The Devil's Excrement

I have been trying to answer that question in the last few days in trying to understand the case of the murdered prosecutor. There are three different pictures of him which are discordant. First there is the Danilo Anderson of the interview in Tal Cual in May of this year., a struggling middle class prosecutor with an activist past, defending legality above all. Then, there is the loyal member of Chávez MVR that the Government tried to sell us during his funeral and burial. Finally, there is the communist revolutionary who had lots of enemies within Chavez’ MVR, as described by his close friend City councilman Carlos Herrera.

In the Tal Cual interview Anderson claimed to be a loyal civil servant who just followed the law. He did not renounce his activist past as a “hooded” activist at Central University. Who considered an aberration to fire people for signing against Chávez. Who shopped in middle class supermarkets and not in the Government sponsored ones. Who loved shopping center Sambil, used Tommy Hilfiger and who liked to wear brand names and live well. Who did not want to be poor again. Curiously, he said his major extravagance was his Toyota, but a different one from the one in which he was killed. Eerily enough, in that interview he quoted:” As for you death, and your amorphous destructive arm, don’t believe you can scare me”.

Councilman Herrera, who was Anderson’s best friend, gives a different picture. He calls Anderson a communist revolutionary who went after Chavistas and opposition alike. Who was being pressured by the Vice-President to drop some names from his list. Who had his won small arsenal in his car, carrying two guns, a machine gun and a grenade. Who only cared about Justice.

The Government on the other hand projected the image of Anderson s a loyal member of Chavze MVR, which he denied. As a martyr, loyal only to the revolution, despite the fact that he went after many of its leaders. As a great collaborator, despite the fact that he was a loner.

Finally, there is the clear impression that Anderson was extremely loyal to Attorney general Prosecutor Isaias Rodriguez. He was assigned the cases and he went after them with all he had. In contrast to the other prosecutors used politically he paid little attention to detail, manipulating the system and the evidence, charging people for crimes that are not even penalized in the penal code in Venezuela. Following orders in detail in important cases and small cases, such as the stolen car in which an opposition figure was traveling earlier this year. He was omnipresent in political cases. He enjoyed the limelight, giving too many interviews for a prosecutor who should work with discretion.

I guess we will never know which was the true Anderson, but the last paragraph is the one closest to my perception of him.

I have been trying to answer that question in the last few days in trying to understand the case of the murdered prosecutor. There are three different pictures of him which are discordant. First there is the Danilo Anderson of the interview in Tal Cual in May of this year., a struggling middle class prosecutor with an activist past, defending legality above all. Then, there is the loyal member of Chávez MVR that the Government tried to sell us during his funeral and burial. Finally, there is the communist revolutionary who had lots of enemies within Chavez’ MVR, as described by his close friend City councilman Carlos Herrera.

In the Tal Cual interview Anderson claimed to be a loyal civil servant who just followed the law. He did not renounce his activist past as a “hooded” activist at Central University. Who considered an aberration to fire people for signing against Chávez. Who shopped in middle class supermarkets and not in the Government sponsored ones. Who loved shopping center Sambil, used Tommy Hilfiger and who liked to wear brand names and live well. Who did not want to be poor again. Curiously, he said his major extravagance was his Toyota, but a different one from the one in which he was killed. Eerily enough, in that interview he quoted:” As for you death, and your amorphous destructive arm, don’t believe you can scare me”.

Councilman Herrera, who was Anderson’s best friend, gives a different picture. He calls Anderson a communist revolutionary who went after Chavistas and opposition alike. Who was being pressured by the Vice-President to drop some names from his list. Who had his won small arsenal in his car, carrying two guns, a machine gun and a grenade. Who only cared about Justice.

The Government on the other hand projected the image of Anderson s a loyal member of Chavze MVR, which he denied. As a martyr, loyal only to the revolution, despite the fact that he went after many of its leaders. As a great collaborator, despite the fact that he was a loner.

Finally, there is the clear impression that Anderson was extremely loyal to Attorney general Prosecutor Isaias Rodriguez. He was assigned the cases and he went after them with all he had. In contrast to the other prosecutors used politically he paid little attention to detail, manipulating the system and the evidence, charging people for crimes that are not even penalized in the penal code in Venezuela. Following orders in detail in important cases and small cases, such as the stolen car in which an opposition figure was traveling earlier this year. He was omnipresent in political cases. He enjoyed the limelight, giving too many interviews for a prosecutor who should work with discretion.

I guess we will never know which was the true Anderson, but the last paragraph is the one closest to my perception of him.

I have been trying to answer that question in the last few days in trying to understand the case of the murdered prosecutor. There are three different pictures of him which are discordant. First there is the Danilo Anderson of the interview in Tal Cual in May of this year., a struggling middle class prosecutor with an activist past, defending legality above all. Then, there is the loyal member of Chávez MVR that the Government tried to sell us during his funeral and burial. Finally, there is the communist revolutionary who had lots of enemies within Chavez’ MVR, as described by his close friend City councilman Carlos Herrera.

In the Tal Cual interview Anderson claimed to be a loyal civil servant who just followed the law. He did not renounce his activist past as a “hooded” activist at Central University. Who considered an aberration to fire people for signing against Chávez. Who shopped in middle class supermarkets and not in the Government sponsored ones. Who loved shopping center Sambil, used Tommy Hilfiger and who liked to wear brand names and live well. Who did not want to be poor again. Curiously, he said his major extravagance was his Toyota, but a different one from the one in which he was killed. Eerily enough, in that interview he quoted:” As for you death, and your amorphous destructive arm, don’t believe you can scare me”.

Councilman Herrera, who was Anderson’s best friend, gives a different picture. He calls Anderson a communist revolutionary who went after Chavistas and opposition alike. Who was being pressured by the Vice-President to drop some names from his list. Who had his won small arsenal in his car, carrying two guns, a machine gun and a grenade. Who only cared about Justice.

The Government on the other hand projected the image of Anderson s a loyal member of Chavze MVR, which he denied. As a martyr, loyal only to the revolution, despite the fact that he went after many of its leaders. As a great collaborator, despite the fact that he was a loner.

Finally, there is the clear impression that Anderson was extremely loyal to Attorney general Prosecutor Isaias Rodriguez. He was assigned the cases and he went after them with all he had. In contrast to the other prosecutors used politically he paid little attention to detail, manipulating the system and the evidence, charging people for crimes that are not even penalized in the penal code in Venezuela. Following orders in detail in important cases and small cases, such as the stolen car in which an opposition figure was traveling earlier this year. He was omnipresent in political cases. He enjoyed the limelight, giving too many interviews for a prosecutor who should work with discretion.

I guess we will never know which was the true Anderson, but the last paragraph is the one closest to my perception of him.

In my post right after the Anderson murder, I was asking for balance, for some degree of caution in what both the Government and the opposition said or did. I said the government had a higher responsibility and should be careful. After one week, things are not going well. The government seems to be taking advantage of Anderson’s death to initiate a new wave of persecution and repression in the name of security and using Anderson’s death as the excuse.

When even the Vice President recognizes that the police mistreated the parents of Antonio Lopez Castillo. When Lopez Castillo is killed with fifteen bullets and witnesses say he did not even fire a shot. When the Heads of the intelligence police and investigative police are not leading the investigations, supplanted by the Minister of Justice. When day after day charges are brought against opposition figures for one case or the other (None against any pro-Chavez figures). When a sentence by the Supreme Court which declared the military innocent of rebellion in April 2002 is going to be appealed and the case reopened, in clear violation of the law. When the police shoot first and ask questions second. When a suspect that was turned in safely to the police arrives at the Court beaten up. When Ministers lie about what really happened. When every chance for peace is bypassed and ignored. It is then that you recognize that there is no chance for democracy and dissent. No chance for open discussion. No chance for a fair trial. There may not even be a space for this blog anymore.

This is what we have come to. As Carlos Blanco says in today’s El Universal, for the Chavez Government there are first class and second class deaths. Danilo was first class, opposition deaths are second class. After six years of murders with impunity the Government suddenly grabs the flag of the anti-terrorism fight. This from the government presided by the man, who as President, wrote a letter of admiration and solidarity to Carlos the Jackal, the biggest terrorist of the pre-Bin Laden era. Who are they trying to fool?

The Government is now going after the former Mayor of Caracas, elected under the Chávez platform. A man that I truly disliked before, during and after his support of Chávez, but that you can not accuse of not being a democrat. It is going after the only political party that received more votes in this election than in the previous one: Primero Justicia. It is going after close to four hundred people that went to the presidential palace on April 2002. Whether they signed Carmona’s declaration or not. It is simply an easy way to get rid of hundreds of opponents.

It is becoming a dangerous time for all of us. For the first time, I am being careful of what I say. I need to be careful of what I say. Most of what I write could be construed as trying to destabilize the Government. If they want to, the case against anyone can be easily be built in an instant. The media is clearly using self-censorship. Cases and deaths are forgotten or simply ignored. Meanwhile, the Vice-President issues a declaration against the media, accusing it of manipulating the Anderson case and the deaths that have followed it. But we hear no declaration against the illegal procedures followed in all of those cases. Or the inhuman ones in the case of the Lopez Castillo family who were told of their son’s deaths and immediately were placed in a room, while the authorities searched the premises, finding an arsenal of weapons, with the elderly couple then handcuffed and taken to jail for two days. (The Vice-President only referred to the bad treatment, not the the illegalities)

Unfortunately, after the regional elections there was a chance for some peace as the Chávez administration had no real opponents. Anderson’s death even gave an opening for a truce when the murder was unanimously condemned by everyone. However, this chance was wasted and the Government’s aggressive behavior of the last few days bodes badly for our future.

What a difference from the way the real coupsters of 1992 were treated. The now Minister of Justice led the attack against the Government’s TV station where a dozen civilians were killed by the military forces. Chavez was pardoned. Hundreds of deaths from those coups were forgotten in the name of peace and coexistence.

In contrast this Government is persecuting opponents where cases do not even exist. Where cases are fabricated overnight. Reopening cases forgetting about double jeopardy. Finding bodies and weapons everywhere, but in the meantime the real evidence, like that from Anderson’s blown up car, his autopsy and the connection between those killed by the police and the murder has yet to turn up.

These are dangerous times. For now, I will continue blogging using public information, but will try not to use any information that I receive privately, which may get me into problems.

In my post right after the Anderson murder, I was asking for balance, for some degree of caution in what both the Government and the opposition said or did. I said the government had a higher responsibility and should be careful. After one week, things are not going well. The government seems to be taking advantage of Anderson’s death to initiate a new wave of persecution and repression in the name of security and using Anderson’s death as the excuse.

When even the Vice President recognizes that the police mistreated the parents of Antonio Lopez Castillo. When Lopez Castillo is killed with fifteen bullets and witnesses say he did not even fire a shot. When the Heads of the intelligence police and investigative police are not leading the investigations, supplanted by the Minister of Justice. When day after day charges are brought against opposition figures for one case or the other (None against any pro-Chavez figures). When a sentence by the Supreme Court which declared the military innocent of rebellion in April 2002 is going to be appealed and the case reopened, in clear violation of the law. When the police shoot first and ask questions second. When a suspect that was turned in safely to the police arrives at the Court beaten up. When Ministers lie about what really happened. When every chance for peace is bypassed and ignored. It is then that you recognize that there is no chance for democracy and dissent. No chance for open discussion. No chance for a fair trial. There may not even be a space for this blog anymore.

This is what we have come to. As Carlos Blanco says in today’s El Universal, for the Chavez Government there are first class and second class deaths. Danilo was first class, opposition deaths are second class. After six years of murders with impunity the Government suddenly grabs the flag of the anti-terrorism fight. This from the government presided by the man, who as President, wrote a letter of admiration and solidarity to Carlos the Jackal, the biggest terrorist of the pre-Bin Laden era. Who are they trying to fool?

The Government is now going after the former Mayor of Caracas, elected under the Chávez platform. A man that I truly disliked before, during and after his support of Chávez, but that you can not accuse of not being a democrat. It is going after the only political party that received more votes in this election than in the previous one: Primero Justicia. It is going after close to four hundred people that went to the presidential palace on April 2002. Whether they signed Carmona’s declaration or not. It is simply an easy way to get rid of hundreds of opponents.

It is becoming a dangerous time for all of us. For the first time, I am being careful of what I say. I need to be careful of what I say. Most of what I write could be construed as trying to destabilize the Government. If they want to, the case against anyone can be easily be built in an instant. The media is clearly using self-censorship. Cases and deaths are forgotten or simply ignored. Meanwhile, the Vice-President issues a declaration against the media, accusing it of manipulating the Anderson case and the deaths that have followed it. But we hear no declaration against the illegal procedures followed in all of those cases. Or the inhuman ones in the case of the Lopez Castillo family who were told of their son’s deaths and immediately were placed in a room, while the authorities searched the premises, finding an arsenal of weapons, with the elderly couple then handcuffed and taken to jail for two days. (The Vice-President only referred to the bad treatment, not the the illegalities)

Unfortunately, after the regional elections there was a chance for some peace as the Chávez administration had no real opponents. Anderson’s death even gave an opening for a truce when the murder was unanimously condemned by everyone. However, this chance was wasted and the Government’s aggressive behavior of the last few days bodes badly for our future.

What a difference from the way the real coupsters of 1992 were treated. The now Minister of Justice led the attack against the Government’s TV station where a dozen civilians were killed by the military forces. Chavez was pardoned. Hundreds of deaths from those coups were forgotten in the name of peace and coexistence.

In contrast this Government is persecuting opponents where cases do not even exist. Where cases are fabricated overnight. Reopening cases forgetting about double jeopardy. Finding bodies and weapons everywhere, but in the meantime the real evidence, like that from Anderson’s blown up car, his autopsy and the connection between those killed by the police and the murder has yet to turn up.

These are dangerous times. For now, I will continue blogging using public information, but will try not to use any information that I receive privately, which may get me into problems.

Over ten years ago, I had lunch once or twice a week with a cousin. At these lunches we talked about many things, but we always came back to what needed to be done with the Venezuelan economy. We came up with a list of problems that needed to be addressed. Unfortunately, after almost 12 years, the list has not changed much. Here is a more modern version of the list. I will try to discuss it item by item as time allows. They are in no particular order, except for the first one which I believe attacks most of the problems of our economy. If I had someones ear (even Chavez) this is what I would suggest:

1)      Dollarize the economy. Completely eliminate the Bolivar.

2)      Approve a pension fund bill that allows retirement at 65 for everyone and 60 if you have worked for 35 years. Pension plans would be based on contributions from workers.

3)      Emphasize primary education over university education. Strengthen technical and trade schools. Start food programs at elementary schools. Force universities to impose time limits on years of attendance to open spaces and save money.

4)      Create a meritocratic system for civil service managers.

5)      Give title to land in city barrios and farmlands occupied by squatters.

6)      Give away Government farmlands to farmers and give them title after a certain period of time.

7)      Reduce the size of the military.

8)      Design a plan to turn PDVSA into the largest oil company in the world. Give all citizens a direct stake in a fraction of the company.

9)      Privatize the country’s electrical network.

10)  Liberate the price of gasoline. Subsidize public transport to convert to natural gas. Use profits from new gasoline prices to start a long term stabilization fund with strict controls.

11)  Start a long range housing program with private sector help.

12)  Start a long range highway program with private sector help.

13)  Turn all health facilities to local Governments, including the budgets.

14)  Reduce import Duties.

15)  Allow for hourly and part time positions.

I am sure there was more, this is as far as my memory reaches now. Will add more if I remember.