A quick update
Thursday 12, February 2004

I was rather busy today and this late hour I have not even read a paper yet. Only a little bit of TV and a couple of phone calls. Still, quite enough to get unsettled.

Today a lot of unrest was observed around Venezuela as many students using the excuse of the "Day of the youth" to riot in front of their school, some time with no particular reason other than hormonal imbalance, or so it would seem. And Chavez missed an important appointment, no explanaition at the time.

The Electoral Board (CNE) kept its internal struggles and definitely we will not know any time soon when a decision, if any, will be made. One could suggest a compromise, announce that the official result will be announced later but that the calendar for the voting will start as of tomorrow anyway. That is, there will be only a delay in the announcement but not a delay in an eventual recall election. That the CNE refuses to consider that proposal is enough evidence that the objective of the chavistas in it is purely and simply to delay, delay, delay... Or was that cancel, cancel and cancel?

The reason, and I must talk about this now, is that suddenly the chavista camp objected to a whole bunch of forms that were filled up by a single hand, except of course the signature and the thumb print (planillas planas). According to chavistas they were "manufactured". For the opposition it was simply zeal at the collection centers to make sure that no mistake would be made and that all of the information would clearly be taken from the people that had only to sign. After all, most public documents in Venezuela are filled up by third parties and only signed by the interested parties. But if one is to believe chavismo, it has now become easier in Venezuela to fulfill the legal requirements for marriage, wills, transfer of properties and what not rather than petition the government for an election. Democracy anyone?

For those that have read my posts through the recollection process you will recall that I did get one of the signature collector to go to a relative that could not go out to sign. I did get inside my car the recollection guy and the pro-Chavez witness. We went to my relative's house and she showed up at the door. There the recollection guy asked for her ID and filled up the form, while I was amiably chit chatting with the chavista witness. Then my relative signed, stamped her thumbprint, the collector showed it to the witness and off we went. Yes, that is right, the collector under the watchful gaze of the chavista witness was filling up the form all by himself. Apparently chavismo would like us to believe that he was committing fraud. Well, at least my chavista that day was nice and sensible, not like the goons now posted in front of the CNE to block access to any opposition character that dares to go downtown Caracas. Decency anyone?

But one good new nevertheless. The French Language site Forum France Venezuela has been revived!!!! At long last. They have had some problems since last summer but formed a new team and are going on with translations of important Venezuelan articles and documents. Even some original contributions on occasion although they seek to be strictly a medium to transmit in French information material that is screened out by smooth operators like the infamous Le Monde Diplomatique. I will be honored with occasional contributions, in French, there. Please do visit at least once and let your francophone friends know about this contribution to our fight to preserve democracy in Venezuela.

See you tomorrow as something my hit the fan.