Venezuelan opposition full of contradictions ... again!

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Friday, May 30, 2003 By: Oscar Heck

VHeadline.com commentarist Oscar Heck writes: The Venezuelan opposition seems to be full of contradictions (again). In March 2003, opposition members who were participating in the selection process of the new CNE (National Electoral College) board stated that they were happy with the way the process was being manned. The opposition implied that the people involved in the process were acting in good faith.

Now it appears that the opposition is having problems with the process regarding the choosing of the last board member. As I understand it, this last board member is important because, apart from this, the rest of the board is 50/50 pro-opposition/pro-government (although the board is supposed to be neutral, I think).

The government suggests that the issue be brought up to the TSJ (Supreme Justice Tribunal), but it appears that the opposition has a problem with that as well, because they seem to believe that the TSJ has too many pro-government judges. Very strange.

If the TSJ was politically driven in favor of Chavez, the people involved in “the stoppage” (December 2002-January 2003) and in the April 11, 2002 coup would already be in jail for having committed acts of treason and sedition … Carlos Fernandez, Carlos Ortega, Juan Fernandez, Pedro Carmona, and a bunch of other people. (Many of these people are no longer in Venezuela. Some are in Colombia, Costa Rica and the USA).

Now, the selection of the CNE board is also important for the opposition because without this new CNE board, they will not be able to legally begin the process for a referendum against Chavez.

So, why are they stalling?

If the selection process was good for the selection of the other board members, why is it not good now?

Why is the TSJ suddenly not good either?

It doesn’t make sense ... as far as I know, the TSJ is one of Chavez’ pet peeves … Chavez is continuously complaining that the TSJ is not doing its job and implies most of the judges are supporting the opposition and are corrupt.

So, why would the opposition be stalling again (without any apparent logic)?

I believe that the opposition is starting another tactic to discredit the present Venezuelan government … again. The tactic … create all sorts of scenarios to delay the referendum then blame it on Chavez and propagate this as “news” worldwide to add to their lies that Chavez is a dictator and anti-democratic.

However, I do not think that their tactics will work because Venezuelans will not be fooled again, as some 2-3 million were conned into believing that “the stoppage” and the sabotage of PDVSA (Venezuela’s national petroleum company, one of the largest in the world) would result in Chavez leaving office.

During the months of January and February 2003, Globovision (Venezuela’s 24-hour news/commentary TV station ú and pro-opposition) had countless interviews with “petroleum” experts, politicians, etc., all of which guaranteed that PDVSA would take years to recover, blaming it all on Chavez and his incompetent government. These “expert opinions” were propagated worldwide as “news” ... however, they have all been proven wrong. PDVSA production is almost back to normal after a few short months.

In the same way, as with the issue of the CNE board selection, the opposition may be attempting to begin fabricating scenarios that they will later attempt to use as ammunition against the Chavez government.

Now, about corruption … I have been having some very interesting email discussions with a Venezuelan who has very good ideas. Corruption in Venezuela has been “a way of life” for many people … I would say mostly for the upper crust such as the leaders of the CTV (Central Union Movement), members of Fedecamaras (Chamber of Commerce equivalent), politicians, lawyers, judges, and also within the police forces. During his election campaign, Chavez had apparently promised to curb corruption and jail people who are corrupt, also promising that his government would not be corrupt. Tall order!

Most opposition people appear to think that Venezuela is more corrupt than ever and that the Chavez government is more corrupt than previous ones. I argue that corruption is probably that same still but that people are talking about it more than ever, thus appearing to be greater.

One example is that the case of corruption (for misuse of government funds) against Chavez has been thrown out of court, “Supreme Tribunal throws out corruption charges against the President.”  I also believe that if the Chavez government is so corrupt (as the opposition charges), real evidence would have come out by now, after 4 years of Chavez being in power. (There are enough people who hold economic power in Venezuela that would love to see Chavez ousted from his elected post).

The person that I have been corresponding with is disappointed with the “fact” that corruption is still rampant in Venezuela and that Chavez appears to be doing nothing about it (contrary to what he promised to do). I believe that Chavez is doing what he can, especially under the circumstances (attempted coup, “the stoppage”, sabotage, etc).

First of all, if Chavez, or the Chavez government, jails people for being corrupt without going through the legal system, then Chavez and company would be acting as dictators ... not something that Chavez needs. Secondly, as far as I can see, the Chavez government is taking the legal approach to the problem of corruption. Some examples: working on the passing of anti-monopoly laws, implementing land reform, applying anti-speculation/hoarding laws (such as the seizing of hoarded chicken) and digitalizing information (such as at two of the main customs installations).

It is also important to realize that most fraud/corruption cases take years to resolve, even in countries such as Canada or the USA.

To add to the difficulty, in Venezuela, the TSJ is in disarray and the overhaul of the seemingly corrupt and inefficient TSJ has been apparently continuously hampered by anti-government interests. Without a solid and politically-neutral TSJ, anti-corruption laws will be very difficult to implement.

Overall, I believe that eradicating corruption from the mainstream of Venezuelan society will take years, probably 1-2 generations. (In Venezuela, even if a person believes that corruption is not a good thing, the person will often participate in corruption because if she/he doesn’t, then she/he will be the loser).

I believe that Venezuelans must be patient.

Chavez (or anyone else) can not quickly and magically change “traditional” habits that have been around for so many years.

Oscar Heck Oscar@VHeadline.com