The bad news is that I will stay at home passing on the possibility of being in the Caracas excitement and even get an accreditation as a "foreign corespondent" to hang out with some of these journalists and assorted who have covered rather not well the election and see their faces when Capriles wins as this humble blogger writes since August. Yes, I am that confident.
If I have not made any effort to become more fashionable that does not mean that there is a lack of motives to visiti here on occasion.
I will do my now traditional election day post with little tids and bits form around.
I will supplement it with twitter @danielduquenal were for once I will retweet more than usual what I consider the worthy tweets (I am sole judge). That probably will happen a lot in the voting line.
I will lower the posting restrictions so if you want you can debate more freely than usual but be warned that I will erase mercilessly idiotic comments and those who replied to such inanities. Be they from chavistas or oppo in anxiety attack. There will be enough stress as it is.
I will be working all day at the computer because 1) there is going to be a VN&V mini CNE count (details tomorrow) and 2) I will write a couple of posts about the future of this blog and what is in waiting for Capriles (though this will be highly limited if I stay hours on line to vote....)
That I have been low key this year around has not stopped me to get a couple of interviews. The one for an Austrian radio has no link, but you can hear my talk with the Cuban exile in the US who are all but more anxious than ourselves about the result of tomorrow. We had a nice chat with Silvio.
See you tomorrow! Sweet dreams of freedom tonight!
Dear Daniel,
ReplyDeleteI love reading your blog, hearing your perspective and insights. However, I did NOT like nor appreciate Aaron Clarey's "loathing of socialism", "leftists", blah blah blah. I mean, there's even an ad for Ann Coulter: ANN COULTER!!! OMG!!!
I am not responsible for other guests views. Since I am in Venezuela I do not follow radio elsewhere and cannot in advance figure out their inclination. Whether they are right or left, as long as they are polite and respect my opinions I will talk to them. What matters is that people hear about Venezuela.
DeleteIt was good to put a voice to a blogger I respect and value for his opinions of Venezuela and many other things.
DeleteAaron Clarey / Captain Capitalism, although a bit in your face with his opinions, I find to be largely correct within his field, and hey, as a sponsor to a program existing outside of gov't largesse, how else does one hear about Venezuela on radio without ads? I didn't hear or see an ad for Ann Coulter, my princess. :)
... it was mentioned as well at the cuban blog http://babalublog.com/ where needless to say, they'd like to see regime change (s).
.. enjoyed / agreed with your commentary re: culture of dependency, and your closing remarks especially.
Perhaps if there was further advance notice of this radio program, some would phone in their questions? although I don't know if that was intended as part of the program.
Hay un camino!
ReplyDeleteSigned,
An American married to a Venezuelan
Dear Daniel, I hope you didn't think that I was criticizing you, at all! Your interview ROCKED! I loved hearing your voice, so that I could at least put a voice to a name! Hay un camino!
ReplyDeleteNo, I did not think you did not like the interview :) Do not worry.
DeleteOK, so, here I go again. Your conversation with Silvio was great, and I'm so glad that you were able to have it and give a voice to those who seem to be the majority. Again, hay un camino!
ReplyDeleteFrom a quiet but faithful reader: I look forward to following your coverage of tomorrow's big event. After many years living abroad your blog has helped me stay current with the horrors of this so called revolution, and better understand what family and friends go through on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteI so totally <3 Daniel!
ReplyDeleteis that really your voice or were you using some sort of voice distorting filter?
ReplyDeleteNicacat It doesn't make any sense that you are enamored with socialism and yet anti Chavez. I suspect that many anti-chavistas are entitled former burguesia elites that got locked out of their privileges by the regime.
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't it make any sense, Ken? It's not like Chavez is a socialist, you know; he talks the talk, but doesn't even really try to walk that walk. I can agree that neither is likeable, but the arguments against the two are very different, because the nature of the two is very diffent as well.
DeleteAs for your second sentence, I doubt that group is big enough to swing the election. If it is, it tells you a lot about how corrupt this regime is, doesn't it?
As a democratic socialist, I support Capriles 100%. Authoritarian socialism and democratic socialism parted ways long ago.
DeleteWow, Ken. That was a pretty ignorant comment to make, don't you think? Since, after all, YOU DON'T KNOW ME! I think that you're probably on the wrong blog or something like that. You need to go to aporrea so that you can feel more at home.
DeleteI just love the anxiety in Venezuelan elections, especially after polling closes and before the announcement! It's really something unique, a lot more exciting then elsewhere, where results are published as they're counted.
ReplyDeleteWhen will we have live TV from CNE where desperate politicians DEMAND the results now!?
My wife in Anaco says they haven't even opened the school yet for voting. lost of people in line just waiting.
ReplyDeleteMy wife was number 300 in line at 5 am in Calabozo Guarico. She managed to vote in an hour. Traditionally Calabozo is a chavista stronghold but this particular polling place is very opposition inclined.
ReplyDeleteI went to the Venezuelan Embassy in Helsinki, Finland at about 1:00pm local time just to see. They have 84 registered voters, and 44 of them had voted when I left. They were expecting more, as the late mass in the only Catholic church in Helsinki finishes at 1:00pm. The atmosphere was celebratory and everyone there was clearly expecting "el cambio". There were about 15 people in the lobby and they seemed to be in no hurry to leave. Everyone was all smiles and confidence. One woman told me that there had been an unpleasant moment with one woman who was a Chavez supporter bitterly denouncing the rest of the Venezuelans there.
ReplyDeleteAnd, that is it from my corner of the world, at the moment. I will not stay up for the results, as I do not expect them until tomorrow morning, here in Finland. I will be looking for other anecdotal reports and clues as to which way the wind is blowing.
A todos mucha suerte hoy, y que al fin vamos a celebrar la victoria de un nuevo Presidente H. Capriles. Adelante Flaquito: “Hay un camino” para un mejor Venezuela!
ReplyDeleteDaniel we will celebrate the "V" from "Victory" for Capriles on your Venezuela blogspot!!
Arrived at voting center at 5.50 AM. Center didn't open until 6.35 AM.
ReplyDeleteMy wife's sister was on a mesa (of 5) that had technical problems & was still there when we left at 7.50 AM. There were about 150 people there when the center opened and maybe 70 when we left. From conversations in the line it appears to be about 50/50 between oppos & Chavez. This is a very heavy Chavista area although many people turned up at this center for the primaries.
Now at home for the long wait.
Daniel, que magico oir tu voz, after years for reading your blog! Hard to express in words... deeply greatful for the the work you have been doing through the years and which has brought so much value on many fronts, among them keeping alive the flame of hope; esa llama que hoy tiene nombre y apellido!!! Cuidese mucho mijo!
ReplyDeleteI loved Canto's referring to Capriles as a "conservative pro-American" candidate. It would be a really depressing blow for Canto's right wing audience to realize that Capriles is way to the left of Capriles. Imagine if Canto had started the show saying "Today we are going to discuss the Venezuelan presidential elections, where a self-styled socialist who happens to be a fascistoid populist, and a bona fide leftist candidate who appears to be to the left of President Obama are competing in what appears a very tight race". I did like the way you brought up Argentina, Nicaragua, Cuba, etc. Elections are still going on in Venezuela as I write, but let's hope soon I can drink to next year in Havana.
ReplyDelete