If you did not know better, you would think the country is drunk. It is not, alcohol sale of any type has been banned since Chavez died. You cannot even get a cold beer with your pizza. We do not know whether the regime banned alcohol sales until next Saturday at least because they wanted to make sure we all mourned or because they did not want the world seeing chavistas drink in the street....
However one wonders what is the regime snorting. The contradictions are so intense among the different spokesperson that one wonders if there is anyone truly in charge or if they are too spaced out by grief or by antidepressant to have any coherence. Let's start with illegal president Maduro. First he tells us that Chavez will be embalmed. Then finally someone must have told him that it was too late, that it should have been done right after his death. So he will no be embalmed. Yet his body supposedly survived a 8 hours procession under the sun, but then again one coffin went down the streets and another one is at the wake. Also, it has been now 10 days and we do not smell anything. So, embalmed? Pickled in formaldehyde? Never mind that tomorrow a casket will be for hours again in Caracas under the sun.....
Chavez family seems prey to the same dizziness. After been conspicuously absent from the military hospital where Chavez supposedly was located, they reappeared all for the wake, some stone faced but some theatrical. None in a way looked in accordance with the moment but we can accept that each family as a way to mourn. Then, they seemed to be OK with Chavez not being buried within a couple of days and being embalmed. At least none of them seems to have objected and all have disappeared from public view again. Finally when the questioning a to the real date of Chavez death became unbearable for chavismo one daughter emitted a communique. We have not seen it signed. She did not read it herself. It was a silly and even selfish communique if you ask me. Then a brother came to curse the opposition and threaten lawsuits or something. And yet... No death certificate has been shown, and of course no autopsy... Something that even in a Venezuelan court they should have to present before suing, say, Capriles. If you ask me the regime is blackmailing or browbeating Chavez family..... Because personally I cannot believe that any semi functional family would accept what the regime is doing with a dead Chavez. There has to be one of them that is not so totally ethically challenged to at least fly out of the country to hide!
Back to Maduro. After having said his famous homophobic words on the day he registered for April 14 election, he must have felt some heat internationally and even at home and thus today he says that he is not an homophobe, that if he were gay he would shout it to the four winds, using a Spanish old saying. Yeah, right, we believe he would do so.....And that he would be the chavista gay candidate today. Sometimes excuses make the original sin even worse than what it was. Who is coaching him?
But fortunately for Maduro and unfortunately for common sense oil minister Ramirez said his own stupid set. He is absolutely convinced although he has no evidence yet (he admitted so) that Chavez has been murdered by technology of the evil empire that Venezuela does not dispose. One does not know where to start... Is Ramirez sorry that he does not have that "technology" so he could apply it to his enemies himself? Does he truly think that the CIA and the Mossad (yes, let's put a little but of antisemitism here while we are at it) could inject cancer or something? Yet he is not announcing an autopsy, nor even offering a death certificate.... He is convinced, personally, through intuition, and that is enough to condemn whomever needs to be condemned. Stalinists would have had that easy. Who is coaching these guys?
But all that stuff is affecting the sanity of the country more than what it should. Friday has been decreed a work holiday for Caracas metro area so people can go to mourn Chavez, forgetting that in that area the opposition did one of its best scores last October .... The rest of the country does have to work. I am sure they will like that, working while Caracas does not.... But I digress. The point is that tonight I had to go out to get some pills and I found out that at 10 PM there were HUGE lines at gas stations and that the few stores still open had their parking lots full and long lines at the cashiers. This country is seriously fucked up. And it seems that we are the laughing stock of the world, not even North Korea displayed such antics. At least they have no cars or stores worth going at ten PM.
And yet it is not all. Maduro said that Chavez in Heavens suggested that God inspired the conclave to select a Latin american Pope. Wait! Weren't all these people supposed to be atheists commies?
I need a drink...
Excellent summary Daniel.
ReplyDeleteAnd you only touched on the highlights.
There's a lot more insanity going on.
So much that it's almost impossible to grasp it all.
Will he be buried in Barinas then?
ReplyDeleteWe don't know yet... today he'll go to the military museum. But that's no cemetery and he's supposedly not embalmed.
DeleteI suspect that he's gonna be taken to Barinas and the roadtrip will last a whole month. Thus Nicolas will have the most perfect companion during his campaign.
could it be that Maduro has the key to chavez safe with a ton of money and it is holding it hostage, while he does whatever the cubans tell him to do with the mummy? renting one body in exchage for 2 billion dollars is not a bad deal for the family...they don't strike me like a sensitive bunch...if ever they were.
ReplyDeleteon another topic the ammount of stupidity comming out of the regime lately buffles the mind, they got to have a "stupidy committee" writing 24 hour a day...they make even Evo sound semi reasonable...and that is a huge feat. Have a safe weekend.
Of all the explanations put forward as to the whereabouts of the traveling corpse, my favorite is the following. Their mind is so fucked-up they could really pull that one. Final stop Madame Tussauds.
ReplyDeletehttp://twitlonger.com/show/la2560
So much dishonesty, which according to many in the opposition is necessary in order to " win".But isn't it this chronic dishonesty what makes it impossible to even know what is going on ?
ReplyDeleteI don't try to figure the crazies out.They are not to be worried over.I try to look at this insanity only out of the corner of my eye,so as not to bump into it, and I never want to give it my full attention -otherwise I'll never get past doubt and that's what weakens energy and focus.
Good though to publish this stuff so the outside world can catch a glimpse .We need the world to know what can happen if we are not careful.
firepigette
I'm heading down to Venezuela in the midst of Semana Santa (Holy Week). It will be interesting to see the behavior of the military at the airport (both arriving and departing) towards the travelers. I saw a couple of fellows being sent to the Interpol office last time out of sheer randomness and appeared to be sheer intimidation tactics.
ReplyDeleteThe crazy thing is that, although chavistas seemingly could do no worse, (they are the worst ever), I still dont think that the oppo will win, and this unfortunately reflects on the venezuelan people in general. The stark reality is that it will take generations of doing the right things to fix the country, and that is not likely to happen any time soon. Keep in mind that Chavez died president, he DIED president, he wasnt out voted, he wasnt tried and condemmed, he won.
ReplyDeleteWho is coaching these guys the Castro brothers it's from thier playbook!!
ReplyDeleteI understand wanting the best for your country now, but I think it will be a trajedy if the opposition wins this election with all the talk of unavoidable doom around the corner as have been stated here and in other posts. First, I want to make it clear that I'm not Venezuelan, my wife is, and like I said I understand patriotism so don't be overly offended at my comments, as I would probably do what your doing if my country, Canada, was being destroyed internally.
ReplyDeleteThe unavoidable doom is the talk about the country being bankrupt, or close to. Talk about having to raise the exchange rate to 8 Bs. F. (and lets be honest getting rid of the official exchange rates at once would be a catastrophy in itself, they would have to make the black market legal to hopefully lower it as it was around 25 when last my wife sent money to her mother). So with economic desaster coming would you rather not take over the reins now, in the hopes of never seeing Chavismo take a hold in the country again (like facism in Chile after Pinoche).
Now I'm not sure if this is exaggeration or not, as I only gauge the situation from what I read, and my knowledge is one sided (only opposition blogs, as I can not stomach pro Chavez blogs for the amount of spin they spout). While it is clear that pro opposition blogs get things wrong at times, something I understand as we all have emotions invested, with The Devil's Excrement and then this blog in my opinion as the best at predictions, all signs seem to point down. Taking over the reins now would only push more people to Chavismo when things crash in 2 years time, as blame for it would fall on the opposition. Privatization of certain industries would become a must then. I think Chavismo has to be seen by the vast majority as a failure, and beating it in a close election now would not do it if the country has a market crash in the hands of the opposition a year down the line.
I've always seen similarities between the American right, and Chavismo, and this would be worse than Obama taking over after the economic crash and somehow his policies being blamed for causing it. This would happen a year into the oppositions hands, rather than under Chavismo, a couple of months before the opposition took control, like in Obama's case.
I know it is strange to look at it this way, but I think the opposition should just take this opertunity to grow as much of its base as it can and try to educate people as best it can. It doesn't matter if it fails, and would indeed be best if it did.
Anonymous 6:18 states "I've always seen similarities between the American right and Chavismo". Get your perspective correct. Chavez is a Fascist. A f-a-s-c-i-s-t. Chavismo is Fascism. It places importance in the Vaterland, creates villains to hate (Hugo's Juden were the Americans, capitalism, free enterprise, pitiyanquis, the better off ANYone better off.... and Juden), Goebbel's type propaganda (the control of media and the marathon Chavez-a-thons), centralised power, the abuse of individual rights (the judges and politicians that are held in prison without due process). To mention other groups that have opposing views to yours yet operate democratically is repugnant and ludicrous AND is similar to Chavez-style tactics. No doubt you find the Catholic Church morally reprehensible since it wishes to ban abortion and demands that men who wish to participate as clergy to remain celibate. Chavez has dangerously divided a people, reduced an economy almost to a shambles, violated the Constitution innumerable times, stolen hundreds of millions of the people's money for his own global hegemonic vision and forced an exodus of thousands of Venezuelans for economic and or political reasons. A bit of perspective and honest comparison is in order.
ReplyDeleteI think the case of the supposed poisoning of Chavez is a case of projection. Ramirez, if he had the option, would be poisoning John Brennan, Obama, Capriles and all of his enemies within Chavismo with cancer if he could. Notice the Russians also jumped on the accusation, a clear case of projection given their history with Polonium.
ReplyDeletewhile not commenting on the death of anyone, death is always a sad time for family and friends.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with anonymous.
I started visiting VE back in 2003,married my wife from caracas in 2008.
I dont know much about politics in VE other than what I chatted with people in various shops and stores while there.
I do think an opposition win at this point in history will be bad for the opposition.
similar to our failing economy in late 2008,there is not much the next guy can do about in in the short term other than be blamed for the problem.
Best of luck to all in Venezuela and I hope to visit again soon.
Daniel, I think you got at least 2 trolls today. Venezuela needs to be in the hands of the opposition ASAP even if things get bad soon. The people need to see that there is a better way, before the manure hits the fan. think of the country as somebody taking his last breaths, right now he may be saved if someone acted, if you let it go, then you get a corpse, and there is no reviving it then, no matter who may be blamed. when you read stuff like anonymous 6:18 you are left to wonder. he says "I think it will be a trajedy if the opposition wins"...I won't say what comes to mind out of respect to those who really contribute.
ReplyDelete