Let's buy an election

In Venezuela elections have lost any meaning.

The regime now manufactures the votes it needs to win whatever it needs to win.  And now, courtesy of hyperinflation, it can also print money at will to throw at people. That whatever it throws at them is losing half its value within a month is a mere detail.  But the beauty of it all is that people that receive those crumbs need also to be duly registered with address on voting lists. Thus, in case printing both votes and money is not enough, you can also scare them into voting for you by visiting them on election day, say, at noon with a dry knock at the door and a "you have not voted yet; come on, let's go; we are taking you there".  "Carnet de la Patria" is indeed a wonderful tool of control. Who knew it?

So today we are going to examine all what you can get from Carnet de La Patria by election time.

And check one more for Maduro: the terrible state of Venezuelan opposition

I keep postponing writing on what to do about Venezuela, the more so now that international pressure is growing in earnest. But everyday here I get new evidence that Maduro's domination (not strength, that is another matter) is at least based on half his wiles and a good portion of the opposition willingness to play bull to its matador.

The unconstitutional assembly decided that those parties that did not field candidates in December elections were cancelled and had to prove again that they did exist and had following enough to deserve a voting ballot.  Not only this was a stupid (and illegal) reason, but it betrayed how upset the regime is when it "wins" by default. There is no pleasing these psychos....

Macron does Maduro, or how to make a big mess of your so called foreign policy

Last night I read in awe the words of French President Emmanuel Macron on Venezuela (1). Not necessary for what he said, after all he did not send the French Foreign legion to land in Venezuela. But the circumstances make them almost extraordinary, as extraordinary as the idiotic to muted reply of the regime.

Those little genocidal moments

About every 6 weeks or so I need to take the S.O. to pick up his treatments at the IVSS high cost medicine.  By law in Venezuela a whole series of medications, usually expensive, cannot be sold and must be administered by the state (from rulings BEFORE the Chavez era, mind you, least you'd think that Chavez invented each and every social programs; 1).

This notable initiative has, of course, turned into a bureaucratic nightmare which with the current crisis has tuned out to become a nightmare of genocidal proportions. Today's story.

Nothing like throwing in a little presidential election to distract folks

Today, without much a surprise besides the chutzpah temporary effect, the regime decided to call for presidential election by April 30.

I am not to go into the illegality of it all. At this point "legal" has probably been erased from the Venezuelan dictionary.  Just a comment: in Venezuela, like in the US, there is such a thing as fixed term mandate. That is, whoever is elected by April 30 (surprise, it will be Maduro!), cannot be sworn in until January 2019.

So why go into such a farce? That is what is interesting to discuss.

The need to thread carefully around the Oscar Perez saga

I know I am not going to make friends with this entry but someone has to write it down.

Best wishes for 2018

Well, for those outside of Venezuela that is. Here? "May you survive 2018" seems as reasonable request as you may utter.

I do look like a chavista. Late December I was speculating/promising that I may be able to do a round up of 2017, having in theory more time ahead. Sure enough I did nothing. Not that it mattered much for our eggnog soaked audience. Or name your poison...