Posted on 07/18/2004 11:45:24 AM PDT by wagglebee
Once proposing to raid the Central Bank's reserves, then turning to Petróleos de Venezuela to fund them, President Hugo Chavez is using his social programs, called “missions,” to hopefully buy his way through the looming referendum that threatens to recall him.
Petorleos is devoting 30 percent of its investment budget this year to social projects designed to turn the heads of the electorate.
Typical of the programs is the Ribas Mission, designed for the estimated 1.5 million Venezuelans over 18 who never completed high school. So far, more than 700,000 have enrolled. Meanwhile, however, critics maintain that the traditional school system is still marred by truancy, lack of funds and poor results.
Promising a “peaceful revolution” to help the nation’s disadvantaged, Chavez leadership has, in reality, left Venezuela's poor worse off in almost every measurable respect.
Regardless, millions are expected to vote for him in a referendum on his presidency due on August 15th. The latest polls suggest he might narrowly win the referendum.
Fortunately for Chavez, the recall campaign by the opposition needs at least 3.8 million votes to revoke the president's mandate and has been stalled because of lack of both a message and a leader. Chávez, on the other hand, has his much touted missions for education and health care.
Bolstering Chavez, Ribas Mission billboards festoon the nation’s highways, promising a bright future.
“Today, a maid, tomorrow, a social worker,” says one poster, featuring a smiling young woman.
However, the unadorned reality is that unemployment has jumped from around 12 percent to over 17 percent since Chávez took office.
Whatever the reality, the president’s missions have proven to be popular. Fifty-seven percent of respondents recently approved of the Robinson Mission, which is aimed at education. Ironically, Chávez's own approval rating as only 43 percent. No wonder that the missions have become the centerpiece of the government's campaign.
“The missions are ours -- let's defend them,” is Chávez's main slogan for his referendum campaign.
Tarek William Saab, a Chavista legislator, claims that all such social programs will be swept away if the opposition comes to power.
The opposition denies the claim, but admits that all programs will be evaluated -- if and when Chavez is removed from office.
According to Enrique Mendoza, the governor of Miranda state and an opposition leader, “Those with high social productivity and clear management will be retained. Those that ... proselytize, manipulate and blackmail will disappear. For every program that disappears, we'll be obliged to create two more.”
Meanwhile, the Chavez camp has made little attempt to disguise the missions' party-political motivation. By way of example, in announcing “Robinson,” the education minister's tongue was assumed to have slipped when he said the aim was to produce a million new “electors” (voters) instead of “lectores” (readers). But after he repeated the word three times, the message became clear.
I'm sure Jimmy Carter will expose this fraud (yeah, right).
And Republican RINOs, too. I'm lucky to have Kay Bailey Hutchison to vote FOR.
Boycott Citgo . . .
It is darn near impossible to track crude from it's source to the pump. We would have to start walking to do an effective boycott.
Brilliant tactic, why hasn't any politician ever thought of this before?
About two weeks ago, Chavez also gave instant citizenship to about 200,000 illegals (mostly refugees from Colombia) living there.
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