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| Women and men both trying to loot the truck. See all the open boxes already spread around. They did not come from a spray through the truck cabin.... |
This morning a truck broke the security barrier in a Caracas highway exchange and got stuck in the middle of the highway. The truck carried packs of frozen meat. It was 6 AM. Within minutes there were already people trying to loot the truck instead than trying to save the driver, who ended up dead later. The cops came and stopped for a while the actions. But since the Caracas main highway was paralyzed, motorbikes came from all around and started trying to rob all the unhappy drivers stuck in traffic.
At 9 AM about 300 bikers arrived and tried to overpower the police security people who had to call for reinforcement. Of course, the idea was to loot the truck...
The disaster blocked the whole city all the way until downtown (photo included in the link)
So there you have it, 14 years of Chavez socialism and we are left with a large group of people who think that they can grab whatever they want, at any price, shocked, SHOCKED when actually some authority tries to explain to them that no, they cannot do so. Note: the society of motorbikes is a creation of chavismo who has subsidized them heavily in the early years because they were their storm troopers to quickly go around town to crush any anti Chavez protest. Remember Lina Ron? Now they are out of control, a threat to regime itself. One shudders at the idea that suddenly 300 bikes could appear in a neighborhood and start looting while the cops look helpless. Because they are armed, you know, the bikers, better than the cops probably.
The problems we face to rebuild Venezuela are much, much worse than a matter to find money for reconstruction, putting finance in orders, supporting business to produce and hire people. We have become a society of looters, robbers, abusers, drug traffickers, and what not, to a degree of cruelty and violence that leads us to prison riots where the hearts of the victims are pulled out of their chests. Viva Chavez, carajo!
How did the driver die? Just says he 'died in the accident' in the Universal but the cab of the truck is intact...killed trying to protect his load?
ReplyDeleteDrivers left alone never try to defend their load for long. One of the looters will start to throw stones and the driver will have to run for cover, least they also take his wallet, cell phone and life. The most drivers do in such frequent circumstances is to confront looters for a few minutes in the hope police arrives. But once looting has started in earnest not even police will try to stop it.
DeleteIt appears the front end of the trailer sheared open and the contents thrust onto the cab. Was the driver crushed?
ReplyDeleteApparently though details not available yet. If that werethe case it makes matters worse. Looters were busy emptying box spelled rather than helping the driver.
DeleteYou don't think the looting would have happened before Chavez?
ReplyDeleteAbout 15 years ago, an acquaintance was driving near Maracaibo late at night, when he swerved to avoid hitting something. He flipped his car and was hanging upside side, from his seat belt, and slightly groggy, when he felt hands reaching inside the car. They tried to steal his watch and wallet. He had to yell and fight them off.
DeleteOf course! Looting is the second oldest office in the world. However civilized societies act against it, Chavez never did.
DeleteLooters in civilized countries that take advantage of disasters are immediately arrested or shot. In Venezuela this behavior is tolerated.Disgusting and repugnant.How embarassing it must be for civilized Venezuelans.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eluniversal.com/sucesos/130928/para-hoy-esperan-trasladar-cadaver-del-chofer-de-la-gandola-a-colombia
ReplyDeleteThis already existed before Chavez, Daniel. If you do not believe me just look at the Caracazo. When man is believed unpunished, our worst comes to light.
ReplyDeleteYou cannot compare an act of collective folly with a specific one away from Residencial areas (it was Los Ruices) which was led gangstyle by bikers. This is another dimension.
DeleteThe point, Daniel, is that the looting Venezuelan culture existed long before Chavez, that all he did was make things worse in this area, more anything.
DeleteOr perhaps I should also mention the looting during the tragedy of Vargas?
Pablo, what happened Friday was a qualitative jump, not a quantitative. Or to use your examples how often did 300 motorbikes arrived to loot a truck in AD times, or in Vargas? This is a different type of looting, it is an escalation that the government seems unprepared to control.
Delete“[it] touches people at every step, but it does so with its ideological
ReplyDeletegloves on. This is why life in the system is so thoroughly permeated with
hypocrisy and lies: government by bureaucracy is called popular government;
the working class is enslaved in the name of the work ing class; the
complete degradation of the individual is presented as his ultimate
liberation; depriving people of information is called making it available;
the use of power to manipulate is called the public control of power, and
the arbitrary abuse of power is called observing the legal code; the
repression of culture is called its development; the expansion of imperial
intluence is presented as support for the oppressed; the lack of free
expression becomes the highest form of freedom; farcical elections become
the highest form of democracy; banning independent thought becomes the most
scientific of world views; military occupation becomes fraternal assistance.
Because the regime is captive to its own lies, it must falsify everything.
It falsifies the past. It falsifies the present, and it falsifies the
future. It falsifies statistics. It pretends not to possess an omnipotent
and unprincipled police apparatus. It pretends to respect human rights. It
pretends to persecute no one. It pretends to fear nothing. It pretends to
pretend nothing.
“Individuals need not believe all these mystifications, but they must behave
as though they did, or they must at least tolerate them in silence, or get
along well with those who work with them. For this reason, however, they
must live within a lie. They need not accept the lie. It is enough for them
to have accepted their life with it and in it. For by this very fact,
individuals confirm the system, fulfill the system, make the system, are the
system.”
from:
Václav Havel: The Power of the Powerless
http://bit.ly/4bqmRu
Por favor que alguien me muestre un comunicado del gobierno donde las autoridades rechacen estas acciones.
ReplyDeleteLast week in a supermarket in Altamira, Caracas I was in a queue hoping to find some milkpowder. At least they had 4 bottles of mais oil per person. I only wanted to buy a single one, but received severals pushings and had to protect my face from ellbows. It's not like the people can't buy cooking oil, there is plenty of soya oil, but they are fighting for the mais oil "Maizena". I know Venezuela now about 20 years and never was in such a situation like now. Politicans which are using abusive words against the opposition let the people think, that there is no need to behave polite anymore. H-F
ReplyDeleteAnthonny Arias, jamas el desgobierno abrira la boca sobre esto, no le importa el pobre chofer quien murio dentro de la cabina con un gentio alrededor que solo pensaba en llevarse carne gratis. Esto porque estan pasando hambre, porque no hay policia que se haga respetar, porque aqui es una republica bananera, y para esto no hay remedio
ReplyDelete