The Devil's Excrement

Yesterday,
Chavez’ MVR party and all of the parties that still support the Government got
together to defend the current electoral system and ask the Electoral Board to maintain
the conditions imposed by the previous.

The
spokesman at the meeting was the official spokesman for the “National Tactical
Command” of Chavez’ MVR, William Lara, who also happens to be the Minister of
Information and Communication in this autocracy run by the unity of Government
and party in the best Stalinist tradition. Except that here there is not even
the pretense of there being a differentiation.

In any
case, William Lara, this mediocre former high school physics teacher turned modern-day-Goebbels yesterday in
his press conference, conveniently transmitted by the Government TV
channel, unlike opposition press conferences, came out and said two things that demonstrate
how this Government has no morals or criteria when it comes to speaking in public.

The first
statement he made for which I take offense was his passionate defense of the fingerprint
capturing system used in the last three elections. According to this modern day
Orwellian Minister of Information, the presence of these machines prevents
people form voting more than once and makes voting faster.

Well, I
hope I am not prosecuted for calling the Minister unethical and a liar, but so
far, there is no evidence that the system prevents people from voting more than
twice or helping people vole faster. In fact, the opposite appears to be the
case in the case of the speed of the process. In the recall referendum, it was
the fingerprint machines that slowed down the process due to the massive turn
out, forcing polls to stay open until almost midnight.

Moreover,
there is not a single study made in Venezuela that shows that multiple voting
by a single person has ever been a statistically significant problem, In fact,
what has been shown is that those that control the voting are the only ones
that may allow this to happen as the use of indelible ink in all Venezuelan voting
processes guarantees that unless it is allowed by those supervising the
process, multiple voting can be stopped.

Additionally,
the CNE has never revealed or shown how the fingerprint system performed in the
two elections in which it was used, the recall referendum or the October 2004
regional elections. The CNE has always refused to give out technical data as to
the speed of the system, its performance and whether it was even capable of
stopping people form voting twice.

In
contrast, the problems with the fingerprint machines are well known, but were
not mentioned by William “Goebbels” Lara: The ability of the Government to intimidate
voters into believing that their vote can be identified and the ability of
those in control of the voting process to know how many people voted and where,
allowing them to keep polls open later than the law establishes, as was done in
the same two elections. Venezuelan Electoral Law is very clear on the matter: Polls
are only to remain open until 4PM is there is nobody in line or until the lines
are exhausted. None of this was done in these two electoral processes and the
suspicion has always been that the fingerprint machines were telling the
Government, the only one that had access to the real time data that it would be
to their benefit to keep them open. But Lara and his cohorts could care less about teh rights of the people they claim to cherish and love.

But if I
found the defense of the fingerprint capturing machines insulting and
amateurish, his denial of the existence of the Maisanta
database, which I now call the Chascon database, was truly offensive. There
are scenes of Hugo Chavez on TV asking Tascon how the process is going. There
are scenes of Hugo Chavez on Alo Presidente telling people that they can check
everyone on Tascon’s webpage and there is a video of Chavez telling Tascon himself,
who was present, and his Cabinet not to use the Chascon database anymore.

Moreover, the
CDs were distributed to thousand of Chavista activists and members of the Comando
Maisanta itself proudly acknowledged its existence. Even more harebrained was
his explanation on how they compiled their list. He claimed they had the
registry without addresses which they cross-referenced with the beneficiaries
of the “Misiones” and those that signed with them and that is how they obtained
the addresses to get the data. Well Mr. William “Pinocchio” Lara, my childhood address,
the first one that I used to register to vote too many years ago, is in the
Chascon database and I can assure I do not participate in Misiones, have not
vote for Chavez, against opposition Deputies and the like, and even if I did, I
would use my current address and not that one which happens to appear only in
the Electoral registry.

Thus, another
day in the revolution: lying, abuse of power and unethical behavior. These guys
have certainly learned a lot from the chief autocrat. What a bunch of BS
artists!

Via Pedro
Mario I read The Times
Editorial on Hugo Chavez, which shows that British papers can not be fooled as
easily as others:

Chav Politics (Chav means trashy
people in Britain)

The Hugo Chavez show is
bad burlesque. The
“private” visit of Hugo Chavez to London has proved enjoyable for those who
feared that 1980s nostalgia was not what it used to be. There may be
well-meaning souls prepared to view President Chavez with an open mind.
According to his promotional material, the Venezuelan leader is all that stands
between enlightenment and President Bush inflicting his twisted values (such as
democracy, the rule of law and market economics) on the entire world. Señor
Chavez, in his spare time, rescues his country’s grateful poor while rekindling
a Latin American sense of purpose and identity.

But if it is wise to judge
a man by his friends, those inclined to give the visitor the benefit of the
doubt might want to reconsider. It was not just the Central Casting collection
of faded radicals in his thrall. Having waited since the failure of the
Sandinistas to spark the (inevitable) anti-Yanqui revolution two decades ago,
their excitement was understandable. Ken Livingstone’s presence added
authenticity. It was good to see Harold Pinter there, a man who once had
something relevant to say (about Eccles cakes), but a long, long time ago. More
significant than those present were the absentees who would surely have wished
to be present at the lion-ising of the self-proclaimed Anti-Bush. Robert
(Mugabe), Kim Jong Il (The Dear Leader) and Muhammad (Ahmadinejad) are comrades
who were otherwise engaged. Señor Chavez’ eclectic choice of friends suggests a
man so deeply affronted not to have merited inclusion in Mr. Bush’s original
axis of evil (he is also an enthusiastic defender of Saddam Hussein) that he is
keen to create a new club of the touched.

President Chavez demands
attention, not just because he can wear a natty suit and, on occasion, employ
moderate tones. Because of rocketing prices, Venezuela’s oil revenues have
quadrupled since 1998, giving him economic and political clout that he is
exploiting with relish. His credentials as a leader of heroic stature would be
laughable if not so grave. On his watch, poverty rose as oil prices climbed for
the first time since records began. Murder has tripled, making Caracas the continent’s killing capital. His
disrespect for property, the rule of law and press freedom is now threatening
to infect Bolivia.
Corruption is endemic. He may be elected, but he talks of remaining in power
until 2031, and is no democrat.

Fortunately, many see
through him. Candidates in Peru
and Mexico
embraced by him have seen their support fall. The President’s next stop is Libya and a
meeting with Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, a man who abandoned pariah status for
something approaching acceptability. Señor Chávez would do everyone a favour if
he embarked on a similar personal journey.

So, the former and now reactivated General Muller says that Venezuela will sell the F-16’s to the Iranians, which prompts a US spokesman to say that Venezuela can not sell them without authorization from the US and Venezuela should stop the vomiting of rhetoric, which prompts Minister of Defense Maniglia to say that since the US has breached the contract, they could sell them if they wanted.

But really, would you buy twenty year old used F-16’s from Maniglia, Chavez or Baduel?

(Note: The parrot is there for color, I don’t know if I would buy an F-16 or not from him)

From a Chavez
interview during his visit to London:

“I
don’t think in Cuba
there is a lack of freedom of speech,” he says with worrying speed. ”
If you approach Cuba
from the perspective of the Western world, you might think so. But there, you
have the people who express themselves on many matters. There is no repression in Cuba.”

“What
you have in Cuba
is a very specific model of revolution. We are very respectful of the
revolutionary people of Cuba
and its institutions. In the grassroots in Cuba, there are constant elections
that take place. Is it true that by electing a President or Prime Minister
every five years you have democracy? Is it because you have press and TV
channels that you have freedom of speech? There’s a lot of cynicism behind
that. So many lies behind that. Every country has its own model.”

What about
Robert Mugabe? Does he regret calling him a ” freedom fighter”?
“He is my friend. I think he has been demonised too much. Have
you met him?” No, I say – but I have met many of his victims. “We all
make mistakes. I think you should interview Mugabe yourself so you have a
better idea who he is and what he’s about. You have to understand history of
colonialism in Zimbabwe
against the black people, he wants a world where people are equals without
racism, that’s my opinion.”

“Freedom”
in Cuba
and genocide as a Mugabe “mistake”, The autocrat himself has clearly spoken to the
world!

–Since
Chavez won the 1998 Presidential election, the separation between Government
activities and those of Chavez’ MVR have slowly become blurred, becoming
essentially the same. At the beginning there was some pretence that there was a
difference, but these days, the Government funds that party’s activities but
nobody says anything about. The so called “moral” power is as partisan as the
guys in power, so they say nothing; they could be fired by the autocrat.

But the
differentiation has disappeared so much that that the Minister of Information
and Communication William Lara also hold the position as spokesman for Chavez’ Stalinist
party Movimiento V Republica MVR. So yesterday, he showed up at that party’s
headquarters to tell the country that MVR was unhappy with the pace of new registrations
for national ID cards and the electoral registry.

And he
kept a straight face as he spoke. But did not blame the opposition.

–If you
are a member of the opposition and were involved with April 11^th. you
are disqualified, indicted and persecuted. But if you are Lucas Rincon, the man
that started it all by telling the country and the world that Chavez had
resigned that fateful day, you are named, Minister of Defense, and then Minister
of the Interior an d as of today Venezuelan Ambassador to Portugal. What a
rough life!

Why was Rincon never investigated? Or was he? Did Rincon have Chavez letter of resignation? Fishy Fishy!I don’t know, but why
is it that he has never been investigated on the matter?

–It used
to be in the pre-Chavez era, that university professors had salaries similar to
Government officials. Today, a Full
Professor makes some Bs. 3 to 4 million a month. (US$ 1,350-1,860 a month), but
after CNE Board member Sobella Mejias was pensioned off with a Bs. 22 million a
month (US$ 10,000), today we hear that the new CNE approved unanimously that
Oscar Battaglini should be pensioned off with a Bs. 20.8 million a month
package (US$ 9800 a month). Of course, he only worked at the CNE for three
years, but you see a month ago the University where he worked for 25 years
(including the three at the CNE) pensioned him off with Bs. 2 million a month
(He never made it to Full Professor), which immediately qualified him for the
new higher pension. You have to love the purity of the revolution!

By the
way, the alternate rector of the CNE, Esther Gauthier, got a Bs. 16 million
pension a month. (US$ 7441 a month)

The nice
thing is that they don’t have to worry about inflation; their pensions are
adjusted automatically to the salary at the position.

No wonder
these guys fight for these jobs!

As Chávez says: A paso de vencedores! (At the pace of winners) while the country
simple gets screwed.

–You have
seen it elsewhere either here
or here,
but I can’t help but quoting the
excellent article by Ian Buruma:

“One of
the most vexing things for artists and intellectuals who live under the
compulsion to applaud dictators is the spectacle of colleagues from more open
societies applauding of their own free will. It adds a peculiarly nasty insult
to injury.”

All I can
say is Mr. Buruma, if you are ever in Venezuela let me know, I owe you a
bottle of wine and you can come by and it would be an honor to talk with you!

— And borrowing
freely from Francisco’s
blog, como debe ser, as influenced by Harry
Hutton, I am honored that the word excrement shows in google trends that Caracas
is the city where it is searched the most for, and Venezuela is the country
where it is a favorite.

When the Summit at Iguaçu last week was over, a talkative Hugo
Chavez, (what else is new?) hailed the meeting, said it was wonderful and that
the pharanoic mega pipeline would now include Bolivia.

But
somehow that is not what apparently happened, as press reports tell us that Lula
told Chavez not to meddle so much in South American affairs and that he was
endangering the gas pipeline project with his intromissions.  The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry claims
to be surprised by this reaction, while none other than Evo Morales says
that he will try to save the Andean trade pact while in Europe.
Morales meanwhile is now being accused of being himself a puppet of Chavez, as he
is criticized for flying in a Venezuelan plane to Europe and Morales tries
to distance himself from the Venezuelan President. But it is hard to do as his
Minister of Energy confirms that PDVSA employees helped with the
nationalization decree, Morales says expropriation of large states is next,
then a Constituent Assembly and you bring Chavez to a Summit where he has
little role to play other than defend you from the ire of Lula and Kirchner.

Of course,
all of these problems are supposedly being caused by the “right wing” Brazilian oligarchs
like Celso Amorin and Marco Aurelio Garcia, Chavez’ allies two yaers ago, who are now at the center stage of criticism
in their own countries because essentially Lula had his thunder and leadership stolen
by Chavez.

The result
of all this is that Lula is looking North more than ever, as he realizes he can
not count on his supposedly ideological partners to go along with him, Uruguay is mad at Argentina, Peruvian candidates
now all attack Chavez, Lopez Obrador seems to be losing not first place but
now even second place in the Mexican Presidential race tahnks to Chavez and the President of Guatemala tells
Chavez not to meddle, even before he has.

All in all
not a very good week for someone that wants to be the leader of this southern
hemisphere. A lot of the work Chavez had done regionally to integrate was lost
this week because of the style Venezuelans have seen in the last seven years: confrontation,
intolerance and ignoring others opinions.

This is in
the end bad for the whole region. The world is becoming highly connected and if
we can not connect with our most natural trading partners, we all lose in the
end. Chavez’ difficulty is that he truly believes that free trade is bad, while
the rest of the region has come to recognize that free trade is the way out of
poverty for many of these countries. Moreover, he wants to impose his point of
view, the way he did on the CAN, later on Mercosur, then with the G-3 and
helping Morales make decisions that have created a rift between his country and
his natural (and only!) clients.

So far
only Argentinean President Kirchner has yet to distance himself publicly from
Chavez. Maybe he can not yet afford to, given the largesse of the Chavez
Government in purchasing that country’s debt in the last year, no questions
asked.

The only
question is what will be the next step. Lula is facing an election, while his
own country is beginning to doubt his ability to lead the country
internationally. Mexican, Peruvian and Colombian politicians distance
themselves from the Venezuelan President, who has an election in eight months
that will likely push him into radical positions that many neighbors will not like. The
US
seems to have no clue as to how to play this game, other than do little or fumble even when they try to do something.  

Unfortunately,
all of these countries continue to benefit from the world commodities boom,
which hides many of their structural problems and lack of competitiveness. Decisions are delayed, conflicts are avoided and important opportunities
are being missed as the more radical left interferes with the traditional one
to slow down progress in trade within then region. Integration efforst falter simply because of ideology, the same ill that has affected the region for decades.  In the end, the people are hurt as the economies if their countries d not grow as fast as they need to, while other areas of the world, such as Asia and Eastern Europe continue to make strides in solving those same problems with pragmatism.

And the Washinton post has somehow discovered that the revolution has flaws, such as the tripling of the crime rate in the last seven and a half years. It really does not make me feel very good to think that Caracas has the worst crime rate of the planet, but hey, that is what revolutions are all about, achieving new milestones, no?