Monday, December 30, 2013

2013 in review: the year we knew that thug chavismo would do anything, ANYTHING, to stay in office

This is going to be the easiest entry of this series to write, I think.  Through 2013 we saw many astounding things that we never thought possible in a country that pretends to have a constitution and rule of law. But when a group of corrupt thugs and criminals are in charge it is obvious that they are not going to relinquish power the easy way and thus constitutions become good enough to supply the lack of sanitary paper.

In short order.

The year started with a constitutional coup to allow for Maduro to be appointed president and then run as a sitting president, with all the advantages of holding the purse in a country without controls.

Chavez died in a way that has yet to be explained, at a date that we are allowed to doubt from. The funeral was a paroxysm of bad taste and propaganda. It is likely that his signature was forged on many documents including the one for the devaluation.

The electoral board accommodated all the demands of the regime to run the dirtiest presidential campaign in recent memory.

In spite of the electoral advantage the regime lost the election but it managed to steal it anyway through dead people voting and absent people voting. Many polling centers had 100% participation with 100% votes for Maduro among the many fraud tools used by the regime.

When Capriles supporters tried to protest the fraud they were beaten down quickly.

When representatives at the Nazional Assembly tried to protest they were beaten down, going as far as to send women representatives to break other's women nose.

When Capriles presented a formal protest of electoral fraud to the high court this one refused to accept it, saying it was not even worth reading it though they clearly did so, enough to know that the claim was founded.

When the representatives beaten up protested and tried to sue, their claim was deemed irrelevant in court even though a video clearly identifies the aggressor.  This one went on to be elected mayor early this month.

When his numbers run down and he was short of cash to buy elections in December Maduro sent people to ransack and loot stores in Venezuela. Owners stayed quiet, threatened with worse if they dared to complain.

The electoral board went out of its way to ensure the regime had all possible advantages for the elections of early December.

And in spite of everything done  to bring down inflation a notch for the elections this one did not go down. So the regime decided not to publish inflation numbers anymore.

And many more documented through this blog except for the latest link marked above.  But that is enough illustration for an entry so I stop here.

So much for democracy.

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:16 AM

    'So much for democracy.' Indeed.
    So pray, tell me: why badger abstentionists?
    In other words, given A is A and not B, why put the blame on A being A on the ones who know that acting as if A were B actually amounts to giving A a blank check to... well, keep on being A?
    Nota bene: A = your 'thug chavismo', willing to do whatever it takes to 'stay in office' / B = democracy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Because i have yet to see any constructive offer from abstentionists. Care to offer one?

      Delete
    2. Yet you continue to support the alternative which has also not be constructive.I think that no matter whatever is decided, it is hard to plan every step of the way.When you are running away from an aggressive pursuer,our steps have to be decided as they come, being alert at all times to the present moment.We can only decide on some general principles to guide us .firepigette

      Delete
    3. sorry meant to say "not been constructive"

      Delete
    4. Anonymous4:35 PM

      'Because i have yet to see any constructive offer from abstentionists. Care to offer one?'
      This smacks a wee bit of ye olde marxists' reply to criticism: Care to offer a "constructive criticism"?
      Now seriously. How are you supposed to convince people that they must vote, when voting has so obviously become the regime's favorite alibi for rejecting accusations of being a more or less covert dictatorship?
      And furthermore, do you really think that abusing and demonizing abstentionists is the best method to convince them that they must vote?

      Delete
    5. I repeat: do you have an alternative proposal?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous6:29 PM

      OMG... Let me state this out in plain old Spanish: ¿qué tiene que ver la gimnasia con la magnesia?
      And yet furthermore: you seem to have taken for granted that I am an abstentionist myself. Why? What's wrong with you? Why can't we discuss as grown-ups the matter at hand? I.e., whether voting in Venezuela actually makes real democratic sense nowadays.
      Allez, mon gars, sors un peu de cette ornière-là.

      Delete
    7. Sorry, but I have a hard time to take seriously people who sign as anonymous. If you want a serious discussion get a handle first.

      Et j'attends toujours une hypothèse de travail.

      Delete

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