Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Things get really bizarre as the Venezuelan media seems to ignore the interesting news I have been quite disappointed at the so-called “mainstream media” for not covering the press conference today on the final results of the Aragua primary. Here we have a truly democratic, transparent and efficient process with final results less than 48 hours before the polls closed and only Noticiero Digital managed to have coverage of it. It is now 9:30 PM in Caracas as I write this and I can’t find anything in either El Universal, Globovision, Unionradio, ABN, El Nacional or Tal Cual. Noticiero Digital posted it before 3 PM (The press conference was supposed to have started at 11 AM) picture of Maria Corina Machado and all included.(You can read and find out all about the primaries you wanted to know (or not!) including the final tally as well as a look at the round ballot, probably a first in the world, at www.primariasaragua.com. The post with the final tally was up right after 1 PM) Maybe they were afraid to show how easily Aragua resolved its problem while Chacao is mired in a confusing mess of candidates, bickering, accusations and confusion. Maybe that is also why Ismael Garcia’s speech in the National Assembly telling Deputies that this is no revolution or socialism and the Government is full of corruption, is also nowhere to be seen in the regular media.(Disclaimer: I don't particularly like Garcia) Oh yeah! And the Venezuelan Supreme Court ruled on one request for an injunction against the resolution by the Comptroller disqualifying the person that presented  from holding public office. Had it gone the other way it would have been messy. At least Tal Cual did report on Minister of Energy and Oil Rafael Ramirez’s statements that when electric service has been interrupted recently. it was not a blackout or a power cut, because it was done only for maintenance purposes.Get it? I certainly don't I guess next time the lights go out, I will have to call Electricidad de Caracas to ask if they really went out or they are doing maintenance and they disconnected them for my convenience.. This explanation must be like the one about crimes we don’t care about if they happen, like when hoodlums are killing each other. Or maybe it is like the discussion in the Mercosur Parliament by Paraguay’s Partido Nacional, which the President of our Parliament says was not  discussed because only one Deputy brought the subject up and nobody paid attention to him anyway (Nadie le paro!). This must be like whether the trees fall or not if nobody is in the forest to see them do it. What do I know? I don’t even haggle when I go shopping to help the Government stop inflation. Maybe the CNE did report the rest of the votes in the December referendum, but they did not tell anyone and did it quietly and secretly. This is a revolution after all...just a bizarre one... 10:30:46 PM    comment []

Aragua State primary: A great victory for democracy One should not minimize the importance of the primary that took place on Sunday to select the opposition candidate for the upcoming Gubernatorial race in Aragua State: It took place, it was festive, attendance was quite adequate and it provided a democratically-elected candidate by the direct participation of the people. Isn't democracy sweet? It clearly wasn't easy, it required agreements, some money, some volunteers, but the end result is impeccable, one hundred thousand voters from Aragua State (about 15% of the number that usually votes in that State) showed up to vote Henry Rosales (no relationship to Manuel) as their candidate.Even more remarkable, Rosales obtained over 81% of the preferences, way over what any poll gave me. You can question the polls, but you can not question yesterday's vote. It was a victory for Podemos, not so much because their candidate won, but because they executed it, sat the candidates in a room and called on Sumate to help organize it.It was also a victory for Sumate, as they clearly worked for democracy's sake, as they had no partiality in this race. But hopefully, it will set a path for future selections of candidates, less bickering, more transparency and more participation. It will also be interesting to see if the victory allows Rosales to gain additional support across the State, proving the beneficial effect of a clean primary  on the winners. Moreover, you can be sure none of the losers will even dare suggest that they will run. It's very simple once you try it 12:05:51 AM    comment []