Posted on 02/10/2007 8:53:42 PM PST by blam
Middle classes escape from Chavez socialism
By Jose Orozco in Caracas, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 1:31am GMT 11/02/2007
Middle-class Venezuelans are queuing to leave the country amid fears that its president, Hugo Chavez, is laying the ground for a dictatorship.
Hugo Chavez said that he intended to nationalise the telecommunications and electricity industries
Opponents of his "20th century socialism" are so desperate to escape that they have resorted to learning new languages and tracking down long lost European relatives in the hope of securing a visa.
At the US Embassy, visa enquiries have almost doubled in recent weeks, from 400 to about 800 a day. "There are normal spikes toward Christmas or another major holiday, but this increase doesn't fall into that category," said embassy spokesman Brian Penn.
The British embassy has seen a similar rise in numbers. "It has been increasing for some time, but what's different now is the tone of desperation," said a British spokesman.
A website for would-be emigrants - mequieroir.com (I want to leave.com) - reports that since Mr Chavez's December 3 election victory, and his announcement last month that he would nationalise the telecommunications and electricity industries, the number of daily visits it receives has soared from 20,000 to 60,000.
"You're getting more families, who are worried about their children's futures," said Esther Bermudez, who runs the site.
At the Italian Culture Institute, registration for Italian language classes is up 20 per cent year on year. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have Spanish, Italian or Portuguese relatives who emigrated there after the Second World War.
Ernestina Hidalgo, 40, whose husband is a Spanish citizen, said that she was hoping that their two teenage children would also be granted Spanish citizenship. She said an "enabling law", passed by the National Assembly 10 days ago, granting Mr Chavez 18 months of rule by decree, was the final straw.
"Chavez doesn't accept political dissidence," said Mrs Hidalgo. "Why do they need an enabling law if they already have an absolute majority in the National Assembly?"
The enabling law gives Mr Chavez free rein over 11 strategic policy areas, including defence and energy. In January, Mr Chavez said that he intended to nationalise the telecommunications and electricity industries, as well as take a larger share of oil operations in the Orinoco River belt, which produces 600 billion barrels per day.
He has also said he will not renew the broadcasting license of RCTV, an opposition TV channel.
Outside the Spanish consulate last week, Dayana Ramirez, 20, whose paternal grandmother is Spanish, queued with her boyfriend Jose Antonio Barreiro, 24, as he waited to pick up his passport. She wants to acquire Spanish citizenship and the couple hopes to emigrate to Galicia in northwestern Spain.
"Older people leave because they are concerned about the future of their families," said Mr Barreiro, a graphic designer, "and younger people like us leave because there is no future."
As the world's fifth largest oil exporter, Venezuela has benefited from record oil prices, boosting the scope for Mr Chavez's social spending. Among his poor supporters, he is seen as a politician who acts on his rhetoric.
The National Assembly ceded its legislative function to Mr Chavez in a special session in the Plaza Bolivar in Caracas. In a show of the political participation that Chavez champions, government supporters gathered and raised their hands along with legislators when the law was voted on. "Approved unanimously, including the vote of the people," declared Assembly president, Cilia Flores.
But critics argue that Chavez is only interested in keeping power, not in sharing it.
-ccm
Yup, it's time to go...
Venezuela is the new Cuba, the new North Korea, filled with the underclass paying tribute to the Dictator.
I'd take them in.
Run for your lives!
wasn't this the guy Cindy Sheehan was having a love fest with?
Ironically, Venezuela is an excellent audio-visual aid for seeing the kind of socialism that the Democrats want to bring to America. Imagine if they succeeded.... We would similarly want to leave, but where would we go?
Deny their Visas. They can fix their own country.
Ain't that the truth!
I don't think so. The ones leaving now are the ones that know what is coming and did not vote for him.
All the Chaves supporters will stay with there new King that is giving a free lunch.
We should take all there middle class if they have around $50,000 in assets or more, and give them instant amnesty for the next 18 months.
The low class scum that voted for him can stay.
I will admit I was being a little harsh. I don't think that they will necessarily be anything like an American conservative. If they are going to Spain to escape Venezuela then it isn't exactly socialism that bothers them.
Jimmy Carter's friend.
Chavez must realize that he cannot keep the system running if the productive class disappears completely. He faces the problem of how to keep these people working at a minimal level -- enough for the government to exploit but not enough to let the people enjoy the fruits of their own labor. He will probably try to do something to make it difficult for skilled people to leave the country. He can't build a wall around Venezuela but he will probably impose sanctions against the relatives of people who try to leave, not allow complete families to leave, that sort of thing.
Pretty soon, the only way out of Venezuela will be via life rafts.
Chavez will probably move to freeze as many of their assets as possible. Institute laws to prevent them from doing anything with their property. But when it's the people with money moving who will buy their property anyway? If they can sell it will be a firesale prices. They will leave with what they can pack.
Dang! Isn't that more than the world uses in a year?
The Venezuelans are coming here to Miami with all their money and buying up houses and condos. All the prices are still pretty high. This happened when the Colombians had troubles and when the Argentinians had that money fiasco years ago...
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