The Devil's Excrement

I find the
statements by the head of the Land Institute Eliecer Otaiza to be extremely
offensive. This is no way to lead a country and to promote hate and resentment
against anyone is irresponsible and racist. No Government official should be
allowed to promote hate against any nation, racial or social group. This is the
way to destroy a country not build it. Governments should promote harmony and
civilized behavior, not savagery. This is verbatim what
Otaiza said in the interview in local weekly Quinto Dia:

Q. Are you getting ready for a war?

A. The first thing we have to recognize is that when you go to war, you have to
begin to hate the opponent. You can not go to war loving the person.
Effectively, the bonds we have with the United States,
political, historical are too closely joined, but we have to prepare ourselves
to begin to see the gringos as enemies, and that would be the first preparation
for combat.
Q. We have to hate the gringos? We have to prepare the people so that they hate
the gringos?

A. If we are going to war we can not do it by saying we are friends. We are
going to war to shot each other, not to embrace each other. Then, the first
preparation is to understand that you have an enemy, the second, that it will
be a prolonged war, of at least seven, eight, nine years and that it will be a
war of resistance, where the gringos may end in two days all of the war
equipment we have. It is a very cruel situation for us, and we understand that
the whole country and maybe the whole continent will be involved.

Q. Do you think the country will embark in an adventure like this one?

A. The problem is not whether we will embark in it or not, the problem is where
we are.

This guy is absolutely crazy, nuts, irresponsible and I am ashamed that he
holds an important office in my country. Not only that, but previously he was
Head of intelligence and Head of the Trade Educational Institute (INCE). He now
leads the land institute (INTI), the same one that has been expropriating land
in the last few months.

Although I know it is useless, as a civilized Venezuelan I request that the
Venezuelan Government fire Mr. Otaiza for his irresponsible and immoral
statements.

Milagros
Socorro in yesterday’s El Nacional has the interesting story of the documentary
producers who made the film “Another way is possible…in Venezuela”
three years ago. The documentary turned out to be very popular so that the Cultural
office (CONAC) of the Chavez administration brought them back for a second
documentary. Except that…

This time around
the movie makers worked for more than the nine days spent in 2002 and stayed
two months going around the country without in Socorro’s words “the commissars
of the revolution pointing out what they had to film, and brought the images
they found: a poor country, backwards, full of contradictions, of postponed
aspirations, of evidence of corruption, that is, ready for a change.”

The movie,
entitled “Our oil and other tales” was shown for the first time On Feb. 23d. and
again on March 4^th. According to Socorro, the Minister of Culture almost
stopped the second presentation. What is interesting according to Socorro is
that the showing took place because other Chavistas demanded it shouting “revolution
within the revolution” at the showing.

This has
reportedly led to a controversy around the film between pro-Chavez’ groups. It also
led to a firm response on the part of the filmmakers who wrote a firm open
letter to the Minister of Culture. That letter says in part:

“A novel and
open process of change like the one taking place in Venezuela can not just occur in linear
fashion. We dare say this with some authority having captured it in our earlier
film “Another way is possible…” that has gone around the world contributing to an
important source of international backing for this process….It should be
evident that in this path nothing, nor anybody, should be exempt of the social
comptrolling and the critical capability of the people. As Socorro says “What a
pity that that such statements have not been expressed by Venezuelan intellectuals
that believe in the “process”

The film
apparently paints a bleak and black picture of Venezuela:” There is a tone of
sadness and misery throughout it. The film concludes that the Government and
Chavez are responsible for a variety of calamities and have betrayed the
process of transformation. “

Socorro
concludes by saying: “If all revolutionaries would repudiate the cult of
personality and would promote the accountability of power (which implies the
separation of powers) and would point out how malignant any form of apology for
the Government and its hegemony can be, I would assure you that I would not be
insulted with the qualifier of “squalid”. I would be on their side.”

As usual,
well said Mrs. Socorro!

One of
the reasons that it is hard to be optimistic in Venezuela is that while I don’t see
how Chavez’ economic programs will get the country going, the mentality in most
opposition leaders and parties is not much better. Venezuela has overprotective labor legislation
which is one of the causes of the chronic high unemployment this country
enjoys. There are things like you can’t hire workers by the hour because after
three hours they become full time workers anyway, there is a minimum salary
that is increased in compulsory fashion every year, there is a firing freeze
that gives you very little flexibility and there are all sorts of obligatory
benefits that imply that a workers salary is typically only 60% of his pay package.

This used to be worse, but when Petkoff was Minister of Planning in the second
Caldera administration he ironed out an agreement that eliminated double
severance pay if you were fired and simplified rules. Well, today
an opposition politician Alfredo Ramos, from Nuevo Sindicalismo who is a member
of Causa R is asking for legislation that would go back to that old system.
Moreover, he is proposing other things like night shifts can only be four hours
long. At a time when unemployment is 15%, they should be thinking about making
labor legislation more flexible, not less. What all of these rules do is to
make companies more conservative on hiring and hurt those that don’t work while
they benefit only those that do. It also reduces the competitiveness of the
country.

This mentality is pervasive in Venezuelan politicians, they don’t seem
to understand that you want unemployement to go down, not to give perks
and protection to those that already have jobs. After all, the employed are teh priviliged ones! Moreover, we need to be
able to compete in those areas where the country ahs advantages, but if
you increase labor costs, you will be killing those same advantages.
But try explaining it to them!