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Also, the driver of the truck that was looted in La Vega died after being shot for resisting.
Also it doesn't bode well seeing a news site doing a PSA on what to do in case of looting.
Cumaná saw a very extensive, very nasty city-wide looting wave, leaving five dead, about a dozen wounded and a couple dozen looted businesses. Over 400 people were arrested and the governor imposed a "bike curfew" for 72-hours. This will most likely be the first of many incidents named after a city with the suffix "-azo". It should go without saying that the PSUV is scapegoating the MUD for it, and have started demonizing the sort of things they were justifying/glorifying not too long ago.
There was also this riot in Lagunillas, Mérida, where one guy was shot in the head, killing him. Also, one of the PSUV's seats there was burnt.
There was this other riot in Amazonas, where a group of indigenous peeps burned down a National Guard outpost after they apparently tortured a minor there.
This was the sort of situation we wanted to prevent back in 2014. Though oddly enough there seems to have been less lootings since the Cumanazo.
On Monday the remains of presidents Rómulo Gallegos and Isaías Medina
Angarita were stolen by graverobbers. Other than a general distaste for
history I can't think of why someone would do that to these two
specifically. Anyhows, I can't help but notice that one of our best
writers and presidents respectively were lying on random graves while the Galactic One rests in a literal fortress. Probably related, a bust from
singer Alí Primera's grave was also defaced around the same time.
As for the referendum, at least the CNE decided to open up places for validating the signatures besides regional offices, setting up one in nearly half of municipalities.
The Minister of Penitentiary Affairs Iris Varela saw it fit to let 81 jailees out of jail so as to protest the fact that their signatures are apparently among the ones for the referendum.
Yet again a cargo of drugs got found among the luggage of an aircraft departing from Crackass, this time it was 600 kg found in City of Mexico. Once again, this can't happen without the National Guard being involved.
The executive is not allowing the medicine donations that Lilian and company have been gathering around the world, arguing the same stuff about intervention they're using to reject declaring a health crisis.
Blackout exceptions: No blackouts this week. Exception exceptions: There
was one on Tuesday. Also there won't be blackouts on weekends anymore.
We're well past the original 40-days period for blackouts, and in terms
of powerless hours (counting exceptions) we're at about the same amount
we had during this exact same crisis 6 years ago. I wonder... it was
after that crisis that we started having commonplace blackouts, will something similar happen this time?
On non-political news, Susana Duijm has just passed away. She was the first Venezuelan to win an international prize in our national sport by becoming Miss World 1955. Farewell!
On parliamentary news...
There was no session scheduled for Thursday for some reason.
On non-session news, the Assembly is going to start doing those "young parliamentarism"
things, gathering a bunch of high-schoolers to participate in a
play-parliamentary session so future generations of politicians get a
head start in learning how to yell at each other.
Speaking of the Assembly, I've noticed they seemed to have stopped giving the reds the media space they used to. I doubt it's because PSUV deputies don't have much to say. Can't say I agree with that, as a matter of principle.
It's worth noting that the PSUV denied Gallegos' robbery, despite evidence to the contrary. It's that weird thing where the PSUV denies that bad things are happening even when they can't be pinned down to them.
Also, I said it wasn't political news, but turns out Susana Duijm had ran out of medicines she needed, and unfortunately didn't get them in time before being killed by a stroke that might have been prevented by said medicines.
The Organization of American States convened for the presentation of its General Secretary Luis Almagro's report on our situation. This one did pass the voting required, much to our government's chagrin. I heard the report is pretty good.
Colombia's vice-minister of foreign affairs released a statement saying that, no, Maduro is not Colombian. Hopefully this will be the end of it.
Didalco Bolívar (President of For Social Democracy) went to the Tribunal to request on behalf of the Great Patriotic Pole that the Assembly be abolished. Didalco is the chump they get when they want somebody to propose something idiotic, perhaps so they can backtrack if there's too much backlash, but either way this looks like another step in their efforts against the parliament.
La Verdad, a mayor local newspaper here, has stopped circulating due to lack of newsprint material.
Here comes the reports of persecution against those who show up on the new and improved Tascón List Online. Over 800 students have had their scholarships revoked in Zulia, and a bunch of CortoElec have received resignation letters over it.
Coca-cola is releasing a new, sugarless coca-cola brand here. Can you guess why?
Blackout exception: 01/07. And that's it for scheduled blackouts, from now on we're back to our former unscheduled blackouts.
On this week's parliamentary news (for some reason there were no sessions last week):
* A debate on the rights to nutrition, health and security of children, including the presence of the president of the Network for Human Rights of Children, and approval of an accord for their protection.
* A discussion on the OAS report.
* They began discussing an accord condemning drug trafficking in the country.
As for Thursday...
* A minute of silence for the passing away of composer Inocente Carreño.
* Approval of Tuesday's accord on drug trafficking.
* An accord exhorting the National Electoral Council to act according to constitutional norms, over all the stuff that's been going on.
* Stuff about Journalists' Day, including a speech by the president of the National College of Journalists.
* The Assembly began discussing decentralization, and Juan Pablo Guanipa mentioned their plans for an Organic Law of the Venezuelan Federal State. The rest of the discussion and voting will come later, however.
And that's it. It's the first non-weekly update I make since I can remember.
Guess what, I had some leftovers from the alignment chart I made, so I thought I'd make another one:
Explanations:
Lawful Good - Alfredo Romero (The Venezuelan Penal Forum guy)
Neutral Good - Lilian Tintori
María Corina - María Corina
Lawful Neutral - Tareck William Saab (Ombudsman. To be honest I don't know what a neutral ombudsman looks like, so maybe I'm getting this one wrong.)
True
Neutral - Vladimir Villegas (Presenter for a well-known interviews
program and representative of Globovisión's neutrality angle)
Chaotic Neutral - Luis Miquilena (opportunist, most notably he invented chavism (you didn't think that was Chávez, did you?))
Lawful Evil - Gladys Gutiérrez (AKA Morticia. Current president of the Tribunal)
Neutral Evil - Jorge Rodríguez
Chaotic Evil - Diosdy
I still have a bunch of leftovers. Maybe I can make another one?
You didn't expect context would make it look nice, did you?
but they aren't ending with them, they've been continuing as usual,
showing no signs of stopping.
It's been over six months since the Assembly swore themselves in. That means it's been six months since Amazonas has had no representation in it.
The previous Tuesday's Day of the Signing of the Independence Act is a
metaphor for what the nation is currently like; one Venezuela had former
far-lefty figure Américo Martín give a history-laden speech at the
Assembly, while the other Venezuela went for a military parade, blocked
transmission of the Assembly's speech through a National Broadcast and
had the Armed Forces run around while chanting political slogans ("We're
revolutionary, we're Bolivarian, we're antiimperialist, and also
Chavist"). Not that Américo's speech was modern-politics-free, tho. Sad,
isn't it?
According to this,
the govt. provided the International Monetary Fund with the statistics
they require for their activities. The govt. ceased providing them over a
decade ago for ideological reasons, but for whatever reason they're
backing down. Those figures are a requirement for getting those financing plans the fund is infamous for, so although it's not the only possibility, it's possible they're going for it, as was speculated years ago.
Speaking of banks, one of the side effects of having the largest note be of ridiculously low value is that they've been having trouble keeping ATMs stocked with money . However we're entering the next step and they're starting to take them down due to that plus general maintenance problems caused by overuse.
Oh boy, speaking of banks, I forgot to talk about the bank robber. Not a random bank robber, but the man who tried to rob the Central Bank, holding two hostages but getting killed in the ensuing shootout. According to a video he made right before the event, he says he did it "for the people, for the hunger they're going through right now". Anyhows, apparently the Sebin didn't want that video to be shown (leaked?), because they started arresting a bunch of journalists with connections to these news.
Speaking of the Central Bank, international reserves are below $12 billions, the lowest they've been in two decades (not accounting for inflation).
The MUD announced they'll be holding primaries for regional elections, which still has no due date, even though it's supposed to be this year.
About five hundred women set out to rush over the Colombian border in Táchira (it hasn't been opened back yet, which I'm pretty sure is not legal), getting through the Nazional Guard into Colombia so as to buy basic supplies, then getting back where they came from, also rushing through the Naziguard. Reportedly the people on the other side were very nice, including the police, in contrast with our Naziguard.
The seat of Portuguesa's police was attacked by bikers who threw two grenades at it, killing one and injuring 25. Minister of Persecution Gustavo González López didn't lose this opportunity and immediately began blaming Popular Will for it.
Kimberly Clark, the transnational producer of paper-based hygiene products (yes, including toilet paper) stopped production, began liquidating and prepare to leave, in response The Man exprobbed it, did all the usual posturing about workers, and thus starts the three months countdown for these products to disappear and the two years countdown for these workers to protest about their new gorilla manager (it's always a gorilla).
Speaking of gorilla-induced scarcity, Maburro announced the "Grand Mission Sovereign Supplying", and put Minister of Gorillism Vladimir Perruno López in charge of it. Despite what you'd guess from the name, according to Nico it's hierarchically above all ministries, which are subordinate to it, which would make it only second to the presidency in terms of power.
As for parliamentary news...
Due
to the ruckus caused by the above women who rushed into Colombia, The
Man saw it fit to temporarily allow people to cross the border for a weekend, and
would you look at that, loads of eager shoppers did. Photos, over a hundred thousands did so by some accounts. Some PSUVers took the opportunity to demonize those leaving hurling slogans implying they're traitors. Once again Colombian police was reportedly very kind to them. Happy shopping!
It seems like the looting wave is over, no noteworthy cases of looting has been reported the same way it was done months ago.
Aníbal Chávez, mayor of Alberto Arvelo Torrealba (Barinas) and brother of that other Chávez, has passed away from stomache issues.
Mayor of Girardot (Cojedes) José Ríos Zuñiga also passed away after having a heart attack.
There was another mining-related massacre in Bolívar, leaving 8 dead.
Remember the Narconephews? Cilia Flores' nephews who were being accused in the US over drug trafficking? Two of the case's witnesses against them were murdered in Honduras.
Maduro: "I'll
put order and authority, with the law, to levels never seen before in
this country. It's the message I send. You see what happened in Turkey?
Endorgan will end up looking like a Toddler compared to what the
bolivarian revolution will be if the right-wing crosses the line of
coupstering again, and I'm not saying it just to say it, I'm prepared to
do it, and I don't give a bleep what the OAS says, or what North
American imperialism says, I don't give a bleep what imperialism says, I dare
you.
Maduro: "We have to open this debate in the world and in our society. The generation of a culture that generates virtual realities, all linked to arms, violence, death, or virtual realities like that new game over there, Pokémon Gu, know it? They're virtual realities, and thousands of youngsters, thousands of people end up living in the virtual reality, when the virtual reality is killing, killing, from an early age, six years, eight years, ten years, what can you expect from a human being that is only involved in the culture of death that capitalism has created. Violence."
Maduro's economic emergency decree expired (again), and constitutionally it can't be renewed any longer. The Assembly rejected any possibility of renewing it anyways for good measure. The Tribunal then ruled that the renewal of the decree is constitutional because of course they did.
I wrote the above sometime in July, as it happens Maduro has since stated that the decree is still on.
Not content with that the Tribunal also ruled that the Central Bank can get new debts without the approval of the Assembly.
And speaking of the economy, Maduro took expropriating to a new level by released a decree that allows the government to seize private companies' employees and put them into mandatory (paid) agricultural work for two months. Nobody has been enslaved yet, though, AFAIK.
Finally, the recall referendum has been killed; the Electoral Council's delayed response to the next signature gathering proceedure is that it'll be done in October for no apparent reason, and that it will take three months afterwards for the referendum, getting past the period the PSUV claims a successful referendum will make the vice-president take hold (4 years after Chávez was supposed to be sworn in).
As for parliamentary news... well, I haven't actually paid much
attention to what's been going on there. I have homework pending on that
front. I had this written out, tho:
Bilingual Education, on education in communities in which an aboriginal language is also spoken. Ooh, languages.
Assembly declared null the December elections of magistrates, meaning
that the current magistrates would be last year's, with pending
elections. At least until the Tribunal dictates otherwise.
Assembly went and swore in the
Amazonas deputies, citing the lack of giving a shit from the Tribunal
and the Electoral Council. Once again the Tribunal held the Assembly in
contempt, and also ruled correct that bunch of petitions outlawing their
sessions over whatever, claiming that sessions as far back as April are
null.
Remember how Daniel Ceballos
was put in house arrest? Well, a bunch of Sebin agents hidden in an
ambulance went to pick him up, supposedly for a checkup, kidnapping him
and sending him back to Ramo Verde.
There's this guy, Yon
Goicochea. He was a notable figure during 2007's student protests, but
then left the country to rake on that notoriety on an international
level on things regarding civil resistance, but otherwise fell into
obscurity. Since then he's been accused of being an opportunist or a
'showoff' making use of the movement at large. Anyhows, this changed
about a month ago when he came back, becoming Yon Goicochea
and taking an active role against the government, and that changed even
more a couple days ago after he was arrested and jailed, accused of
carrying C4 detonators around.
And a potential important news (and the reason I didn't delay this post any further). About a month ago the MUD
announced a protest, called 'Caracas takeover', for tomorrow September
1st. They got flak for planning something on a distant schedule, but
since then it's been greatly hyped up. From this side it's something of a
"historical date" marking a breakthrough in the struggle against the
regime. On the regime's part it's of course another subversive coup from
The Empire, and have amped up on the crazy to stop it:
- The Daniel Ceballos thing.
- The Yon Goicochea thing.
- Miscellaneous political arrests, including an arrest wave in Caracas by the Operation Liberation of the People, arresting 90.
- A countermarch, forcing the MUD to change their planning so as to avoid violence.
- Threatening to shut down businesses that don't open that day.
- Forced broadcast about that day 14 years ago, you know, that day when stuff happened.
- Preventing many groups from entering Caracas, most notably a group of aboriginals.
- An arson attempt of one of Democratic Action's seats.
- More arson and literal shit flinging at one of El Nacional's offices.
- Deported some Ecuadorian opposition deputies, including their potential presidential candidate.
- Forbidding
- Scheduling
- Forbidding drones from being flown, preventing images
- The usual thing about how we're forbidden from entering Caracas.
Who knows what will happen tomorrow?some international news outlets from reporting the event, most notably
some Al Jazeera journalists were deported over it.
works at one of Caracas' tunnels for September 1st, preventing traffic
from one of its important entries, as well as a city-wide asphalting
project.
being taken from above building height (independent news outlets
helicopters haven't been allowed to fly since forever).
Anyhows, the day after, Maburro went to Margarita for some stuff, but was met by a large angry mob banging pots at him. Unfortunately, over thirty people were arrested over this. Anyhows, and perhaps not coincidentally, the reds decided they're going to like them and set a chabes statue there, and now they often have to keep Nazional Gorillarian Guards to
stopdelay its eventual vandalization.You know the above stuff about us being de facto kicked out of Mercosur? Timoteo Zambrano, MUD deputy coordinator of foreign affairs, condemned the other government's actions, however the rest of the MUD went on to contradict him, distance his statement from the MUD's point of view and cheer on said governments for what's now clear they consider their biggest success on the international front. Timoteo doesn't look well in all this and there's a strong suspicion he's a sold out. His position is now in question.
In another instance of prison-system-as-snuff-film there was this mutiny at one of Tachira's police jail in which one of the inmates was stabbed, quartered and then other inmates were forced to eat his remains.
Archbishop Baltazar Porras, notorious opposition figure within the clergy, has been chosen as cardinal by the vatican. He's usually one of the targets when commies go for the religion-capitalism-BFF thing, so they aren't pleased. The new Superior General of the Jesuits Arturo Sosa is an oppositor too (although not notorious). Good news for the opposition, but the noteworthy thing happened later at the Assembly during a session about their nominations, when Hugbel Roa reacted to a heckling deputy by throwing his mic at said deputy.
The National Electoral Council released the yet-again delayed conditions under which the 20% signature collecting must be held. More to the point, the signatures have to be digitally checked, and they stated they'll only provide about 8000 machines for it, much less than for other events (including the PSUV's signatures), making it so that it's barely possible to gather the required signatures (IIRC at 2 minutes per person throughout all the allowed hours everywhere you're only getting a couple thousand more signatures than necessary). At first the MUD was in fuck-it-all mode about it and suggested to forget about the referendum, but then changed their minds and apparently were going to try, and so they prepared, but...
Manuel Rosales has been freed from jail, but put under house arrest.
It's October, that means the national budget for next year was to be presented to the Assembly for approval. Naturally, this time it means the reds would be forced to work under restraint and accountability. They can't have that, of course, so they instead had the Tribunal declare the Assembly in contempt, have it not "count" and rule that they can present the budget to the Tribunal instead. Now, this constitutional violation is different than the others in that the MUD can sort-of enforce constitution by according to threaten would-be international lenders that the government's borrowings are done outside the law and, should the government fall, they can forget about ever getting paid. Which they did. At any rate 2017 will yet again be a year of economic irresponsibility.
Maduro threatened that he wouldn't transfer funds to municipalities/governorships that don't sign a statement in favour of the above budget, which, of course, most of the opposition ones refused to. The exceptions, however, were all of Zulia's mayors, headed by Eveling Trejo de Rosales, which may or may not have to do with the Manuel Rosales thing. The Democratic Action and Justice First mayors were promptly kicked out, then in what looks like a 180 Eveling claimed they never signed/supported the budget. Goddamnit blues.
Ricardo Molina: "Scrawny who signs (the referendum), forget about CLAP [Local Comittee for Supplying and Production], boy we don't want you on the queue, forget about House Mission [the housing program], forget about Tricolor Mission [a glorified neighborhood painting program]."
Pancho Márquez, the Popular Will activist who was arrested four months ago, was released reportedly under the condition that he leave the country inmediately, adding forced exile to the list of perpetrated government bullshit.
And the referendum was eventually killed. The Nazional Electoral Council simply flat out said the MUD did not accomplish the requirements to request the 20% signature gathering and wouldn't proceed with it.
Since they wanted to kill it real good, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice ruled/reiterated that the 20% gathering had to be done per-state (which Hermann Escarrá justified because 'Venezuela is a federal state', a creative excuse if nothing else) and immediately six red governors had the regional penal tribunals declare that the MUD committed fraud during the 1% gathering and that the 20% gathering wouldn't be done there. It's a good time to remember that not even the 1% thing is a constitutional requirement.
And so dies the last remaining 'nice' way of getting out of this mess.
For no specified reason, the Electoral Council also cancelled regional elections, instead saying they'll be sometime at the end of the first semester of 2017, or presumably when the PSUV stops being so reviled.
The Federation of Associations of University Professors of Venezuela as well as the national layer's guild declared themselves in 'rebellion' over all this.
International news starts to report on the existence of mass protests.
The SEBIN spent the strike's day prowling Polar and its president Lorenzo Mendoza's home, looking for him. There were loads of authorities checking on closed businesses and apparently listing them, following the expropriation threats they made against them.
The SEBIN also interrupted Rosmit Mantilla (one of the jailed substitute deputies) right before surgery at the urologist and forced him back into the Helicoide without receiving the medical attention he needed.
The declaration of breakdown of constitutional order seemed to have a significant effect, various groups (especially human rights ones) started doing announcements/events relating to the restitution of democracy and non-violent civil resistance, and overall lots of activity regarding it.
On the other hand, the dialogue above? Yeah, conditions didn't change at all for it to be held, but the MUD still joyfully joined in (sans Popular Will). To this end they cancelled the 'political trial' and the march to Miraflores, and toned down the rhetoric, and the regime got the handshake photos it wanted and the excuse to say they're all civilized and all. The reds also did tone down their rhetoric, but only for about 24 hours, then went back to their usual inflammatory stuff, most notably labeling Popular Will a terrorist group and threatening to jail Freddy Guevara, clearly an attempt to sow division.
So the MUD did another 180 on their stance. Maybe cancelling the march to Flowerwatcher was for the better, the socialists had already threatened to bring their people (and their 'iron horses', i.e. collectives on bikes), it'd most certainly have resulted in blood probably without much to gain from it, and the strike . But still, I really don't understand the MUD, why they thought it was appropriate to yet again unconditionally go to a seemingly hopeless dialogue or why they took a firm stance in the first place if they weren't going to follow through at all, it's really undermining their credibility and it shows. Maybe they know something we don't, but trust is scarce these days.
At the very least, four political prisoners were released (because of it, presumably). Not that the idea of the regime kidnapping people to demand ransom isn't unsettling.
Overall, it's not easy to keep one's hopes up.
I get the feeling my anti-socialist fantasies are going to get more violent from now on.
Remember how the parallel dollar rate stagnated around 1000 Bs.F./$ for a good while, well, that rate only ever halts to gain thrust, and so over the last month or so it skyrocketed and is now at 1906 Bs.F./$.
Perhaps related, apparently a couple months ago the government has allowed selling imported products at the black market rate, in a "it's illegal but we won't do anything about it" sort of way. The products are here, mostly coming from Brazil, in Portuguese, without required tags and such, and at exorbitant prices, but at least sort-of mending scarcity. I haven't really noticed such products, though I've noticed some stuff is somewhat more available than earlier, such as milk, sugar and other bourgeois luxuries.
Carolina Cestari (Vice-Minister of Supreme Social Happiness of the People) to employees of the System of Child and Youth Orchestras of Venezuela: "Whoever thinks that they're working for the state but is all 'Maduro, go away already", it's a contradiction, right? Then you have to sort out your contradiction outside the state. Don't go on believing you'll go to the recall referendum, or that the opposition will solve your problems, it's demonstrated that it's not that way, and that you're being deceived. Now, you don't agree with the revolutionary process? Be coherent with your political position and go find a job elsewhere."
The ecosocialists caused yet another spill, leaking 25k oil barrels in the Aribi River in Anzoátegui, affecting nearby communities.
As for the dialogue... well, the expectations were already low, but the MUD managed to subvert them and the outcome so far is even worse than forecast. The resulting deal is divided in five points:
* On the economy, according to work together against economic 'sabotage, boycott and agression'.
* On the political situation, overcoming the situation of contempt of the National Assembly, calling for parliamentary re-elections in Amazonas, and electing the two upcoming electoral rectors.
* Agreeing to defending our reclamation of Guyana's clay.
* Agreeing to a joint declaration of "Living Together in Peace".
* Agreeing to let be part of the dialogue other figures such as governors and representatives of parts of civil society for future meetings, the next of which will be on December 6th.
* This is not part of the official treaty. According to Carlos Ocaríz, they agreed to the release of 'detained persons'.
So basically, the MUD admitted they're waging an economic war, that they're disregarding the Tribunal's righteous authority, the backing off of earlier activities, and that they'll keep this charade until at least three more weeks, in return we (they?) get the promise of a slight National Electoral Council renewal (it's thought that they'll agree to one rector biased for each side, which will keep it biased in the PSUV's favor), which wasn't in question, and the promise of redoing elections in Amazonas, which is very hard to call a good thing and was something they had already negotiated for earlier this year. I'm not sure how to account for the last point, but the fact that it's not part of the accord and instead is a messily announced, one sided statement that labels political prisoners as 'detained persons' does not bode well. Also, if the Guyana thing seems out of the blue, it's because it totally is.
The opposphere is seething at this, and you can see lots of formerly MUD-okay people at least considering that the MUD's interests (or at least its leadership) might not be properly aligned with the rest of the opposition, or otherwise saying they've been bought/blackmailed off.
This is one of those times I wish I had a history textbook from the future.
And so dies another dialogue. It died just like the one earlier this year, the one in 2014, the one in 2004, the one in 1969-1970 (although these two made sense at the time), and the one-sided pardons in 1992.
Elections in the US are important around the world, and we're no exception. If this thread were a TV show the rest of this post would be the episode where the characters go visit another country.
As expected, the reaction from the opposition at large was quite negative. Low-mid MUD figures reacted more positively to it, but the more notorious ones (Ramos Allup, Capriles, etc.) as well as the government, stuck to those diplomatic 'congratulations to the people' where you read between lines they aren't that glad with the result. That said, the official MUD statement does congratulate Trump for his victory. At any rate, all of them congratulate the US people for still having this democracy thing.
Now that those elections are over, it's a good time to post something that has been nagging me for a good while already, it's about how once again I'm disappointed in the international left. Namely two things:
They've shown themselves capable of identifying anti-democratic tendencies in politicians. It is not news that they're willing to stand up against power in favour of freedom, except when it's their side doing it, at which point they solidarize with despotism, exalt its excesses and call those who do stand up against it fascists. What's clear to me now however is that the reason is not some sort of misguidedness but an actual desire to see one of their ideologies exist through oppression regardless of how much suffering it might cause.
Just as they're willing to demonize the low-mid class and above to exert their superiority based on how it is the vulnerable who are with them and the mighty who are against them, just the same when the situation reverses they're all too willing to demonize poor people and how being lesser educated means their stances counts for less. For some reason I always thought of this one as a position the international left was consistent in.
On the other hand, watching reactions to those elections do serve as a good reminder that, regardless of how much I nurture my resentment, I must always remember to be tolerant towards random Chavists and fellow citizens in general, to at least understand why they believe what they do, that they aren't going anywhere and thus we have to find ways to sort things out in harmony, and especially not to glee when their own decisions end up personally harming them.
On the other hand, my opinion may not ever matter anymore, so...
It's just that, well, I think I'm finally starting to lose all hope. It has become harder and harder to keep one's spirits up, you know? So...
For the fifth time Nico extends himself emergency powers. Reminder that this can only be done once and only with the Assembly's permit.
The Assembly de-unseated the Amazonas' deputies. They also did another of those 'we denounce the conditions the country is currently in' accords.
Eveling Trejo, her mother and a couple opposition deputies (including Nora Bracho, mine) were stopped from assisting to a celebration and then beat up in the ensuing quarrel.
Rosmit Mantilla has been freed, apparently as part of the dialogue, so at least that's something, but I can't stop thinking about the kidnapping-for-ransom nature of it.
The biggest news of the week is that the narconephews were found guilty of conspiring to smuggle drugs into the US. A couple things of note:
- The defense claimed they were too stupid to be into drug trafficking.
- In private they admitted they did that because (besides wanting capitalist money) they were 'at war with the US, Colombia and the opposition'.
- The prosecutors released an audio where the nephews mentioned the 'Cartel of the Suns', the group within the Armed Forces said to be involved in narcotrafficking (Suns being one of the condecorations the military puts on their uniforms), and how Diosdado Cabello is an important member of it.
- They used diplomatic passports for their activities.
- They had the presidential airport apron at their disposal to load drugs into aircraft.
Those last 3 points lend credence to the notion that the PSUV has been turning our country into a narcostate.See 'Chaotic Neutral' above. Once upon a time he was a prominent communist during the late XX's century, a shady politician with connections to corrupt figures. His most notable work being taking a recently pardoned Hugo Chávez, who at the time was only known as the coup guy, and convincing him to stop calling for the overthrowing of President Caldera and instead do what normal politicians do, he helped Chávez form the 5th Republic Movement (his first party) and gather the coalition of anti-AD-Copei leftist parties that would make up the revolution, get him his first electoral victory and follow him for years afterwards.
Although just like Chávez he wasn't a very comprising figure (for example, the 'civil society? What do you eat that with' quote is a reply to concerns that civil society hadn't been involved in the drafting of the constitution) and he most certainly profited from this, he was also among the first to realize that having Chávez do whatever he wished probably wasn't that good an idea to allow Chávez to do whatever, but it was already too late, and with Chávez' early abuses and especially the lead up to April 11th he cut off ties with the revolution definitely along a few others, becoming a firm but irrelevant oppositor, and is nowadays a Frankensteinesque metaphor about creating things you can't control.
Huh, you know, many revolutionaries see him as a traitor and I never thought twice about it, but having typed that up, come to think of it it sounds more like Chávez betrayed him.
At any rate, rest in peace.
On other news, the response to the narconephews affair from the reds at first was to completely ignore it, but eventually they came to agreement to claim that the trial was a farce and that they were kidnapped (although they still haven't been so cynical as to call them political prisoners) while absolutely avoiding to mention their family ties, referring to them as 'the Venezuelans' or 'the young ones' and hoping nobody wonders what's special about them.
Of course, the Assembly discussed the narconephews, and according to some sources the PSUV unofficially withdrew from the dialogue over this.
Also, it was University Student's day a while ago. I miss studying.
Speaking of which, for the occasion I read a bit of the Machurucuto Incident (tl;dr: failed Castrist invasion to do what he did in Bolivia, Algeria, Congo, etc.), and only now I'm learning that current deputy Fernando Soto Rojas was one those involved, making him one of the very few people in history to have attacked us under the banner of a foreign power.
Yet another massacre, this time at Barlovento, Miranda, where 12 farmhands were arrested by the Armed Farces over squatting and were found dead days later. At least this time it seems there'll be an investigation, 11 militarymen are detained over it.
There was this bus that got assaulted. The robbers were carrying a portable debit card machine and forced the passengers to pay some specific amount, beating those whose cards didn't check through and strip searching those who claimed weren't carrying cards.
Some dude stole five pumpkins (or whatever 'ahuyama' should be translated as) and got caught by the National Guard. The news came later when they released this picture, which serves as an excellent metaphor for what the country is currently like, all that is missing is a fat general smuggling stuff and Chávez' all-seeing eyes. Anyhow, many have pointed out how one of the first things the Supreme Corpse said as president was that stealing to feed yourself was justified (in reference to the Caracazo). Maybe, but clearly they aren't ones to talk.
Remember how a while ago the dollar doubled in a matter of weeks? Well, it did so again, it's currently at 4102 Bs.F./$. Also, it's now less valuable than World of Warcraft gold. I wonder if a 'kek' is appropriate there.
I wrote the above yesterday. It's now at 4609 Bs.F./$. Could that mean we're entering real-deal hyperinflation? That said, a lot of people are casting doubt on that figure,so... *shrug*
Also, back in 2008 The Man changed the currency (hence the 'fuerte' (stronk)
in 'bolívar fuerte'), removing three zeros from it. Reliable figure or not, we're past those levels now.
The neoliberal imperialist Nicolás Maduro signed an agreement with the transnational Marriot to allow them the operation and commerce of two Ventur (large, state) hotels. Those hotels were stolen and run down by socialists, and now that the damage is done they've come full circle and gave them away to some (different) company.
Piedad Córdoba (Colombian leftist oppositor), on a speech here:"But when one defends the revolution, when one is convinced that our reason to live in politics is to serve, if we have to do lines we'll do them, and we'll do them with pleasure! Because it's about not letting the process of the bolivarian project get shot down."