Somehow it is difficult to adjust to the fact that the reference frame for the revolution is not that Venezuela succeed, but that the “Empire” fail. Minister Giordani, for example, spent the first half hour of his economic press conference on Thursday, telling us how out of 250 million people in the US (wrong!), 50 million had lost their homes (wrong!) and how they are now living in “tent cities”. Then he tells us how in contrast with the US where less than half of the population have social security (wrong!), in Venezuela 95% of the population does (wrong its around 20%).
But it really does not matter. These guys are proud of 27% inflation, while they predict the demise of the US$ or the US economy, while the Bolivar has done worse in the last five years than the US$ and the US economy is likely to grow more the last quarter of 2009 than the Venezuelan one and ditto for 2010.
And then the People’s Ombudswoman Gabriela Ramirez, the same one that rarely shows up to defend the “people” of Venezuela, holds a press conference minutes after Obama gets awarded the Nobel Prize, to tell us that this is an insult to human. rights. The truth is, she is an insult to human rights in Venezuela and organizations like Provea, who have been at defending rights for years and this is what they get. Because in the nine years since the creation of this position, Venezuelans have had two “Ombudsmen” who were more devoted to defending the Government than the rights of the people. And are quick to hold a press conference to attack Obama, but seldom talk about the horror of the daily homicides in Caracas and Venezuela.
Or take health care, for example. Chavez has revived his “Barrio Adentro” mission, because there are elections coming up. He brought 2,000 “Doctors” from Cuba to fill the empty space in the modules he installed in 2004-2004. The question is where did 7% of the GDP of the country go for three years, if so much money went to Barrio Adentro and it wasn’t even working properly. Do I hear Cuba anyone? Yes, Cuba seems to be more important than Venezuela. Or its people.
And funny how this is the same week that the Government announces electricity rationing for Caracas, for the first time in a long time, we hear that the Venezuelan Government will spend US$ 80 million in producing electricity in Bolivia.
And obviously, Chavez was too sick to hold his variety show Alo Presidente, but had to take a poke at the Nobel Peace Prize for Obama. I mean, this is not the Physics Nobel Prize, that has gone to the best physicists most of the time. This is the Peace Prize, the same one that Arafat and Jimmy Carter won. And Kofi Annan. And Al Gore. And Oscar Arias and Rigoberta Manchu.
And yes, Nelson Mandela did win it. And Aung San Suu. But Gandi did not, nor Havel. So how can I get upset about Obama winning it, with that track record?
Clearly, neither Chavez nor Piedad deserved it. They left their Prize in the jungles of Colombia. Uribe had a lot to do with that.He didn’t deserve it either.
But what hurts is not whether Obama won it or not. It’s that a US President did. Because the US is the enemy, the same way that China will be the enemy for Chavez in 50 years when that country becomes the most important power in the world and the most capitalist at that. Or that Cuba with its gigantic failure in 50 years, is a friend. Nobody is asking for results or consistency, just ideology.
Because what Chavez fails to understand is that Brazil and Chile in Latin America and China, Korea, Malasya, Hong Kong and all those Asian countries are becoming powers, not by following hair brained ideologies, but by embracing capitalism from A to Z, going through the H of hard work and the T of taxation.
But don’t tell our socialist brainiacs that. The President of our Central Bank, a math Ph.D. told us last week how next year they will have a priority list for CADIVI outflows by needs and by sectors. Brilliant! It has taken XXIst. Century Socialists leaders five years of exchange controls and a couple of Ph.D.’s being in charge to come out with the bright idea of having a budget. How did they ever think of that!
Maybe they should be awarded the Economics Prize for thinking of the revolutionary idea of using an Excel spreadsheet to establish priorities for giving out billions of dollars. I bet this guy gets the Venezuelan National Science prize. And I am not kidding. Write it down.
But these are the people ruling and running Venezuela. Incompetent fools concerned more about the failure of others than our own success. The same ones that justify getting rid of 27 scientists because they are retired despite the fact that they are all younger than all of the Nobel Science winners of this year, all of whom are all still active in their own countries.
But they sing the demise of the “Empire” as the local subway system has not been running in its entirety for days, electricity is going to be rationed in Caracas for the first time in decades, inflation is going to be 27% in 2009, 45 of the Venalum cells are down when the standard used to be that four was bad, two of the three most important highways going into Caracas were shut down for hours last week, the largest maternity in Caracas is running at 20% of its capacity, homicides will run at almost 15,000 in 2009…
Should I go on?
But they talk about wealth redistribution, while they all send their kids to private schools and their families to private hospitals. And they have bodyguards and fancy cars (and wish for Ferraris) and use fake statistics to prove that poverty has remained the same in the ten years of the revolution. Yes, it has improved since 2004, but did you hear oil prices went up? Or that the country’s debt soared. And all they have accomplished is to take us back to 1998. And they call it a revolution!
Meanwhile they celebrate the demise of the US as a world power and condemn Obama’s Prize.
But refuse to acknowledge their dramatic failure.
The Devil's Excrement 
October 16, 2009 at 11:42 am
I was talking to a Venezolana friend the other day, a woman in her late 30s, mother of two children, working class. She and her husband are trying to build a small home on some family-owned property. We got to talking about the government, and here is what she told me:
(Paraphrased and translated)
“Three years ago I was 100% chavista. I believed; I campaigned for all of the chavista candidates. But it was all just talk, and all lies. None of it came true, nothing was done to help the people. Instead, the money was all stolen. Now when I see him on TV, I put my face right up to the screen and say ‘C**o su madre!'”
There is hope.
October 14, 2009 at 5:33 am
Dillis:
The law goes even further, allowing foreigners to become part of the armed militias.
How ’bout them apples?
October 13, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Bob,
Yes, it is too dangerous. Look at the 11 alcaldia workers who were taken to jail (and were indicted today) only because it occurred to them to protest against the government. I’d think someone driving in a car with loudspeakers broadcasting against the government wouldn’t last more than 1hr before he/she’s stopped and sent to jail by one of the government (official or unofficial) forces.
October 13, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Why aren´t Venezuelans out telling Chavistas the truth about what is happening. All these good points here should be printed off, taken in a van with loudspeakers and broadcast through the barrios !!!!
Or is that too dangerous ???
October 13, 2009 at 7:58 pm
1. It would seem that Chavez and others now have speech writers who are Cuban and can’t understand the internet.
2. Tell me that 20,000,000 illegal aliens who risked life and limb to get to the USA are wrong and a man who is more isolated from the world than Michael Jackson knows what he is talking about?. Especialy the ones with advanced degrees who would rather shovel shit in the US than play politico in their native country!’
3. Tell me that the lines at the US embassy in Caracas are gone. Who would want a Visa or Green Card from a looser country?
4. So when was the last time that most Venezuelans trusted their leaders?
October 13, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Yupi, more bonds. http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091013-712302.html
October 13, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Megaescalidus, I heard last week that a law has been approved that allows armed civilian militias to work with the military, especially when dealing with opposition protests, natural disasters, etc.
So now we are bound to have many more 11 de Abrils, but it will be legal for Chavistas to shoot at the opposition…..complete anarchy!
I have not heard about a new military service law. I am not sure Chavez would want those not 100% with the revolution involved in anything he does?
October 13, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Victor, it is most likely true. Unfortunately, students are not challenging the system as they should. Venezuela is the only South American nation that does not take part in international evaluation tests of education and one of the few (together with Bolivia and Ecuador) outside the PISA programme.
Students should demand in front of the international community to take part in the PISA Programme. This would show reality: Venezuela’s public schools are the worst in Latin America (I have written a lot about this in my blog).
They are now mostly defending their private schools and university. That is right but they should attack, attack, attack as well the very bad quality of public schools in Venezuela. Make the Venezuelan government improve the quality and if not, go to the streets, protest, protest, protest, make the people from the slums join: Venezuela needs public schools that are good, at least as good as those in chile or Argentina (they are at Haiti level, whether you believe me or not, they are much worst than Bolivia’s and that is one of the reasons, plus the Devil’s Excrement, why we have the Golem as president)
October 13, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Has anyone heard anything about the new military service law?
Last week they said in “Buenas Noches” (Globovision) that it (supposedly) is compulsory up to age 65 (not quite sure about the exact mentioned age #), and that it is now (supposedly, again) universal (or else a fine will be given, if within 1 year people are not registered).
I asked my brother last Friday if he’d heard anything about it, and he hadn’t. Does anyone know anything about it?
October 13, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Here in Margarita, we have had water rationed in our building since March, and the electricity goes off regularly. The government have the country on it’s knees with their incompetence and lack of investment. All the brains have been pushed out, and they just cannot operate the basic utility services like electricity and water. It amazes me that there are still people, especially with the cost of food in the supermarkets, that still are going to vote for these clowns. It beggars belief. As Kepler says it is hard to beat ignorance, these people do not read books, have not traveled abroad and are forcefed state media 24/7. So how can they relate to what the outside world is? very sad if it wasn’t so dangerous.
And today the government have taken over the Hilton Margarita and casino. This was expected, but all they will use it for, is to house members of the ‘Revolution’ and have grotesque late night parties like they do at the Alba Caracas.
October 13, 2009 at 11:57 am
Yup incredibly mediocre. Did you read the new education law? I’ve not. Heard that now a high % (80%?) of the admissions into the university medical school’s are going to be decided by socioeconomic factors (ie graduates from the bolivarian schools and such).
Hope is not true….
October 13, 2009 at 8:30 am
Check this out. In 2003, Venalum produced more aluminum last year than it had the capacity to produce. Chavez has been giving false production estimates all along.
“Last year Venalum, Latin America’s largest aluminum producer, turned out a record 436,558t of the metal, more than its current capacity of 430,000t.”
http://www.bnamericas.com/news/metals/Iranians_see_Venalum's_V-350_cells_in_action
October 13, 2009 at 4:04 am
GB,
Very good quotation.
Miguel,
You don’t know how many people believe in the rubbish stated by the government.
I have an aunt who at least some years ago was chavista. She is over 70, her tension is not good, so we stopped talking about politics. She has never been outside Venenzuela but for trips to colombia ages ago. She was a primary school teacher. I would say her education level is above average for Venezuelans (sad, but true).
She watches Television Espanola and perhaps cnn en Espanol. She asked me some years ago if I was fine as so many people were being sacked in Europe, as in Spain she was hearing from SPANISH TV that there were so many problems and she assumed in Flanders the situation may be similar. I asked her how things there were and she said all was fine and dandy and when I asked for some problems I had heard about (from my sister and brother, from the press), she minimized them.
A cousin was starting at the Universidad de carabobo. He is, like 98% of our extended family, opposition. He had some time in the evening and there was a course about Autocad for all at the Ince (Inces now). He went. He found out most in the course were in for a “beca”. Most came from the barrios and had a horrible education level.
He also found out half the course was going to be politics (or rather brain washing) and the other half Autocad really for dummies. He left it right away but he told me a lot of the guys there he was talking to believed Venezuela was for the first time exporting cars thanks to Iranian help, whereas the truth is that Iran is providing much less of what we were getting from FORD or GM in the eighties and on top of that with technology that is 2 decades old.
I know most of those guys came from Valencia’s South, from the parish Miguel Pena. There are 500000 people living there. There is only one maternity hospital and NO GENERAL HOSPITAL. They have to go to the Hospital central like the rest of Valencia that does not go to private hospitals.
There is no real public library for half a million people, just a little house with two little rooms of books and magazines on the Northern border of the parish, where it borders with Valencia’s centre.
One tank is enough to build up a couple of humble but decent libraries there.
I think it is very difficult to fight against such widespread ignorance.
And there is no way around, with or without the Fat Man in the Palace.
October 13, 2009 at 3:35 am
Revolution is just the buzz word for typical caudillo family and cohort mafia corruption of a country with no consideration for the pueblo. It was the same ten years ago as today. It there is a revolution, it’s a boulibourguesa rotating around a mass (hugo).
October 13, 2009 at 12:16 am
Miguel:
The question at this point in the mater is not what so called chavismo or Chavez is but what is the rest of Venezuela’s society that stands idly by for years as the country races towards oblivion. I’m not talking about demonstrators and other shows of resistance. After 11 years of incompetence I’m talking about major disgust and outright rebellion to the tune of “we are not going to take it anymore” that should be spreading like fire from north to south and from west to east by now. Chavez makes me sick but my compatriots make me sicker still.
October 12, 2009 at 11:51 pm
When you combine ignorance and leverage, you get some pretty interesting results.
– Warren Buffett
I don’t think he was thinking about Venezuela, but it applies.