Evidence of a wrecked economy: Daniel shops

There are of course those that still think the regime has a plan. A plan it does: to hold on to power forever. But a plan to improve Venezuela economy, social situation, health care, etc.?  Dream on...

Between yesterday and today I visited two stores that speak volumes on how degraded the economic situation since Maduro destroyed any confidence that the business may have harbored. Not much to begin with... In short, since the "dakazo" of last November when Maduro organized official looting to empty all the stores from electronic goods to win the municipal election, these stores have simply not renewed their stock. And if on occasion something comes through it is because the regime has given them official dollars so they avoid again the high armed robbery the regime did against them last year.

We will start with the book store in Caracas that I tended to use. I had not been there in 6 months. Well, there is nothing.

We start with the travel section. Only three books from 2014, the not very good but cheaper Fodor
for Hawaii, London and New York. Put to advantage because the other books are much older, including on the
top shelf Zagat from 2002....  Not that it matters, we cannot travel anymore outside of
Venezuela but the point here is that a major book store has such an non existent supply.

OK, so travel guides are a frivolous pursuit in a socialist country. Let's thus go to my favorite
section in any bookstore in the world: History books.  There you go, nothing. Near to you there is about
a dozen books of general history, and no good ones, the last remnant that nobody wants.
Further behind the shelves for Venezuelan history books, Since they are printed here there is
a little bit more of a choice, but not even a third of what it used to be a year ago.
(apologies for the overturned pic...I cannot fix it up!)

Since we cannot dream of travels, nor educate ourselves there is the general literature section, no?
In front of you you have the SciFi section, a favorite of youth, which holds not even a dozen of
books, Harry Potter...  you can see for yourself that the three other sections hardly fare better.

Clearly, the glorious bolivarian revolution has no need for education. People only need to watch state TV and read the official newspaper. All the Kultur they need will be there.

Today I took the S.O. to buy a new refrigerator. We started by a place that "supposedly" had some choice, limited but choice nevertheless. It is "Nasri" located on Avenida Roosevelt, a 100 yards from where the feared barrios of Cementerio and Helicoide start.  That is, one of the first stores to be looted by chavismo last November.  Judge for yourself.

As you can see, there is nothing save a few stoves and some windows AC that were already set apart for someone. The once upon a time emporium is so empty that some of the aisles are now closed...

If you need a refrigerator, well, too bad...........

The New York Times and the Washington Post trash Maduro

This week end two majors newspapers of the world have come out with harsh to blistering editorials. They are worth putting in full in this blog as for once, editorials sound almost as stringent as this blog.  I have taken the liberty to highlight a few words in both editorials, to show how degraded the image of Venezuela is. For two papers and this blog to use almost the same language is quite striking, unless, of course, chavista will claim it a conspiracy and yours truly advising the editorial boards of both papers.....


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THE NEW YORK TIMES

Venezuela’s Crackdown on Opposition

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD SEPT. 20, 2014

The Venezuelan government early this year responded to a wave of street protests by jailing opposition leaders, deploying the army against unarmed protesters and tightening control of the media. The deplorable tactics have largely driven an inspiring opposition movement underground, depriving Venezuelans of the right to challenge a leader who has put a once-prosperous nation on a perilous track.

The imprisonment and trial of an opposition leader, Leopoldo López, show how far President Nicolás Maduro is willing to go to stave off legitimate grievances in a country he and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, mismanaged. Mr. López, a 43-year-old Harvard-educated politician, has been jailed since Feb. 18, when the authorities accused him of instigating violent demonstrations. Some 1,700 demonstrators are awaiting trial and more than 70 remain jailed.

Mr. López’s trial, which began in July, is a travesty. The indictment bizarrely contends that Mr. López, who peacefully called for Mr. Maduro’s resignation, incited violence through “subliminal” messages conveyed during public speeches demanding change that won him strong public support. The judge in the case approved more than 100 witnesses for the prosecution and rejected all but two defense witnesses. Mr. Maduro, who has called Mr. López an American pawn, has told reporters, “He has to pay, and he’s going to pay,” all but determining the outcome.

The human rights abuses and Venezuela’s ailing economy are an outgrowth of the political crisis that has gripped the country in the past decade. The socialist policies Mr. Chávez adopted after taking office in 1999 markedly reduced poverty and expanded opportunities in a country with a long history of entrenched inequality. But his despotic governing style led the country down a dark path. And he drove out capital and talent by nationalizing key industries and asserting greater government control of the oil sector, the country’s economic engine. Insecurity and inflation soared during his years in power.

Mr. Maduro, lacking Mr. Chávez’s charisma and shrewd political instincts, has proved to be an even more dangerous and divisive leader. Venezuelans now suffer from shortages of basic commodities, including milk. Inflation surpassed 60 percent this summer. Leading economists have suggested that Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves, could default on its foreign debt this fall. Unable to reverse the decline, Mr. Maduro rails about foreign conspiracies and has throttled a once-free press. Several news organizations that used to be critical of the government have been forced by mysterious new owners to take pro-government stances.

Venezuela’s dismal state has alarmed its neighbors, but those with influence over Caracas have not wanted to appear to interfere with the internal affairs of others. The Maduro government’s abuses are dangerous for the region and certainly warrant strong criticism from Latin American leaders.

Next year, Venezuela is expected to get a seat for a two-year term on the United Nations Security Council, based on a rotation that countries from the region negotiated several years ago. This would give the Maduro government an important and prestigious appointment on a body that is expected to tackle critical issues, including the global response against fighters of the Islamic State. Colombia, Brazil and other Latin American countries should lead an effort to prevent Caracas from representing the region when it is fast becoming an embarrassment on the continent.

(ME: Let's hope that some in the Liberal left will take notice, including the mayor of New York, imbued of his Sandinista past.)

--------------------------------------

THE WASHINGTON POST

Venezuela doesn’t deserve a seat on the U.N. Security Council

By Editorial Board September 20

THE ODDS that Venezuela, once Latin America’s richest country, will suffer a catastrophic economic collapse shortened significantly this month. Nicolás Maduro, the economically illiterate former bus driver who succeeded Hugo Chávez as president last year, rejected the advice of pragmatists proposing common-sense measures to rein in soaring inflation of more than 60 percent and crippling shortages of basic goods such as milk and toilet paper. Instead he gave a speech claiming that “our problems are the result of economic war waged by the opposition and private business.”

Now Mr. Maduro’s government is attempting to prove his point. It is pressing forward with the prosecution of several top opposition leaders, including Leopoldo López, the former mayor of a Caracas district who heads the more militant wing of anti-government forces. “Militant” is a relative term here: Earlier this year Mr. López and several allies called for peaceful street demonstrations under the slogan “the way out.” The hope was they would create irresistible pressure for change, similar to the “people power” revolutions of Asia and Eastern Europe.

As Human Rights Watch documented , the regime responded violently. More than 40 people were killed, and 1,700 were criminally charged. Some 70, including Mr. López, remain incarcerated. Since voluntarily surrendering on Feb. 18, Mr. López has been held in isolation on a military base. Now he is undergoing a trial that can only be described as farcical. The government claims that Mr. López is somehow responsible for violent clashes in Caracas, even though he was not present when they took place and had publicly called on his followers to remain peaceful. A judge has disallowed all but one of the more than 60 witnesses he called, while scheduling more than 100 for the prosecution. As The Post’s Nick Miroff recently reported, Mr. Maduro has already declared the trial’s outcome: “He has to pay, and he will pay.”

Average Venezuelans are already paying heavily for Mr. Maduro’s practice of substituting political persecution for economic remedies. Now the question is whether he and his cronies will be held responsible for their behavior by outside powers with leverage, including the United States. The Obama administration has been resisting legislation that would provide for sanctions against leading members of the regime. In July, it offered the weaker measure of canceling the U.S. visas of some two dozen officials, without naming them.


It’s time for more visible action. One opportunity is at the United Nations: Next month Venezuela will stand for a seat on the U.N. Security Council, where it would be able to advocate for allies such as Syria, Iran and Cuba. Though unopposed, the Maduro government must win the votes of two-thirds of the General Assembly in a secret ballot. The Obama administration could help itself and send a message to Mr. Maduro by rounding up the 65 votes needed to keep Venezuela off the Security Council.

Fake temporizing in Venezuela

This week end caught us with two pieces of good news. Well, sort of. Two political prisoners got better jail terms, that is, home arrest for a while. One is a police chief of 2002 that the regime has tried to scapegoat as the lone guilty party of the deaths of April 2002, Ivan Simonovis. The other one was an activist from the protest earlier this year, Sairam Rivas.

Should we read something into this? I am afraid not.

To begin with, those two cases had become a problem for the regime's international image. Not that it cares much at this point, but with an expected trip of Maduro at the UN in the coming days, a mere gesture could only help.


Because it is a mere gesture. The conditions for the release of these two are draconian. Basically they must stay at home mute, and one of them has been released because the regime simply does not want him to die in jail. The other political prisoners, those that truly matter for the regime political survival? They are locked away as harshly as possible (Lopez, Ceballos, etc..).

Then again, one should always try to figure out a silver lining in such "gestures", even at the risk of passing for an imbibed dreamer.

Perhaps the clue comes from Henry Falcon, Lara's governor, asking for the dialogue regime-opposition to restart. Whether such call is self serving or Falcon is being asked by the regime to try to become the mouth piece of the opposition is not the point. The point here is that the regime needs to do something about the economy if it wants to avert a massive bloodbath when everything falls apart, sooner than what many may be expecting.

If we factor in the inner divisions of the regime, as far as we know of them, there is a small window of opportunity for some form of negotiation, if anything to gain time. One of the chavismo factions, the pragmatic ideological left (oxymoron intended) has been somewhat sidelined when Rafael Ramirez was pushed to the foreign ministry. That leaves mainly two factions in office, the military with now full control of the purse and the radical left with a pro Cuba political agenda. We know from history that when such a dipole exists bloody confrontation is unavoidable. The chavismo radical left may not be coherent or rational enough to know that but I am sure the military is more aware of a possible bloodbath for which they shall bear full responsibility. Thus the time is right, again sort of, for some type of negotiation, pacific gesture, something, to see how that affects the inner balance of power inside chavismo. Remember, chavismo has long ceased to be about the betterment of the country, it is only about survival since 2007.

On the plus side, ANY concession to democracy made by these people, representing the least democratic elements of chavismo (and Venezuela), will have more credibility and thus may have a chance to lead somewhere. Were such a gesture made by the "pragmatists" it would have merely been taken bu the radicals as a free pas to trash them.

On the minus side the radicals want to exterminate the opposition and the military want it to submit so they can all do business happily on the military terms, Burma like.

You will forgive me if in the end the release of Simonovis and Rivas had no effect on my mood even though I am happy for them to escape, even if briefly, the Venezuela hell system of jails.

Venezuela se termino de joder

Yo no se si la gente se da cuenta pero la caricatura que llevó  El Universal a botar a Rayma después de 19 años es una poderosa suma de símbolos que se cristalizan en un instante para decirnos en la cara lo jodido que está nuestro país con esa cuerda de maleantes y narcos que gobiernan.

Empecemos por la caricatura.

Se puede argumentar que tal vez sea algo fuerte. Lo que no se puede negar es que el sistema de salud venezolano esta padeciendo una profunda crisis y eso después de 15 años de chavismo. La culpa la tiene el gobierno de Chávez. No hay excusas.

Por lo tanto es mi opinión que lo máximo que podía hacer El Universal era no publicar la caricatura. Botar a Rayma es una denegación de la verdad, es censura. Es un crimen.

Por lo tanto prosigamos con El Universal.

El periódico de mi infancia se vendió. No voy a discutir si la familia Mata tenia razones o no de venderlo. Total, no vi a nadie saliendo a defenderlos con poderosas marchas de apoyo. Aquí los periódicos se están muriendo de mengua, sin propaganda y sin papel y la gente feliz en su cola del bicentenario para cuatro migajas, o mas preocupada por el cupo de CADIVI que por la libertad de información. Tenemos lo que nos merecemos.


Lo que si se critica es quien lo compró. Todavía a ciencia cierta no lo sabemos. Pero de lo que si podemos estar seguros es que los compraron El Universal (Y Globovision, y otros, y a punto de tirarse a Venevision y Televen) son los boliburgueses, los bolichicos, los narco militares que no quieren que se hable mal de ellos, que no quieren que se caiga el gobierno porque saben que van a ir presos. Y que tienen billete para comprarse las joyas de lo que fue un país abierto y plural.

¿Quieren sospechosos? Pues lean, por ejemplo, el blog censurado en Venezuela de Alek Boyd. Si tienen mucha flojera para descargar Tor Browser o Tunnel Bear para poder abrir ese blog (y otros como Dolar Today) pueden ir directo a Twiter y leer gente como Rebelion Civil quien los nombra de frente.

¿Se le fue la luz? Esta joya, Alejandro Betancourt se robó $5 millardos para hacer 12 plantas termoeléctricas >> pic.twitter.com/vTyLU0SumT
— Rebelión Civil (@RebeldiaCivil) September 17, 2014

Pero ese twitero, extremista como pocos, va mas lejos aun: se pregunta porque AD y Primero Justicia y Capriles y Borges se quedan tan callados.

A mi no me consta que PJ y AD estén cobrando de Derwick o sean chantajeados, por más que los Sayegh y el cuñado de Ramos Allup esten metidos. Pero lo que si me consta es el silencio de ellos ante casos de corrupción escandalosos. También consta que ellos, PJ y AD, se repartieron la ultima torta inmobiliaria el ultimo día que sesionó el anterior consejo municipal de El Hatillo. ¡Menos mal que El Hatillo reaccionó en diciembre pasado y se sacudió a los Sayegh de PJ!

Por lo tanto la compra de El Universal es para silenciar la critica a toda costa sin tener que mandar el ejercito a hacer el mandado., Total, esa gente se ha robado tanto que se pueden dar esos lujos.

Pero volvamos a nuestro tema.

Aquí el crimen lo comete El Universal que falta a su misión de criticar el desastre humanitario en el cual se transformo la pseudo experiencia medica que el loco de Chávez se dejo clavar por los cubanos. El Universal prefiere que la gente se muera en los hospitales públicos antes de que le salga una roncha a los chavistas que permitieron ese desastre.

Aquí el crimen lo comete ese grupito de hyper corruptos, boliburguesitos de cuna, narcotraficantes de verde, que saben que fuera de Venezuela no tienen futuro y por lo tanto se están comprando a realazo duro una paz ilusoria en Venezuela, aunque esto corra el riesgo de parecerse pronto a un genocidio del siglo XXI, no por raza o religión, un genocidio porque me caes mal y no me dejas disfrutar de una vida sin conciencia.

Podrán tapar las noticias de la escasez y del desabastecimiento como puedan pero la verdad no la podrán tapar. A mi me consta lo que tengo que hacer para conseguirle comida y suministros médicos a mi pareja con cáncer. No necesito leer periódico alguno. Y ya se quienes son los culpables, los que se aprovecharon de la cursilleria, los delirios de Chávez que pasará a la historia como el presidente mas coño de madre que hemos tenido, el que vendió la patria como ningún otro lo hizo.

¿No te gustan mis palabras Nicolas? No te preocupes, el te puso aquí después de vender a Venezuela. Ni eso tuviste que hacer. Tu eres un pobre diablo, un agente cubano que Chávez se dejó clavar a sabiendas porque a el no le importó Venezuela un carajo, nunca. Si no te gusta esa verdad, pues cierra mi blog. Mándame a alguien con 100,000 dolares y te entrego el password para que lo borres. Mucho mas económico que El Universal. Total, para que seguir mortificándome por Venezuela si me parece a veces que ni los políticos de oposición de preocupan de verdad. Que se pudran Rayma, los periodistas de EL Universal, Globovision, los empresarios, los estudiantes, los que no comparten con Capriles y el combo que el representa. El está en otros menesteres, haciendo una nueva mayoría.

Y es verdad, al final el van a entregar el país a Capriles. Que se lo entreguen totalmente arrasado, porque ya no queda nada que los chavistas corruptos puedan saquear es algo que al parecer no preocupa a Capriles y menos a Ramos Allup o Borges o tantos otros.

Botar a Rayma es sencillamente un reflejo de lo bajo que ha caído este país. Se jodió todo.

Now what? Venezuela on static noise

I have convinced myself that all political players still out there have decided to wait and see what happens though its own gravitational pull. Maduro has decided that the solution to all the regime failed control system is yet more controls. Capriles goes to the beach and gives us a set of vulgar to pictures from Playa Parguito which in Venezuelan slang is much fodder for chavista homophobia. Meanwhile, even though the regime hides official statistics such as inflation and scarcity index, it cannot be hidden that the country has more than likely entered into a recession.
ugly

Even though Ramirez has been evicted/promoted, the regime is strictly unable to take any significant economical measure. Not even to increase the price of gas, a measure that may not be able to help much in the foreign currency balance of the country but that would raise at least some local currency cash to pay the regime's local obligations. In fact it is quite possible that the gas price increase has become such a big bugaboo for the regime that this one has simply paralyzed on any reform, or so Maxim Ross thinks in an interview in La Razon.


Besides proposing to sell Citgo as the only way to get quick cash, the regime is bereft of any idea. The reasons remain the same. No faction has managed to get the upper hand. The military still hold the main levers, control the country and as long as public opinion does not finally start to blame them they see no reason to intervene. Thus no side is going to tempt seriously to make a move least it fails and is trashed by the other sides. Besides, the truism that I keep repeating remains ever true: the regime is so corrupt, has stolen so much money, has opened itself up to such delinquent activities that the folks in place cannot release power on any account least they risk going to jail. As long as they can keep looting they see no reason to effect changes for more economical rationality.

For the opposition things are getting from bad to worse. After having divided over La Salida the Capriles/PJ/AD side is hurriedly trying to bury once and for all the embers of past months actors. Lopez seems quite forgotten in jail, Maria Corina Machado is rather subdued by her usual standards and if it were not for Ledezma you would not hear a strong word these days. Not only pseudo intellectuals like C.R. Hernandez are trying to  pin on La Salida actors all the evils that the opposition suffers today but even people like Fausto Maso that should know better are chiming in. In short, the opposition is as bereft of ideas as the regime is. Thus it has decided to once again to tell us to go to vote in December 2015, that this time around we are going to win, that the regime will have to accept the result, that then and only then we will be able to change the corrupt institutions, etc...

As if the corrupt intuitions about to be changed were going to sit down though the next 12 months without saying peep squeak. Maybe that is why Capriles shows his physique for lack of having anything else to show?

The problem is that the opposition seems to believe that the economic crisis will be solved gently though an election, that people and business will patiently postpone bankruptcy waiting for Capriles to come to the rescue. And thus these people have no qualms in attacking the proponents of La Salida, calling it a huge fiasco. Was it?

If we judge La Salida as an attempt at creating a political crisis that would force the exit of Maduro, certainly it failed. The political crisis was not national, many states remained quietly standing in line for food rather than protesting these lines. As far as the military was concerned there was no political crisis since even in the heat of February and March the army was never seriously questioned while the Nazional Guard and Maduro kept receiving the brunt of criticism. If La Salida had a true failure was to be unable or to refuse to try to scratch the Teflon on the military, expecting who knows what miracle from a corps which is rotten to the core.

But on the other hand I think La Salida was a huge success. For one it is not possible to call Maduro's regime a democracy anymore (assuming that a case could be made otherwise). Those who do so do it for personal interests. Or they are showing that they are not democrats, or at the very least that they do not understand how a democracy should work.

And herein the weakness of the opposition Capriles side. After past failures of that side, their willingness to condemn those that have at least tried something, even if due to personal political ambitions, brings upon them scorn and ridicule. As such Capriles is not adding anymore ridicule on him by posing on the beaches of El Parguito. Too many of us have lost any faith, have discarded any credibility we had on people like Capriles, Ramos Allup, Borges, Falcon, etc.. As far as I am concerned the 2015 vote is already lost because even if chavismo were to accept to go to a vote it may lose, even if chavismo accepts that loss once it happens, the divided opposition will offer enough opportunists inside that Capriles et al. camp that chavismo will be able to piece together something to retain the essential levers of power, or at least to go unpunished, loot in hand.  Some may say that this would be cheaper than a civil war. Today I am afraid that my reply would be that such an accommodation at best merely would postpone the civil war.

And thus we are entered a political situation where static noise will dominate, no side being able to impose a true agenda. I mean "are entered", because the stalemate of today could not have been previewed nor effected three months ago. Somehow we landed here, not on anyone's intention.

PS: on a totally unrelated matter, but illustrative on the lassitude of our mood. This week end the S.O. finally accepted to watch "The Sound of Music" with me. Of course, I have watched it too many times to count, I can almost do all the sing along and I even took the movie tour in Salzburg. The S.O. was not impressed though he at least admitted to understand why the movie could be iconic for some.

So there you have it, when an old movie screening becomes the most memorable intellectual moment of the week, you know you are in trouble.

"Worse than a crime, a mistake"

We just learned that Lorent Saleh, a vociferous student activist against the Chavez regime has been expelled from Colombia to Venezuela. I have no doubt that Lorent Saleh crossed the line in Colombia on what political activities a foreigner can undertake there. I am certain that there might be justified reasons for the Colombian government to ask him to leave the country.

But there is ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE for the Santos government to expel him to Venezuela where Lorent Saleh is subjected to political persecution.


What Colombia should have done is to arrest Saleh and give him and his lawyers a few days to find a suitable place of exile. And even if no country wanted Saleh, there was still the option to keep him in jail in Colombia; or to assign him to a given sector with formal restrictions that if he were to break would mean instant deportation to Venezuela, his country of citizenship.

Why has Colombia done that? And I stress the title, worse than a crime, a major political mistake for Santos (attributed to Talleyrand when Napoleon had the duke of Enghien summarily executed).

I think that Santos is mired in a peace process that from here looks like going nowhere good. And this without the need to pay attention to Uribe's screams. Santos has reached a situation where after a difficult reelection that was gained from the left, far from his natural base, he has to pay the piper. And the piper is Venezuela (directed by Cuba) which will or will not allow the FARC to survive the peace process to be able to come back violently whenever it is convenient for them.

As a button I can also bring forward the promotion of deeply discredited ex Colombian president Ernesto Samper to the UNASUR chair. He hurriedly offered his services to rekindle the dialogue in Venezuela. He went as far a saying that Maduro is a man of dialogue, a man of peace.  This proves that any mediation Samper may offer is a waste of time for the Venezuelan opposition. Clearly Samper is pro status quo in Venezuela. The other explanation, that Samper is woefully misinformed, cannot hold, of course, considering that he is an ex president that has tirelessly worked at remaining relevant in Colombia in spite of all the charges associated to his presidency, involving drug traffic which is akin as involving the FARC.

No, the reason why Samper is UNASUR head is that UNASUR needs to keep inside Colombia to remain relevant (I think that ship has sailed...). Also, now that Santos is about to give a chance to the FARC to become a political force that could eventually win elections in Colombia, the left in power from Buenos Aires to Caracas  want a Colombian like Samper to be anything from the useful idiot to the active collaborator.

Thus, from the deportation of Saleh to the meddling of Samper (who I personally totally mistrust) there is a clear pattern emerging: Santos desperately seeks the help of the Venezuelan regime to complete his negotiations with the FARC, almost at any price it seems.  It also becomes awfully clear that the Colombian intelligentsia could not care less about the future of Venezuela, that it may even bet on its collapse to see what juicy morsel Colombia can pick for nearly free out of the debacle.

Or Venezuela and the FARC may prevail.

Crimes and mistakes. All.

El arcaísmo chavista versus el resto del mundo

Uno nunca se cansa de repetir que el chavismo es un movimiento reaccionario que como meta se inventó un socialismo militarista que no es si no una versión actualizada de las montoneras bandidas que azotaron nuestro pobre país en el siglo XIX. A eso se le aderezó con tribalismo primitivo de un imaginario buen salvaje pre colonial del cual no se consiguen evidencias concretas, por más que escarben. Pero a veces hasta de los países mas socialmente conservadores nos llegan evidencias de que el mundo avanza, evoluciona, mientras que aquí nos hundimos cada día mas en una ignorancia, un desdén de los hechos reales y las teorías establecidas, para dar rienda suelta a un lambucianismo devastador. Ni siquiera le podemos echar la culpa al chavismo: al fin y al cabo el grueso del chavismo de hoy son los adecos de tercera categoria que solo lograron encaramarse siguiendo a Chávez, con una técnica impecable de jaladura que desarrollaron durante 40 años de esfuerzos. El chavismo no es sino el paroxismo sexual de adecos retozando con ñangaras.

Lo que me hace escribir esto viene de unas reflexiones que tuve pensando en la actual crisis política de Francia. El origine profundo de esta crisis es que el partido socialista francés siempre ha sido un matrimonio inestable entre los de ideología izquierdoza (pero democráticos) y los propiamente social demócratas pragmáticos. Pues bien, la crisis reventó ya que el nuevo primer ministro Emanuel Valls, de origen catalán sin lugar a duda, se cansó de los ideologos de buche y pluma y reorganizó el gobierno a la manera social demócrata como en los otros países europeos. O sea gente seria, de esos que gastan con gusto plata en programa sociales pero que saben que uno solo se puede arropar hasta donde alcanza la cobija.

No como los de aquí que te piden "el millardito" porque les da la gana y ya. Otros pagarán.

Claro, después de décadas de peleas ideológicas controladas se alborotó el avispero dentro de la izquierda francesa y no sabemos todavía si el renovado gobierno de Valls mantendrá su mayoría parlamentaria. Pero esto no ha impedido las encuestadoras hacer su trabajo, en particular pidiendo a la gente si ellos pensaban que el gobierno ayudaba a las empresas privadas lo suficiente. O sea, en los términos del debate en Francia, si el gobierno da suficiente ayudas concretas para que las empresas puedan trabajar y ser competitivas internacionalmente de manera a que puedan producir, generar puestos de trabajo, pagar sus impuestos con mas facilidad y en mayores monto con el objetivo que el estado pueda cumplir sus funciones sin tener que endeudarse ni comprometer la salud económica del país.

Les presento dos tweets de la encuestadora CSA

Pour 63% des Français le gvt n'en fait "pas assez" pour les entreprises, 15% "trop", 15% "comme il faut " pic.twitter.com/lwyYqR9KJO
— Institut CSA (@InstitutCSA) September 4, 2014

En este primer gráfico 63% de los franceses piensan que el gobierno NO HACE lo suficiente para ayudar a las empresas. Solamente un 15% piensa lo contrario, que demasiada ayuda reciben las empresas.

Pour 44% des sym. de gauche, le gvt n'en fait pas assez pour les entreprise, 81% à droite @LesEchos @i_montaigne pic.twitter.com/XqR5PAyt4r
— Institut CSA (@InstitutCSA) September 4, 2014

En este segundo gráfico se detalla POR PARTIDO POLITICO quienes piensan que no se ayuda suficiente al gobierno. Sorprende ver por ejemplo que "Front de Gauche", lo mas de izquierda en la política francesa con amigos del chavismo como Ramonet y Melanchon, 45% dicen que no, que no se ayuda suficientemente. Claro, el 47% de ellos peinan que se hace demasiado pero nos quedaremos con una sorprendente cifra de donde vemos que un 45% piensa que no se hace lo suficiente, superando inclusive los propios socialistas que contestan no suficiente en un 41%.

No es el punto de esta bitácora explicar lo que pasa en Francia. Nos limitaremos a imaginar cual seria la respuesta a un sondeo parecido en Venezuela. ¿Podríamos tener "un 63% piensa que todavía no se jode lo suficiente a las empresas"?

El nivel de cargas que tienen que soportar las empresas se ha vuelta casi intolerable y en todo caso a frenado considerablemente la economía venezolana. No es solamente la ley de trabajo LOTT pero es todo un conjunto de reglas que van desde la seguridad e higiene hasta tener que proveer a los trabajadores con distracciones. El hecho es que una empresa venezolana hoy en día no puede crecer, no puede general los puestos de trabajos que necesita el país porque sencillamente no puede atender la carga financiera de los trabajadores, ni los dolores de cabeza que hoy tiene que sufrir los departamentos de manejo de personal. Amen de los otros problemas que vuelven la producción casi imposible.

Si bien es cierto que hemos visto muchos casos de trabajadores defendiendo su empresa frente a los ataques del gobierno, también hemos visto demasiado trabajadores apoyando el robo de las empresas a sus dueños. Que se arrepientan amargamente después cuando descubren que el estado es el peor de los patrones, como pasa ahora en Guayana, no es un consuelo.

Me temo que en Venezuela a demasiados trabajadores les queda todavía mucho por aprender, y mas si son chavistas. Todavía estamos en el siglo XIX mental de Marx donde el chavismo nos quiere mantener. Es mas fácil controlar la pobreza y el resentimiento que la clase media y la responsabilidad individual.

Maduro's "El Sacudón" or the fine art of doing nothing

So Maduro had a "cadena" tonight to announce his new cabinet, new measures, etc...  As usual since he is legally but not legitimately president I have not followed it. Through Tweeter and a few articles I get all what I really need. See, once you have understood that the regime cannot change because it would collapse, then there is nothing to expect anymore but more repression, more controls, more intervention. All becomes very predictable and tonight was no exception.

The real game in town?

For example he announced the usual Castro like slogan of now 5 revolutions inside the revolution because apparently after 15 years of Chavez public administration is still controlled by bourgeoisie. He is right on that last one except that it is the chavista corrupt bourgeoisie carefully nurtured over the last decade so as to have a body of public servants corrupt and henceforth subject blackmail. That helps insure the survival of the regime. Thus the 5 new revolutions are nothing more but yet a new attempt at a parallel control system of government such as it was the case for the Misiones, the comunas, the milicia, the colectivos, etc..

No economic measures of significance were announced. Things keep getting worse, oil price fail to increase to save the regime in spite of multiple wars, so this one has decided to light a candle, pray to lord Chavez and hope for a miracle rather than devaluate, increase the price of oil, free at least some sectors of the economy to lower scarcity of at least a couple of basic items.


As usual some ministers were once again rotated though the different chairs, most remained unchanged, betraying the frozen power nature of chavismo tribal groups. As I type there is still no complete list, though I believe that the last cabinet change list was never published either, at least not in an official manner, some ministers discretely retaking their positions. Yet, at least for once some appointments or reappointments are telling of at least the beginning of an evolution within chavismo.

The first surprise is that all powerful Rafael Ramirez, the guy that knows where all the money went the past 10 years has been sent from PDVSA/Oil Ministry to the foreign ministry. It is difficult to decide whether this was a punishment, a promotion or a preparation for things to come.

I am sure that Ramirez will leave his PDVSA offices with a pen drive carrying all the dirt he may need to protect himself so we need not to worry much on him. He also has allowed so much to be stolen that surely he has taken a few safety millions for his family least something happens to him. But he is not out of the cabinet, he is going to the foreign office where he will have two advantages. First he gets away of PDVSA at a time of his misdirected policies are coming home to roost; less crap will fall on him in a country as forgetful as Venezuela is. Second, he gets to burnish his image of statesmen, if he wants to; you know, to prepare himself to replace Maduro in case of early elections. I can add that since his economical proposal have apparently not been accepted he is off the hook to try to solve these problems, merely travelling abroad to explain other countries why is it that at Miraflores Palace they keep messing up stuff and why he should be in charge.

Khaki and red musical chairs? Interesting...

On the other hand this could indeed be the beginning of the end for Ramirez, until the regime finds a way to neutralize the pen drive he surely carries as a necklace with a back up in some Swiss vault.

At the very least the departure of Ramirez is a small piece of good news. The presidency of PDVSA is finally separated from the ministry of oil. That is, the comptroller and comptrollee are not the same person, as it was always the case before Chavez gave it all to Ramirez. So administratively we will have two guys now, which in addition will not be saddled with all the other stuff Ramirez had to do. Surely this is an improvement, no? But there is a bad news along: one of Chavez brothers/cousin/relative is the new mister of oil which tells us that the Chavez family is starting its comeback, to cash in its inheritance...

Finally, the "departure" of Ramirez is also accompanied by the stability of the military personnel in charge and of the radical wing. Indeed, if Ramirez was seen as a "pragmatic" (something that yours truly never bought since there is no pragmatist inside the regime)  his transfer can only mean that the fight is becoming more marked between the army and the radicals while the pragamatist, those that would allow a soviet NEP of sorts in Venezuela are pushed aside. Note that this is a simplification as the army is itself divided among the business generals and the radical generals but we know less about that.

From the military side, for example, Rodriguez Torres, the interior minister remains in office. This is due at his appreciated repression skills because it is certainly not due to any ability to lower crime index in Venezuela, unless fudging numbers is and accepted security policy.

From the radical side, for example, Jaua goes from the foreign ministry to the "comunas" one. That is, the commune system development in Venezuela, one of the 5 revolutions launched today and mentioned above. It is to be noted that the intention of "comunas" is to by pass the elected authorities (Mayors, Governors) by creating territorial units which regroup dozens to hundreds of "consejos comunales" who can cut across municipal districts and even state districts. What's wrong, you may say. Nothing really, if you accept as democratic that the power basis of these comunas are the consejos comunales whose decisions are taken though show of hands under the scrutiny of red shirted officials. In case you do not get it, if you form a consejo comunal and the local chavista is not the president, then your consejo does not get legal recognition and you are shunted from the comunas system, and the monies that allegedly come with it. In case you still do not get it, the comunas will be chavista or will not be.  It is to develop the comuna totalitarian nature that Jaua, a remarkably scruples free radical, is sent to.

Meanwhile for the hoi poloi the long lines for food and medicine will continue, inflation is now officially at a 60% annual rate and growing. The regime has more important things to take care of, such as increase its control and finish off opposition.

Nothing better to start the week but a little bit of chavista blasphemy

In the "believe it or not" series. We learn today that chavismo has created its own prayer to Chavez. Let's start with the crossing.

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN HOW TO CROSS THEMSELVES AS CHAVISTAS
In the name of Chavez, Maduro, and the sovereign "pueblo", we shall live and win
NOW TEACH THIS TO YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS

And then with a new and improved prayer to the Lord, the lord Chavez that is.
Spanish original as per Globovision:

“Chávez nuestro que estas en el cielo, en la tierra, en el mar y en nosotros, los y las delegadas, santificado sea tu nombre, venga a nosotros tu legado para llevarlo a los pueblos de aquí y de allá. Danos hoy tu luz para que nos guíe cada día, no nos dejes caer en la tentación del capitalismo, mas líbranos de la maldad de la oligarquía, del delito del contrabando porque de nosotros y nosotras es la patria, la paz y la vida. Por los siglos de los siglos amén. Viva Chávez”.
Our Chavez, which art in heaven, on land, on sea and in ourselves the [male] and [female] delegates, hallowed by thy name, thy legacy come to us to carry it over to people here and there. Give us this day our daily light so that it may guide us every day, do not let us fall into capitalism temptations, and protect us from the meanness of the oligarchy, from the sin of smuggling, for us is [male] and [female] the fatherland, peace and live. For ever and ever, amen. Viva Chavez.

I do not know if this is a provocation, an excessively elaborated prank (I wish it so, make it be so My Lord) or if these people have finally reached the deep end. But if it is the later, well, you know.

PS1: there is a video of the woman leading the first official presentation of the prayer. It is not a prank....

PS2: and if this is not enough you may want to know that the regime is opening an investigation against TNT and its series Legend because for 19 second some guy mentions that Maduro is looking for a biological bomb against protesters. As if he did not kill enough of them with tear gas alone, crime, poverty, exile, etc.

PS3: and some more religio-politico imagery keeps appearing, from the utterly naive greek/medieval icon

to the outright idiocy with a sexy hunky blondish Christ in a racially mixed, towards the dark, country, still ahead of Chavez and Bolivar but for how long...

¿Han visto una vaina más desfachatada e inmoral que esta? pic.twitter.com/uupJbRBp3f
— ✽░Soraya Elena░✽ (@elena2760) September 2, 2014