Posts Tagged ‘hugo chavez’

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A Brief Glimpse Into The Mind Of The Venezuelan Autocrat

February 18, 2012

Sometimes Hugo Chavez’ mind betrays him. This has been happening a lot this week as he has spent the while week trying to deal with the three million voters in lat Sunday’s primary and Capriles not reacting to his insults.

But if you want to really glimpse into Chavez’s mind, just look at one episode two days ago. Chavez said literally that the CNE accepting the conditions for the opposition primary with the Mesa de Unidad “Violates some law”, referring in particular to the fact that no fingerprint machines would be used and the notebooks would be destroyed.

This is Chavez defining his autocratic mind. In just such a simple sentence, he is first of all interfering with the Electoral Board, which is an independent institution. He is also meddling onto matters of the opposition that should not be of his concern. But finally, is that thought: It has to violate some law, which reflects the spirit of so much he has done in the last thirteen years, if the law is not the way he wants it, lets’ change it. Give me an enabling law, a decree, a ill in The Assembly or a decision by the Supreme Court that says what I want.

And to make sure he is interfering, the next day he confirms it, he talked the the President of the Electoral Board, calling her to point out the weaknesses in the “our political system”

Weaknesses?

How come this was not a weakness when PSUV held its own primary and the same agreement was reahed with the Electoral and Board and Cilia Flores personally told the world that the Voting notebooks would be destroyed. And they were…

And somewhere else, I can’t find the link, Chavez actually said this happened because he was sick with cancer and was not around to notice the detail. Thus, in one single swoop, he is indispensable, he would have interfered with an independent power and he would have forced the CNE to follow his rules.

That is truly how the mind of the sorry autocrat that rules Venezuela works. Hopefully, this will no longer be the case soon.

Posted in Uncategorized, Venezuela | 53 Comments »
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Henrique Capriles Becomes Venezuela’s Opposition Presidential Candidate By A Landslide

February 12, 2012

(Yes! He can smile!)

Henrique Capriles, the candidate of Primero Justicia, Voluntad Popular and Podemos, today became the candidate of Venezuela’s united opposition by a landslide. In the end, it became a two man race, with only Capriles and Pablo Perez, who came a distant second, obtaining a significant amount of votes, with Capriles garnering with 95% of the vote counted, 1.81 million of the 2.904,000 votes cast, for a 62.3% of the votes, a true landslide, which did not surprise the Devil. (“He will win and will win big”)

But the story, besides the landslide, is the turnout, way above the most optimistic ones, at 2.904 million votes, more than 17% of the electorate. This suggests that a truly unified opposition will give Hugo Chavez a run for the Presidency and that political change may finally be in the air. The road is tough, but the toughest part may have been getting here. if all candidates work with Capriles and run a focused campaign, an opposition victory is certainly within reach .

A very exciting day and an even more exciting prospects for Venezuela.

Results with 95% of the votes counted:

Posted in Venezuela | 66 Comments »
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February 4th. 1992: A Day Of Shame For Venezuelans

February 4, 2012

As Chavez and his cohorts celebrate the 20th. anniversary of this shameful day, there is simply nothing to celebrate of that coup against democracy, on the contrary, this is the anniversary of a day of shame for Venezuelans. The histrionics are there for all to.  see, what “Bolivarians” and “Chavistas” are celebrating is the cult of Hugo Chavez. He has said it many times over the last few days: The Armed Forces are “Chavistas”, not “Bolivarian”, not “Revolutionary”, but his own, the serve only him, not Venezuela. It is all about the cult of Chavez. And today, drunk in his own power, Hugo Chavez talked about “Fidelismo” and “Chavismo” on the same footing, another sign that all that matters is the cult, the rest, is just simply irrelevant.

And while “Chavismo” has left a trail of death and victims, from the Tascon list, to 120,000 murders with total indeffirence, to those fired from PDVSA, to those murdered in opposition marches, the real forgotten victims are those of 20 years ago. More than one hundred people murdered for a project that led nowhere. They were mostly civilians, caught in the cross fire of soldiers who were defending the democratically elected Government, including the President, his wife and his daughters, and soldiers who were led to the coup under false pretenses. Very few of the latter knew even why they were there. The page of a newspaper above tells the forgotten and very shameful story that Chavez claims to celebrate today, as if it was an epic battle. He did not even fight. He failed at his military objective of killing the President, he was pardoned and this allowed him to embark in his very personal project of “Chavismo”

And don’t believe for a minute that he is improvising, as documents captured that fateful day twenty years ago show, among the tactics was “to stimulate hate between classes”, “establish links to the FARC” and as this other document shows, the goal was to establish a Marxist Leninist domination, a socialist society, without “any rush”.

But the cult has left a country in shambles, full of corruption and dysfunctional institutions, a decimated infrastructure and the penetration of the country’s armed forces by Cubans and the oil industry by foreign Governments, whose only objective is to take over much needed hydrocarbon resources, when PDVSA can no longer expand production because Chavez destroyed it.

It is a day of shame, as well as the anniversary of a day of shame, with the Autocrat/Dictator inviting others like him to this so called celebration. The democrats of the region stayed away, while Hugo Chavez tries to instill fear in his own citizens.

There is still hope that things may change this year, either by vote or by fate, Chavismo may simply wither away in Venezuela some time soon. Hopefully, its trail of shame and blood will not be forgotten.

Posted in Uncategorized | 38 Comments »
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Chavez Applies His Destructive Expertise to Agriculture, With Banks As a Side Benefit

January 30, 2012

Daniel wrote an excellent post on why Hugo was simply speaking for the gallery yesterday when he threatened to nationalize banks if they do not comply with the required credit quota for agricultural loans. The punchline is the most important part, Chavez is simply lying, private banks are indeed complying with the quotas, it is the public banks that actually fail to do so, but, of course Chavez does not even suggest he may sell his banks to the private sector.

But it is even worse, Chavez plans to make it obligatory for banks to transfer their agricultural credit portfolio to a fund managed by the Government. Read: credits given out with depositors money will be moved so that they are “controlled” and “managed” by the revolutionary Government, who has shown little ability to control and manage anything. But think about it, if the Government does not ever return the money, the amount “owed” is comparable to all of the banks capital, about US$ 9 billion. You get the picture, no?

What Chavez is actually doing with his lying, is just passing the buck, trying to blame the private sector for the failure of his thirteen years of trying to change Venezuela’s agriculture through idiotic policies. And as if to prove it, Hugo Chavez in the same episode of his variety program Alo Presidente, happened to remove his Minister for Agriculture, reportedly for medical reasons. Even if we give Chavez the benefit of the doubt, we suspect he was mad at Minister Loyo for one reason or another. Chavez’ solution to the problem is even worse: He named his Vice-President Elias Jaua as temporary Minister of Agriculture, as if he did not have anything to do.

This is incredibly stupid, when Chavez already announced a week ago that Jaua will leave the Cabinet in June, to run for Governor of Miranda. When agricultural policy is in such disarray, you want someone that knows his stuff and will be able to be around for quite a while and shape it up. But Jaua will not be. That is simply bad management.

Which raises another question: Why can’t Chavez let the Vice-Minister take the position? Why can’t Chavez even come up with a single name to replace Loyo? Is the revolution so short of “qualified” people?

And we suspect the answer is : Yes it is. The revolution lacks experts who are not fully loyal, rojo rojito inside out, that Chavez can trust. That is why the Cabinet has become such a revolving door of the same incompetent personalities, asked to solve all of the problems. Jaua is after all, a sociologist, who became Ambassador, who became Minister of Agriculture and then Vice-President. And he has not held that many positions so far.

But Chavez moves on using his best Terminator style, trampling over everything and lying to “the people” he claims to love, but cheats at every step. Ready to nationalize the banking system to satisfy his predatory insecurities, no matter what the cost and inefficiencies and using the people’s money.

Hugo is simply clueless, but so far, he is the President, the terminator President, who destroys everything in his path, just because…

Agriculture is just one of his areas of destructive expertise.

Posted in Venezuela | 64 Comments »
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You Know Crime Is A Problem In Venezuela when You Can Buy An Anti-Kalashnikov Door For Your Home

January 23, 2012

I was a little shocked by this ad in yesterday’s El Universal of a company touting a door for your home that is claimed to be “Anti-Kalashnikov”. When companies play with peoples’ fears this way, you know we have a very serious crime problem. (I mean, can’t they open a hole through the wall next to the door with the same rifle?). I understand most armored cars in Caracas can not stop the bullets of an AK-47 Kalashnikov rifle, but if you are worried, you can shield your home from them now.

Another sign of progress brought to you by the Bolivarian revolution.

Thanks Hugo, we really needed that factory!

Posted in Uncategorized, Venezuela | 14 Comments »
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If The Revolution Can’t Do Something, It Just “Substitutes” Words To Make It Happen

January 22, 2012

The ability to lie and twist is legendary for the Chavista revolution. From illiteracy to oil production, facts are changed, twisted and  massaged in order to fit what Chavez and the Government want to say they achieved, even if complete lies have to be said.

The latest is the new euphemism the Government has found for what constitutes building a new home. Given that the country’s problem is the shortage of housing, estimated at over 2.5 million housing units, a new home should be a newly built unit, until Chavez decided he wanted to build 150,000 housing units in 2011.

It was an impossible task from a Government that has never built more than 80,000 housing units in one year and given the fact that his “Mision Vivienda” was announced in April. But by the end of the year Chavez was talking about completing 94% of the goal and the year ended with an official number of 146,714 units built by the Government.

The number has been repeated so many times, that it has become the truth, even if nobody believes it. But this week, Minister of Oil and Energy Rafael Ramirez explained the “miracle”, Chavismo simply changed the definition. How? It now includes among new housing units built all rancho (shacks)”substitutions”.And it says that a whopping 45% of all the “new” units, were actually “substitutions”.

From what I have been able to understand, a “substitution” is the definition for a rancho (the type of elementary housing you see in the hills of Caracas) that has been upgraded in the materials that are used in its construction. Which means we have no idea what it really means.

Which also implies that we have no clue what it really meant when the Government claims to have built only 80, 692 new housing units, its best number in thirteen years, but still above other estimates.

So, maybe next time you drive by a barrio, look up and if you see a freshly painted rancho, you are seeing one such “substitution”. Not much change beyond that.

Another way of hiding the revolutions inability to do anything, just change the definition and the goal has been accomplished and Chavez is certainly pleased.

As it should be.

Posted in Venezuela | 8 Comments »
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Maria Corina Machado Sticks Her Finger Into Hugo’s Eye…Again

January 18, 2012

Well, Maria Corina Machado was not content with her good performance on Friday and comes back to stick her finger in Hugo Chavez’ eyes with this wonderful, clear and succinct statement of why it is a “grave political error, a show of the lack of respect for Venezuela’s Armed Forces and a provocation” on Chavez’ part to name General Rangel Silva Minister of Defense.

Maria Corina then lists her very clear objections:

-General Rangel Silva’s administrative performance in previous positions has been put into question.

-There have been accusations and indications internationally about presumed links between irregular groups, this has to be cleared up.

-As a Venezuelan it is unacceptable, it is a mockery to the people of Venezuela for a General to say that he does not plan to recognize the will of the majority by their votes in the most important elections of the country’s history.

What will Hugo say this time: You have called me a provocateur!

To which she could answer, No Mr. President in this case, I am the provocateur!

Posted in Uncategorized | 46 Comments »
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Chavez’s Non-Endorsement of Diosdado Cabello

January 17, 2012

During Chavez’ last State of the Union address, I heard him say that he was not in favor of Diosdado Cabello becoming Head of the National Assembly, that he favored Soto Rojas for a second year in the Assembly’s Presidency, but that “discussions” led to Diosdado being named.

Say what?

Is that a Freudian slip, a parapraxis, a manifestation that Hugo is no longer Hugo?

Isn’t he the all powerful, all-mighty, who decides even whether there will be a devaluation? (Yes, there wasn’t one, but it was recommended)

So, Hugo, can you tell us who supported Diosdado? Was it the same people that supported Rangel Silva? Clearly you and the Cubans lost, but can you tell us something more? What is going in Chavismo when the anti-Cuban, pro-business, pro-shady deals faction wins?

Pleeeeeeease!!!

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The Fantasy World of Hugo Chavez And the Story of the Expelled Miami Consul

January 12, 2012

Hugo Chavez has a mind of his own. He goes on TV and tells lies and stories just as if they were facts, sometimes lying about things a President should not even know about. Case in point is housing, Hugo needed housing built for his Mision Vivienda, in the absence of sufficient housing units built, he started making up numbers, claiming by the end of 2011 that 92% of the 150,000 promised housing units had been built. Experts do not even believe half of that was built as the program did not even begin until April.

But his ability to spew out high quality BS was clear when talking about the Miami consul Livia Acosta, who was expelled from the US after being taped by Spanish broadcaster Univision plotting with Cuban and Iranian buddies to cyber attack US nuclear power plants.

Chavez publicly confirmed the expulsion, but then went into imaginary overdrive, saying that Venezuelan intelligence sources new the action was coming and thus Mrs. Acosta left the US in Dec. 15th. and was already in Venezuela.

Except that…

Mrs. Acosta herself in a radio program said this week that she was in Miami on January 9th. when the expulsion order came through and immediately left the country, contradicting Chavez’ imaginary tale of Venezuelan intelligence being ahead of the game.

In fact, it appears that this was more of a problem of lack of communication within Chavez’ Government (Surprise, surprise!) Reportedly, the US Government had informed Foreign Minister Maduro of the upcoming broadcast and revelations to allow the Venezuelan Government to withdraw Acosta quietly. Except that Maduro not only decided not to remove her from her post, but failed to inform the boss.

Meanwhile Mrs. Acosta (shown above) is back in Caracas after her meteoric rise in Venezuela’s diplomatic circles. She went from being a member of Chavez’ Bolivarian Circles, to being trained as an intelligence office in Cuba, to being a member of Venezuela’s intelligence service SEBIN (where apparently anyone can check if they have your ID number if you are an employee of the country’s intelligence service!!)  to Consul in Miami in eight years.

Only in the revolution…

Posted in Venezuela | 21 Comments »
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Minister For Women Offers Herself To Be Stoned by Ahmadineyad by Chigüire Bipolar

January 9, 2012

I wanted to write something about the grotesque visit to Venezuela by the the small man from Iran, but felt that I had little to add to the sad spectacle of Chavez calling the Iranian Dictator someone Venezuelans are supposed to have common ground with. But then I read this satire by the always hilarious and poignant Chigüire Bipolar and figured translating that post to English would tell very simply how absurd and incongruous the whole spectacle of the sick-fat man from Caracas hugging and praising the tiny-intolerant man from Teheran. Thanks to the Chigüire for the permission to do so.

Minister for Women Offers Herself to be lapidated by Ahmadineyad by Chigüire Bipolar

Yesterday, President Hugo Chavez gathered his ministers to request from them that they make feel at home his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The occasion was used by the Minister for the People’s Power for Women, Nancy Perez, to volunteer to be stoned by the distinguished visitor.

“Good afternoon, colleagues, my name is Nancy Perez and I am Minister for Women. Yes, just what you are hearing, I am not pulling your leg. You mean, you did not know there was a Ministry of Women! You never received the Official Gazette? ” said Minister Perez, as a way to break the ice. “Well, seriously, as a representative of Venezuelan women, for me personally it would be an honor to offer myself so that such a distinguished visitor may bury me in the ground up to my neck and stone me to his full pleasure. He can throw acid in my face, he can order me  to wear a veil if he likes it, you know what they say:Eyes that can’t see, heart that stops beating because they beat the shit out of it” commented the Minister while she pointed out the parts of her face where it hurts the least to be hit with sharp stones.

“The Iranian president can also whip me if I bend down and he can see my thong, he can have all my skirts destroyed, as well as my low cut blouses and my open sandals.  If gentleman Mahmud is Chavez’ distinguished visitor, then Venezuelan women become obedient and submissive, the way President Ahmadinejad likes it” said Perez, moments before calling the CH store in Sambil to ask if by any chance they had any red burkas.

After convincing his 55 colleagues that her ministry was not a joke, Minister Pérez ended her speech: “Our ministry, responsible for ensuring the dignity of women and gender equality, is pleased to receive this champion of the struggle for the rights of the macho, the male, the man and the boy. We declare our joy throughout the country, and therefore encourage women of our country not to leave their homes during the visit of the Iranian President, to remain silent in front of their husbands and boyfriends and indulge them in everything. Yes, everything. Even if it is degrading, disgusting and violates their rights. And please, do not come out with your revealing clothes, lest they awaken the libido of some representative from Iran and we may have to cut your little hands. The occasion demands it”

Posted in Uncategorized, Venezuela | 48 Comments »
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