That this is all planned is out of doubt as the Nazional Assembly has agreed ALREADY to hold a session to lift Azuaje's immunity. Apparently violating a few of the procedures to do such a momentous action.
On the hot grid spot analysis is required:
- chavismo has decided to attack and silence an opposition that cannot be allowed to be critical as it is considering that the country is crumbling and that the government incompetence is making it easy for folks to criticize
- the situation is made further more dramatic considering that polls reveal that Chavez Teflon seems to be scratching significantly
- with such attacks who include the "enfant terrible" of chavismo who defected to start exposing the sudden wealth of the Chavez family it is clear that chavismo is feeling weak, in danger, in real threat to see its power crumble, as chavismo knows very well that without Chavez they are nothing
But why now and not, say, in June, a couple of months before the elections? Because:
- Chavez and his folks cannot wait any longer
- probably the visit of Cuba's Ramiro Valdes was about steeling their nerves and give them their marching orders which included muzzling political and media criticism, and Internet among many
- the international situation is also degrading fast for Chavez where the recent faux pas of Lula over Iran and Cuba are distracting/depriving him of the only ally he had left of any weight
- any suspension or postponement of elections is best made now than a very weeks before the actual election
What next? Chavez and his sycophants are seeking confrontation, internal and probably external if necessary. The objective here is to taunt the opposition into making some false move.
If these arrests were not enough we learn for example that the Nazional Assembly has also asked today to investigate the primaries of the opposition because they are charging the primary participants for running into the election. Admittedly, this is not very kosher but then again what other financing means are available? Besides, is it not enough to point this to the gain favor against the opposition? Amen of the supreme hypocrisy of pretending to ignore that the state finance all but any of the PSUV electoral activities. This proposed investigation is a mere additional provocation because in the end it would focus more public opinion on the differences between opposition and PSUV internal processes, to the detriment of the PSUV where we all know that Chavez will decide most of the candidates anyway.
A memorable quote from Benjamin Franklin:
ReplyDelete"
Politicians are like diapers, they must be changed often and for the same reason
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Thugo Chavez...
To me this is further evidence that Chavez is now actively crossing the Rubicon into totalitarianism, and I'm sure that the visit of the Cuban henchman had a lot to do with these recent events. Now it is very clear that whatever happens in the 'elections' in a few months won't have any impact whatsoever. Chavez no se va. There is no question of this in my mind. Venezuela may not be Cuba just yet; there is still an, albeit increasingly battered, private sector. But it is going that way and has now passed the point of no return. This is a trend that is unfortunately being mirrored in other parts of the world; as the relative power of the democratic nations, especially the United States, has declined, the forces of tyranny and suppression have seen no reason to flinch from their opposition and have instead increased and consolidated their hold. I could think off-hand of the examples of Iran, Russia and China or Zimbabwe. At the same time there has been a counter-trend recently in certain nations where democracy is already established, of it being reaffirmed; I think of Chile and Colombia, for example.
ReplyDeleteChavez has clearly identified himself with the former. The price he is apparently now prepared to pay is the final loss of any remaining support that he had among social democrats worldwide. Now, if you support Chavez, you have either to be a totalitarian sympathizer or just plain stupid; I don't quite know where people like Danny Glover or Sean Penn or Noam Chomsky currently fall on that continuum.
Meanwhile, inside Venezuela, the die has truly been cast; and in my opinion no longer the need to debate the question of democratic participation any further. You have what you deserve; you now need to take the actions necessary or suffer the consequences.