The Devil's Excrement

Yesterday President Hugo Chavez Frias signed the petition in La Pastora, Libertador District to recall opposition Deputies from that district. Unfortunately, the President’s signature is illegal and should be invalidated. Indeed, when one checks the Electoral Registry one finds:

and discovers that he is not registered in that District and therefore can not sign to recall Deputies elected there. For disbelievers, the page also gives the places where he could have signed the petition, very far from where he did. Oh! the revolution is so well organized!

There is so much truth in this article in El Universal by Francisco Olivares, that it hurts deeply:

Primitive country by Francisco Olivares

The information was published that Navy Captain Luis Rafael Espinoza, General Director of Administration for the Social Security Institute, deposited 60 billion Bolivars (about US$ 12 million) in his own account. Perhaps nobody would have noticed the absence of this enormous sum, if it were not because they were the funds corresponding to the year-end bonuses of the Institute workers, who were demanding their payment without anyone giving them an answer, until someone noticed that the funds had been diverted this way. Agents from the investigative police dressed as civilians raided the facilities without identification, so as not to generate rumors, while the military officer was apparently removed from his position and perhaps returned to his military command.

In today’s Venezuela a story like this has no relevance. Such a bit of news may occupy a modest space in the political or crime sections. It would even be useless to search for an official source about this matter, since official information flows only when it is in the interest of the Government to make it public

There is also nothing particular about it, given that we are dealing with a country where nobody is punished for stealing public funds or using them for something different that what they were meant for. When a public official is punished or measures are taken against him, it is because what he is doing is being done behind the party’s back, without the party or those surrounding the political leaders participating in the proceeds.

This practice has now extended throughout the country, but the clash is not over the criminal or ethical problem that it carries, but from the conflict that follows when it comes time to split the bounty. The revolution has given something to everyone and getting rich overnight has been part of the reward for fidelity to the regimen.

That old phrase that “In Venezuela there is no reason not to steal” has been taken to new levels.

In the last few years the idea that the only path to social ascent is through politics has taken root. The leaders, the public officials and the military sent to work in the public administration have no shame in showing off luxurious vehicles and expensive condominiums, priced in US dollars and bought directly with cash or through third parties.

The institutional development and that of our democracy is today well below the first ten years of the country’s democracy. The political parties self-destructed precisely because they did not stop the path of ethical deterioration, for looking the other way or asking for a commission for the skimming. At the same time a whole generation was stepped on, sidestepping democratic rules.

Not only political parties are responsible for this conspiracy. Society as a whole, the media and the professional associations and unions accompanied the country in its self destruction. The events of February 27^th (The Caracazo) and the coup attempts in 1992 were an expression of that deterioration and not glorious dates like some now pretend to glorify them

To rebuild the country we have to understand that we are coming from way down. In this moment, what we have is a very primitive state.

There is so much truth in this article in El Universal by Francisco Olivares, that it hurts deeply:

Primitive country by Francisco Olivares

The information was published that Navy Captain Luis Rafael Espinoza, General Director of Administration for the Social Security Institute, deposited 60 billion Bolivars (about US$ 12 million) in his own account. Perhaps nobody would have noticed the absence of this enormous sum, if it were not because they were the funds corresponding to the year-end bonuses of the Institute workers, who were demanding their payment without anyone giving them an answer, until someone noticed that the funds had been diverted this way. Agents from the investigative police dressed as civilians raided the facilities without identification, so as not to generate rumors, while the military officer was apparently removed from his position and perhaps returned to his military command.

In today’s Venezuela a story like this has no relevance. Such a bit of news may occupy a modest space in the political or crime sections. It would even be useless to search for an official source about this matter, since official information flows only when it is in the interest of the Government to make it public

There is also nothing particular about it, given that we are dealing with a country where nobody is punished for stealing public funds or using them for something different that what they were meant for. When a public official is punished or measures are taken against him, it is because what he is doing is being done behind the party’s back, without the party or those surrounding the political leaders participating in the proceeds.

This practice has now extended throughout the country, but the clash is not over the criminal or ethical problem that it carries, but from the conflict that follows when it comes time to split the bounty. The revolution has given something to everyone and getting rich overnight has been part of the reward for fidelity to the regimen.

That old phrase that “In Venezuela there is no reason not to steal” has been taken to new levels.

In the last few years the idea that the only path to social ascent is through politics has taken root. The leaders, the public officials and the military sent to work in the public administration have no shame in showing off luxurious vehicles and expensive condominiums, priced in US dollars and bought directly with cash or through third parties.

The institutional development and that of our democracy is today well below the first ten years of the country’s democracy. The political parties self-destructed precisely because they did not stop the path of ethical deterioration, for looking the other way or asking for a commission for the skimming. At the same time a whole generation was stepped on, sidestepping democratic rules.

Not only political parties are responsible for this conspiracy. Society as a whole, the media and the professional associations and unions accompanied the country in its self destruction. The events of February 27^th (The Caracazo) and the coup attempts in 1992 were an expression of that deterioration and not glorious dates like some now pretend to glorify them

To rebuild the country we have to understand that we are coming from way down. In this moment, what we have is a very primitive state.

The Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) reported that the Venezuelan economy shrank by 7.1% in the third quarter 2003. For the year the Venezuelan economy has shrank by a total of 14.7%. Quarter to quarter there was a slight improvement from -9.4% in the second quarter. The report by the central bank indicates that the oil sector shrank by 9% during the quarter, while the non-oil economy shrank by 6%, demonstrating that PDVSA’s activities are not up to full speed as the Government claims. In fact, the report by the BCV explicitly states that the oil public sector shrank by 12.2% with respect to the same quarter in 2002, but private sector oil activities increased by 30.2% through the strategic associations. Thus, it is the private oil sector that has actually saved the day in terms of oil production. In the private sector, manufacturing continued stalled at -9.9% for the quarter, while constriction (up 33.9 %) and commerce (up 10.0 %) did show some signs of revival.

The Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) reported that the Venezuelan economy shrank by 7.1% in the third quarter 2003. For the year the Venezuelan economy has shrank by a total of 14.7%. Quarter to quarter there was a slight improvement from -9.4% in the second quarter. The report by the central bank indicates that the oil sector shrank by 9% during the quarter, while the non-oil economy shrank by 6%, demonstrating that PDVSA’s activities are not up to full speed as the Government claims. In fact, the report by the BCV explicitly states that the oil public sector shrank by 12.2% with respect to the same quarter in 2002, but private sector oil activities increased by 30.2% through the strategic associations. Thus, it is the private oil sector that has actually saved the day in terms of oil production. In the private sector, manufacturing continued stalled at -9.9% for the quarter, while constriction (up 33.9 %) and commerce (up 10.0 %) did show some signs of revival.

The decisions by the Consejo Nacional Electoral are much like many of the strategies of Chavez and his Government: the Electoral body continues to walk on a fine line that divides legality with their own political bias towards Hugo Chavez. After their atrocious decision to not allow Venezuelans abroad to sign the petition drive against Hugo Chavez, the CNE continued its handiwork, this time issuing regulations on advertising during the petition drive that essentially limit severely even the right to free speech, while saying nothing of Chavez’ ability to address the nation for hours, like he did on Wednesday when he spoke twice for as long as four hours, which he used to attack the opposition and accuse it of plotting this “oligarchic” coup by calling for a recall referendum. Meanwhile, opposition parties were limited to two minutes of advertising a day, which Chavez’ MVR wanted to apply to all of the opposition. Thus, life continued in Venezuela with this amazing virtual reality in which people’s rights are being violated daily but it is all regulated by the CNE which seems to receive some form of divine inspiration from the presidential palace. As if this were not enough, the Minister of Defense announces that the voting process will be supervised by 72,000 soldiers, ten times what has ever been used in Venezuela, making us wonder whether they are there to intimidate, protect or create violence. Hugo Chavez continued in his Jekyll and Hyde act, at times sounding conciliatory, only to attack the opposition hours later with the same litany of worn out accusations against those that are only following the rules created by Chavez’ own Constitution. At times, it did seem as if Chavez really does not believe the opposition will be capable of gathering the required signatures, but the math is so simple that there is simply no way from stopping it from gathering as many as 3.5 signatures in the petition. But the CNE’s regulations say that for next month nothing can be said, published or polled on what people did on November 28th. , making the “right to know” also guaranteed by the Chavez Constitution somewhat of a sham. But so is everything surrounding this petition drive, as people are being paid to sign up in the Chavista petition drive this weekend and oil workers are being told to leave their national identity cards at work next weekend when the opposition holds its own drive. But in the end it will not matter, the opposition will get the signatures and next March, the vote will be secret, the observers will come in the thousands and Chavez will have to change his strategy. Since he and his comrades have no scruples, you can be sure it will not be a pleasant  one.

Daniel suggests (and I agree) that this cartoon by Weil applies to us Venezuelan bloggers. We feel exactly like the cartoon, which says on the left: “My life when I was not focused on politics” and on the right “my life since we are focused on politics”. That is exactly how I feel sometimes…..