Given the total disregard for formalities and the letter of the law of the Bolivarian Goverment, people are still puzzling over Chávez even bothering to name a temporary replacement for Vice-President Nicolas Maduro, during the Foreign Minister’s two day absence to be present at the Unasur meeting in Lima. Given that Chávez has never even bothered to name his own replacement, even when he has been in intensive care, why did he bothered with such a minutia in the whole scheme of things? And the choice of the Minister for Electricity Hector Navarro was even more surprising, given his minor role in the overall scheme of things, even if he has proven to be a loyal ally of the Venezuelan President.
To some, this is simply Chávez sending a message that he is still very much in charge. Some think it was even extravagant, given that it should have been Maduro who named his own successor and not the Venezuelan President.
Others suggest that this was actually an act of paranoia, guaranteeing that the Presidency would not fall into the wrong hands should something happen to Chávez while Maduro was away. In fact, some even think that this indicates or even proves that all is not well with the Venezuelan President, if he has to worry about such convoluted scenarios.
But the remarkable thing is that the act would never hold water legally in any scenario, however convoluted it may be. The decree was signed by Chávez in Caracas, on a day that it was well known that Chávez was already in Cuba, from where it is simply illegal for him to issue the decree. Thus, even if a worst case scenario occurred, it would have been difficult to show the legality of the whole thing.
By now, the whole question is moot, Maduro is already back and order has been restored into this possible bifurcation into chaos. But the head scratching continues over the rationale behind the act.
The Devil's Excrement 