The Vice President of Venezuela
How news are "edited" by the official press agencies

I have had already a few comments on Jose Vicente Rangel, JV, for example in my series of posts "El Petarazo" (see links on the right side). I do understand that as all Vice Presidents (and Prime Ministers in presidential systems such as France)JV main job is to defend his boss, to receive the lightning going his boss way. But even making this assumption, today was not his best day. Actually I am awarding him the "Vile Words of the Day Award".

In a speech to an international meeting today, JV used a few choice expressions that should raise eyebrows of any democrat in the world. I am quoting him in Spanish first, for full effect:

"esos mismos miserables que ahora se amarran a la formula del revocatorio"
"si las recogieron tambien se jodieron"
El vicepresidente acuso a la oposición de ser "fraudulentos por naturaleza"
"no estamos seguros desde luego, porque estamos frente a tahures, frente a tramposos consetudinarios, pero nosotros no somos de su misma calana moral, jamas nos rebajaremos al estilo de actuacion de ellos"

The translation would be:

"These miserables [scum?] that now hide behind the formula of the Recall Election"
"If they gathered them [the signatures], they are equally f****d"
The VP accused the opposition of being "natural frauders"
"we are not certain of course[of the results], because we are in front of gamblers [pejorative sense], congenital cheaters, but we are not of their same moral type, we never will lower ourselves to their acting style"

Last time I heard people holding public office using such language, it was people such as Castro talking of "worms" [gusanos] or Nazis talking of Jews.

The very interesting detail of course is that I heard this on TV, and read it in El Universal, the link above. I looked through Radio Nacional de Venezuela, the Venezuelan Press agency VENPRES or Aporrea, their web sidekick and you would not find those words anywhere. At least at 9 PM tonight. Interesting, really...

How can a country attempt even some form or reconciliation when a vice president announces his opinion of the opposition with such words (and indirectly what will happen to them if he has his way)? What terms are used by Chavez and JV and others in chavsimo when they are away of the microphones?

And more importantly, what do they think of their followers if they assume that they approve of such qualifications? This is the crux of the matters, they probably despise their rank followers even more than what they despise the opposition. Fascists are all the same...