A way out for Venezuela: it will not be coming from the opposition

At least not as it stands right now.

The disarray of the opposition is simply breathtaking.  And if you read Twitter varied time lines, you will find out that some inside the opposition spend time attacking each other in more virulent ways than they ever attacked chavismo. Though I suspect that chavismo having long stopped reading their own incendiary Twitter replies these oppo radicals had to turn their anger elsewhere. But I digress.

Two oppositions

Fortunately for Lilian Tintori, her enemies are mean but stupid

As a follow up of Friday's entry.

Saturday Lilian Tintori, wife of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, tried to leave the country on a well announced and scheduled tour that included meetings with Macron, May, Merkel, and Rajoy, that I know of. So, instead of letting her go and within the hour announce that she fled the country, they confiscated her passport and forbade her to leave the country.

Day 2 of the dictatorship: an evening of NO

The bomb of Luisa Ortega stating that the high court decisions are unconstitutional has gone around the world. Really, even French TV talked about it tonight. This means that the world KNOWS perfectly well that in Venezuela there is no separation of power, that all are mere employees of the executive branch. What would have been a mere judicial dissenting opinion in a normal country, making it or not to the nightly local news, becomes in Venezuela world news.

And the year starts with a bang

Today the National Assembly sessions for 2017 started, without the regime dissolving it. Actually chavismo representatives attended though they denounced that the Assembly was illegal, and that they would not even bother naming their whip. The chair for this year sessions is Julio Borges, replacing Ramos Allup. In his inaugural speech he took no gloves. He said that the objective of the Assembly was to find a way to get rid of the terrible government of Nicolas Maduro. And he demanded that the army faced up to its responsibilities: either support Maduro and its narco state, going down with him in infamy, or force him to accept elections and restore constitutional rule. Borges could have not been any clearer, and challenged the regime just as this one named the most leftist, castroite, communist narko cabinet since 1998.

So let's see what this all means.

In extremely reluctant praise of Ramos Allup

Today the MUD coalition voted on who would be the chair for the first year tenure of the National Assembly elected on 6D (NA). The winner is Henri Ramos Allup (1). I am very far from overjoyed but I also must make a great effort to understand the historic moment.

The new troika: majority whip (Borges) MUD secretary
(Torrealba) and NA chair (Ramos)

The negative first.

Henri Ramos Allup is the secretary of Accion Democratica, AD, the old grand party of the pre Chavez years. From the wreckage he did save some of the furniture but at the cost of being a kind of little tyrant, happily purging a few, in a very chavista way. But the reader should keep in mind that chavismo is mostly coming from the AD low rung hacks that were kept in check for their hardheadedness, incompetence and the like. Once unleashed we saw the dramatic results over these last 15 years of looting and incompetence. I am not pinning on these transfuges the narco state: that one comes straight from Fidel Castro and the FARC who had no problem recruiting into the diverse lumpen that joined Chavez.

Tidbits: Barbara, no private education and Borges messes up

There were three items that appeared today in the news that would be worth of a spot but I preferred to discuss of local matters that would not be discussed in English on the web otherwise. That is why you can find the post on Didalco Bolivar above this one. But these other items to deserve to be mentioned.

Barbara Walters does Chavez

What can I say? In 17 years in the US I NEVER liked Barbara Walters, finding he superficial. If she were younger she should join the cast of E! network, much more suitable for the type of journalism she does. Well, she interviewed Chavez and she swallowed it all, Bait, Hook and Sink. No need to cover this since Miguel has done it here.

No more private education

The association of Bolivarian teachers say that education in Venezuela should be public only, controlled from the state and starting from the womb. Private education should be "eradicated". Words fail me. When we read a few days ago that school enrollment DROPPED in public schools while it increased in private ones, we know what link with reality these people hold... By the way, someone should tell them that chavista leaders have their kids in private schools.

Borges gave an interview to Jose Vicente Rangel

Jose Vicente Rangel has recycled himself into his old talk show now that he has been fired (resigned?) from the Chavez administration vice president. Why would someone take seriously Rangel as a journalist after 8 years of cynical lies goes beyond my understanding. But apparently some people are so desperate to get rid of Chavez NOW, that they are even willing to believe that Rangel could be the man.

What is surprising is that Julio Borges seems to share this opinion, that maybe Rangel is the ticket for his glory. Next Sunday he will be the guest in the third show of Rangel. The third show!! Can you believe that?

I am not opposed to opposition leaders to eventually go to Rangel show. After all, if in a few months he shows himself to be again a real journalist and that his political era was strictly a political position and he played the game, I could perhaps see it. Though I would never accept it, 8 years of utter lies, cynicism and manipulations cannot be "forgiven" just like that, Rangel will be judged one day if chavismo falls before he croaks. He should be ashamed to get back his old job. But then again, chavismo has a way to make a thug out of anyone that lingers too close to the flame...

I think Borges is making a terrible mistake. Many rumors have been circulating about him and his making of Primero Justicia a palatable opposition to Chavez, the official one should we say. By going so soon to Rangel, well, he is going to give sustain to these rumors among the opposition folks who have serious doubts about him. But what is worse, he will gain very little from the chavista side, and the price of appearing colluding with Rangel. Big mistake in my opinion. And a mistake compounded by the summary of the preview from Union Radio where Borges does not seem to come out under a very flattering light. So soon after its division, Primero Justicia is not going top be helped by that interview.

-The end-