Saturday, April 05, 2003

Hugo Chavez on Saddam Hussein   Hugo Chávez on Saddam Hussein from the book “Todo Chavez” by Eleazar Diaz Rangel via Fausto Maso in today’s El Nacional page A-7:   “Hussein seemed like a man sure of himself, sure of what he is doing. He seemed to be a man convinced that what he is doing is correct. He seemed also, to have a sensibility for the reality of the world, he was thankful because in ten years no President had visited him. He appeared to be a man on the defensive, but ready to fight for what he believes in, very sure, with a solid leadership”   I wonder what it is that Saddam told him he wanted to do....or was doing...... 9:06:22 PM    comment []

Venezuela at the economic abyss   Interesting article in Spain' newspaper La Vanguardia on Venezuela   Venezuela at the economic abyss by Joaquim Ibarz      Parallel with the war in Iraq which induces massive protest in the whole world expressing solidarity with an invaded nation, Venezuelans suffer their own war, not because of the attack of an enemy country, but for the violence and the destruction generated by  a president turned autocrat that, in increasing fashion, is assuming dictatorial practices.  Historians coincide that this is the most dangerous moment in the last hundred years for Venezuela, each day that the confrontation from the Miraflores palace continues instigated by President Hugo Chavez, it will become more difficult to reconstruct and reconcile a country in the midst of a paralysis which in accelerated fashion  is on its way to its ruin. 1,500 days have already gone by of a regime that was born in the hope lit by dreams and promises. After wasting and embezzling one hundred and ten billion dollars of oil income, the ship of the “Bolivarian revolution” is sinking. From the beginning, President Hugo Chávez played the polarization hand. The only thing that he has had success with is in his policy of confrontation, carrying it to an extreme that it loses rationality. It may be that during decades the blame and causes of the current ruin will be discussed. But when you reach such a dangerous point, all sensible Governments open the dialogue, the negotiations and an electoral way out. On the contrary, in Venezuela disqualification is fueled daily, blocking any rational way out. The Presidential finger, with pretensions of divine will, decrees that the opposition is fascist, coupsters, oligarchic and, as such, has no right to exist.   Venezuela is facing the dramatic effects of a war economy without precedent in Latin America, with inflation predictions near 100% and a drop in GDP above 25% this year. The analysts of the great financial institutions of the country pick up this pessimism; Banco Provincial, property of BBVA, predicts in its last report a decline of the economy of 40% in the first quarter of 2003, while Banco de Venezuela, owned by Grupo Santander expects a decline of 42%. Previewing the consequences of the crisis, the Secretary General of the OAS, Cesar Gaviria, said that he has not been able to find “an economic contradiction of this size in any country, note even in a civil war” .........Full article here 8:50:03 PM    comment []

Rampant impunity Imagine this: A Lieutenant in the Venezuelan Army punishes some soldiers for disobedience by placing them in a cell. Lt. Sicat sprays thinner into the cell and lights a fire. One soldier dies and two are injured. A military Court tries the Lt., finds him guilty and condenms him to sixteen years in jail. The Supreme Court rules that the crime was a civil one and the trial should be moved to the civil justice system. The Lt. is tried and lo and behold he is found to be innocent by a vote of two to one in a novel experiment in the Venezuelan justice system in which normal citizens hold trials alongside judges. Guess what? The judge found Lt. Sicat to be guilty, while the two citizens found him innocent. So, this man walks free, he had never denied the facts, the military Court found him guilty, the only point was the senrence had to be according to civils laws, instead he is let go. This is the justice system that Chavez says does not work? Yes, but for the wrong reasons!!Impunity is rampant in Venezuela, watch out my friends!! 6:12:50 PM    comment []

Ignorance and intolerance go hand in hand Last Tuesday there was a conference called "The effects of the war in Iraq in Venezuela". The panelists were a former President of the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, Humberto Calderon Berti and oil expert Mazhar Al Shereida. The crowd was mostly pro-Chavez, because pro-Chavez group organized it and there were maybe 300 pro-Chavez people and six that at least did not participate in the events that followed Calderon Berti exposed his opposition to the Hussein tyranny, trying to summarize the history of the region, taking into account Arab culture. He was booed and heckled so much that the organizer of the event had to pacify the crowd in order to continue. People in the crowd were calling him "traitor", "couspter" and other epithets. Al Shereida spoke next and instead of talking about the war and Iraq, he proceeded to attack Calderon Berti, telling him he had learned nothing about Arab culture, that he was responsible for the oil strike and had been part of the conspiracy to overthrow Chavez. The crowd hailed Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi people, Al Shereida and Chavez. The crowd got so violent and insulting that Calderon Berti had to get up and leave. Six others accompanied him as the crowd followed screaming insults at them. As you can see ignorance and intolerance are by now well-developed in Venezuela. While there is intolerance on both the pro-Chavez side and the opposition, I have yet to hear of similar episodes on the opposition side. God help us! 12:17:56 AM    comment []