The Devil's Excrement

The Secretary General of the OAS, Cesar Gaviria, has just gone on TV calling on the Government to act energically against the groups who are intimidating the media at this time. Gaviria called this act a violation of the right of freedom of speech. Three Caracas TV stations were simultaneously surrounded by Chavez’ Bolivarian circles, while a fourth one in Maracay, south of Caracas, was actually taken over by the violent crowd.

The rumor is that there will be a fake video on tonight saying that Cahvez has resigned to prompt people to take to the streets to celebrate and have a violent confrontation with the Bolivarian Circles. This is only a rumor, but I am saying it so that if it happens, it can not be turned around later by the Cahvez administration as they usually do.

Acording to the Management of the oil Industry, only 20% of national flights took off today with most international cancelled. In the Metropolitan area some dispatch og gasoline reestablished by the military. 30% of the gas stations are out of gas in Caracas. In the East 90% of gas stations is out of gas. In the West 95% of gas stations are out of gas. 44 tankers are anchored in the Coast of the country. 1.9 million out of 2.8 million barrels of oil is not being produced daily. 80% of gas production is shutdown. All refineries are shut down. Electric supplies are OK.

Right now (10.30 PM) Chavez’ Bolvarian Circles have surrounded two TV stations, shouting slogans. This appears to be a sign that the Government may be ready to escalate violence.

Curiously, four of the people detained on Friday night after the massacre, were realeased today even before ballistic tests had come back from the lab throwing into question the partiality of the investigation.

On a positive note, the Secretary General of the OAS announced that the Government offered to consider having elections under certain conditions. The opposition replied that only if the elections take place in the first quarter of 2003.

The country is at a standstill, no gas, no banks, no airports, subway beginning to shutdown, Government offices beginning to rebel today…today it was the tax office….tomorrow?.

The Chavez Government has yet to show up the the negotiationg table. No Central Government official or high ranking military has said a thing today. Yo can cut the tension in the air with a toothspick. Tonight I will relay the status report of the oil industry.

More pictures taken by Oscar Sabater both Friday night and in yesterday’s burial

This picture was taken at yesterday’s burial of the victims of Friday’s massacre by Oscar Sabater (El Negro) (Many Thanks!), who dilligently sent it to me as I failed to bring my camera in the rush to get there. I was impacted by the gray/black colors of our usual colorful flag. To me, it reflects the feeling of many Venezuelans who have been in mouring not only since Friday, but long before that. Newspapers estimate 30-50 thousand people showed up at the burial.

This picture was taken at yesterday’s burial of the victims of Friday’s massacre by Oscar Sabater (El Negro) (Many Thanks!), who dilligently sent it to me as I failed to bring my camera in the rush to get there. I was impacted by the gray/black colors of our usual colorful flag. To me, it reflects the feeling of many Venezuelans who have been in mouring not only since Friday, but long before that. Newspapers estimate 30-50 thousand people showed up at the burial.

This picture was taken at yesterday’s burial of the victims of Friday’s massacre by Oscar Sabater (El Negro) (Many Thanks!), who dilligently sent it to me as I failed to bring my camera in the rush to get there. I was impacted by the gray/black colors of our usual colorful flag. To me, it reflects the feeling of many Venezuelans who have been in mouring not only since Friday, but long before that. Newspapers estimate 30-50 thousand people showed up at the burial.

This picture was taken at yesterday’s burial of the victims of Friday’s massacre by Oscar Sabater (El Negro) (Many Thanks!), who dilligently sent it to me as I failed to bring my camera in the rush to get there. I was impacted by the gray/black colors of our usual colorful flag. To me, it reflects the feeling of many Venezuelans who have been in mouring not only since Friday, but long before that. Newspapers estimate 30-50 thousand people showed up at the burial.

This letter was sent to the Boston Globe by Adolofo Taylhardat, Venezuelan representative to the Latinamerican Parliament (Thanks to Antonio Guzman-Blanco for sending it)

To the Editor of the Boston Globe

Dear Mr. Editor,

With great concern, and I must confess, with indignation, I have read the information published in your prestigious journal (12-06-02), regarding the current situation in Venezuela.

That information, among other things, says: “The navy seized a government oil tanker yesterday that had been pirated by a rebel  and President Hugo Chavez vowed his military would stop sabotage of Venezuela’s oil industry”

This is a gruesome misrepresentation of what is happening today in my country. There has not been any act of piracy in Venezuela, much less any rebel crew.

To understand the Venezuelan situation it is important to know that although the current President was elected democratically and nobody contests that. But that democratically elected president has betrayed the people who elected him by pretending to impose in the country a communist revolution inspired on the Cuban model. He managed to enact a “tailor made” new National Constitution which he has violated even before its promulgation. In Venezuela there is no rule of law because the only law is Mr. Chavez will, who has turned himself into a vulgar dictator. Currently he controls all the Public Powers: the Parliament, the Supreme Tribunal, the Attorney General, the General Comptroller, the Defender of the People. As a result of this the Venezuelan people is completely defenseless. 

Fortunately, Mr. Chavez’s constitution contains a provision according to which the people have the right of disobey any regime, legislation or authority contrary to the values, principles and democratic guarantees.

Based on this provision, all the sectors of the Venezuelan life (the civil society, the political parties of the opposition, the trade unions, the industrial and commercial organizations) have declared a general national stoppage that has already placed the whole country in a stand still situation for several days and it is not excluded that this could last indefinitely. Such stoppage is an act of disobeyance under the above mentioned constitutional provision and seeks to provoke the ousting of Mr. Chavez through institutional, constitutional means.

The employees and workers of “Petroleos de Venezuela” (PDVSA), the Venezuelan oil company, have voluntarily joined the stoppage, including the whole staff of its shipping subsidiary of PDVSA (PDV-Marina) as well as the crews of  its fleet. This action by the crew of the oil tankers, to which the information in your journal refers as pirates, is a legal, genuine effort by that crew to contribute to induce a  solution to the already flammable current political, economic and social situation prevailing in Venezuela.

I hope this letter could find adequate space in your prestigious newspaper.

Cordially,

Adolfo R. Taylhardat