Latin America is lost, the left rejoices waiting for the US to fall

There is a surge of populism world wide. My theory is that social media and its fake news have largely contributed to it.  But also, with religion gone and materialism partially satisfied we probably have the phenomenon of lost people who want to believe in something, anything that they think will give direction to their lives.

Latin America wakes me up

I am still here even though three months, almost, have passed since my last post (more on that later).

I could not let pass the present troubles in Latin America without a comment. I read so many idiocies on Tweeter that I needed to vent off by reminding people that what has been going on is not such a surprise. The surprise is that it comes all at once.  So here, from North to South.

SINALOA

The administration of Lopez Obrador has shown its true color when not only it was woefully unprepared to counter the very powerful drug cartels, but preferred to release the captured son of El Chapo rather than send in the army.

From official terror to article 350 - 3) the country chavismo wants

If chavismo is divided it remains nevertheless that they all share a common vision of the country: we will never be out of office; we will create an opposition we like; we will share only a few things with that likeable opposition; we will erase it as needed and start anew; 90% of power and money at the very least will always be for us.  Then again, when you look at the pictures from this week end military ceremony you do realize that "Caracas, we have a problem".

In here I have pointed out a few details on that picture. Maduro went to an army base, isolated from the general public as the crowd was selected (long gone are those Chavez ceremonies at the Carabobo battle field on June 24 when "el pueblo" was welcome with open arms).

Maduro names the cabinet from hell

The news came as a surprise. Not that a new cabinet was unexpected: around January 10 everyone expected Maduro to name a new Vice President, the one that would succeed him as president if he resigns, or is resigned. But no one expected Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah to become that vice-president. This is truly awful. And if you look at who is being named along to some key portfolios it gets worse.

So let's start with our Tareck boy.

Narko-Radikalismus

When everything fails, repeat it all. In particular the parts that clearly are rotten at the root.

This is what Maduro has done last week.

Nationalization of Venezuelan Economy + Bolivarian Corralito

The regime has decided this noon to ask the National Assembly to grant it a decree of "economic emergency" for 60 days, extendable to 60 more. The objective is to face the "economic war" which is what made it lose the election. That economic war modality has never been explained but we were told it was waged on the regime by these nasty capitalist. So it is time to put them under real control.

Minister Salas as he read
the infamous decree against
the economic war, whatever
that is/was/will

Here follows the highlights as I weigh them and at the end I will attempt an interpretation. Note: this decree was issued BEFORE Maduro goes to the Assembly for his State of the Nation speech in a few minutes. I am not commenting all articles.

Article 2.

1- Because of inflation the regime has some budgetary crumbs, it seems, and they will use them at discretion, without need to go through the assembly. The excuse is to maintain the "misiones" working.

2- Confirmation that resources may be used within the budget or outside of it to guarantee welfare of "el pueblo".

Maduro's "El Sacudón" or the fine art of doing nothing

So Maduro had a "cadena" tonight to announce his new cabinet, new measures, etc...  As usual since he is legally but not legitimately president I have not followed it. Through Tweeter and a few articles I get all what I really need. See, once you have understood that the regime cannot change because it would collapse, then there is nothing to expect anymore but more repression, more controls, more intervention. All becomes very predictable and tonight was no exception.

The real game in town?

For example he announced the usual Castro like slogan of now 5 revolutions inside the revolution because apparently after 15 years of Chavez public administration is still controlled by bourgeoisie. He is right on that last one except that it is the chavista corrupt bourgeoisie carefully nurtured over the last decade so as to have a body of public servants corrupt and henceforth subject blackmail. That helps insure the survival of the regime. Thus the 5 new revolutions are nothing more but yet a new attempt at a parallel control system of government such as it was the case for the Misiones, the comunas, the milicia, the colectivos, etc..

No economic measures of significance were announced. Things keep getting worse, oil price fail to increase to save the regime in spite of multiple wars, so this one has decided to light a candle, pray to lord Chavez and hope for a miracle rather than devaluate, increase the price of oil, free at least some sectors of the economy to lower scarcity of at least a couple of basic items.

Will Venezuela default on its debts?

The question that has become "the question" since last Wednesday devaluation is will Venezuela go into default. The question is not idle because any half brained analyst of economical matters like yours truly can see that even though the regime has announced it does not have money to pay for the private sector debt it still has a few measures it can take to avoid default and honor that debt, even if late.  The problem here is that the regime is debating internally to go into default more as a political measure than any actual economic reality. What is discussed, in short, is a politically driven default.

To understand this better let's look at some short term options quite accessible to the regime without creating a major social upheaval.

Maduro's vortexing

Does this picture mean anything?

Capriles and Rodriguez Torres

Agroisleña is even bigger than what you thought

Since last Sunday people have been looking closely at Agroisleña that in a fit Chavez has decided to confiscate.  confiscate is the word because by now the practice of the regime is to pay part only, when it pays anything at all.   I need to update what I already wrote yesterday because the editorial of Veneconomia today shows that the Agroisleña take over could actually wreck the banking system of Venezuela.  Even though Miguel already posted this editorial a couple of hours ago I thin that people interested in Venezuelan economics cannot miss it.  At the end, some additional comments of my own.

Destructive Spiral

Agroisleña is seized in Venezuela: the first real Communist measure of Chavez

With the announced take over of Agroisleña by the state, Hugo Chavez has made his first real communist "economic" move.  You might wince at this but bear with me a little bit longer.

The first thing to note is that all previous economic measures that the regime had taken were punctual, taking great care to pretend that private property was respected up to a point and pretending that expropriations were necessary, were designed for the betterment of the economic apparatus and, well, the owners would be duly compensated.  For example the attacks so far against the Polar group are to relieve it from some of its assets so housing can be built there.  Farms are taken over, we are told, because they were either too big or unproductive.  That the facts matched the tales was made in part irrelevant because, well, next door farm was left alone as if nothing.  Even PDVSA which is advertised as being "nationalized in 2003" by Chavez followers was not since it belonged to the state for already three decades and the only thing that happened there was a change in management to make plundering easier.

Franklin Brito is dead, another crime to condemn Chavez for

Chavez has officially, inescapably, his first un-washable blood on his hands since he is president of Venezuela (he has a lot of un-washable blood from 1992, but that is another story).

Franklin Brito, the courageous farmer willing to die of hunger strike for the law to be applied correctly to his case is finally dead, in the custody of the government military health services, without them, according to twitter, allowing his relatives to claim his body as I type.  Soviet style of disposing of dissidents, call them crazy and sick, inter them, and kill them slowly.

Tal Cual summarizes the hard fight of Franklin Brito for his rights, and how the military goons of the regime took him away into custody at the military hospital of Caracas where in the indifference of the bureaucracy of the regime he died slowly  but surely, never surrendering his will.  her was 49 years old and so strong was his conviction of his right that he even cut himself one of his fingers to draw attention from the regime's bureaucrats.

Accomplices in that murder is the Vice President Elias Jaua when he was INTI chief, and his appointed successor at the INTI Juan Carlos Loyo.  Both will need to answer to justice one day because it was their duty to find a solution and they did not do it because they were too afraid of making Chavez look bad.  Now the three have blood on their hands.

PS: at least in the Netherlands they opened a blog for condolences.  Please go and sign up.

From Cardinal Urosa to Fidel Castro all agree: XXI century socialism is a mere rewarmed communism

Among the amount of news hard to follow there was a series of items that I could not write om.  But here is this great cartoon of Edo that gives me the summary I needed.

In short. 

Cardinal Urosa declared that many of the latest laws voted in a hurry by the Nazional Assembly were designed to install Communism in Venezuela.  If one knows what Communism is, it is the Catholic Church.  Chavez did not like it and started insulting Urosa and the Catholic Church abundantly.  Then the Nazional Assembly chimed in and demanded that he came to defend his opinions.  Initially as the Assembly was in a roar he declined stating that security conditions were not adequate.  The Assembly got even more furious but eventually cooled down some and Urosa visited.

The agreement was that the "interpelación" would be broadcast live.  But at the last minute, once Urosa had arrived, the Assembly said that no, no live cameras allowed, that a version would be broadcast later. Trapped, Urosa went ahead anyway.

Update on La Carolina take over / looting

Plain old looting is the word that comes to mind when one reads this note from Tal Cual.  We read that they sent a helicopter, that is right, a helicopter, to load it with the stored cheeses, jams, hot sauces, etc...  that were for sale to the tourists stopping by.  Some fat military or chavista creep is going to dine well tonight, free of charge since of course he will not even have paid for the helicopter gas.

We also learn that the INTI has not been able to milk the cows because the employees refuse to work for the INTI.  Has not the INTI been able to bring milkmen from anywhere around? No wonder!  There is no other major milk farm around and all the other milk farms that the INTI has taken over have long stopped producing milk, and thus probably out of available milkmen or milkmaid, to be P.C.

And apparently they have already started distributing equipment, livestock and what not.  Even though no talks about even a token indemnification have started.

La Carolina take over is thus becoming fast the posterboy of the bullshit "social agrarian policies" of Chavez.  These are nothing more than the deliberate elimination of a productive agricultural class to be replaced by an unproductive one.  Exactly what happened to the Russian Kulaks except that it is spread over time and without significant bloodshed so far.  But the result will be the same: a country chronically unable to feed itself.

PS: to illustrate how political the whole charade is, a mere retaliation on Arria, Elias Jaua, currently the radical vice president of Chavez, went personally to announce that La Carolina will be transformed in a socialist clap trap.

Chávez Decaffeinates Venezuela

This is no joke, Maria Anastasia O'Grady tells us how XXI century socialism (a.k.a. as recycled plain ole commie stuff) is destroying the economy. Do not miss it!

For those that have no access to this WSJ article I have reprinted it below, courtesy of Miguel who fetched it for me. Thus it is kind of a joint post until he comes back and resumes regular posting.

That watery wall left

Tomorrow we are celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall. 20 years! I still remember how stunned I was when I heard the news coming back from work. I lived in Baltimore then, and I think I spent half an hour in the parking lot until I finally left the car radio to go for the TV and start a round of phone calls to friends around the country. Oh! We knew that there were deep problems in the East but until the very last moment we could not imagine that the wall would fall just like that, with nearly a shot fired. We saw the total but not absolute collapse of a system that had outlived its use for many years before it fell.

The work is not quite over yet, and new nasty apprentices find ways to put up walls around their society.

Some walls still exist from then, such as in North Korea. China (and Vietnam?) are finding new creative ways to not only induce their folks not to escape so fast, but even to lure some to come back, even conditionally. It is a slow deliquescent wall that will take still a few more years, but it is crumbling even as in the West we pretend not to see it, do not try to push along the collapse now that we need the Chinese funds to help us out of our economic crisis.

But the folks I have really in mind are those ruling over Cuba, the Castro brothers who pretend that the Wall never fell down. For them it is easy, they have a watery wall all around their country, and nothing worth exploiting in the island. Even the beaches can be found elsewhere, at least as nice, and with not as many jinetero/as to fend off with your Panama Hat. Who cares?

And there is of course Chavez who in his immense ignorance and awesome immorality wishes the Wall would have never breached. So, as the low rated tyrant he is, his endeavor is to build an internal wall in Venezuela, to split in two Venezuelan society, having one side abuse the other in an alleged redress for the past. In fact the wall he builds is to hide behind as the coward he has always been.

But let me remind you all of one thing: when walls are built it is becasue people from both sides allow for that. People from the outside, such as the Spanish help to "integrate Cuba" or the hypocrisy of Lula toward Chavez defending him by minimizing Uribe legitimate security concerns, are the worst moral offenders of such processes. They do not even have the excuse of a war torn Europe who did not think it could take on Communism right after it took off Fascism.

-The end-

The current electoral campaign of Chavez: towards a new constitution?

Rocio San Miguel who now writes for Tal Cual puts up clearly a case scenario that is worth considering and that I was tinkering with, though not daring yet to write about it. But as is often the case, procrastination pays and instead of writing about the topic I just need to translate today's article of San Miguel. In short, it is the possible preparation of Chavez to write a brand new constitution and end once and for all any legal possibility for the opposition to access power through democratic means. Somme comments of mine at the end.

The campaign

The softening work on society, that Chavez has been doing in recent months on all fronts, is clear and purposeful, and has been observed by few.

The third stage of the revolution has begun. Chavez has said it explicitly.

In the economic sector [he is]affecting even those who were hitherto untouchables, expropriating land, establishing restrictions on all types of activity carried out, introducing the novelty of the end of private property and approving right and left laws that sustain the twenty-first century socialism.

In the social sphere [he is] activating the Ministry of Communes, to impose a legal concept to eliminate the role of mayors, especially those who are not aligned with the regime and to transfer from the presidency economic resources "direct" for projects that once "Venezuela" thought they could be managed in a decentralized country, without passing through the filter of forced adherence to a political project.

In politics [he] has taken out of the way opponents by disqualifying them, by giving the order to open legal proceedings against them, going as far as depriving them of liberty.

In the military sphere, perhaps society least known area, a fierce offensive is at play and has led in recent months to dozens of requests of retirement, especially from those without formal duties, the so called ‘institutionals’, who openly had been separated from the National Armed Forces active duty for being seen against the process of politicization of the Venezuelan military structure.

In the midst of all, there is no halt in the presidential cadenas, the distribution of "White Line” [kitchen appliances], foreign travels, the threat of opening new trials to private media, updating via “red points” the registration of the chavista PSUV, the restart of the show “La Hojilla”, the giving away, the demagoguery and threats to anyone who dissents from the regime.

Where is Chavez going? The president is in an electoral campaigning for the only exit for which the democratic society is not ready, [the] election of a National Constituent Assembly to be announced just as the referendum on February 15 [was announced].

With a date already set in Miraflores and not so late as to allow the opposition, including the independent sectors, to get prepared.

The parliamentary elections of 2010 would thus be annulled and who knows if the 2012 presidential elections too. Chavez feels he is winning. He is doing his polls and he is also promoting their results.

The center of gravity of his staying in power goes through a maneuver not without risks but surprising to prevent his opponents to organize.

This hypothesis would give as a voting date the month of June [the necessary referendum to call for a constituent assembly]. The election for a National Constituent Assembly [would be] on September 15, 2009 catching the country demobilized during the "convenient" student vacations, an opposition without logistics and a National Army in its highest point of demoralization of the last 10 years. It is worth reflecting on this scenario.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Rocio San Miguel has been very active in civil rights issues and other political stuff since she came to notoriety as one of the first victims of the Tascon apartheid list to go public and seek legal redress. Since then she has been threatened but has not stopped from making TV appearances where she likes to discuss military and security matters (she worked at borders control before being fired) and writing for Tal Cual in addition of compiling Tascon List abuses.

Her article was difficult to translate because her style is not amenable to English translation and her text is really for local consumption as even, say, Colombians would have trouble understanding all the facts she takes for public knowledge. Thus the need for me to add many brackets and even words whose were not directly suggested by the original.

This being said, what can we make of her hypothesis? Well, it makes sense, even if she makes it sound easier to do for Chavez than what it really would be. After all the simple application of the lot of laws recently passed, that would remain unchallenged in courts, is enough for him to get what he wants the most now, an effective opposition neutralization that would allow smooth reelection in 2012. By 2018 we would be fully Zimbabwed so he would have no trouble for yet a new reelection.

But Chavez has two problems that he cannot just solve with he current legal situation. First he must run for reelection in 2012 and he is not sure that the crisis would be far behind and oil income high enough to ensure a smooth reelection. Second, to obtain his reelection amendment last February he had to accept that everyone could be reelected. This has always gone against his nature and we can be pretty sure that he needs to have this removed as he needs that lever to control any of his followers that would dare to run for reelection on their own (and likely win since the incumbent advantage has become so obscene today).

By calling for a new constitution with the pretext to enshrine the new "popular laws" he would get the two things that are at the core of his political project which is a legal and pseudo democratic way to remain president for life. The cynicism could be pushed far enough by him to put again term limits even for himself as long as he gets a fresh start in the new constitution of 2010. Even two seven years terms might be enough since at the end of them he would be 69 years old. Heck, he could even give two 4 year terms for everyone else and three 7 years for himself and pass it! Thus he would reach without any trouble the ripe age of 76 when his current crimes would be forgotten and he would be able to hand power down to any chosen heir. After all, who is remembering Fidel and Che's crimes in the current Cuban transition (and I do not have in mind only the Fidel to Raul one, but the one coming soon for Raul)?

It makes sense. And for more reasons than what is written above. If I had not written about such scenarios before it is because I had not weighted them enough; but more importantly because it would have forced me to write a specific post about the incompetence of the opposition unable to come up with a bold scenario of its own. For example right now the opposition should promote a constituent assembly to revoke the seizure of Caracas by gauleiter Faria(s), the new threat against private property and freedom of expression, just to name two causes worth moving one's butt. Instead what we see is a limited effort including only Caracas people when 46% of the country said NO last February with a number which probably increased since then. There is not even talk of recall election on the Nazional Assembly! Something that could work quite well at least in Caracas and Zulia, handing down to Chavez a strong psychological blow!!!!

I do not know if San Miguel scenario will happen, though it is interesting to consider the possibility (and make that a must for the opposition). After all Chavez could resort to yet another simpler referendum to end decentralization once and for all, based on the "comunas" demagoguery. Other referenda ideas can easily come up to achieve specific ends provided a bone is attached to each one of them, such as the reelection bone for all in last February. It is certainly true that the opposition is vulnerable right now but any Constituent Assembly this time around will have enough opposition to offer a concrete vocal platform that would be very difficult to silence. I doubt that today Chavez can repeat his 1999 win of 97% seats for 60% of the vote when he would be very hard pressed to get even 55% without outright cheating, with an opposition much more motivated than in 1999 which would definitely get enough seats to make a ruckus.

But then again the Chavez of today is certainly much more willing to have the CNE do all the necessary cheating to ensure him the majority he needs for quick new constitution approval.

-The end-

Driving into the sunset

Today's Tal Cual Weil's opus. No comments needed.

-The end-

Educational brainwash in Venezuela

There are those exquisite moments where the dignitaries of the regime forget that the "ancien regime" democratic ways allowed them to become the fascists (or is that stalino-commie?) that they are today. For example this week we got the words of Adan Chavez, the evil brother of mini-me, keeping up his drive against private education; and Carlos Escarra telling us that the 37% who voted (official numbers, not a verifiable one) against Chavez had no business in discussing the constitutional overhaul.

Private education under siege

Every totalitarian regime has been hell bent in destroying any form of private education. The reason is very simple: nobody should be allowed to develop a dissenting perception of life, the only one being allowed is the one from the state. The obviousness of this forces me to stop from giving any further detail least I would insult the intelligence of readers of this blog.

In Venezuela the all out assault against private education has been delayed once and again because simply the government has been absolutely unable to reorganize the public system. Closing or intervening private educational system, in addition to its political costs, is simply something that the regime cannot financially undertake, at least as long as it has not shown that it can manage the public system. Even more so when doubts about the educational Misiones (Robinson, Ribas and Sucre) are starting to appear more and more as it is plain to see, for example, that illiteracy is far from eliminated in Venezuela. Or as Mision Sucre students wonder aloud whether their degree will get them a job, if they even get their degree.

But with all the changes that we have been threatened with the government is now forced to tighten the squeeze on private education, from your local infant garden to private universities. So, to start squeezing out of existence private schools the government has forbidden them to increase their billing. That is, tuition at private schools for 2007-2008 HAS TO BE THE SAME as during the 2006-2007 period. That official inflation was 15% and real inflation something above 20% does not concern the education minister of Chavez, his brother Adan, who every day looks more and more like the second in command, the bolibanana revolution imitating the Castro brothers show.

In addition minimum wage were increased by 20% last may, which forces an increase of 10 to 20% on wages that are above minimum, anyway. We all know that wages are the bulk of any school budget. Needless to say that private schools are seriously talking civil disobedience and that parents are supporting price increases! In many school parents have gathered to make "donations" and the phenomenon has been so widespread that Adan Chavez had to come out to say that such donations were illegal!

What direct benefit does the government hopes to achieve with that? Either close some schools, or force them to ask subsidies from the state. Subsidies are already given in lower social class neighborhoods private schools since the state has long ago discovered that it is cheaper to subsidize some catholic schools, for example, as it cannot manage the educational system as it should. Subsidies, of course, allow for political pressures on those schools who can at least be barred from any anti Chavez, pro capitalist message, if they were so inclined.

To confirm this wish to control educational message we also got this week an interesting moment. Barreto of soccer fields infamy, has decided to distribute in some public schools little cookies wrapped in political slogans which are by definition of dubious taste and cultural value. Some parents complained and Adan Chavez said that he did not understand the buzz. After all, according to him, children need to be told more and more about socialism of the XXI, which we are to understand is a good thing even if it looks, walks, quacks as a commie duck more and more. Parents of private schools obviously do not want anything related with any political indoctrination of their children.

It is a nice coincidence that the Washington Post reports today that educational textbooks in Russia are changed these days to glorify Putin more. And to bash the Untied States again. Echoes of a totalitarian past are back in the ex Soviet lands. Venezuela-Russia, "même combat".

Note: the children of chavista ministers in general do not attend public school! Most in fact attend some of the priciest private school. For example the Private French School of Caracas hosts many of those nomeklatura kids in either one of its French or Venezuelan section. The French school is one of the most expensive private schools of Venezuela...

Constitutional contempt

But if anyone had the faintest doubt that the chavista administration worried about ALL Venezuelans welfare, this was once again erased by Carlos Escarra. This sleazy and greasy lawyer, not trusted by Chavez, even today, has had to crawl into so many gutters to try to ingratiate himself that now that Chavez finally put into a position of interest, he wallows in intellectual litter even more gladly than when he was trying to climb. The list of all atrocities that Carlos Escarra has said is too long to mention and is worthy of ranking one day with the list of specious politico legal arguments of the Stalinist Massive Trial Judges or the Nazi judges that legalized deportation and racial cleansing.

The latest uttering of Escarra is that the 37% of people who voted against Chavez had no say on constitutional changes, that 63% had voted for socialism and that the change was irreversible so why should the government even bother explaining its reasons to a more than a third of the country. What about "Venezuela es de todos"? Visibly after the fiasco of the Copa America as the rallying moment the government stupidly hoped for, now it is time to erase the memory of those who oppose Chavez. If polls give Chavez below 40% these days, why not come back to that comforting 63% of people who voted for Chavez out of fear and under threat?

That is to be expected in a country that refused to punish someone like Tascon for his apartheid list. Any public official can now speak disparagingly against any political adversary knowing full well that the state power is geared to crush such adversaries.

And thus we can observe the two tenets of brain washing: brainwash the young as soon as possible, and pretend that the ones that cannot be brain washed do not exist.

-The end-

commie indoctrination in Venezuela and the end of trade unions

The government is starting to organize the large scale "socialism of the XXI century" education. This is nothing more than rehashed and semi updated commie indoctrination programs, adequately sugarcoated to fool the fools.

This week we have been reminded of a desire to control education to which was added a potential control of private health care. "Protecting the rich also" was Chavez latest inanity. As if he were able to protect the poor! I mean, if he is going to protect me as he protects his voters from crime, poverty, unemployment, inflation, may the good lord help us all!

This morning we are treated to the revival of socialist education during working hours. That is right, Chavez is requesting that voluntarily (for the time being) employers set aside 4 hours (?) so that the indoctrination agents that have been formed in Cuba or through Cuban teachers and who now title themselves "brigada moral y luces" come to work places, and explain people what the socialism of the XXI century is. That is, the government wants the business owners (from large ones to your grocery store at the street corner) to set aside 4 hours so that workers learn how to hate their boss, even the good bosses. The words of Chavez in January now retaken by his underling at the labor ministry:

Discussion, debate, education in all the locales , the geography, that the workers may, because it is a part of the socialism formation, free the creative powers of human beings.

Now, this is so slimy that it deserves full analysis:

1) first, this socialism which in Venezuela is a code word for reheated commie castroist leftover, has historically proven not to liberate any creative force anywhere. The only creators in commie regimes were the dissidents, from Sakharov to Arenas. Get real!

2) Chavez knows that the bulk of people will not willingly attend "seminars" on socialism. So, socialism must be brought to them. And the best way to corner them is to force the employer to pay them why they sit down listening to government sabotaging agents. How nice of chavismo to recognize that it is unable, absolutely unable to create weekend academies where people would willingly flock to listen to the good word!

3) because those "brigadas moral y luces" are nothing but sabotaging agents who want to plant in the head of everyone not convinced yet that socialism/commie-nism under the paternalistic rule of Chavez is the way to go. And this means to remove anyone that could contradict that by words or deeds, in particular private business that do not depend financially on the hand outs of the government.

4) more subtle is that by scaring the private sector, even if Chavez brigades do not in the end force their way into such private business, he will get an excuse for forcing such education among public servants and business that pretend to deal with the government. That is, if you want a contract to build a bridge, then your construction workers will have to sit down and hear the commie gospel according to San Hugo. The rest of the country will breathe a deep sigh of relief, not realizing that they dodged one bullet for a few minutes but that Chavez will get to them anyway.

But some of you might think that this is all done in favor of the worker. It is not even if the measures look good on paper. The labor minister reminded folks that the there are other plans. One is the reduction of the work weekday to 6 hours (gross sugar coating with a measure that does not work in well organized and developed countries, is certainly not the norm in China, the self declared Chavez model; but as usual the government uses the ignorance of the people to push its agenda). Other gems are a return to the old system of severance pay, a system that was eliminated BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT WAS THEN UNABLE TO MET ITS OWN OBLIGATIONS! Today the government is not letting us know, and even less public employees, how the onerous obligations of the past will be met when the private sector HAS MET all of its obligations past and present.

But the real gem, the reason for the above sugar coating is that Chavez has decided to eliminate trade unions. There was first that appeal to trade unions to join the one party system and thus not requiring anymore to unionize since all will be in a single party (the logic of this escapes me, and even the pro Chavez trade unions are debating whether to join...). In exchange Chavez will create workers councils (soviets?) that will be monitored by "brigadas moral y luces". That is, ALL will be in a sort of mandatory union, even the lone employee at the corner grocery store, but an ideological trade union supervised by "brigadistas". Now, ain't that a commie idea?

But as usual it is very easy to see through this mishmash, and even easier to understand why these people act as they do: they never worked a real productive day in their lives, they have no idea how a business is run, what makes an economy tick. They are just a whole bunch of bad books worm, unable to really understand these books anyway, and thus they shelter themselves behind rules and regulations which allows them to control their environment at a ridiculous cost. Why do they want to control everything so much? Because as good fanatics they are they have self doubt rooted in them and all their lives is a quest to erase their self doubt by making sure the word does not reflect their doubt. It happens with all these extremists, from born again religious nuts to chavista commie weed.

-The end-