The "Megafraude" in Venezuela

Last December Chavez was bellowing that the opposition had committed a massive fraud in collecting signatures. Apparently all sorts of unspecified electoral crimes were being committed. We are still waiting of course for these crimes to be exposed. Besides a handful of suspect signature collection forms, nothing, no hard evidence, not a legal procedure, even less of an inculpation of any sort for fraud. Words and more words, hot air and more hot air as usual from the Chavez camp, the latest one being that George Bush is responsible for ALL the ills of Chavez.


Well, Mr. Bush must be really powerful, more so than Superman, more so than in Iraq. Today, after the CNE rejected/put under observation over a million signatures, people are going in large amounts to the Sumate booths set up where they signed last November/December, to inquire about the status of their signature (see previous post for details). The throngs of people that are lining up for a few minutes are those people that the pro Chavez Electoral Board would have us think that they did not exist, that their signatures were "cloned" in some mysterious "laboratorio de guerra sucia" (dirty war laboratory).

It is still a little bit too early to evaluate the success of the day. In places it is raining, like San Felipe, which has stopped me from going to check out. Many people are going even if their signatures have been declared "valid" so we cannot yet evaluate how many of the "invalid" are showing up to confirm their status. But already it seems that chavismo will not have much to cheer about tonight. Even if only a million people show up, on a rainy shopping Saturday, on an unofficial verification event, it would be a very strong message sent.

There is only one "megafraud" in Venezuela, the Chavez administration.