UCO graduate may join opposition
Editor's Note: These stories would not have been possible without the guidance and help of Lizette Galindez Silva.
by Mark Schlachtenhaufen February 02, 2003
For most students, the biggest worries are finding the time to study for a test or deciding what to do over the weekend.
Carlos Espinel, who graduated from UCO in December, is weighing the biggest decision of his life: whether or not he will return to his homeland of Venezuela and join the opposition coalition working to have President Hugo Chavez removed from power.
Espinel's original plan to go home by February or March has been postponed. Espinel said if he hasn't found a job by June -- he earned a master's degree in business administration -- he will return to Venezuela, against the advice of friends.
"At this moment, I don't want to march," Espinel said.
"If I do not have a job by June, I will go back. The situation is very hard for all of us because we don't have a clear future."
If he returns, Espinel said he would participate in special events organized by the opposition by helping provide food for example. He could provide financial support, or assist with the production of newsletters.
Espinel said he is aware of the consequences of his future actions. Since unrest in Venezuela erupted in April 2002, dozens of people have been killed.
"Anytime you participate in an event, you take a risk to receive a gunshot or something like that," Espinel said.
Espinel said the future of Venezuela is worth the risk.
Since Chavez entered office in 1998, Venezuela has been transitioning from a social democracy into a communist state, Espinel said. If Chavez had his choice, Venezuela would have a communist-type regime and would face political and economic isolation, he said.
"We receive a lot of [advice] from Cuba," Espinel said. "If we take out Chavez, what would be our relationship with Cuba in the future?"
Espinel's mother and father live in Caracas. His mother is a homemaker. His father is a retired retailer. The general strike, while adversely affecting the economy, has not disrupted their day-to-day lives too much, Espinel said.
Others tell different stories. One of Espinel's two brothers lives in Caracas and was recently told not to come to work for a month; there is nothing for him to do as a result of the strike. When Caracas residents fill their cars with gasoline, they wait in line up to 10 hours. A two-liter bottle of Coke costs $3 on the black market, where gas may also be found.
Some canned foods, beer and even Big Macs are now hard to find, since McDonald's franchises recently joined the strike.
"Most of them are closed," Espinel said.
Mail delivery has also been slowed greatly. The last week of November, Espinel mailed some Christmas gifts, destined for family members in Venezuela. As of Jan. 23, the gifts had still not been received, Espinel said.
Espinel said his brothers are "very upset" about the situation in Venezuela. He communicates weekly with his family members by telephone and on the Internet. He gets current news about the crisis from Internet newspapers.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is trying to broker a peaceful resolution to the crisis. One solution would be through a Constitutional amendment to shorten President Chavez's term to four years. The other would lead to a recall referendum in August.
Espinel said due to Constitutional provisions, the outcome of the referendum would be that Chavez would step down and the vice president would become the president, a prospect that concerns Espinel.
The vice president is Chavez's right-hand man, Espinel said.
What does the future hold for Venezuela?
"At this moment, we do not know," Espinel said.