Thursday, March 10, 2016

Mid March, and the march to abyss continues

Regular readers might be wondering about the sparse recent posting compared to the flurry early this year. Many reasons but it is not the point. Time to update things a little

Cruelty of the regime

My personal experience last week should make it clear that no one can escape the trained violence that the regime has sponsored, trained by Cubans, of course, as it has not been in the nature of Venezuelans whose earlier dictators would rather dispatch people and only torture for information, never for sport as it has become the case here, in particular since 2014 under Maduro (who hopefully will meet the fate that escaped Chavez, to sit in an international court of justice for crimes against humanity). If a simple particular, out of nowhere, can experience such psychological violence I wonder what people from Lopez to Afiuni have truly experienced. Even, if it were possible, more respect from me now.

But the cruelty is not only there, it reaches genocidal levels with the refusal of the regime to face down the health care crisis, one that could not be solved fast but could be attenuated fast with very simple measures, if the regime decided to try to steal a little bit less than what they are doing. When I hear Sanders at this point in time vaunting the Cuban health care system, in ruin and that ruined the Venezuelan one, I can only be aghast and and say that I feel the burn. How can a US presidential candidate with real aspirations can be so ill informed?

Corruption keeps apace

These past couple of weeks my business has been confronted with two direct extortion attempts by public officials that have become mere racketeers. One succeeded because we had no choice. We are tired to receive the visit of "brokers" which are people that miraculously have access to dollars and can import what we cannot do.  But at DollarToday rates. However they do offer a valid bill of purchase so we can put the goods into our accounting. If we were importing them on our own, without going through the currency exchange of control, the USD bill would be recognized at 10, not at 1100 as DolarToday has it. Imagine the taxes we would pay that way.

Meanwhile, of course, the barrening process of grocery store shelves keeps apace. Not even my blackmarteers can provide me with what I need, even at a ten fold increase of the official legal price.

Meanwhile the devaluation of a few weeks ago has already failed. Far from calming the country the black market rate registered a further 10% loss since the devaluation. So there.

The National Assembly under siege, literally

Videos show how chavista colectivos can post graffiti over the hallowed walls of parliament under the eyes of the Nazional Guard that remains nearly motionless.  The chavista whip takes to the barricades to ask paid for chavista "supporters" to storm the Assembly to which he was elected.

These are just a sign of the times, as judicial decision after judicial decision the regime is starting to rule through the high court, TSJ. But even that will not be enough soon. The Assembly spokesperson has said that any new debt secured without passing through the National Assembly risks not been recognized by a future government. Can the TSJ get the country into more debt as if nothing? Will someone be stupid enough to trust their money to these TSJ/Maduro racketeers? Me thinks not. Thus the regime will have to find a permanent way to neutralize once and for all the Assembly.

The Assembly tries what it can

Even though people disagree with the way the Assembly is proceeding, I beg to differ. First, I do not think it can do more than what it does now. Differently perhaps, but more I doubt. Second it has exposed clearly that if the crisis continues, and even worsens, it is because the regime is refusing to discuss ANYTHING. Compromise with these people is, well, impossible. Surprise!

So the Assembly has decided in earnest to do the last thing it can do : to take out Maduro. A multi pronged approach is necessary since the regime is already putting obstacles to any electoral test that they know they will lose. And the TSJ will, of course, annule anything they want because a comma is not exactly where it should be, even though their own sentences are usually ill written. Something that a ridiculous journalist, from Time no less, qualifies with the worst humor possible as a peaceful coup . As I was commenting, too many journalists still see Venezuela as a reality show.....

At any rate the Assembly has decided to try to oust Maduro in all possible ways: recall election, constitutional amendment, street protest and the ultimate nuke, constitutional assembly. It will fail of course because the regime CANNOT surrender power because they know what their fate will be: jail. They will sabotage, repress, annul even basic common sense. But something will get started and people will be hungry. And international narco justice and money laundering cannot be avoided for ever. All is thus possible. The question is when.

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There you have, a summary of the 4 posts I should have been writing if I had time on my hands.




9 comments:

  1. Boludo Tejano5:12 AM

    When I hear Sanders at this point in time vaunting the Cuban health care system, in ruin and that ruined the Venezuelan one, I can only be aghast and and say that I feel the burn. How can a US presidential candidate with real aspirations can be so ill informed?

    Point one.Since when have the traditional US lefty positions on Latin America-praise be to the guerrillas spreading the Marxist canon etc etc- been based on knowledge? Sanders is just recycling what he repeatedly and I mean REPEATEDLY- said three decades ago about Castro and the Sandinistas.

    Moreover, I doubt many people who hear Sanders in person say such things have sufficient knowledge about Latin America to counter him. Unfortunately.



    Point two. Our POTUS has talked about the "transcontinental" railroad that joined California with the rest of the US, has referred to "speaking Austrian." Etc. Sanders is merely standing on the shoulders of giants, as it were.

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    Replies
    1. My point is also that going to Florida Sanders should have'd an adviser about what not to say while in Rome. That is more worrying than what he actually said which is merely despicable.

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    2. Sanders is an idiot pandering to uneducated or poorly educated youngsters. He's like the Podemitas in Spain. He has tracción because schools are slowly Boeing rajen over by very focused closet Marxists. Soñé of them, like Drexel's Ciccarello Maher, are no stop Marxism peddlers, others are subtler but just as pernicious.

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    3. I try to explain to people that Sanders was praising the Cuban dictatorship JUST AS that same regime was confining homosexuals and hippies in concentration camps (UMAP) and they look at me like I'm a raving lunatic or simply turn their head sideways and say "I didn't know any of that."

      Delete
  2. "Second it has exposed clearly that if the crisis continues, and even worsens, it is because the regime is refusing to discuss ANYTHING."

    They should drill this point everyday. The criminal regime will try to blame everything on the MUD now, the "burguesitos sifrinos que controlan la asamblea y no nos dejan gobernar". And as ignorant, gullible or misinformed the "pueblo" is, many will start to believe that. Beacuse the social divide that brought Chavismo forth, the hatred for the upper classes, is still very much alive. Remember that over 6 million chupa medias just voted even for Maduro, and more than HALF of the entire populace is still Chavista at heart, still adores Comandante Pajarito Supremo. (That's how "wise" our "pueblo" really is..)

    As the crisis worsens (700% inflation, $1500/US$, no more reserves, no more Chinese loans, Default, more crime, less food, less to steal in the 37 "ministerios, more unemployment, etc)... "el pueblo" will start to doubt the MUD sifrinitos: they obviously have a very short memory. That could allow the corrupt executive and judicial branches to shut down the assembly completely, beyond mere sabotage, as Daniel suggests.

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  3. "At any rate the Assembly has decided to try to oust Maduro in all possible ways: recall election, constitutional amendment, street protest and the ultimate nuke, constitutional assembly. It will fail of course because the regime CANNOT surrender power because they know what their fate will be: jail."

    Exactly. Jail and/or frozen bank accounts, loss of their stolen fortunes.

    Therefore, since the Chavista thugs will not "go quietly into the night", they will refuse to let go of "el coroto", what's the solution? Where's "la salida"? I doubt it will be constitutional or "democratic". And since there's no Justice, total impunity, and the filthy military is totally corrupt (and also fears jail/loss of assets), then what?

    The Streets, of course. As Leopoldo always knew. That's the only way out. Massive social protests, a social explosion. This could happen before or after 2019, when the Real elections take place. This parliamentary election was a joke, in a practical sense. The AN can't do much at all, it will be sabotaged, paralyzed, rendered useless and ineffective. Chavistas always knew that. So they didn't try to steal it too hard. They didn't use all their weapons at disposal: CNE and Smartmatic. More extorsion, bribes and intimidation, etc. The Presidential elections are a different animal, because if Capriles or Allup and the MUD grab the Executive power, se acabo el cine, escapese quien pueda..

    So if "el pueblo" can't stomach the crisis until 2019, si se la calan, it will be a blast to see how the Chavista criminals bring the heavy artillery to steal the Real elections, backed by the military, CNE, Judicial, Chavez's Smartmatic, the controlled media for brain-wash, etc.
    That's when all hell could break lose. And it will probably be violent, bloody and nasty, out there in the streets.


    ReplyDelete
  4. By the way, as you know I've always postulated that Obama's move to pander to the Castro dictatorship was very poorly timed. He simply signals to Maduro and Cabello that dictatorship is acceptable to the USA, and that it'll even lend a hand to help keep it alive.

    The solution, therefore, will be for Venezuelans to fight this out on their own. But that fight can be carried out peacefully by pressing on the Cuban jugular. You really can't let the subject rest, and press for Castro to be punished for interfering in Venezuela's internal affairs.

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  5. Anonymous7:03 PM

    I've read that possibly on March 15th the "Democratic card/charter might be pulled by the OEA. I believe that it is assumed that we all know what this means. I do not. I have not seen an article in English or Spanish explaining probabilities and implications regarding this possible event. Daniel could you publish something on this?

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  6. Boludo Tejano7:46 PM

    My point is also that going to Florida Sanders should have'd an adviser about what not to say while in Rome.

    I hadn't thought of that angle. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to realize that praise of Fidel Castro wouldn't go over very well in Florida. Bernie Sanders has been elected as the Mayor and then in effect as the Senator from Burlington, which is merely an enclave of Cambridge, Berserkely, or the Upper West Side on the shores of Lake Champlain. In such enclaves Bernie Sanders probably got little negative feedback from his having praised Fidel or the Sandinistas.

    ReplyDelete

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