My Comment of the Week
A Cold War, Venezuelan Style. The wolf is coming. This is a real threat as it now has greater resources. When we analyze the unfiltered dissent from orthodox leftist factions alongside the discordant note that has turned out to be the French Connection, we may find it hard to locate a similar history. There seems to be no one with sufficient insight to dissect a chain of episodes worthy of Machiavelli’s writings. Many points and events have led me to explore these facts, particularly delving into their mysteries.
I begin to wonder if Giordani drafted his letter before leaving the government. I have information that days before, he was in Cojedes and met with Erika Farías. It’s intriguing to know who, besides Héctor Navarro, was consulted by El Monje. Immediately, the “historicals” come to mind: José Vicente Rangel and Alí Rodríguez Araque, among others. Someone must have read him a dictionary of sins. The list of his grievances is extensive. I was particularly struck by this line from his missive: the interference of a French advisory that had nothing to do with the situation in the country. This assertion sounded familiar because it was in our edition 463 (11/15/13) that the presence of the French Connection in Miraflores was mentioned for the first time in Venezuela. At that time, I reported: There’s currently a “knife fight” between Cuban advisors and the group known as the French Connection (led by Regis Debray). Ignacio Ramonet appears with them. The islanders accuse Debray of being an intelligence agent and hold him responsible for handing over Che in Bolivia. Recently, I learned that just like Temir Porras, Debray is no longer with that clan; however, Maximiliam Arveláez remains (the same one who is now managing an approach to Washington ordered by Miraflores). When referring to the French Connection, Giordani seems to align with the Cubans opposing the group advising Maduro on economic and diplomatic matters. It’s clear that there’s a rift between Caracas and Havana. Now, I find it puzzling what relation this has to Chávez’s death; especially knowing that he distanced himself from Ramonet and was careful about placing Porras and Arbeláez in important roles. So: Why does El Monje hint that Chávez’s isolation was orchestrated? If that’s the case, then only the Cubans would be responsible because they were in charge of his custody while he was confined to the island. Let’s not overlook that Maduro’s appointment was entirely Chávez’s decision. If he acted this way, it’s likely he intended to diminish the Castro influence in Caracas’s government, anticipating his departure. If we start from this assumption: Who benefits from Maduro’s weakening? With how events have unfolded, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to claim that within his own party, a strategy similar to what was used against Chávez at Plaza Altamira is being readied for Maduro; remember that before military dissenters spoke up in 2002, discontent expressed itself individually. Nowadays, in a similar vein, supporters of El Monje have emerged, and barring any unforeseen events, Navarro will be joined by Ana Elisa Osorio, Yadira Córdova, Maripili Hernández, Castro Soteldo, Arias Cárdenas, the Montilla family in Falcón, among others, as well as the usual anti-Maduro figures: Ernesto Villegas, Roberto Malaver, Vanessa Davies, and Miguel Ángel Pérez Pirela. The latter group is driven by the thesis that Maduro was leaning towards totalitarianism. Privately, they all opposed him. The list goes on. Villegas’s situation is somewhat more complicated because he understands the intricacies behind the need to maintain the false expectation that Chávez was improving. Meanwhile, the orthodox dissent will find support among the Tupamaros, PPT, and PCV. They also control the news grid of VTV (Pérez Pirela, the Robertos, and Zurda Conducta), the printed media Correo del Orinoco and Vea, as well as the Trotskyists of Aporrea. Groups and individuals are preparing for ideological confrontations. In politics, anything is possible. Without being frivolous, I can assure you that in this arena, loyalties are shattered by power-affectionated sentiments; it’s the legacy of Cain. History, with all its variations, frequently repeats itself. Gabo never could discover the origin of the terrible tale of the most beautiful woman in the world who decapitated her three sons because her husband had beheaded her lover.
JOURNALIST. Today is our day. Tough times when the best profession in the world seems to be in competition with the oldest one. Media outlets abandon their roles to become affiliates of political parties, distorting themselves as worshipers of the god Fauno Luperco. In major official and private newspapers, the ghost of Richelieu (the cardinal who arranged lovers for Louis XIII of France) lingers. Yet, despite everything, there will always be journalists who, as García Márquez put it, cannot throw in the towel. RECOMMENDED. In this issue, an unprecedented intervention by Alí Rodríguez before PSUV leaders, titled Buckle up; a storm is coming. READABLE. Former President Ramón Velásquez was a kind-hearted man who was more of a journalist than a politician. Despite the stings inflicted by the everlasting scorpions of Miraflores, he never lost his calm. I count myself among those who admired him, and I take pride in knowing that Las Verdades de Miguel was his obligatory Friday reading. We can only ask with the phrase destined for his illustrious children on the hill of El Morrachón: May God hold him in glory. PELUSA. Will Chita Sanvicente end up with his hopes dashed? Taking advantage of the inauguration of Coche Airport, Maduro went to the FVF headquarters where he gathered Potro Álvarez and Rafael Esquivel. He ordered the signing of Maradona as the national team coach. To train the selection, El Pelusa will relocate to Venezuela. His fees will be paid by Pdvsa. The official announcement will be made after the conclusion of the 2014 World Cup. ALERT I. Some pollsters lack the minimum decency to share their fabrications. Last Sunday, I heard one of them speaking of Maduro’s political strength because he enjoys 40% acceptance. We, as always, exposing the fraudsters, have a poll that presents the following results: if elections were held tomorrow, we would have: Maduro 35% and Opposition 33%. 32% did not respond. With proper projections, strategies are being prepared. ALERT II. In the PSUV, alarms still haven’t been triggered. If the II Republic had its terrible year in 1814, the fifth seems to face it in 2015. If parliamentary elections take place on December 7, 2014, the opposition would obtain 99 seats, and the Polo Patriótico 66 out of a total of 165.
CONCERNING. A survey asking what color card the interviewees would give to Maduro’s 30 ministers yielded the following results: while Rodríguez Torres, José Cabello, Izarra, Hebert García, Ramírez, Delsy Rodríguez, and Iris Varela went unpunished, eleven officials received a red card: Carlos Osorio, Elías Jaua, Iván Gil, Ricardo Menéndez, Héctor Rodríguez, Armada, Haiman El Troudi, Miguel Rodríguez, Manuel Fernández, Reinaldo Iturriza, and Jesse Chacón; while eight others received a yellow card: Rodolfo Torres, Dante Rivas, Ricardo Molina, Fidel Barbarito, Antonio Álvarez, Aloha Núñez, Andreína Tarazón, and Víctor Clark. SPITE. The recently published report by Bank of America Merril Lynch regarding the Venezuelan economic situation (which it labels as severe) stems from the frustrated efforts of one of its officials with Rafael Ramírez. This is economist Francisco Rodríguez, who sought a meeting between the Vice President for the economic sector and Alejandro Grisanti of Barclays. Today, Francisco Rodríguez feels disappointed for not achieving the goals he set when bringing Barclays (a global financial services group) to Venezuela. MORALEJA. Now, when I hear Maduro’s address on Army Day, I recall Chávez’s influence in the FANB, with an anecdote that could serve as advice for Maduro. One day, Chávez, in front of other military personnel, reprimanded the then Minister of Defense harshly. At the end of the meeting, alone, the minister approached him and said, “President, don’t forget that I’m a general.” To which Chávez replied, “Don’t forget that I’m the President.” Moraleja: where a captain commands, a sailor does not.