It has been interesting to watch, at least to me, how different the opposition to Chavez has been by a trio of politicians, two old guard and one new guard, who have confronted Chavez head on rather than mincing words and trying to be somewhat civilized.
The first one was Diego Arria, when his farm Las Carolinas was intervened and expropriated. He not only explained why the seizure was illegal, but by confronting Chavez he managed to get the President to admit he ordered it, to which Arria simply called him a thief. Arria seemed to score more points publicly with this bickering, that the MUD, la Mesa and the table combined in the last three months. The Government tried to accuse Arria of suggesting Chavez should be overthrown, but Arria had been extremely careful, as a good diplomat has to be in the language he used, making the Government look somewhat silly.
A similar case has been that of Oswaldo Alvarez Paz, almost out of politics and aspiring to little, but chosen somewhat by Chavez and his Government as a target. Alvarez Paz was jailed for some statements he made on TV and let free a month ago. Since then, Alvarez Paz has been confronting and irritating Chavez every chance he gets. He has said repeatedly we have to “after Chavez” always being careful to say that this means we have to get rid of him in 2012. This irked Chavez, who on Sunday said Alvarez Paz was being disrespectful of the military and the Prosecutor and should not be allowed to go “around talking so much”.
To which Alvarez Paz replied that Chavez was abusing his power and that in the end he would have to be accountable to international courts, as well as divine justice, becoming in the end a great debtor to history. Chavez is likely to snap back to this, somewhat Alvarez Paz really get to him.
Finally, Henri Falcon has been less frontal, but he is increasing his direct attacks on President Chavez. When he spun off from the revolution, he said he still believed in it, but thought changes were needed. Now that Chavez has simply dismissed the relevance of Falcon’s party PPT, Falcon has become quite aggressive. His latest bark up Chavez tree was to say that it was becoming increasingly difficult to believe the President and that the Consejo Federal de Gobierno was an ambush to non-PSUV Governors, joining the chorus with Henrique Capriles Radonsky. Falcon’s advantage is that he is extremely popular and the people that follow Chavez know him well. When he starts talking like that, people listen and worry. Hopefully Falcon, whom I don’t like much, will continue to be loud and feisty, it will pay dividends for him.
For too long opposition politicians have believed that they confronting Chavez head on was barking up the wrong tree. These guys show that this is precisely what you have to do, day after day. It is dangerous, but it seems to be effective as in the case of these three courageous Venezuelans.
The Devil's Excrement 
June 3, 2010 at 4:33 pm
An inside pool shows that Chavez has rise 9% in the recent confrontation with entrepenuers, Polar, Mendoza, Fedecamaras. This is HIS game, this is what HIS does better, how he can get VOTE, and we will have more of this A LOT until Sept26. How and Why?? I really dont know.
Another subjet, the oppo candidate are: insecurity, corruption, supplies, electricity, now food poison, etc etc etc a hundred of them.
Lets get to the bridge and see if we pass them, it will be a big error statr talking about candidate presidence.
See this, obout the dollar, and the casas de bolsa situation, ask normal peopole in the street, is his thier fault even if they dont have any idea what is a permuta transaction, becasue the confrontation and the propaganda.
Regards,
June 3, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Let me get this straight. What I think I hear is that a month ago, the prices were going up, and the Bolivar was hyper-inflating, and now there is nothing to buy, so the Bolivar is WORTHLESS!
June 3, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Now, Mossad is trying to kill Chavez..!!!!!! 😀
June 3, 2010 at 9:53 am
It wouldn’t surprise me that the latest thrashing of OAP, Mendoza and attacks to Polar are really diversionary (a “smoke screen”) for some other activities happening in parallel, out of the public eye. And, it wouldn’t be the first time Hugo Rafael employs that tactic.
June 3, 2010 at 6:50 am
Canuck, the importers will be able to “prove” it. I’m not going to guess how much the new “special form” will cost, but it will be possible. Just another way of making it more difficult to do business, without any benefit to the country at large, which will end up driving GDP down and unemployment up.
June 3, 2010 at 6:27 am
Here in Margarita the merchants are becoming desperate. The summer vacations are coming & they are unable to order new merchandise as no one knows if they will have the $$ to pay for it.
As was explained to me it’s no longer going to be easy simply to import because when the new merchandise arrives you will need to prove where the $$ came from. If they didn’t come from official sources then it’s unlikely your containers will be allowed through.
This is causing a deep level of uncertainty & it’s probable that many smaller business people will have to close.
Many businesses had given up on CADIVI do to the length of time they took (if ever) and the mountains of paperwork. They were using the permuta market to get their $$, a system which worked with minimal hurdles.
Even those that dealt with national distributors had to pay in $$ for the merchandise. The current unofficial rate is going through the clouds.
If the new system is not as open as the one it is replacing, which I don’t expect it will be, then the shelves will be bare this August.
June 3, 2010 at 6:26 am
There needs to be a viable, charismatic, alternative for chavez, ready to step up to the plate on short notice to recover and rebuild what is left of this country.
If you think this replacement will be made as a result of a free, fair and recognized 2012 election, you are not barking up a tree. You are howling at the moon!
With the mad man’s increasingly aggressive actions, do you think he will allow or recognize a fair election representative of the peoples choice?
June 3, 2010 at 6:22 am
The “anonymous” troll above doesn’t really deserve to be dignified with a response, but it did remind me of an old joke:
A man jumps off the top of the Empire State Building. As he passes the thirtieth floor someone inside asks him, “How’s it going?” The falling man responds, “So far; so good.”
June 3, 2010 at 6:06 am
Off topic
MO
Are there any high profile tangible results to be observed at this time from the lack of available US dollars last few weeks? Something doesn’t feel right here. What gives?
Don’t get me wrong- I don’t support arresting brokers; I’m just curious to why the sky hasn’t fallen in if what the gov did was such a big deal.
June 3, 2010 at 5:25 am
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June 3, 2010 at 5:05 am
MO “Most people I don’t like get elected, it would be par for the course!!! 🙂 ”
Then start liking the one you don’t want in office! 🙂
Every time a “scandal” surfaces, we get a “bravuconada” from El Comandante. Some of these get executed by his minions, some lie in wait. So A.N.Onn is right, this is to try to sweep away thousands of containers full of rotten food from the public mind. There are more containers than have so far been mentioned, probably double.
Its the ones that he’s got going like a submarine that are the worst ones.
The attack on Mendoza & Polar is the frontpiece for a stepping up of actions from the Socialist Workers Front in the remaining operating private companies. Expropriations are going to be more common this summer. This part of the Election Campaign.
The AN is working on the “Parlamento Comunal” structure, a clear substitute Parliament that will not include anyone from the opposition. This will be just like the “Alcaldia Castration”. This will happen regardless of the electoral result in September.
The time for kid gloves is past is what the opposition needs to understand.
I think, EV, that it should be EOP for President instead!
June 2, 2010 at 8:34 pm
The opposition was right on something. Trying to sound more outrageous than Chavez only makes you look like mad, and even gave chavismo a chance to blast the opposition for being mad and wanting to end everything to get rid of Chavez.
But that time is well past.
Madness and worthless, failed political ideas, such as Chavez spouts daily now, should be confronted with common sense and reality. Head on, telling the fatso that he is saying nonsense, that the world does not work that way, that the results are in sight and are horrid, that his claims are ludicrous.
Comparing what he says to reality on the street, what every person who wants to get along with their fellow knows about desirable human behavior with “revolutionary” behavior should be the way to do it.
June 2, 2010 at 8:29 pm
I echo your thoughts on the bravery of these gentlemen MO, but at the same time, I don’t envy their situation one bit. As you well document, Chavez is becoming more tyrannic and paranoid by the day. The fact that he is overtly admitting to being counseled by the Cubans on security and military matters is enormous cause for concern. We all know what the Castro’s record for human rights abuses is. I think they are playing with fire and quite possibly (I really hope not) will get burned.
Great article on Cuba’s influences in Venezuela:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gPiTAIcRp9mIV6M463gPXmrnIlGQD9G21DFG0
June 2, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Not only is he fixated on OAP, but also on Lorenzo Mendoza, whom he believes (in his paranoia) also wants to be president!!! I don’t believe that Mendoza needs to be president to be somebody in the country; he already is!!!
June 2, 2010 at 8:09 pm
I think todays dragged out 6 1/2 hour radio/TV simulcast had a lot to do with whitewashing the Hugo Chávez government’s shameful part in the fiasco of 1.300 containers of rotting food, recently increased with 800 more in Tocuyito and yet another 414 in Valencia’s industrial zone as well as to trudge the long path towards convincing the country that he is a viable presidential candidate for the 2012 elections.
These 3 have shown his charming powers to be diminished of late. Thanks for another good article. Please keep safe.
June 2, 2010 at 5:40 pm
OAP for President in 2012
June 2, 2010 at 4:49 pm
What I do not understand is the low level of yield their knees reached and how the Venezuelan people are willing to lose their Polar Beer.
Do they think that with Chavez, will be free beer or icecream?.
I do not recognize my lost country.
June 2, 2010 at 2:57 pm
2012 electrions will be here before we know it. Will the oposition be “ready” for it?
June 2, 2010 at 2:42 pm
Let’s see,,,,,take control of resources, eliminate private sector production thru monetary policy, feed the masses that swear allegiance to the fat man. 2012 should be very interesting.
June 2, 2010 at 1:36 pm
rev: Most people I don’t like get elected, it would be par for the course!!! 🙂
June 2, 2010 at 1:35 pm
It’s funny how he has semmed to fixate on OAP. I mean, he’s practically making him a candidate by attacking him so much!
Falcon: You may not like him, I’m not crazy about the guy either, but you better learn all you can about him. At this point, if presidential elections were held today I believe he would win easily.
June 2, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Chavez’ greatest insult is to accuse his critics of “wanting to be president” like this is a bad thing. It’s just so lame.
I guess he never “wanted to be president” LOL.
June 2, 2010 at 12:30 pm
I liked this one Octavio, thanks for this note
Alexander