Political Rollercoaster

Politics in Venezuela is a whirlwind between Chavez and the opposition. 

Chavez is one very intriguing leader who speaks his mind even when it comes to Uncle Sam. There is so much animosity between the Government of Chavez and that of the United States. He blames them for giving him cancer. In the eyes of Chavez, US is an imperialist country which seeks to exploit other nations. US has been exploiting Venezuela in form of stealing their oil, according to Chavez and his supporters. In fact when I was talking to somebody recently, he told me that they received their independence when Chavez became the President.

This year is pivotal in the direction of this country. Chavistas are ready to win and put their commandant the President of this country while the opposition can’t wait for Chavez to lose or even die. The air is stifle and people are waiting.

Chavez’s opponent is Capriles Radonski. Chavez is supported by many middle class to lower class citizens for the simple reason that he was the first President to really care about the poor of this country. Their loyalty to their commandant is for him to win. Chavez has institutionalized many things under his socialist regime. For those who are familiar with his speech they would know that he can go for as long as 8 hours, sometimes breaking into a song or even drinking coffee or receiving a phone call. 

He is loved because he is different. He has provided education for free and many people can go to the clinics for free. There are places to eat which are subsidized by the Government and so are special supermarkets. In short there are many benefits to the poor people. He has also been instrumental in the protection of the minorities like the indigenous people by instituting laws to protect their cultural heritage. Black people have also benefited from his regime. Racism is a difficult subject because many Venezuelans are of the opinion that it doesn’t exist, though a critical look shows that it exists and even so in the past. Chavez has also pushed for this, focusing on towns with larger population of black people. 

Many people are proud of Chavez because he has brought back a sense of patriotism by encouraging the people to like what is theirs and living socially like their friend Cuba.

On the other hand, the rich are against Chavez. You will hear many stories of how Chavez has been against them since he came to power, to the point of saying he doesn’t care if all of them flee to US. There are many rich people whose farms and ranches have been taken by Chavez to be given to the poor. This has cultivated a sense of resentment. 

Also they believe that he has deteriorated the economy through limiting the access to dollars and putting forward poor monetary and fiscal policies. Inflation in Venezuela is one of the highest and so is corruption and other malice. Also the state of insecurity which has accelerated during Chavez’s regime has been cited as the greatest failure of his Government. Many people blame Chavez due to the statement he made saying if one doesn’t have food on his/her table, it’s justified if he/she steals. This has seen as an encouragement to thieves and robbers. 

Chavez having been on power for 13 years, many people believe it is time to step down. This plus the fact that his health has been deteriorating following being diagnosed with cancer, many believe that he should let go of the steering wheel.

Thus in order to give Chavez a run for his money, all the opposition candidates held their primary election in order to choose only one candidate to run against him. Henceforth, in October Chavez will be going against the opposition as one.

We will have to see who will win. But remember that the electoral commission is in the hands of Chavez’s political party; it is not a separate entity.