Blunder of the week

Katy says: – Interior Minister Ramón Rodríguez Chacín committed one of the biggest blunders I have seen recently, when he said that most murders in Venezuela were murders...

Katy says: – Interior Minister Ramón Rodríguez Chacín committed one of the biggest blunders I have seen recently, when he said that most murders in Venezuela were murders between gang members that did not affect the overall safety of citizens.

We all know that crime is the top concern in the minds of Venezuelans and that it has soared to unprecedented levels during the Chávez years. We also know that the government has been paying a little more attention to this issue, aware that it is really hurting them in public opinion.

So if I were a politician and heard Rodríguez Chacín, I would play this to the tilt. I would make his video the centerpiece of my campaign, and I would accompany it by something like this:

“The Minister isn’t worried about murders between gang members.

But Yubiri from La Vega, a single mother who lives in a gang-infested part of the neighborhood, who waits for her kids to come home from school in the dark – she worries.

Anselmo, the father in Mariches who knows his son has fallen in the hands of a gang and is trying to get him off drugs and clean up his life – he worries.

Maritza, the grandmother in El Valle who ended up in the hospital after a stray bullet hit her while she was in her living room – she worries.

The government doesn’t worry – unless the murders happen to the rich.

The government doesn’t worry – as long as they can control crime in the East of Caracas.

The government doesn’t worry – because they have thousands of bodyguards keeping them safe.

Minister Rodríguez Chacín is wrong. Every murder in Venezuela is important, because human life deserves respect and protection no matter what.

This November you have a choice. You can elect people who don’t worry about the safety of all citizens. Or you can elect someone who will not rest until every Venezuelan, no matter where they live, no matter what they do, feels safe.

That is the choice you have.”

Se las puso de bombita pues – so any of you candidates out there reading CC, you’re welcome.