Civil rights in Venezuela as a morality play

Yesterday we had Chavez making his little show as the wanna-be savior of the world (for which he got a stern rebuke on Tal Cual, once again reminding the reader that Vargas is far from being saved, and he would do better by starting at home). But Chavez after a couple of days of Comedy Cappers did go to New York where he made a speech that was closer to anti Bush and anti whatever itches his crotch than a real and for the occasion speech (video). It seems that he was rather decomposed again, suggesting reasons why he had to take a large significant staff along, while the US was refusing visas as these request came in just too late apparently. On TV last night someone was explaining that the foreign ministry of Chavez was simply incompetent as the UN 60th anniversary bash had been announced over a year ago and all the invitations, accreditations, et al. were supposed to have been sent, replied to, processed, months ago. But spreading the revolution around the world seems to have "distracted" the foreign minister and his staff: the request just came in too late while the rest of the world had already reserved its spot. Normally he should be fired for making his boss look bad, but this being the Bolibananarian Republic of Venezuela....

The reader might wonder why I am discussing this in such details after the title given to the post. Well, simply to contrast the self assumed role of Chavez as the liberator of the poor, the provider of all of the people rights, with what is really going on at home. Three internet articles, from the grass roots, and which can easily be documented extensively reading Venezuelan papers, even, should I say, pro Chavez papers if one knows how to read between lines, represent quite well the present mood of the country, the low expectation we have for our future.

One article reminds us, with luxury of details, of the Tascon list and how this one has found its way into a nifty bureaucrat computer program that allows easy discrimination of the Venezuelan people according to their political tendencies. In other words the Venezuelan government is now a private corporation which is destined to the sole service of its preferred customers, those who vote for Chavez. Thos who do not vote for Chavez must still pay taxes but do not even get pot-hole free streets. The good news here is that the CD ROM that carries the program has made its way to the Caracas embassies where now the fascistic inclinations of the Chavez regime are not only known, but well documented. Will they take action? We'll see.

Another article leads us to the mundane, to the degradation of our culture. Alexandra does detail the attempts at censorship towards the Venezuelan movie "Secuestro Express" which has become the first Venezuelan movie to reach some notoriety and public success in years. That movie simply shows the human degradation of Venezuela, the increasing violence to which our society is subjected to. And I am talking of social violence, not even governmental one. Apparently the Chavez administration, who one would have thought would have supported such a movie as to an example of why they wanted power in order to solve these problems, is pretty much incensed about the movie. See, it takes a scene, from the public domain as Alexandra points out so rightly, a scene from April 11 2002, a scene taboo for chavismo who only tolerates discussion on these days under its own version, never adequately backed up by the elements that they present themselves. The movie and the director have been taken to court simply because now one must follow the official story, and to scare away any other person who would use April 11 2002 for anything else but the glory of the UN ranter.

The third article, well, it is from this blogger on how private property is under attack in Venezuela. Certainly I would not comment on my own text, but I wanted to bring together these three articles as they illustrate how our values as a society have been decomposed under Chavez, how his regime is corroding our social system in order to establish his one and only power. Fascism? Castrism? The reader may chose, but all share the same basic principle: moral corruption of the people, division, privilege to a few only, degradation. All which are tools of absolute power, which we all know corrupts absolutely.