In the meanwhile Rosales goes from strength to strength while Chavez goes from fiasco to fiasco. My sister in law, who is a civil servant, tells me that they are being forced to go to political events. The checks that Chavez gave to public employees in Teresa Carreño’s event a few days ago were not to be cashed, it was just for the cameras. The equivalent of two months salary will be paid into their accounts, but that doesn’t make great populist moments on TV, does it? She also said that there’s much nervousness and anxiety within chavismo. Revolutionary bosses know they are doing badly, they have seen the rallies, they have sent their filming crews, something impossible for other media networks to do in Chavez’s rallies. Yet their response is the crassest ever, talk about ‘the devil’ will get them nowhere in a country ravaged by abject poverty, unemployment, blackouts, lack of security, etc.
That was a thoughtful quote you posted Alia. I think I've been noticing some of that. But based upon what I'm seeing now I think that Chavez is about to get angry. And he has guns. This guy could turn out to be something genuinely evil if he sees it slipping away from him. He represents the hope of the Left in Latin America. They are not so easily swayed by compassionate pleas to respect democracy. I know the Latin American Left too well to believe this is just going to be another one of those elections. We are already seeing some VERY tough rhetoric from Chavez and his regime. I do not think this bodes well for a smooth transition.