The Devil's Excrement

Chavistas temblad!

Caracas Chronicles is back!

Yesterday the Head of the Polar Group outright rejected the expropriation of its plant in Barinas state. Lorenzo Mendoza said
that the act was unfair, baffling and unconstitutional and he had no
plans to negotiate but simply defend the groups’ rights in the Courts.
He stated that as deterrmined by the National Assembly, the plant was
operational and the Government had gone back on the agreements that had
been reached.

Later, the cynical Minister of Agriculture, who had been part of the
agreements mentioned by Mendoza and had said the expropriation was an
“indepndent” act on the part of the Governor of Barinas stare, who
happens to be Chavez’ father, described the future plans for the plant,
proving that the action was in concert with the Central Government, no
matter what these liars try to say.

But the best performance award had to be given to Chavez himself,
who gave his assurances that the State would not tarmple the rights of
the Polar Group, as if an illegal intervention, followed by an
agreement which was violated within a week and an unheard of
expropriation by a Governor of the Polar plant was not trampling
enough. To make the performance even more cynical and threatical Chavez
told Mendoza that they could not break the links, that they could not
throw stones at each other, as if the man with the daily multiple
catapult was not Chavez himself. Chavez’ performance was so incredible,
that I watched it in disbelief wondering if this guy was manic
depressive or what. How can he posibly talk about links when it is his
Government that has acted in its best autocratic style, with total
disregard for the law and the use of military force? The Constitution,
the law and procedures established by it have been bypassed, using a
style calling for negotiations and acting like bullies trying to see
how far down they can push and abuse the other side.

The whole episode is certainly one of the most ominous and threatening
ones in recent Chavez autocratic history. Private property rights seem
to be defined at will by the President himself, without the
judicial power providing the required defense of the Constitution and
the people. The President of the Supreme Court was more concerned
yesterday with criticizing Human Rughts Watch, than with saying
anything about how the law in Venezuela is non-existent, how the rights
of Venezuelans, of all levels, are trampled daily and he stands there
like a mute-deaf-Chavez-puppet allowing the Bolivarian Constitution to
be trampled with, bypassed and ignored by the dictatorial designs of
the only authority he recognizes: Hugo Chavez.

The only saving grace is that Mendoza did not bidge, much like Azpurua
on Sunday. It is time to take a stand before we lose all rights, before
this fake democrats decide they are tired of acting. Who is next? You?

Well, the Law of the Jungle continued en force in Venezuela, this time in my own municipality.
The story is quite simple and this time there are videos to prove it. A
guy in a Motorcycle, wearing no helmet is stopped by the police of the
Chacao municipality. The guy has a gun which is not of police issue,
identifies himself as a metropolitan cop, but when he is going to be
arrested, escapes. He actually goes in a one way a street in the wrong
direction.

(On the right and left you see the armed “cops”,
brought in by Eduardo Semtei to rescue the cop that the Chacao police had detained. You
can see Semtei, the guy with the Lacoste shirt in the middle picture,
giving orders and you can hear him ordering his cops to shoot the
Chacao cops in the video)

The
local police (Polichacao) pursues him and captures him and they take
him to the headquarters of Polichacao. As they are booking him a
contingent of 60 cops from the metropolitan police shows up, well
armed, led by the Secretary General of the Metropolitan District, the
former infamous former Head of the CNE Eduardo Semtei. They attempt to
take the guy, who is supposed to be a cop by force, when the Chacao
cops refuse to Semtei i.e. heard on the video telling the metropolitan
cops to shoot! Fortunately, they had better sense and did not obey this
nuts commands. (All of this, from the time the cops arrived in
Polichacao was shown in video).

As Lopez told it, this could have created a tragedy and fortunately nothing else happened. Lopez said he would sue
Semtei. Lopez added that had nothing else happened and the cops not
arrived led by Semtei, the Metropolitan cop would have left with a fine
for not wearing a helmet and driving the wrong way in a one way street.

Lopez
also said that he was sure that if he had done something like that, the
Government would intervene his municipality and make a big scandal of
it. Instead, the Minister of Interior and Justice questions what
Polichacao did, for not releasing the cop when he showed the ID from
the Metropolitan Police. Of course, he fails to mention why he escaped,
why he was armed with a non-issue weapon and the fact that he was in
violation of the law for not wearing a helmet. But you see, this is the
law of the jungle, if you are with the Lion King, you do what you
please.

You can see parts of the viedo here.

Today’s Editorial of Brazilian newspaper O Globo

The price of a barrel of oil has increased more than four times in the
last six years and Venezuela (One of the largest oil exporters of the world), earned
billions of dollars more of what the most optimistic projections could have previewed,
Despite this, there has never been so many poor Venezuelans-more than half the population-
and in no other period of its history did poverty grow at such an accelerated rhythm.
This is demonstrated by studies by the United Nations for Development (PNUD)
and the Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas of the country itself.

Colonel Hugo Chavez assumed the Presidency in 1999 with the argument
that the existence of poverty in a rich country was inadmissible and with the
compromise of making a social revolution (Baptized later by him as the Bolivarian
Revolution), to end with poverty in record time. Chavez, as is well known, concentrated
himself more in obtaining more powers than his predecessors and the international
circumstances could hardly be more favorable. Then, what went wrong ?

It is clear that the Bolivarian revolution, a mixture of assistance, populist
rhetoric and certain notions of social justice, far from being the solution to the
problems of Venezuela,
is today the biggest obstacle to for production and the distribution of wealth.
The extra money that has come in, is being misspent in propaganda programs that
at the most guarantee the needy daily survival, from the hand to the mouth, but
do not alter his living conditions.

Chavez selected as his guru Fidel Castro and as compass the anachronic
example of Cuba,
not exactly a model of prosperity and democracy. As if the victory in the ballot
box was a blank check, he, speaking in the name of the Venezuelan people, uses the
executive power to coerce the judicial power, configure the legislative one in
his own image and similarity and intimidate the press

The result
is a country that preserves the institutions as façade, but where the will of
the President prevails over the Constitution. Not by chance, does the Venezuela
of Chávez live in crisis; with freedom threatened and the private sector
fearful and inhibited, even with the price of oil at these heights. It is a
scenario radically hostile to investors, who are horrified at the unexpected,
but that, in a global economy, are the guarantee for the continuous production
of wealth.

Chávez’ father in page A-14 of El Nacional today:

Q: In last Sunday’s march, protesters were asking for the expropriation of the land you and your sons own in Barinas State.

A: No, because the lands I have are owned by the State.

Ahhh, I see!

It seems like yesterday when I was blasting Human Rights Watch in 2002 for criticizing the opposition for things that Chavez did routinely, right after the aftermath of Chavez departure in 2002. I really thought that Vivancos’ reports at the time were bad, except for their support of human rights organizations PROVEA and COFAVIC. The Chavez Government on the other hand paraded Vivancos and his report both locally and abroad to show what the bad guys in the opposition were doing. My own personal opinion is that Vivancos was watching things from afar at the time. He was naïve, but thankfully he came and stayed a while and got the true picture of what was going on.

In fact, turn the clock back five more years and the same happened at that time with PROVEA and COFAVIC. Chavez used to quote these NGO’s reports, hail them for their work, and say that these were the true patriots. Until they began criticizing him…In fact, the only moment I ever doubted my non-support for Chavez was precisely when he praised these organizations that I admired so much.

Well, today HRW is the same for the Chávez administration, Vivancos is a CIA operative, paid by who knows who, a representative somehow of the US, as if he had no track record in defending human rights. The Chávez administration wants nothing to do with him, as Vivancos dared to come to Caracas and call the Venezuelan judicial system “so weak” that it justifies for the OAS to invoke the Interamerican Charter over the issue.

Vivancos in his speech yesterday cited not only the lack of judicial responsibility, but also pointed out the threats to freedom of speech via legislative measures like the Content law, the reform of the Penal code that has led to actions without precedent, the persecution of human rights fighters as well as the disregard by the Venezuelan State for the precautionary measures of the Interamerican human rights commission.

But to my amazement, I wonder where all those people that called for better treatment of those that staged the 1992 coup in Venezuelan jails are today? They were not only well treated, but they were pardoned, paid their military pensions and many were even hired by the Caldera Government to run social programs. Where are these fighters for human rights today when the Venezuelan judicial system is a travesty? When ONG’s are persecuted for the simple fact that they try to defend voter rights? When women are trampled on the streets by Robocop looking fascist National Guards? When the number of people killed in confrontations with police is up five fold? When homicides are p three fold? When innocent civilians are shot death in the streets while they are protesting against the Government? When Chavista groups armed to their teeth kidnap and intimidate international reporters? When TV stations and radio stations are intimidated by Government officials or supporters? Where are you people? Do you simply have a double standard?

I will never forget my visit to Argentina many years ago, right after the last military dictatorship. I met a bunch of what were then to me kids, that were going to attend a course I gave at the time. They told me about their university class. How they were all persecuted for being academics. I asked how many there were, fourteen was the answer. And only five had actually survived. I asked them how this could be. They said nobody cared, whether in Argentina or abroad, they were just abstract numbers. Life simply went on And things did not happen overnight there. This was at the end. We can not let the same happen here. Hopefully Vivancos, PROVEA and COFAVIC will continue fighting and letting the word out. But will you?

Do not let Venezuela follow the path of Argentina or Cuba, do something!

This is a picture of opposition Deputy Pastor Heydra after he was attacked by his friendly neighbor at the National Assembly, MVR Deputy Ibrahim Velasquez yesterday. Velasquez took Heydra by surprise and hit him drawing blood. Said Velasquez: “I wanted to teach him to be a man, he keeps accusing me of being corrupt, humilliating me”. I guess it is simply a Chavista style, the Law of the Jungle, use force whenever you feel like it, no civilized form of interaction allowed. Way to go Ibrahim!.

The Chavez Government is so cynical and false that it can agree on something one week and turn around and change its mind the week after. It just did this today, going back on everything that it had agreed on with the owners of the Polar plant (Remavenca) on Barinas state.

The whole story began on August 31st., when a plant owned by the Polar group was “intervened”by a military force led by the Minister of Agriculture himself. Of course, the concept of “intervention” simply does not exist in Venezuela’s jurisprudence, but the Chavez administration does not even care about the form, what it can not get legally it can get by force. And it can be very scary to have a military battalion take over your property in a country where one no longer knows where the Government begins and the military ends.

The Polar group protested the interventions and went to the Supreme Court asking for an injunction on the matter. The Court has yet to reply, in clear violation of the law. The group also went to the National Assembly and also met with the Vice-President to show that the plant was operational and had been certified as such by the Government itself. The Minister of Agriculture himself announced on September 16^th. that the impasse “had been overcome” and while there were delays in having the military leave the facilities as agreed, they were returned to their rightful owners.

Well, today, the Governor of Barinas state signed a decree expropriating the same plant, arguing social interest and public usefulness. The cynicism went even further than that as the Minister of Agriculture, who was present during the reading of the decree, later said that the act by the Governor of Barinas state and its legislature was “an independent decision”. Yes, we are supposed to believe in pur naviety and stupidty that, when the Governor of Barinas state is none other than Chavez’ own father Hugo de Los Reyes Chavez, who does nothing but what the autocrat himself tells him. Yeah, right!

As I said when I first reported in this case, the Law of The Jungle is now the prevailing system of Justice in Venezuela these days. The Government has been trying to intimidate everyone using the military to intervene farms and plants and attempt to get some form of agreement out of the owners. This does not always work, so it resorts then to others mechanisms. In this case, this is what the law says except the law states, except that there has to be compensation first.

But we are beyond that. By now Chavez is out of control and doing whatever he pleases in the name of social justice. But there is no such thing in Venezuela. All we have is an autocrat who is completely out of control, abusing his powers and reneging on agreements in the name of a non-existent independence between the executive power and regional Governments, which Chavez has never respected anyway. But the goal has been achieved; take away the plant form Polar. You can be sure it will be dismantled and there will be nothing there in a couple of years. This revolution only destroys, it does not know how to build or even use the most basic infrastructure.

For some reason Chavez is accelerating the process of taking over private property and he could care less about the law. This is not a random event; it is clearly a planned strategy in the face of a lower popularity and widespread protests. The only question may be who is next, or maybe better, are you next and are you doing anyhing about it?

You have to admire Carlos Azpurua. The military has surrounded his farm
La Marqueseña. Chavez himself went there today to hold his program and
almost announced some form of agreement with Azpurua. But nothing
doing according
to Azpurua late today, who is sticking to his guns and remianing in his
farm. Azpurua thanked Chavez for his words, but reiterated that his
farm is private property. He said he would study the President’s
proposal and sort of sent Chavez a challenge when he said that he
believed the President when he said that he would no run over anyone.
He also said any agreement would need to pay him and his partners, of
which there are six, to receive compensation first.

Venezuela needs more fighting men of principles like Carlos Azpurua.
Others would shut up, hide or run (In fact, many do everyday, preferring to make a buck quietly!). He is
standing by his principles and ethics and his own well being is at
stake. I hope, but doubt, that Chavez will stick to his words. I fear
there will be blood in La Marqueseña.

Typically Teodoro Petkoff does not write his Editorial on
Fridays unless something important requires it. This Friday he did, here it is.

Hugo sows fears
by Teodoro Petkoff in Tal Cual

“To those that we expropriate the land from, maybe I will
give them a paper: In 2030 collect from Chávez”. Perhaps the President intended
to make a (bad) joke with this idea, but there is no doubt that his subconscious
gave him away letting out a repressed wish. Deep inside, one may believe he
wants to confiscate and not expropriate. In fact, when he refers to the payment
for the properties to be expropriated he let out, almost inadvertently, that they
will be paid when they can and as they can. Chavez has no clue of the wasp’s nest
that he is stirring. Among the strongest feelings that move human beings is that
of ownership.

It is as much or even more powerful than love. That is why
everything that has to with it has to be handled with extreme care, in
particular by Governments. When Chavez leaves doubts as to whether there will be
or not indemnization for the owners of lands or factories, that is, that
they can be confiscated, snatched from their owners, and in second place he is
clearly violating the Constitution and the laws, where confiscation is expressly
prohibited. Thus the fears that today permeate down to the most humble of the inhabitants
of the popular barrios, to say nothing of the middle class.

The application of the Land Bill, with the unnecessary
military deployment and with prepotent and aggressive language, given the impression
that they are acting outside of the law itself, has done nothing but generate
in the country and atmosphere of fear about the future of property in general. To
make matters worse, the last statements by the President about the “empty lots”
in the cities, of which they “have to be watchful” in order to “expropriate them”
supposedly to build housing, are increasing the sense of anxiety in all sector of
society. Chávez, with that ultraleftist infantilism, is promoting even more uncertainty
that, among other things, conspires openly against job creation and the fight against
poverty. In a country where nobody knows what to expect in the future and where
even coop members are asked to forget about making money, it is impossible to create
new jobs because nobody is going to invest a cent if they don’t know what may
happen to their investment.

The result will be more poverty.

What there is pertinent in the elimination of large farm estates
or the creation of new form of economic and social organization, advanced however,
setting aside the search for possible agreements, produces a trauma which is more
psychological than political and will stumble with resistance from those
that have little, who only owning a small home property, may feel however, that
“the Government” may take it away from them.

Some may think that he is just putting the rich in their rightful
place, but others may believe that things will just not stop there and you start
by militarily intervening Polar and you may end confiscating and nationalizing kiosks
where newspaper are sold. In social and political life, reality matters much less
than what people perceive of it. That is why so many revolutionary intentions have utterly failed.