The Devil's Excrement

It makes you wonder when a country has more than 20% unemployment officially (more in reality), when professionals, including teachers and medical doctors are unemployed, why Hugo Chavez brings Cuban teachers to alphabetize Venezuelans and Cuban medical doctors to provide medical care in the barrios. Meanwhile, last year’s alphabetization plan organized by the government did very little and local hospitals have no supplies and doctors don’t even get paid. Moreover, it has been demonstrated over and over that Venezuelan medical doctors have much better training than Cuban ones. Of course, we also sell 2% of the country’s oil production to Cuba with long term financing in US dollars much below what Venezuela can get in international marekts or what Central American and Caribbean countries get under the Pacto de San Jose. What’s next, Cuban prostitutes?

You can see the latest polls from Consultores 21 here. Among the most interesting results:

-75% of the popualtion think things are bad in Venezuela

-67% think the Chavez Government is a bad one.

-61% plan to vote in the referendum, with 65% voting Yes on the question should Chavez be recalled.

-75% think the opposition should have a single candidate.

Other interesting results are the profile of the typical Chavista supporters and anatagonists.

The poll is fairly consistent with others I have seen as well as those from my favorite pollster.

Pro-Government and opposition Deputies have agreed on three possible candidates to be the “fifth” and deciding member in the Electoral Commission (CNE). The three are:

Eliazar Diaz Rangel: Editor of daily Ultimas Noticias, Professos of Journalism Universidad Central de Venezuela.

Teodoro Petkoff: Founder of Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), Presidential candidate in the 80’s for MAS, Minister of Planning during the Caldera administration 95-98, Editor of Caracas’ afternoon newspaper Tal Cual

Carlos Delgado Chapellin: Head of the electoral Commission for almost two decades. Minister of Foreign Relations during the brief transition Government after Carlos Andres Perez was impeached in 1994.

Apparently these are the candidates both sides agree to in that particular order, the question is now whether any of the three are interested. I understand Petkoff said no a couple of weeks ago, I think he would be the best of three because he has political weight, is a good negotiator and is the best known of the three to the general public, giving importance to the decision of that body.

Opposition and pro-Government Deputies held intense discussions today to try to select the fifth member of the Electoral Board and avoid forcing the Supreme Court to choose the whole Board. Another positive development in this blissful legislative week.Each side will pick two of the five members and they will agree on the fifth person by consensus.

Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel loves to say that there has never been “so much” freedom in Venezuela as there is now. Well, I don’t recall a case of censorship like that applied to artist Pedro Morales for being “disrespectful” in his art for the Venezuelan representation at the Venice Biennale. Morales was selected by a jury to present his art at the country’s pavillion at the Biennale. (Well, I think you have to go back to Caldera banning “Last Tango in Paris” in the early 70’s). Morales’ work entitled “City Rooms” contains videos that Government officials found disrespectful and Venezuela’s Pavillion simply never opened. (The funding was private, but it was an official presentation). You can see the artist’s version of events in his website where you can see the “offensive videos”. I imagine the one called NoTolerance,  is the offensive one. (There is a puppet imitating Chavez on his Sunday program, but perhaps it is simply the fact that it starts with the word referendum). Of course, Rangel, if asked, would say this is not censorhip but removal of offensive material or some euphemism like that.

The Venezuelan National Assembly has become almost civilized in the way it is working now, with a discussion on the regulations for debate and rules of order proceeding with total peace and civility this week. This implies that the El Calvario sessions have indeed been set aside and both sides are looking for a compromise. There are even rumors that the MVR Deputies and the opposition will try to reach an agreement on the composition of the electoral commission (CNE) so as to avoid the Supreme Court from doing it. What a transformation!

While Vice-President Rangel and his son, the Mayor of Petare, went together with the Minister of Justice to the Attorney General’s office to denounce the aggression of the Metropolitan Police against the Chavista protesters, Globovision showed a video, in which one can clearly see that the first tear gas was thrown by the protesters and not by the police. This is actually followed by Rangel’s son giving a speech from an armored National Guard vehicle. The speech certainly was not one in which he was trying to calm down the protesters. On the contrary, he was telling the already violent protesters that “Nobody is going to conquer Petare”. Globovision also played a tape with someone saying the shooting will not stop until the police leaves. Unbelievable!

The theory of the mini skirt by Fernando Luis Egaña, taken from yesterday’s Tal Cual

The main spokesmen of the chavista regime-specially the vice-Rangel and, of course, the “major microphone”- have a curious way of explaining and interpreting the relevant events of our mega crisis. Specially those caused by themselves.

The reasoning is very similar to the rapist who alter committing a crime says it is not his fault but the woman who was recently raped “for wearing a mini-skirt”

 
Thus, for example, CADIVI (the exchange control office) only hands in 0.6% of the foreign currency that the Venezuelan economy requires, the responsibility is not that of Hernandez Behrens (its Head), nor the presumed “exchange controls” (more like a suppression) but of the companies and the people that for some stubborn and suspicious reason are refusing to receive any foreign currency. If economic activity drops 29%, Chavez and his Government have nothing to do with that. How can you even think that! To Miraflores is a coup-related conspiracy of the only private sector on planet Earth whose only purpose is to ruin themselves down to the ashes.

The Conac (Cultural Institution) of Farruco Sesto censors a piece of art selected for Venice’s bi-annual show, and it is done, because that “piece” is synonymous of intolerance and as such goes against creative freedom.

If the opposition rallies in the West of Caracas or in Petare are attacked with the procedural violence of the oficialist thugs, of course, it was “due to the “legitimate defense” in the face of the fascist provocation of Henry Ramos or Enrique Mendoza.

If Prosecutor Plaza and General Lucas prepare a legalese offensive to throw against the freedom of demonstration it is “obvious” that they are doing to honor human rights and the participative doctrine and the leading role of the Constitution.

And it is in this way ad infinitum, in all topics that there can be. In Chavez’ and company revolutionary pick up game, the victim is the victimary, the agresee is the aggressor, the cart leads the oxen and, in the same way General Gomez one whispered “what’s the fault of the stick if the frog jumps and kills itself with it”

The worst part about this logic is that it wraps cynicism so daring that a few people of good faith end up, if not believing, at least doubting.

”It appears that both sides are right” a compadre of mine told me, like Hamlet, alter listening to the justification of Miraflores of his own excesses

The theory of the mini skirt, thanks God, being tiresome, being absurd, or I don’t know why, only works up to a certain and determined point. Going over the limit, it only convinces the fanatics. Then, the more it is applied, the more it is discredited. I hope to believe we are there.