The Devil's Excrement

Chavista abstention by Teodoro Petkoff in Tal Cual

The Chavista people called in their debt. This is the most
significant aspect of yesterday’s election: the huge number of “backers” of the
Government who did not vote. Abstention in general, in municipal elections, is
not a rare thing, but, in this case, it is a phenomenon which deserves
attention, the huge level that it reached in the popular bastions of Chavismo. The
most probable thing is that in terms of positions won, MVR with its cheating
with the twins of UVE and the illegal application of the electoral statute,
obtained a majority, but the most prominent political event is that the people
that Chavismo believed were their captives did not attend their call to vote.

Officialdom assumed the campaign full blast. That is why the
abstention of its supporters can not be seen, much like the spokesmen for Chavismo
want to make it look now, as a mere expression of the traditional “indifference”
towards municipal elections. Chavez himself got involved directly making frequent
calls to vote, calls that, obviously, were meant to be an “order” for his MVR,
an order to move all logistic and financial resources in order to mobilize its supporters.
And by the way, they did it. The CNE, on its part, in an umpteen demonstration
of abuse of power, extended by three hours the time to vote to give more time
for officialdom to make an extreme effort to find those reluctant to vote. Nevertheless,
it was all useless. The abstention of the Chavista people was “militant”. There
was a message with a destiny there.

On the one hand, it was a clear protest given the imposition
of candidacies. The myriad electoral formulas proposed by the Chavista bases in
the face of the official twins, was part of a first expression of
dissatisfaction-probably without consequences in the distributions of
positions, given that the “twin” artifice also affects the dissidents of the
Chavista hardcore, but it is full of political significance.

On the other hand, this abstention is the political-electoral
translation of the dripping in front of the Miraflores palace, of popular
groups identified with Chavismo, that demand satisfaction for their vindication
or complain about the inability of the Government to take care of them. “A very
good speech by the President”, people say, but we want to “see the cheese in
the arepa”*. Yesterday we heard the tolling of a resounding bell.

Maybe tomorrow we will be able to comment on the results of the
vote. Nevertheless, there is something we can give you a preview of. That
result will confirm that the illegal application of the Electoral Statute on
the part of the CNE and its tolerant complicity with the treachery of the twins,
will give MVR a presence in the municipal councils and parochial boards which is
disproportionately larger than the number of votes. On the other hand, the abuse of power on the part of the CNE already pointed out,
when it extended voting hours, only underlines the partiality of that
organization

These are all capital themes in the face of the electoral
process in December to elect Deputies for the Nacional Assembly.

This entry was posted on August 8, 2005 at 8:12 pm and is filed under Venezuela.