Capriles' actions.)

    I think what really irks Jaua about that is that it's taking a page straight from the Chavista playbook. They don't like it when others play by their rules.

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  8. Anonymous7:19 PM

    Muy buen papel, es terrible tanta agua, y los que sufren más son los más pobres, bravo al gobernador Capriles,él si se moja y ayuda, hay centros de acopio en los mercados y esto va para Miranda, deseando que la guardia no lo confisque para darlo como si fuese el Chacumbele que lo envia y quién sobre el desastre se hincha. La Maga Lee

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  9. AIO

    true in a way. but then again it woudl be so easy for jaua to go wading somewhere and yet he does not.... that is what happens when you have been getting fat in office with everyone sucking up to you.

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  10. La ley del embudo, no?

    It's OK when the regime does populism but not for the oppo. OJO! Not saying that HCR is doing it just for the photos -I like him from day one-.

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  11. Island Canuck10:39 PM

    10,000 houses in 2 months. What a laugh.

    He obviously doesn't live in Venezuela where the whole construction industry, including suppliers, shuts down for a month over Christmas & New Year's.

    It's all a big show for the VTV faithful.

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  12. Boludo Tejano12:41 AM

    Elias Jaua the Vice President went as far as saying that Capriles was not doing shit.

    Correct. He hadn't parted the waters.
    [That is the emergency plan to beat all emergency plans.]

    The current floods will be given as the reason why Guri will not be producing the desired number of megawatts in several months. Just you wait.

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  13. Anonymous12:55 AM

    Island Canuck, de acuerdo con Ud., en que cabeza caben tantas casas en dos meses, siendo Navidad, año Nuevo, Los Reyes, Carnaval, me olvidaba las hallacas, el cemento que no hay, las cabillas tampoco, los obreros en misiones, y paro de contar que la lista es demasiado larga. La Maga Lee

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  14. Lemmy Caution12:36 PM

    It would be great, if someone with the necesary time, access to ressources and skills could compare the venezuelean efforts to help those afected by the heavy rains with those in Chile after the earthquake.
    I was visiting friends some 120 kilometers from the epicenter only 5 days after the disaster. There were problems too, but before all an huge and sincere solidarity wave. Politicians did what any sane voter would expect: Forget about their own quarrels for a while and find ways to help those poor people affected.

    For me it comes to no surprise, that in apporea.org they
    - sermonize about the evils of capitalism as the real reason of the disaster
    - whine about some oppo media critizising the relief efforts, which happens after any disaster and constitutes a vital part of the role of the press.
    - report about some isolated lottery style show efforts like the evacuating some hand full of people to Miraflores and this sambil mall.

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  15. Doña Bárbara6:50 AM

    Check this out (video in Spanish from El Universal):

    http://www.eluniversal.com/2010/12/04/pol_video_damnificada-del-blan_04A4814053.shtml

    Another example of Chavez's inability to deal with problems... According to him they are all caused by someone else, such as the oligarchy or, in this case, by latifundia. He keeps forgetting that he's been in power for over a decade... The nerve!

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