The Devil's Excrement

Tal Cual published today this interesting graph correlating Chavez’ votes and poverty in each state, if you remove Zulia from the statistics, then the correlation coefficient is 0.70. I guess there is no incentive for Chavez to eliminate poverty.

The Sole Finger by Teodoro Petkoff in Tal Cual

The process of the creation of the Partido Unico Socialista (PUS, what an acronym!) is proceeding at full speed, adhering itself to the regulations inherent to a participative democracy like the Venezuelan one. The unique star of the revolution, the father of the ice cream, the exclusive owner of the votes, has participated his political allies that each political party can do whatever it wants, but if they do not join PUS, they will be kicked out of the Government. Obviously such a “democratic” and “respectful” query of the opinions of others must have the leaders of the parties that have accompanied Chavez’ MVR for the last eight year pondering.

The same thing must be happening with those in MVR itself, because after the public scolding that Chavez gave Jose Vicente Rangel and Jesse Chacon in the Panteon Nacional itself, live and direct, nobody knows how the Supreme Finger is going to move in the next few weeks. Chávez said that he was tired of the acts of his fingers, but surely that tiredness must be much like the one that he had after he “buried” the Maisanta/Tascon list. Neither that one lays cold in its tomb nor will his tireless finger cease pointing out who the leaders of PUS will be. Not even if he wanted it to be different, because article ONE of the tacit bylaws of the Bloque de Cambio (which is the name, for now, of the coalition of Chavista parties), clearly states that “the President will have the last word”, as has been said and repeated by any of our “countrymen” who gives his opinion about any matter related to candidacies, positions and other perks which derive from power. Nobody that surrounds him that is not insane, who does not tremble in his presence or sucks up to him, as it happens with all autocratic and authoritarian rulers, would even dare to suggest any name, until he is sure of what “I, the Supreme” wants.

A leader of MEP, the same person that once sent Chavez a letter complaining about his authoritarian style (of course not using that word, but it was very clear what he meant), has now rushed to assure us that his party is simply waiting for the order to live together, to take the step. The radicals have also reacted (at least via the mouth of its Secretary General) and has said that since there is no longer a Red Vatican that will tell him what to do, the will of the Unique Leader is sufficient for the Central Committee to approve the creation of PUS without the need for debate that, in any case, would be a waste of time.

But in PPT and Podemos, which appear to think that the votes they got, do not in anyway belong to Chavez, they are somewhat hesitant.

In fact, a leader of one of those two parties, who, using the newspaper cliché, “shall remain anonymous”-and I will not squeal on him- “If the votes were Chavez’ they would have been for MVR, if they voted for us, there must be a reason”

This has some logic, of course.

The problem is that the commander, like in the barracks, accepts no discussions.

The idea of plurality, diversity, respect for the opinions of others, is to them essentially repugnant.

He will surely get away with it because it is very difficult that the mortal dilemma that Podemos and PPT have (acceptance and perks or just suffer) will be resolved in favor of what we could call “principles”.