Cruel hoax to substitute the new-and-revolutionary-fluent-rich for the old-rich
<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Sunday, May 11, 2003 By: Francisco Rivero
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 15:46:20 -0400 From: Francisco Rivero riverofjr@hotmail.com To: Editor@VHeadline.com Subject: Come again?
Dear Editor: I am afraid that Mr. Cequea is trying to change the subject when he writes that it is common sense that economic growth shall improve standard of living ... please don’t forget it was his common sense that led him to conclude that today’s misery and depravation of urban slums and shantytowns ... after more than 25 years of economic decline and official neglect ... were exactly the same as at the end of the 70s. He actually used this argument to disprove the fact of the spectacular economic growth and improving well-being during that period of time ... however he forgot to deal with the appalling conditions of the agricultural life and failed to notice what on earth could have triggered such a massive internal migration in Venezuela ... well-paid jobs and hopes for better lives! Mr. Cequea!
I believe he totally missed the point when he wrote afterwards that anything that triggers misery and depravation should not be called a good thing ... the initial surge of migrational population growth cannot be called a bad thing ... please spare me about my motivations and integrity, people knew better Mr. Cequea, they knew exactly what lives they were leaving behind!
Mr. Cequea is wrong when he states that migration from the countryside to the cities was one of the problems we had from the 50s to the 70s and that the entire country did not get the benefits of the increase on GNP ... please check the gini index for Venezuela at the end of the 70s ... you will find our gini index was similar to those of today’s Spain and Portugal, a couple of fairly equitable societies. He seems to lack a proper perspective in stating that only large cities did get the benefits ... let me tell him a tale of a city in Venezuela I know very well... does he know how big was Punto Fijo, Estado Falcon, on the late 40s? No? Well, it didn’t exist ... the only human settlements of some importance were the small fishing villages of Carirubana and Los Taques ... so you can grow hoarse talking about "only the large cities did."
On the other hand ... it seems to me he is really thinking that it is a very bad thing for a huge and impoverished rural population to seek better opportunities to improve their lot and move... I do not suppose he is trying to vindicate huge rural populations nowadays! Comrade Brother Pol again? He indeed acknowledged the real reason for today’s misery and depravation in our urban slums and shantytowns! We simply stopped growing. Sometime around the late 70s our national economy tanked and went into a long decline.
I do not have any problem when he writes that it is impossible to try to analyze and search for a solution to the social, economic and political problems in Venezuela without considering our history, both early and contemporary ... my problem is with his hair-brained attempt at that!
I very much dispute his interpretation of recent political events: you have to recognize, for example, that the climb of Hugo Chavez as a political force was propelled only by the immense dissatisfaction with the old political "oligarchy."
No way, Jose! Wrong again!
We voted against arrogant, lying, incompetent, inefficient and corrupt governments. What did we get instead? An arrogant, lying, incompetent, inefficient and corrupt but revolutionary regime! We voted against greedy, insensitive and corrupt elites. What did we get instead? A greedy, insensitive and corrupt but revolutionary elite! Gosh! What a change!
The last part of Mr. Cequea's letter betrays that he entirely missed the irony... I said it is absolutely true that in Venezuela we have both world class wealth and world class poverty ... one getting wealthier and wealthier and the other one poorer and poorer... and that nowadays things are really speeding up in a way that I can foresee it will get solved pretty soon ... the very very few numbers of the old-rich will leave the country and the entire Venezuelan population will scrape their lives with less than a dollar a day ... of course with the sweet little exception of the very very few numbers of the new-and-revolutionary-fluent-rich...
Come again? Anyway, regarding the rhetorical questions my answers are no...
Mr. Cequea please don’t let any resentment cloud your judgment! You could very well be richer than me ... I’m living in a small old rented flat! And please don’t go into the trouble of psychoanalyzing me! Of course I meant to be derogatory!
I think it is a cruel hoax to substitute the new-and-revolutionary-fluent-rich for the old-rich.
That’s my friend what we really need to stop! Don't you think so?
Best Regards, Francisco Rivero riverofjr@hotmail.com