A government that does not govern

www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, February 13, 2003 By: Gustavo Coronel

VHeadline.com commentarist Gustavo Coronel writes: "A government governs...when there is overwhelming consensus ..on the legitimacy of the political system...an effective bureaucracy... a high degree of popular participation in public affairs ... civilian control over the military ...procedures for controlling political conflict" Samuel Huntington; "Political Order in Changing Societies"

A GOVERNMENT THAT DOES NOT GOVERN.

The supreme objective of a government is to govern, not to survive, not to merely exist in a legal and theoretical framework. A government that does not govern has no business in power. The words used by Huntington to define a government can be used to demonstrate that the current Venezuelan government is not governing. Although originally legitimate by virtue of clean elections its dismal and undemocratic performance has rendered it illegitimate. Its bureaucracy is surely the most mediocre and inefficient we have had in the last decades.

Popular participation in public affairs is minimal due to the policy of exclusion entertained by the President. The civilian control over the military is inexistent. Political conflict is not controlled but promoted. According to Huntington's definition this regime is the antithesis of a government.

Let us look at the quality of the bureaucracy, one of the components of government. In Brazil, Lula has just asked his Vice President, Jose Alencar, to put together an Advisory Council to the Presidency and wants to see as members "the most brilliant minds of Brazil". He wants this council to find strategies to make Brazil move forward, to convert a somewhat languid giant into a world class country of full fledged citizens.

• This initiative has been inspired in similar groups formed elsewhere.

In the US President Clinton asked Vice President Gore to put such a group together, to face the technological challenge posed to the US by the Asian countries. In Spain a high level group was formed to promote tourism and make of Spain one of the most visited countries in the planet. In Taiwan Advisers suggested the intensive use of optic fiber to build a technological competitive advantage for the country.

These initiatives have to do with good government. They represent creative ways to make optimum use of national resources, so that quality of life can be increased. They correlate strongly with national self-esteem. Lula is convening a group of the best and the brightest to help him share the burden of government.

Miles to the north, the regime of the world's best baseball utility player ( see one of my previous ed. commentaries) is already into its fourth year and has not yet started to govern. The fundamental problems facing the country four years ago remain unsolved: Poverty, corruption, unemployment, rotten services, deteriorating infrastructure, environmental degradation, street children, uncollected garbage, high crime, ignorance and collective inferiority feelings.

Most of them have, in fact, become much worse. These problems have not been tackled in spite of some $110 billion of income and relatively high prices of  petroleum in the world markets. The President chose to follow, almost exclusively, the political objective of installing in Venezuela a "revolution", vaguely defined along the lines of the Cuban experience, forgetting to address the real economic and social problems of millions of Venezuelans whom could not care less about his "revolutionary" dreams. In order to accomplish his political, and almost exclusive objective, the President did not require the cooperation of the best and the brightest. To assure unconditional loyalty to his plans, he only required the most servile. As a result, his cabinet and other immediate advisers are some of the most mediocre and the most resentful people available.  The best and the brightest are usually of independent thinking, outspoken, even irreverent. They are not sheep but free spirits. In contrast, Chavez' advisers do not even dare to dissent. They attend the interminable speeches of the President, dutifully laughing at his tasteless jokes or clapping after he sings, off key, a Mexican "ranchera" or a Venezuelan "joropo" over national TV. (He has had 27 networked transmissions so far this year).

Who are these people?  Let me mention just a few examples:

1. The original ideological mentor of Chavez is Norberto Ceresole, now in disgrace. He is an Argentinean militarist and anti-Semitic far out rightist, who advised Chavez to base his political power in the military.

2. Adina Bastidas, former Vice President, now member of the Currency Control Commission.  She lived 2 years in Washington without learning English or ever visiting a Museum. She promotes the takeover of PDVSA by the military and the "Tupamaros", a terrorist urban group.

3. Jorge Giordano, former Planning Minister, who dedicated all his efforts to a Orinoco- Apure Development Project, in order to move Venezuelans from north to south. After hundreds of millions of dollars spent in feasibility studies and isolated infrastructure this project was shelved, together with its author.

4. Felipe Perez, current Planning Minister, who said that anyone talking about the devaluation of the Bolivar would be committing "a sin against the Holy Spirit." Months after his warning the Bolivar has suffered a 200% devaluation.

5. Ali Rodriguez, former guerrilla fighter and explosive expert during the Cuban supported Venezuelan insurgency of the 1960`s, who now presides over the destruction of PDVSA and has dismissed 10000 employees and will dismiss 5,000 more if we let him.

6. William Farinas, a coupster with Chavez, leader of the social programs in construction and hand outs, later ambassador to Russia, he has wasted more than one billion dollars in the construction of faulty housing and ineffective food and money distribution schemes, lacking minimum accountability. He and other military officers such as Victor Weffer and Garcia Carneiro have led the most inefficient and corrupt sector of the Chavez regime.

7. General Luis Acosta Carles, recently given the highest decoration in Venezuela, The Order of the Liberator, for his work in illegal break-ins of industrial plants, the military takeover of civilian installations such as the Yagua Gasoline Depot and the rough handling of civilians, preferably women. He is also known as the "Burping General" ... now more famous because of this ability than because of his military accomplishments.

These and others are the Advisers Chavez has chosen. I can assure readers that Venezuela has much better candidates than these to help any President to govern and to help moving our country forward.

But, as the saying goes: You can take the horse to the river but you can not force him to drink...