It would have been a slow Sunday if it were not for Chavez

Sunday 16, May 2004

Today chavismo called for a march and rally on Avenida Bolivar. The Great Leader, el Comandante Chavez did drive through the flock in a well filmed sequence courtesy of the state TV cameramen. When he spoke, cadena! And when the cadena was over quickly the Globovision cameramen did the counter take showing the real numbers in attendance. Nothing out of usual, really.

However the speech was not quite usual. Chavez using the "incident" of the paramilitary invasion (we learned that some were not even 18!) has decided to revamp the security system of Venezuela. Bigger army, create a theater of operation in the heartland of the country (bypassing thus on some matters the civilian authorities from the opposition, voila!) and create a neighborhood militia. That was the US will have a hard time invading Venezuela.

Actually the biggest phrase of the speech was:

"The Bolivarian Revolution after 5 years has entered the anti-imperialist stage, this is an anti-imperialist revolution and that fills it with a special meaning that forces us to clear thinking and to action, not only in Venezuela but in the whole world.
[snip]
"An anti-imperialist revolution demands, we are obliged, for example, to end latifundia [big landownership]".

I personally fail to see the connections, in a country less than 20% rural, but then again I have failed to understand much of that jargon. What I am sure is that it means trouble ahead, at least an authoritarian regime if it comes to pass.

El Universal did carry an interesting article today from Manuel Caballero making a loose and not so humorous comparison between the Reichstag burning to the ground and Hitler arresting communists and social democrats, and Chavez with his pseudo paramilitary. Were the paramilitary excuse what Chavez was looking for? One might be tempted to believe so as one observes so many foreign media outlets unable to cast a questioning eye on last Sunday cheap show. Curiously one of the best pieces comes from Liberation, a leftist newspaper in France. Of all the papers around, Liberation does seem to appreciate best the real authoritarian underlining of the Chavez regime. Certainly better than the New York Times that should know better (and who by the way run again in trouble in Brazil).

Well, Sieg Heil! for tonight!