Juan Forero writes an article today in the New York Times and manages to do his usually imprecise job in order to praise the revolution which he so obviously admires.
The first thing that struck me about the article is how the issue of the Venezuelan Government that loves the people so much spends so much money on this type of advertising while, for example, advertising for Venezuelan tourism has been neglected for five years. Moreover, to give the spin that these ads are made to attract new business is simply ludicrous, these ads are pure propaganda to make the ignorant believe that there is something truly happening in Venezuela. The Chavista Government has made every effort to drive away foreign business with its total contempt for the rule of law and erratic economic policy. I still remember Minister of Planning Giordani claiming to be driving away foreign businessman with his hat because there were so many and direct foreign investment into Venezuela has done nothing but go down since then. (And I have yet to see him wearing a hat)
But what truly amazed me was the superficial and imprecise use of numbers by Forero. He manages to minimize the amount spent by the Chavez Government by quoting a ridiculously low number of US$ 1.6 million for the amount of money spent by the Chavez Government in lobbying activities, a figure a factor of four lower than the true number. At the same time, he cites a US$ 2.2 million number in the context of the name Sumate which received only US$ 60,000 and which I am sure includes the funding received by pro-Chavez organizations from the National Endowment for Democracy.
But perhaps the most laughable part of the article is to believe that Chavez’ attacks on Sumate generate in any way sympathy from Venezuelans who are anti-American. The attacks on Sumate are not aimed at propaganda and gaining favor, they are simply a political vendetta aimed at gaining revenge at an institution that made Chavez look bad by being effective and efficient in contrast to his Government. It is also an attempt to intimidate Sumate, its leaders and the opposition so insure they will no longer impede the progress of this so called revolution. I would bet that except within the hard core Chavismo, Sumate enjoys a high level of approval by most Venezuelans.
It also fails to point that the ads say little about what is really happening in Venezuela. In fact, Chavista oil executives and workers make more in US dollars today than in the “old” PDVSA despite the sharp devaluation of the Bolivar since the strike in 2002 and, despite the oil wealth, poverty levels, purchasing power and unemployment are all worse than when Chavez got to power. This, despite the largest oil windfall the country has enjoyed in any five year period of its history. But Forero can’t mention that, it’s simply opposition propaganda backed by official numbers and statistics.
The Devil's Excrement 
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