My Weekly Commentary
Regarding the appointment of Cardinal Baltasar Porras. To His Excellency Cardinal Baltasar Porras: I must tell you that the first time I heard of you was back in the early ’90s. You were entering the venerable and aristocratic headquarters of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference at the Montalbán estate in La Vega. There still lingered the ghost of slavery and the mantuano atmosphere was palpable. At that moment, Your Excellency, I was more than bewildered; I was disappointed because just minutes ago I had been attended by Monsignor Mario Moronta, who was surrounded by servants as if he were one of those inquisitors who sought refuge in these lands during the 18th century. It saddened me deeply to see Monsignor Moronta repeating such behavior. I expected to encounter a humble priest who could speak with a dense language capable of expressing a wealth of values. But alas, that was not the case. However, I’ll get to the point: the reason for these lines is to express my displeasure with your new position, especially for what it represents. I do not expect you to be the good shepherd that the church needs; nor do I intend to compare you to your namesake Baltasar Gracián y Morales, that exemplary Spanish Jesuit and insigne writer of the Golden Age. It would be asking too much from someone who resembles more the priest who blesses tanks of war, donning his scarlet biretta to sanctify the baptismal and marital ceremonies of the powerful. Your Excellency, like all your predecessors, you have concealed the essence of the capital sins to live like a sybarite. Nevertheless, there are similarities between you and Gracián because, like the Jesuit, you live in a crooked and deceptive world where stereotypes prevail over integrity and legitimacy. When I think of the Roman prelates, I become increasingly convinced that they are frail, calculating, and sly beings. A significant portion of their existence revolves around showing submission to the powerful while scolding the poorest. I recall what was said when Mario José Bergoglio became pope (then it faded away) about his good relations with the Argentine dictator Rafael Videla. The image of John Paul II rebuking Ernesto Cardenal, that Trappist priest identified with Sandinismo, is also not far from memory. Your Excellency, you ceased to be sensible in my view when you supported the coup d’état of April 2011, when you set aside the wisdom that every priest should possess to curry favor with barbarism. Fraud of the spirit? I would say you failed to live up to your popular commitment. Jean Paul Sartre said that no one should commit the same folly twice; if we give the French existentialist his due, don’t you think there are enough follies to choose from? I believe you (and I hope I’m wrong) are just another cog in the conspiracy to displace the current government for a dictatorship, which we will all regret, including you, even if you represent the consciousness of a decaying Venezuela. Today, the Roman curia has become a retrograde lodge, and thus, it would be difficult for you to embody something different. In one of his many eminent reflections, Brazilian Archbishop Helder Câmara expressed: When someone tries to align with the desires of the people, you accuse them of being political. But let me share another of Câmara’s sayings: If I feed the poor, I’m told I’m a saint. But if I ask why the poor go hungry and live poorly, I’m called a communist. The answer is that you are a saint, and I am probably a communist.
EDITIONS. We have reached 600 editions. The saying that we wouldn’t exceed 10 issues is now buried. It’s unclear whether the phrase “The dead you killed are in good health” comes from José Zorrilla’s work Don Juan Tenorio. However, today those words apply to all those who didn’t believe in us. The problem is they continue to be mistaken. That’s on them. 600 editions represent over 12 years. Attempts to morally assassinate us have been futile; there is an abundance of mediocre detractors and envious individuals, sheltered in the misinformation from organs that give space to functional beasts to tarnish our reputation. My fraternal greetings go out to those who have worked with me throughout this journey. We have managed to overcome all imaginable obstacles. But if we owe anyone, it’s our readers—my reason for solidarity.
SPIRAL. Inflation seems to be unstoppable. Purchases of international products are made at the rate set by the black market Cúcuta dollar. Today, that exchange rate is over 1,300 bolívares. Meanwhile, the price of cement has skyrocketed by 500%, a situation that seems to have no effect on builders in the eastern Caracas neighborhoods. Investigate the permits in the municipalities of Baruta, Chacao, and El Hatillo.
NOMINATIONS. MG Carlos Osorio is awaiting appointment as the new Minister of Defense, replacing GJ Vladimir Padrino López.
CRIMINAL ISSUES. The TSJ will convene the Full Chamber to discuss relevant issues, including the possible dismissal of the president of the Caracas Criminal Circuit (Judge Solchy Delgado).
BASEBALL. The baseball stadiums look deserted. Rising prices are killing the main source of entertainment for Venezuelans. Team owners receive preferential dollars, have all the perks, and the fan’s compensation is conspicuously absent.
AMBIGUOUS. Change is a timeless characteristic of humanity, so I understand that Jesuits (notably Arturo Sosa, the new Black Pope) may have a different view of the political process in Venezuela. However, I fail to understand their alliance with the most retrograde sectors of national politics. Sosa was persecuted after the days of El Caracazo; his house was raided back then.
ZOOCTENIA. Salvador Termini, alias Tony, appears in a photo with then-President Leonel Fernández laying the first stone of the Vista Cana Resorts & Country Club project (estimated cost of $1.4 billion). Termini is a businessman from Monagas who has managed to establish deep economic ties with ex-governors Luis Eduardo Martínez, known as “El Burro,” and José Gregorio Briceño, alias “El Gato.” Is it true that Termini is funding “El Burro’s” aspirations? I wonder if it’s true that the latter traveled to Costa Rica to meet “El Gato” to secure funding for Henry Ramos Allup’s presidential campaign.
FARMOWNER. Is it true or false that the tourist farm Agro Turismo La Trinidad, located in San José de Buja (Monagas), with over 800 buffalo and 500 cattle, belongs to a very close relative of the governor of that state? Are we talking about a former opposition candidate who ran against Lizeta Hernández for the governorship of Delta Macuro? If so, it’s Pedro Santaella, brother of Yelitze Santaella (governor of Monagas), whose partner is Dibbys del Valle Golindano, the current president of the Monagas State Credit Fund. Is there a connection to the credits received by Agro Turismo La Trinidad C.A.?
FEUDAL HOLDERS. In Caracas, the historical landowners were called “The Lords of the Valley.” In Delta Amacuro, when referring to the Santaellas, we can call them “The Lords of the Delta.” Now, as soon as Yelitza Santaella moved as governor to Monagas, they established a new front.
BREADWINNER. Believe it or not, a sack of wheat flour costs 33,000 bolívares in Trinidad. The mayor of Caripito (Municipio Bolívar, Monagas) sells it for 65,000 bolívares (a difference of 32,000 bolívares); furthermore, this bureaucrat uses the GNB facilities as a deposit to store other products that, like the flour, are sold at exorbitant prices.