Rare Victory for Opposition in Venezuela

While the opposition in Venezuela must be thrilled to have finally defeated Chavez in an election, the real effects of this victory are not immediately clear. With five years left on his current term, Chavez has more than enough time to do a lot of damage, and his por ahora comments following his concession speech seem ominous, indicating that the campaign to become dictator for life is far from over.

What I find funny (or sad perhaps) is how the pro-Chavez camp is trying to spin the referendum loss as some sort of proof that Chavismo is democratic after all. "Hey look! We lost an election so that means there is no way we could have ever rigged one in the past!". That logic is completely flawed, and it's ridiculous to ask everyone to pat you on the back for something that should be taken for granted: free, fair and unrigged elections. What is worrisome is that the passive observer of Venezuelan politics will do exactly that and take these results as de facto proof that Chavez is doing everything by the book and that he has amassed power through completely legitimate means. To be fair, I have no proof that he has rigged past elections, but there are plenty who believe that he has, most notably his dubious 60% of the electoral vote in the 2006 presidential elections.

For now, though, the opposition will savor its victory without really knowing what will come of it. It solves none of Venezuela's current problems such as food shortages, skyrocketing violent crime, steep inflation, crumbling infrastructure, etc. The opposition must rally itself and push even harder to foment change. Chavez may have five years left, but perhaps the people can start looking ahead just like they have in the U.S., where the presidential campaigns started ridiculously early in desperate anticipation of a change at the top.

Food Shortages in Venezuela

By the writing on the wall, you can see that the people of Venezuela are tired of not having enough food, and they blame it on Chavez to boot. So, that means this is a recent picture, right? Wrong...

I actually took this photo in June 2000, when I took a trip to Barinas, the land of Chavez himself. I went there to get out of Caracas for awhile and enjoy nature with a little whitewater rafting in the Andean foothills. I was curious to see how people reacted to Chavez, but assumed they would treat him like a Favorite Son, Pride of the Andes or something like that.

What I found was pretty consensus resentment towards him and his family, evident by the words painted on this wall. They resented his nepotism, how the Chavez family had gone from modest means to become some of the wealthiest landowners in Barinas since he had taken office in 1998.

Today, there are again food crises: it's hard to find milk, sugar and meat due to Chavez's stubborn price controls on staple goods. Seems like no one wants to produce food and be forced to sell it below cost...Viva la Revolucion, eh? So, the more things change....you get the picture.

In Spanish the words on the wall read "Por culpa de los Chavez Frias las ollas estan vacias" or "Because of the Chavez Frias family, the pots are empty" or something to that extent.