One nice thing about Chavez was that we could measure the democratic content of chavismo by looking at him. Since on very rare instances Chavez had a democratic word, we could assume that perhaps inside chavismo there were people more democratic in nature than he was, that they were just repressed, closeted democrats, and that someday they would prevail.
We have been proven wrong: there is no democratic bone inside chavismo, and for all that I know, whatever democrats co existed inside may have been purged by 2007 at the latest.
A few days ago I reported on already two videos showing how public employees were prosecuted just under any suspicion that they may not be ardent supporters of Maduro. Things have been getting worse this week as reports come from all around the country of massive purges inside the public sector (1). I am not going to go into the many details, limiting myself to what is becoming viral, the video from Ricardo Molina saying that in his "habitat and housing" ministry he will personally fire whoever does not resign because of their support of Capriles. Nothing new really, you may say, but in the video, besides wearing the new fascist arm band of Venezuela, Molina says that he does not give a shit about Venezuelan labor laws. He will proceed as he wants, period.
This, my friends, even if you cannot understand Spanish, is the portrait of fascism in Venezuela; the look, the manners, the violence. It is all there, he just needs to get started. And he surely will get his chance because even after this speech Maduro CONFIRMED in in his ministerial job......
And yet that is not all. Iris Varela, the crazed minster for Venezuela jail system, at which she has dismally failed but to which she was ratified by Maduro this week end, decided today that she had a cell space for Capriles. In an official capacity she extended herself lengthily on how she was going to put Capriles in jail, on how she was preparing one adequate for him, where noting would happen to him. Amazingly implying that she did not control jails but she could control parts of them. The woman was putting herself as accuser, judge, jury and warden. Fascism again, let's not be shy with words here.
And yet, Maduro having already two minsters who should be fired without any contemplation dares to call for "dialogue". But you should see the quality of that dialogue. First, he names a commission of three to talk. They are Diosdado Cabello who slammed down the microphones at the National Assembly, Jorge Arreaza, the Chavez son in law reputed as the leader of the pro Castro radical left and Cilia Flores, his "wife in waiting", who has had a distinguished career in making life miserable to anyone that disagreed with them. Really, Nicolas......
And yet it is not all: Maduro will not talk with Capriles, only those inside the opposition that do not agree with the ultra neoliberal right wing model or some similar adjectives. He will talk to them individually, not even as a dissident group. So there goes the strategy: Capriles is the head honcho so we need to weaken him by prying a few away, buying them as needed I suppose, until propaganda can work out some form of claim that he is not the leader of the opposition. The final objective is clear: to liquidate politically Capriles the way they did with Rosales in 2007. But times have changed and this time erasing Capriles is not going to be enough.
I wonder what else is needed among some of those supporters of chavismo that still persist in trying to make us believe that Venezuela is a healthy democracy (here and here for the latest inanities that were sent to me today alone).
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1- One thing also needs to be mentioned: not only the private sector is cutting down on its work force because of the crisis, but the public sector is also doing it. See, there is just no money anymore, and economic activity is expected to take a major hit this year. I suppose that it is also part of the calculation of the regime, to fire as many people as they can under political excuses so as not to admit lay off for economic policy failure. It sounds crazy, it is very clumsy, but these people are losing it fast.....
There was a theory in TW today that the reason they are so nervous is that 1) Capriles won 2) cannot hide it 3) this will prove that Chavez didn't win fairly either. Since I always thought so, I tend to believe this. Anyway, the mask is falling pretty quickly and Maduro is killing any chavism there existed. The only problem is that they are playing for time and forgetfulness. It's been real hard to keep Venezuela on the front line. I'll keep trying, but I have a feeling it's a pointless effort. God help you!
ReplyDeleteWhat is WT???????????
DeleteDamn it is like they are in a competition to see who is the nuttiest one of all!
ReplyDeleteNote his middle finger holding the paper. Not a coincidence....
ReplyDeleteMike
Is there anyone not trapped inside the propaganda fish bowl who is not clear now of the intentions of this castro communist wannabe government?
ReplyDeleteI have always thought of castro/chavismo as an infection which is spreading across latin america, fed by corruption and ideologies. The opposition is like a strong antibiotic which is working to stop the infection. Just like any antibiotic, if the dosage is not sufficient to kill the infection, the infection will return again stronger or resistant to the type or dosage. The opposition hits hard, makes an impact but just doesn't quite stop the infection. Chavismo adjusts, counters and keeps coming back like a bad STD.
If Capriles hesitates and doesn't stay on the offensive, chavismo will find a way to adjust and counter. Throughout the campaign Capriles was successful by keeping maduro on his heels and calling the shots.
The international community has to hold fast in support of true democracy. Other than the corrupt and indebted countries who so quickly showed their loyalties in support of maduro against the will of their own citizens and overwhelming evidence of fraud, please refrain from validating this false government, giving the opposition at least a fighting chance.
I have never liked the label opposition as it implies a minority opposed to a majority power, and that the majority power is in the right. Post election, the term "anti chavismo" was used by some government reports, as it let them milk out any remaining chavez sympathies. Chavismo likes to use these terms as it implies an enemy and it allows them to throw out the "revolutionary" term which they think is cool. Any government who divides and goes to war against it's own people will not last for long. I am pretty sure that if Bolivar were alive today, he would be fighting alongside the opposition to liberate Venezuela from cuba.
concerned
Your medical comparison looks at Maduro and his cohorts as STD to be cured with antibiotics. Your kindness made you misdiagnose. Madurismo is a cancer that only radical surgery will cure.
DeleteI noticed in the news this AM that the military is now to occupy all the electrical generation facilities for a period of 90 days. At worst I fear this is the beginning of a military occupation/deep Cubanisation of the country. At best, it is a show of force to intimidate the opposition. Perhaps Capriles should not have called for peaceful protest, after all, and should have allowed all hell to break loose to wrest power away from the golpistas.
ReplyDelete"...military is now to occupy all the electrical generation facilities for a period of 90 days"
DeleteNext will come "reports" that the military has stopped over 15,000 sabotage attacks every day and Maduro made the correct decision. No evidence will be given, just trust them. It is in line with all of the supposed assassination attempts on Maduro.
What are they going to do as the problem of the Guri electric plant gets worse & they can no longer blame the opposition with sabotage?
DeleteThis is the same military that supposedly controls the countries penitenciaries, customs, mining areas, etc. We all know how transparent and exemplary they are .... What a joke.
DeleteThey are melting the transformers and transmission lines trying to keep it as stable as possible, albeit at low voltage. Time is not on their side. You are right, if the military is going to protect against the boogyman phantom saboteurs for 90 days, who will they blame?
ReplyDeleteThey are not thinking that far ahead. Just to imply that there is a culprit other than chavismo, and maduro controls the military and actually cares now about the electric crisis. They have also pulled from their ass a new plan to restore the system...Brilliant! Too late, and just another fresh lie. Tell el pueblo what they want to hear. Next they will claim that violent crime will go down once they lock up the violent opposition assassins.
Any videos of nice transformer explosions or cherry red power lines from Venezuela?
DeleteSomeone needs to put English subtitles on these videos so folks in the US, the UK and elsewhere can get a first-hand view of the Maduro regime's craziness.
ReplyDeleteVenezuela's biggest state power company planning to seek assistance to reduce blackouts
ReplyDeleteApril 23, 2013| Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela's government has enacted "an emergency decree" allowing the largest state power utility to sign agreements with domestic and foreign companies to help improve electricity service.
Vice President Jorge Arreaza says Corpoelec will seek assistance from private companies to build infrastructure and provide services. He says the initiative will increase Corpoelec's power producing capacity.
Blackouts are common throughout Venezuela.
Officials have accused government foes of sabotaging the power grid, but Arreaza conceded on Tuesday that the system is plagued by problems. He did not provide details Government opponents say the system is failing due to lack of investment.
What kind of psycho would invest money in Venezuela's electricity sector with a hope of future returns?
DeleteI would think any "investment" would be cash up front, i.e. the way Haier "invests" in Venezuela when it sells refrigerators there!!
Daniel, enjoy! :)
ReplyDeletehttp://stanford.edu/~dkronick/vz-elections2013/#
Yeah, I know about them. But the thing is that raw data like that is not very helpful for two reasons: 1) Venezuela's population distribution does not make for sexy maps as you can see from countries more evenly settled like the US or Western Europe and 2) and thus the colors, if you do not know over what they are painted, can hide you the true meaning of the election.
Deletethis being said, it is still a praiseworthy effort from the Kronick et al group.
Finally, a fact based article in the international press, Yahoo, on post election government lies.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-wrestles-over-truth-bombing-claims-201218341.html
Keep them coming.........
I hate to say this but the only way these goons will leave office is by force. They don't give a damn about the law, the people or anything else. This is what happens when little people have total power. All they want is the power. Now they are calling Captiles a fascist and threatening jail. This is a real Democracy.
ReplyDeleteThe Venezuelan with whom I have contact hopes that NM will sertve his term and then vanish. Not likely IMHO. The populace can on;y take so much before they rebel and I think that will be sooner rather than later. It won't be pleasant and from my safe haven in the south Pacific I feel very concerned for my friend and the rest of you.
ReplyDeleteA message from a friend in Caracas says the economy has completely stopped and suggests that Venezuela has run out of foreign credit. Imports are thus at a stop and shortages of just about everything are the norm. How long can the people put up with this before they rebel?
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing - and terribly sad, as well as worrisome - how much difference charisma makes?
ReplyDelete