A Maundy Thursday to remember

What is remarkable today, more than the actual events, some horrific enough, is that they actually took place. For those not familiar with Venezuelan holiday habits, the Holy Week, from the Friday before Palm Sunday (viernes de concilio) until Easter is the biggest vacation time of the year. Whoever can get the week off leaves Caracas (or any provincial capital) to visit relatives, go to the beach, etc. When I was a kid there was not even a bakery open on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Not even movies!  TV only showed old biblical cheesy movies. Things have changed since but Good Friday still remains mostly closed. And the rest of the week still is in slow motion, but effervescent on any Venezuelan beach.

This year the regime tried to revive these habits out of political expediency: public employees got the week off. The idea was to have as many people leave Caracas as protests kept mounting. It has not worked.

Si a cada 11 le toca su 13, pues a cada 13 le toca su 12

El chavismo está hoy ¿conmemorando? ¿celebrando? o tal vez ¿añorando? el mes de abril de 2002, un desastre que les sirve de Playa Girón. Porque otra cosa no tienen para su épica sino ese desastre del cual se salvo Chávez de carambola. Bueno, cuando escribo "se" salvo quiero decir "lo" salvaron porque el estaba lloriqueando en sotanas y en la playita de la Orchila donde lo habían puesto su incompetencia y su inconsciencia. Pero por suerte para Chávez, la incompetencia del otro lado fue mayor, demostrando que las Fuerzas Armadas de Venezuela ya no son ni capaces de hacer un golpe, sea en 1992 o 2002.

El chavismo tiene un problema de épica ya que solo cuenta con los estentóreos intestinales de su héroe en el Museo Militar o en aquel túnel de tren del cual no quiero acordarme. Ni siquiera en su muerte pudo el líder crear un momento de épica, entregándose como lo hizo a unos extranjeros que lo aislaron antes de matarlo. Con el circo del funeral, sus poco iluminados lugartenientes no mejoraron el asunto, pasando luego directo a un trágico vodevil fascista que nos tiene a todos en ascuas, chavistas y no chavistas.

Memo-carta a los chavistas: Memorias de abril

Ya que Jose Vicente y la AVN están interesados en mi blog me permito escribirles hoy en su aciaga semana.

Pues si, han sido 10 años y todavía estamos en lo mismo.  No hubo comisión de la verdad, no hubo investigación independiente, nada.  Pura palabrería y fraguar mitos, forjando mitos como se forjan estafas. "Bahía de Cochinos" nunca será el abril del 2002, por más que traten.

Si no hubiese sido por la obsesión en medios estatales que a veces tolero unos escasos minutos ni me hubiese acordado de la fecha.  Total, en mis peleas con CADIVI, SENIAT y quien mas para poder trabajar, o buscando atención medica para mis viejos, ¿quien tiene tiempo para ustedes?  Pero viendo los shows mediáticos que están montando me di cuenta de algo: ya abril se ha vuelto irrelevante para el país.  Por mas que ustedes griten ya convencieron hace tiempo los que iban a convencer.  No habrá mas conversos.  Y la oposición ya tiene tiempo que dejo de preocuparse por los que se creen la bazofia oficial de abril: con fanáticos religiosos uno no se mete, sea un testigo de Jehova, un Mullah Iraní o personeros como Mari Pili de payasita de cumpleaños frente a la embajada cubana, trancando el trafico ya congestionado de la sufrida Chuao.

My S.O. has to go and march today to celebrate the establishment of the Chavez dictatorship

It is April 13 and chavismo is celebrating.  Well, the hardcore anyway because a whole bunch of the people you will see in the streets have been told to march or else.  My S.O. is among them and hopefully he will send me pictures of the deal....

As a revenge of sorts I decided to read the infamous Carmona decree and compare it with what is the Venezuelan situation today.  you know, to see which one of Carmona and Chavez is the worst dictator.

Article one: naming Carmona president.  Well, that is exactly what Chavez would have done in 1992 if he had not shat his pants at the Museo Militar. Deuce.

OPORTUNÍSIMO regalo de 11 de abril: dictador Gbagbo arrestado en Costa de Marfil

Me parece una coincidencia maravillosa que hoy, 11 de abril, por fin cae Laurent Gbagbo, dictador de Costa de Marfil, que fue obligado a ir a elecciones por la comunidad internacional, que las perdió y que trató de atrincherarse.  Después de traer aun mas miseria a ese infortunado país con su negativa a jugar a la democracia lo único que logró es terminar siendo arrestado y probablemente en vías de le La Haya, lo que hubiese podido evitar si hubiese aceptado el resultado electoral y pactado con Ouattara, el legítimo vencedor.

Que esto sirva de lección a otros en los trópicos que se la pasan hablando pendejadas, de milicias y de que "no volverán".  Quienes volverán o no se puede discutir, pero todo tiene su final y todos son sustituidos algún día, incluso por comilitones si es necesario.  Si quieren pasar a la historia por la puerta grande, no hay nada mejor que el buen gobierno y la vocación democrática.  Milicias, violencia y corrupción solo los llevarán la despeñadero, y muchas veces al país también.

Aquí a la derecha una foto de Gbagbo en camiseta que me recuerda a otra joya tropical que también poso en camiseta algún día de un mes de abril no tan lejano.....

Servicio público: en un día como hoy

Tenemos el deber de recordar a nuestros distinguidos lectores lo que pasó en un día como hoy, en el 2002 para ser mas precisos.

Muchos hechos son oscurecidos por  el tiempo, pero no importa que tanto se trate de reescribir la historia, esto permanece cierto, hasta que se pruebe lo contrario, por una comisión de la verdad:

De abril 11 a abril 19, perdiendo nuestra independencia

Cada vez se torna mas irrelevante volver a examinar los acontecimientos que nos llevaron al 11 de abril de 2002. Sin embargo, ya que en apenas una semana también vamos a conmemorar la Independencia de Venezuela, es oportuno volver a examinar una vez más los eventos del 11 de abril para mostrar en que grado hemos perdido la libertad cuando llegamos al 19 de abril, 200 años después.

Muchos libros han sido publicados sobre los días cuando Chávez cayó brevemente hace 8 años. Y, sin embargo, todavía estamos lejos de conocer todo lo que deberíamos saber a estas alturas, como los nombres de quienes ordenaron la matanza. Como muestra tuvimos incluso un simulacro de juicio que condenó a algunas personas a 30 años de cárcel por los "crímenes" de abril de 2002 y sin embargo sólo los chavistas endurecidos aceptan el resultado de ese juicio. No es que los condenados sean inocentes o culpables, pero la forma en que el juicio fue llevado a cabo vuelve absolutamente claro que el gobierno había decidido fabricar un culpable, independientemente de la verdad.

From April 11 to April 19: losing Venezuela's independence

It is becoming lame to re-discuss the events that led to April 11 2002.  However since in barely a week we will also commemorate the Independence of Venezuela, it is fitting to revisit once more April 11 events to show how much freedom we lost as we reach 19 de abril, 200 years later.

Many books have now been published over the day when Chavez fell briefly 8 years ago.  And yet, we are still far from knowing all what we should know by now, such as the names of those who ordered the shootings.  To witness, we even had a mock trial that condemned a few people to 30 years sentence for the "crimes" of April 2002 and yet only the hardened chavista accept the result of that trial.  Not that those condemned were innocent or guilty, but the way the trial was led it was absolutely clear that the government had decided to create a guilty party, regardless of the truth.

What would Homer Simpson make of the April 11 bash of chavismo?

So we have reached a new anniversary of April 11, the one of 2002, remember? I am not going to go into any panegyric of the date. By now it has become a totally ridiculous propaganda opportunity for chavismo. After years of stonewalling justice, of blocking true investigation of the events, Chavez and associates have granted a select amnesty and now feel free from ever digging at the dark secrets of the day, in particular the dark cloud over chavismo actions. Now they can say whatever they want about that fateful week: as long as they are in office the real truth will never be known. The permanent media show, if any. By the way, Geovanny Vasquez left Venezuela yesterday for Panama. Just like that in spite of the huge storm he unleashed early this week. Another case from which we will likely never get the truth, and even less from the dark chavista cloud of the murder of Danilo Anderson.

That is why I think it is a timely coincidence that my piece on the suspension of the Simpsons makes it out today on Index on Censorship. I get top billing right now and here is the link to permanent page. Fitting coincidence, no?


-The end-

April 11 commemoration, Chavez style

I was not going to write on the 5 year pause from the fateful April 2002. But Chavez is providing me with such a incredible moment that it would be a sin to pass on it. So there it is, the pictures form a cadena that just started!!!!

The first picture, the one that opened the show is of Chavez in front of a large crucifix in Miraflores. Notice that the crucifix is in Venezuelan folk tradition, dressed up and clean, not the Mater Dolorosa of a more European tradition. There is no need of course to comment on Chavez new found religious fervor. I am wondering when he will incorporate in his speech Martin Luther of Calvin. Cannot be far in the future. Maybe his entourage is too ignorant of reformation to use such icons yet...

Then he went in front of some of the icons of the room such as Urdaneta, stressing that he was the last president of the Gran Colombia. He was the second and last but who cares when the objective of the message is to attack those who were sabotaging Bolivar work, and by inference Chavez work. I am just putting the picture of Chavez in front of the giant Bolivar so you can see Chavez back, and his insignificance, under Bolivar whom he should be embarrassed of invoking grossly as he does. But Chavez is long gone past any restraint.

The cadena? Fine, thank you. Chavez started to narrate his "personal experience" on April 11 at night and quickly enough went on to rewrite history, in particular the extent of any US involvement in that situation. The way he goes, soon he will be describing the ferocious marines that went to Miraflores to take him away in the night. And you know what is worse, he might start believing it himself....

Ah! but I was forgetting the ominous line: "those that have never accepted my election AND will never do it". Neutral and air perhaps? Watch the context! It means "them or me, thus I will need to eliminate them", which is exactly what he is doing these days as he sets up the means he will dispose to force people like me to kneel or to leave or to end up in jail.

A question for the readership of this blog: which one will become first a national holiday: February 4 or April 13? I go for April 13, it will make a nice long holiday week when tied up with April 19 or Easter (or both!)...

PS: Chavez then passed the cadena to his "friends". So tonight the whole country must put up in every TV and radio station with the silly words of Cilia Flores which is one of the guests of this tasteless talk show whose only objective is to attack the opposition while the attacked opposition is the one who claims for justice for the murders of April 11. Fascism is on the march as of course nobody from the opposition will be allowed at VTV to explain their side of the story. Then again Chavez warned us a few minutes ago: he is in to eradicate the opposition in Venezuela, which ever that one is, from military coupsters to former allies such as PODEMOS. Totalitarianism is on the march, do not doubt it.

PS2: I was not planning on discussing April 2002 (again and again, I am getting tired of it). But I do understand that some folks can be new to this so there is in Spanish a recent summary of these days, causes and consequences. And there is also an interview in English that ghost blogger Arena did to Quico who was a journalist these days in Venezuela. That should be enough to catch up with reality, not the Chavez "april-landia".

PS3: It is 10:30 and Chavez is still going on. The guests were not going to have such amount of coverage.... He is blurting about some declassified files. I do not car, I am watching desperate housewives, very fitting for the circumstances.

PS4: It is 11. At some point Chavez had his Mom on. Now he is saying that the high oil price of today is due to him. That is why the US sent the CIA to oust him on 2002. The world turns around Chavez. It is clinical now. Desperate Housewives is over. I am going to bed. There is so much hubris I can deal with in a single day.

-The end-