One gets tired of blasting President Hugo Chavez, but his performance
yesterday during his now irregular Variety/Reality show “Alo Presidente” was nothing but simply pathetic. After avoiding
the issue of crime for almost eight years, Chavez only addressed the issue of
security in his last Sunday program a few weeks ago when he expressed his
concern for the pro-Chavez urban leaders that have been killed and he threatened
Minister of the Interior and Justice Chacon with firing him if things did not
improve.
Yesterday, he mentioned the problem of security again for only the
second time in almost eight years. This time, he asked the people to help protect the Cuban Doctors,
because one Cuban medical doctor, in Venezuela
for the Barrio Adentro program, was killed with a knife in the Caracas neighborhood of Petare. 90,000
Venezuelans have been killed under Chavez’ watch, practically tripling the
yearly number of 1998 when he first assumed power, Venezuela has become worse
than Colombia in terms of violent deaths, 40 Venezuelans die daily in violent
crimes and the number of people killed in police confrontations has gone up by
a factor of five, and all the autocrat seems to really care for are his
political buddies and Cuban doctors.
Whatever happened to the “pueblo” that he claims to live for and love
and gets murdered by Chavez’ own police? Whatever happened to the adolescents
that are terrorized, abused and murdered by Chavez own police? To the soldiers
tortured and abused by his own military officers? Why hasn’t Chavez ever called
for anyone to protect them? Why didn’t Chavez raise his cry of alarm when those
terrible cases occurred? Why doesn’t he care about the rest of us? Wasn’t it Hugo Chavez who seven years ago justified robbery by the poor in order to feed yourself?
And to top it all off, he reacts like an irresponsible adolescent,
blaming everything except his inaction, incompetence and inefficiency for the
problem. He blamed it on the media that supposedly stimulates alcohol and dug
consumption, as if alcohol and drugs could be advertised, or as if he did not
send his goons to the media every time his Government disagreed with something
they said, whether explicit or not.
In fact, only today, the telecom regulator CONATEL visited the offices of
a number of TV channels to investigate some “subliminal” ads by opposition
candidate Rosales, as if they had nothing better to do, or as if it was not
Chavez and his Miranda Command that
were abusing the campaign rules, daily, really, subliminally and in any
other possible manner. In fact, it was shown that last Friday, 94%-plus of the
time in the Government TV station VTV, was devoted to you know who, Hugo
Chavez, in flgranta and grotesque violation fo the cmapign laws.
Chavez even scolded the mayors for allowing people to drink on the
streets, as if he had not been present in his own rally last Friday, where
hundreds were openly drinking beer and rhum on the streets as they cheered. Of
course, get rid of the booze and
attendance would drop dramatically, more than it already has, as it is one of
the main enticements used by the Chavistas leaders to get people to attend.
But he can’t blame the media, the alcohol and the catholic nature of
our country (He praised Muslim countries for banning drinking) for the terror Venezuelans and in a lesser scale the Cuban Doctors
are living. He is responsible for the whole problem. It was Hugo Chavez and his
cohorts that dismantled professional police forces, one after another, to put
their own mediocre former and retired military in charge of a problem they had
no clue or inkling about. Yes, the same military that are responsible for the sharp
increase in the imports of Scotch in Venezuela, at the official exchange
rate and which is sold at special prices at all military commissaries. But we
do not hear Chavez saying anything about it, they might get mad at him and who
knows what they might do!! That is the cynicism of Chavez and his revolution at
its worst!!
But the truth is that Venezuela
has become utter chaos under the stupidity and egocentricity of Hugo Chavez. He
goes all the way to China
to promote the country’s candidacy for the UN Security Council, which does not
even carry a vote. And maybe by now there was nobody at the foreign office,
since most careers diplomats have been fired, that could tell the autocrat that
Venezuela’s competition in
the vote, Guatemala, does
not even have diplomatic relations with China,
as that country recognizes Taiwan.
But he went, and in his absence, more than 480 Venezuelans died while he
traveled, he signed in one day almost as many agreements as there were dead
Venezuelans that day. But recall the agreements signed by him during his last
trip to China?
Shelved, filed and forgotten in who knows whose office or boxes, since there
has been such a high rotation in the Foreign Ministry, that nobody there went
to China the last time Chavez did..
And you have to wonder about Chavez’ mental stability. He can’t stand
being in the country, where he is no longer the type of leader that can walk merrily
among the crowds of his supporters, which are still strong. He cares little for
trying to solve or solving their problems, he is surrounded my men and woman
that do nothing but suck up to him, painting a reality that is far from the
truth. He trusts nobody, so he simply rotates the same incompetent and
inefficient men and women around him, mostly former military or simply adorers
that would never tell him what the is really happening. Yesterday he said poverty is down 30% sibce he took over, as of the poor don’t know how they are doing and aksed for more ideology, when people are simply asking for a better standard of living, inclduing their personal security.
And if Chavez can’t tell what is going on, then he does not deserve to
be in the position he occupies. It has been seven plus long years of waste,
corruption, inefficiency and lies.
Inflation is jumping up due to the mismanagement of the economy. People
are unhappy as the numerous protests show. In one week, the workers of the 100%
Chavista National Assembly voted in the
opposition union by a three to one vote and the members of the savings plan of
the Electoral Board (CNE) voted with 99% of the votes against the
administration of their money under Francisco Carrasquero and Jorge Rodriguez. You
have to wonder is Chavez has been told.
But in the end, the most pathetic aspect of his rant yesterday was how
he ducked his responsibility and asked the people to defend the Cuban Doctors.
That is what Government’s are responsible for, that is what Government’s do and
are supposed to do. Any Government is responsible for the well being of all its
citizens, pro or against. Chavez is not in the opposition, he has been in
charge of running the country for almost seven years, but he appears not to
have assumed his responsibility fully. Simply, because he does not care, Hugo
Chavez only cares about Hugo Chavez, the power, the adoration, the perks, the
travel.
But people are getting the message. They are beginning to understand that
Venezuela
needs a President for all. Someone that respects and cares for them. Someone that
will work for them and not that pathetic figure we saw yesterday that cares
more for Fidel and his people and asks others to assume the responsibilities he
was elected for.
The Devil's Excrement 