No CSI in Caracas

A post-less week followed by three in a day.  But the latest pearly hit of the brightly dissociated capybara deserves a post.  In it Chavez is using the argument that there are at least 5 CSI in the US and none in Caracas.  Thus the US is way more dangerous than Venezuela.  So there....

Pope and Chavez in Cuba

What to make of the rather hurried departure of Chavez for Havana this week end?  He did not even bother this time around to go through all the formalism.  He announced it on cadena and off he went.

What gives?

Cleaning up your record on the web

Alek Boyd has an interesting story as to some people wanting to erase stuff he published on Venezuelan corrupt practices.  Read it, if anything to see what a lousy job they are doing at it, and not only because of their dismal English from people claiming to be lawyers....  Maybe that it the way they are recycling the hacks that used to torment us in the comment sections years past.

Maracaibo does not need your coffee

That's all folks!

The failure of chavismo agricultural projects is not to be demonstrated anymore: that a country, which 15 years ago was tending to a balance of sorts in its agricultural import/export, is now importing more than half its food can be only explained by war or a devastating natural catastrophe.  In Venezuela both are combined under the misrule of chavismo.  Today we learned that in addition to all of the ills reported regularly in this blog, we are also getting an actual decrease in land under cultivation, an astonishing 7.8% drop for 2011 alone.  The thing is that it is not enough to throw money at the country side, you also need to understand how that one works out to have a mere remote chance of success.  During my last stay in Caracas I got a fascinating example on how it is simply impossible for chavismo to ever, ever increase agricultural production.

Karen and Carolina, our dictatorship poster girls

This week end we saw two incidents that reminded us how far into a dictatorship system we have been entered.  I know, I know, some may want to remind me that I can still type my blog (for how long?  bloggers and twitters have already been prosecuted in Venezuela), I can come and go out of the country (I cannot because I cannot tale my belongings with me), there are elections (but the results are voided as the regime pleases), there is still Globovision in the air (bot for how long, and only in Caracas and Valencia), etc...  Whether you like to admit it, Chavez regime is a XXI century dictatorship, the new breed where it is enough to control the judiciary to perpetuate oneself in office.  For those who disagree with me I kindly ask them to explain away the two stories that come next.

El chavismo como fascismo tropical, As Seen on TV por NatGeo

Ayer hemos presenciado otra vez guerra de pandillas violentas en el 23 de Enero. Y al final del día unos “colectivos” vinieron a sitiar Globovision en lo que seguramente se ha de volver una rutina durante la campaña, hasta que cierren el canal de una buena vez. Globovision les dio derecho a réplica aunque el mensaje de ellos tenía poco que ver con lo que Globovision había sacado al aire antes. Últimas Noticias de la Cadena Capriles (que casualidad, ¿verdad?) también fue increpada aunque su director, Diaz Rangel, se considere un afecto al régimen. No entro en detalles ya que esos reclamos oficialistas se han vuelto un ritornelo, pero si es necesario recordar que cualquier periodista de Globovision, o quién sea que sea agredido cada noche en La Hojilla, no puede ir a VTV para un derecho a réplica.

Últimamente no me ha dado por escribir sobre estos ataques. Ni escribí sobre el de Cotiza ni pensaba escribir sobre lo de anoche. Ya todo eso lo discutí hace tiempo y hasta predije que la frecuencia de dicha barbarie se incrementaría con la campaña. Pero esta mañana para el desayuno veo que mi Direct TV me grabó dos capítulos de una serie del canal Nat Geo “The Apocalypse: the rise of Hitler” y los vi tomando mi café. Esta serie debería de ser de vista obligatoria, con panel de discusión, para todos, TODOS, en Venezuela.

Diosdado Cabello, the heir of the bolibanana revolution?

Plop!

VENECUBA

Chavez from the Capital of the new born confederacy of Venecuba

On other news:

Besides letting us know that he is cured but that he will undergo radiation therapy anyway, Chavez has started his daily routine in Havana from where he will rule over his subjects.  Among other pearls of wisdom he said that the Monagas oil spill was greatly exaggerated, that PDVSA and "community" actions were prompt and effective, that Syria and Assad are unjustly attacked and that in Russia the reelection of Putin was just more democracy at play.

Whatever pain killers they are giving him, I want some.

PS: is it me or is the Cuban flag bigger than the Venezuelan one?

The PSUV primaries

And you thought "enough with primaries!"....  Little did you know.......

Carcel para Rafael Ramírez

Si en este país quedase la mas mínima vergüenza, el mas mínimo asomo a la justicia, con estas fotos Rafael Ramírez, padrote de PDVSA, debería ser botado de su trabajo y enviado a tribunales, ¡YA!

The scenery gives you the scenarios for Venezuela

Maybe it is time to take stock before a new wave of speculations hits us.  The best way is first to look at what we have in front of us, understanding the players so as to be able to understand better what they are up to.

These days we can divide the country roughly in 4 groups which are vying for the succession of Chavez.  Whether they want to go into the fight is irrelevant, but only one group with the more or less grudging support of another group will be able to prevail, at least for a brief time.  I think we can classify the country in 4 groups today because each one contains a radical wing and maybe a not so radical one but they are motivated by the same interests.  Thus the four groups of motivation, three chavista and 1 non chavista (I abstract the vaunted NiNi since they all can be included in some form with the not very motivated portion of one of the different groups).