The Devil's Excrement

Over a week ago, Hugo Chavez went to Ciudad Guayan, where some of the
major State indsutries are and had to be helicoptered into the
Headquarters of the Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) due to the
fact that as many of four protests were taking place simultaneously and
blocking the way into CVG. Chavez was mad, particularly when he found
out that the pro-Chavez leader of the steelworkers union Ramon Machuca
participated in the protest. In his speech that day, Chavez made his
now controversial statement “The working class should not want to live
like the rich”, which led many of the steel workers to wonder whether
they will ever get their money. What money? Here is the story and the
origin of the problem:

In 1997, the Caldera administration proceeded to privatize steelworks
Sidor to a consortia of Argentinian, Brazilain, Mexican and Venezuelan
companies created for that end specifically under the name Consorcio
Amazonia. The state gave the workers 20% of the company, which included
some 13 thosuand workers. In 2004 Sidor’s debt was restructured and the
company gave CVG US$ 188 millions in earnings to distribute to the
workers . CVG used the money for something else and the workers have
yet to recieve any of that money.

Thanks to high steel prices, on August 15th. of this year, once again
Sidor handed over US$57 million  to CVG to give to the workers.
The Comptroller’s Office stopped the payment to the workers. To this
day, the workers have yet to receive their money, despite the fact that
indvidual accounts were open for that purpose

Such is life in Chavez’ workers paradise where he wants people to be
poor and he decides everything. I wonder why the steel workers are so
mad?. 

Very cool to see Imakinaria pick up the album by my friend and faithful reader Maruja, entitled “Dreaming in Caracas”. You can actually listen to it at cdbaby.com (and even order it!). Yes, it is still possible to have dreams in Caracas.

Hugo Chavez’ concept of “democracy” during yesterday’s Alo Presidente:

“Tascon, no compadre, that is not the way to go. You are part of a
revolutionary process. There is a leader who is Hugo Chavez, there is
cohesion, unity”

What did Tascon say?

That those that had two apartments would have to give one to someone that does not have one.

According to Chavez: “This does not reflect the criteria that I
am managing as leader of the process…nobody can make decisions on
their own, it has to do with the political moment that we are
managing…We can not get carried away, please calm down, particularly
these days that we are in the middle of an electoral campaign.”

Get it? First this is not a democracy, this is an autocracy with Hugo
Chavez as its leader. Second, this is not the time to reveal what they
plan to do, they can do it later. But it is the autocrat that is the
manager of the timing, not anyone else. Calm down for now, later they
will do what they plan to do, but not now, they have to win the
election first, without telling the people what their plans are. If they
did, they may lose, so please be quiet and be obedient of the autocrat says.

Some democracy, no? Can it be clearer than this?