Populism: check.
Little pieces of paper from your constituents asking for stuff: check.
Scoring at hoops and futbolito : check.
Kissing old ladies naturally: check.
Showing actual achievements: check.
Racial diversity: check.
As I was watching this excellent, baño-de-pueblo new video from the Capriles campaign, all I could think of were the subliminal contrasts with the sick, fat man in the palace. Is Capriles trying to position himself as a younger, more energetic version of Chávez?
If he is, this video is a good start. Veinte puntos.
I think his awkward seriousness actually benefits him. Along with his youthfulness, its his best personal asset, specially vis-a-vis all things Chávez.
I wonder, though, if I’m being too disenfranchised. Maybe seriousness is not really part of our ethos, and therefore not as valued as much. I sincerely wonder. I do lean to the belief of it being positive for him, though, torn as I may be.
Btw, who’s watching these ads? Are they going on Venevision at all?
Sincere and authentic, that’s how he comes across. El “Gobernador” says: “es mejor hablar menos” (paja y hacer más). That’s the message: my track record is all the charisma I need.
Having said that, he definitely has something going. All my venezuelan friends, especially women, are genuinly, infectiously enthusiastic about him in a way that I find astonishing. By the way, none of them are what you would call “Marialejandra ‘ay-que-bello-es’ Lopez”. So, there you go.
Veinte puntos.
Gold, What in the ‘blank’ is a” Maria Alejandro Lopez ‘ anyway? Can you give me a precise definition? I am curious as I have been called that on this blog several times.
I am not a huge fan of Capriles , and I made no bones about preferring MCM (though of course I want him to win at this point) AND I do like the video.He comes across as sincere and somehow I believe him when he says he is going to get something done.I will also give him 20 points on this one.
It’s a sweet old lady ;-)
http://www.elchiguirebipolar.net/07-04-2011/entrevista-maria-alejandra-lopez-opina-sobre-las-elecciones-2012/
That’s the only definition? Why is she so hated on this blog?
She’s not a real person. She’s a metaphor for ultra hard-core anti-chavism.
Ultra hard core anti Chavez would be me then.I am surprised so many people here object to that.
Firepigette, Is not so much objecting to hard core anti Chavez, I think we all strongly oppose him and what he represents. But the hilarity of the character is that she represents the antichavez upper middle class caraqueños that believe things such as that Chavez never wins a elections, because everyone they know in el Cafetal is antichavista
I would really love to know who that woman really is. It’s amazing, when I saw her I had such a strong déjà vu, I thought she was the aunt of a good friend of mine or a distant relative of mine
Is she “Laura Perez la-sin-par-de-Caurimare” after she grew old?
She is a political archetype representing upper middle class Doñitas typically from the east of Caracas. While quite good and nice people (check the bipolar rodent latest take on Marialejandra praying for Esteban to recover from his illness) they embody a few of the character flaws manifested in the opposition that got us into El Paro and then the Abstention, the Corrdinadora and so-on. If you reearch El Chigüire you can compile a sociological thesis of what those traits are.
Carolina, wrong generation. It’s Laura’s mom or aunt. Laura is in Aventura, FL.
Really? You are so blind you cannot see how this kind of talk and behavior hurts your own ends!?
Caraqueño: Right, Laura is about my Mom’s age, a tad younger maybe. My grandma is about the age of Marialejandra. However, neither my mom is Laura like or my grandma Marialejandra like.
Perhaps this one is a better example:
http://www.elbrollo.com/topic/420770-senora-maria-alejandra-lopez-crea-mas-de-10-chavistas-en-un-dia/
This one is a personal favourite for my facebook posts every time “self destructive typical pink shirt opposition talibanism” appears on my news feed.
Caraqueño is right: Laura de Caurimare is one generation too young. Because Laura is Pérez, María Alejandra can only be a maternal aunt or the mother of one of her friends.
But I really mean: Chigüire IS using a real picture of an elderly. Did she give her approval? Or did they use the blend of several pictures from las Damas de Altamira?
Guido,
WTF – who said your grandma was like MAL ?
- She is an Archetype –
At times we can all show traits or behave like her … that is why it is a powerful one. It helps us remember in a single name all the effort everyone has done to get here from 2002. And we’ll still love her anyway. If everyone recalls Radio Rochela used to have the job of creating and upgrading these Archetypes. Now this role – through Chavez disruption – has gone to El Chigüire.
Although I have fond recollections of Malula I prefer the sharper Irony served by the Bipolar One.
Kiko/Juan,
I hereby propose that we need to add a section to the Chronicles introduction where the Archetypes of this political Drama can be explained and perhaps debated.
She is a fictional character from a hilarious and highly recommendable web page called El Chiguire Bipolar, she is the typical eastern Caracas, upper-middle class and radical opposition member. Here is one of her “interviews” http://www.elchiguirebipolar.net/07-04-2011/entrevista-maria-alejandra-lopez-opina-sobre-las-elecciones-2012/
Well, I certainly don’t fit her description…yo andaba en alpargatas :)
Thanks for the explanations.
FP, it is not what they call you, it is what you answer to.
Gold, that was a rather cryptic remark…can you be more precise?Thanks.
It’s just another way of saying: no les pares bolas!
Gold,
okay
yes, please what is a “marialejandra”? me fascinó… 20 pts i even cried :´)
Lavici,
There are several people on this blog who call others ‘Maria Alejandro Lopezes’ for reasons that have boggled my mind for sometime.What I don’t get is, if this is an anti- Chavez blog why does it bother them if someone is extremely anti Chavez? Is it her age that bothers them, their financial status? I am a bit perplexed and this is something I have wanted to clear up for sometime now.
Piggy,
I am beginning to think that you are fictional character as well…:)
Pompeyo,
I can understand your confusion here….and what is true about me is that I don’t fall into easy categories….but if you think about it , there are quite a few other people who don’t as well.It’s not a good idea to categorize people too much I should think.
well they use to clobber MCM pre primarias here for being a “merici girl” and making fun of how she talked. so… there you go i guess the boys want to merge this bipolar capibara’s maria alejandra concept with MCM? i don’t know. being a merici girl myself ja ja ja but i’m cenyter left. so…you know… men! what can i say. let them have their cake and pissing competitions sometimes ;) it makes them as happy as zapping the TV and other endeavours.
Ok Lavici, if you are a Merici girl, you can date yourself by answering this question.
Did you have an English teacher whose first name was Joan?
FP: Ma Alejandra López represents the inflexible (and simplistic) anti-Chavez stance. MAL would be incapable of visualizing and understanding, when presented to her, a third way out of the miasma. MAL would be incapable of understanding that the oppo is also liable for the reasons Chávez came to power. MAL would not want a candidate that offered a peaceful transition. MAL would not understand that things would get worse by taking a hard line during the application of solutions.
“FP: Ma Alejandra López represents the inflexible (and simplistic) anti-Chavez stance”
More to the point: she represents the ineffective, counterproductive anti-Chavez stance.
wlad,
Only time will tell how ineffective is is or would be.
It has taken us 13 years to learn that Chavez wins when we polarize. All those altamira vigils along with marches into nowhere made Chavez strong. Capriles strength is that he embodies the efficient side of populism, the one that helps by getting things done … No more long rhetorical dicourses full of lies and failed promises. It has taken the oposition 13 years to understand that confrontation actually feeds Chavez discourse. Arria, Maria Corina more of that polarizing trend, Capriles doesnt play that game … He holds the upper hand each time that he doesn’ t even aknowledges the man and his angry rants.
Res ipsa loquitur… or the track record speaks for itself.
FP -
I find your feigned incomprehension really obnoxious. You can say you don’t agree with this analysis, but pretending like the thinking behind it hasn’t been explained time and time and time again is silly.
Listen, this ultimately is why we had primaries. Just two weeks ago, we gave every registered voter in the country a chance to step in and weigh in on this debate. More than 95% of them voted to support the two candidates that reject hyper-polarization. And less than 5% of them voted to support the three candidates who continue to practice it. You don’t have to be happy with the outcome, but you can hardly call it equivocal: The debate is over.
Good done, but “little pieces of paper from your constituents asking for stuff” I wonder if there is no other way… like a good working administration, including social services (or how it would be called?).
We are all expecting to hear your ideas on how to fit that in a good, moving political ad.
The last time we saw a Capriles ad, the bureaucrats were in the way.
I didn’t mean that as a critic to the ad, but thinking about how to change that in the “real world”. You couldn’t help all the people in a country this way, could you? For the ad it is probably ok, as it is the way things apparently work, (in Venezuela, I do not see something like that in Chile or in Germany ;)). It is the same thing we criticize in Chávez, something like a feudal-system.
sorry if was not clear enough, I think it is a very good ad.
Maybe if he puts an ad where he is in a race, follow me? and then when the race begin the bureaucrats start putting obstacules in his way and he as a perfect canon of virility and testosterone swetting manhood, passes the obstacules one by one in a very heroic fashion, helped by his less graceful loyal “compinches”.
I like this kind of ad better than the one by LL. Still populist but at least is notridiculous. In old articles in CC I read the one commentary that changed my way of thinking radically, that one of the things that has kept Chávez in 13 years is that his message has been telling people in the lower classes that they matter and you can’t compete with that in a confrontational way.
I’m radical opposition, but if Capriles don’t go populist and make his plan clear he may convince me, but not a great deal of the population. If we see the ad, the taking of “papelitos” is a way to show that he will listen to lower classes. All the ad screams that to Capriles they matter and that he cares about them. He is not confronting and telling people that we have to get rid of Chávez but telling that he is a real alternative. in the end the ad doesn’t end to get me, but I see a point.
I have this theory – I’ll write it in the main blog sooner or later – that Capriles’s success has a lot to do with his AMELIORATIVE discourse: he doesn’t start with a vision of perfection a la “La Mejor Venezuela” and work backwards towards a vision of how to get there. He starts with an understanding of the Venezuela we have today and proposes a path forward.
The papelitos thing is part of the Venezuela we have today. Saying that Hay Un Camino out of that doesn’t mean wishing it away or pretending it isn’t so. It means facing forthrightly the fact that it is so and thinking through ways to start there but move forward.
Quico, you have a very good point. As the saying goes, sometimes perfect is the enemy of the good. Politicians usually goes for abstract or idealized versions of the country to appeal for votes, but then, reality gets in the way and the vision gets stalled or compromised. Voters then complain why they didn’t deliver and go for the other with its own vision. The cycle begins again.
HCR is already warning us that the situation ahead is hard and difficult decisions must be taken, but that’s not an excuse to be optimistic about the future. Expectations just need to be lowered a little bit, because there are priorities in the large list of problems Venezuela has. There’s a way indeed.
For those wondering what ameliorative means, here’s an useful link:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Ameliorative
He starts with an understanding of the Venezuela we have today and proposes a path forward.
Yes, yes, yes! please write that post, Quico. Here’s a similar optic. HCR has no delusions about the way things could be — within a relatively short transitionary period. He’s not interested in the super hero posturing.
And here’s another small observation, HCR doesn’t seek the limelight. That’s extremely refreshing after the past 13 years.
I also like his simplicity (in dress code), if not total ignorance, deliberate or otherwise, on what matches or not. I like his lack of self-consciousness when he’s carrying out a task. That task, or the objective, is foremost, not the framing of the task against his cameo appearance. And I like his ease with er pueblo. “These are my people,” he seems to say — with total sincerity and with few, if any, degrees of separation.
In sum, HCR knows his market, is his market. The man’s prepared. Beyond the verbal.
While I cringe whenever I see papelitos (a reminder that we’re a feudal country), I did notice that the papelitos in the capriles ad look different than the ones that are handed to Chavez. They don’t look like papelitos at all, more like formal paperwork, in envelopes and everything.
Exactly. A “dream scenario” would end up in that neighborhood/town chief or major organizing a town hall to answer and deal with the requests in the papelitos.
CACR
Okay, Now I get it a bit more.
“antichavez upper middle class caraqueños that believe things such as that Chavez never wins a elections, because everyone they know in el Cafetal is antichavista”
Of course that still would not be me….. I was never someone who is stuck to El Cafetal….I lived mostly in Caurimare in the latter years I was there, true ,but my family was almost exclusively poor, and from barrios and small towns.What I have disagreed with- not only on this blog but on all the blogs, is that Chavez is as popular as they say he is.It is precisely from my connection with the barrios and small towns that I know that his popularity is weaker than one might think.There are multiple reasons for this…..I have done my own investigations on the matter, and I realize there is no reason for anyone here to believe me.There is not a single person on this blog who knows me in person( well that I know of ), but as an individual I feel obligated to express what I know from time to time.
Thanks for the explanations.I feel a bit better about it now.
By the way is not bashing anyone, I was raised and have many friend in Eastern Caracas, but the point of the parody is satirizing the people who delude themselves by ignoring that Easter Caracas is not Venezuela and are sure that Chavez would be tried for genocide in the Hague.
Fire,
It is by no means a derogatory call. It is a label applied to denote a very specific Venezuelan strain of a political blind spot.
Next time we have a Marcha in El Cafetal we’ll make sure you can visit and meet them yourself.
If you lived in Caurimare a long time ago that is what your neighbor’s mom likely turned into while we went through 2002-2007. Many are still stuck there.
FP, I don’t know much about barrios, but I often use those taxis that look like they are running because of some occult magical power instead of mechanics, you know, the ones playing the good Salsa.
My taxímetro says that Chavez has widespread support as a hero, but veeeery little as a government. “El trata pero, tu sabes, los ministros son puros corruptos…”
“…es que lo tienen engañao…”
Yeap, although the fact that his followers like Chávez and hate the government is a doubled edge sword for chavismo after the appearance of the cancer. There is no Chavismo sin Chavez, the only legitimacy that the government has is his popularity, many of the chavistas hate goverment officials even more than oppos.
Qualitative has no match against quantitative evidence.
At least when it comes to polling. Duh/
The contrast could not be greater. This is as good as it gets in terms of message…alea jacta est
Capriles definitely looks better in this type of meeting/rallies than when he is doing the Big Speech, as well documented on this blog; therefore, shouldn’t he take a leaf out of John Major’s 1992 campaign in the UK and go for more informal street rallies on top of a soap box? Or I guess a more Venezuelan equivalent gavera de cerveza.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/30/newsid_3739000/3739176.stm
Additionally, I liked that he was shown physically active (playing sports, walking around and even dancing tambores) in sharp contrast to the sick fat man. Ideally he should be at every gym or sports courts inauguration in Miranda (and elsewhere) followed by a Caimanera with the local kids.
“Capriles definitely looks better in this type of meeting/rallies than when he is doing the Big Speech, as well documented on this blog”
He’s also stronger in hostile Q&A’s. The campaign should welcome govt. “journos” to all public appearances so he can get free media in VTV (since they won’t air the ads). Bring it on, Carvajalinho!
You nailed it. Capriles definitely looks better meeting with people, and actually doing things, that is being serious as is his trademark, than in the Big Speech mode. Plus he is not receiving “papelitos” with petitions but applications for government projects that his office runs.
And yes, the serious, active, young candidate does make a stark contrast with the sick, fat snake charmer.
Impressive. There’s a new sheriff in town (collecting little pieces of paper).
Is el gobierno going to allow them to run these ads anywhere besides YouTube and some art cinema in Eastern Caracas?
I really like this video. I saw it two days ago on his website and posted it on my facebook. It conveys energy, efficiency and eases many ni-nis fears that he will terminate all social programs as soon as he’s declared president
Excellent video, send a positive, reassuring message, and many of the people in the video genuinely seem to like him and you have to give it to HCR, he’s one hell of a viejita’s kisser.
Capriles “sacando tarea” con los chamos jugando futbolito: check!
I have always believed that populism is a ethically acceptable way of winning an election.
However, staying in power by means of populism is a suicidal in the long-term. That is why you either steer the government towards the correct policies (less populistic) or you educate your constituents to popularize those correct policies.
In any case, Henrique is doing great in this pre-campaign period!
Agreed.
Specially in a third world democracy.
i just wish “el tumorcito” didn’t put HCR out of the radar: first pages of every newspaper and everybody’s conversatrion. “el tumorcito” unfortunately won center stage again. and as jc nagel wrote “how do you campaign against a tumorcito?”
Does HCR have any medical problems he can campaign on? That looks like a bad sunburn he’s got. (check)
I saw what looked like a large scar, just above his right jawline. Maybe something could be made of that. ;-)
Yes, they got to work that scar. (Must be from some nazi jewish gay ritual ;)
The scar should be the result of a serious disease that Capriles overcame — with courage and perseverance, of course — in his youth. Only a trace of barbalopecia remains.
I didn’t know that. thanks
Lol!!
As HCR himself might point out, a political campaign is marathon, not a sprint. What is important is for the momentum of the election to peak at just the right moment. I have said previously, that now is the time for HCR’s campaign to go into stealth mode: Lot’s of small events everywhere. The public should continue to be aware of him, but only peripherally. Keep building the networks that will be needed later on.
Especially with the uncertainty regarding Chavez, stay on message and avoid confrontation.
El tumorcito “escualido” has taken the spotlight, and will continue to do so for a while. However, I don’t see a scenario where the tumorcito can help him politically in the long run. Sure, his approval ratings will spike again, but will the intention to vote for him go up as well?
His strategy had been to claim that he was cured, which might have been believable the first time, but is impossible to claim this second time. As a candidate he is toast, as Ninis will probably break in favor of Capriles before risking the instability that would result with him dying sometime in the middle of his next term. People vote looking after their own interests. His hard core base will not care, but Ninis will. In the same way that LL’s chances were hurt by the uncertainty of his legal status, voters will think twice before voting for a candidate with a known life-threatening condition.
The fact that he has no succession planned makes it worse. It would be different if people liked one of his Delfines, but none of them has any charisma. Capriles already beat Godgiven, which is the apparent número dos. They are also running out of time if they have to run with someone else.
El Tumorcito Escualido may very well be the Trojan horse that ends his grip on power.
I offer Exhibit ‘A’ on new surgical techniques on previously considered inoperable CA: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1136621–toronto-surgeon-redefines-hopeless-cancer-cases?bn=1
So Chavez is inhabilitated to be president but he can still run.
Isn’t that something called karma?
That is actually a good case to make to the voting population, if it can be done tactfully and indirectly. The man is not only ineffective and wants to be President forever. He is seriously ill, and you could make a case he is quite mad if he continues on the present course.
“Nunca antes en la historia de nuestro estado se ha hecho (tal tal)”
Reminds me sooooo much of Chavez and his followers when they say:
“Nunca antes en la historia del mundo, un presidente se ha preocupado tanto por la seguridad y salud de su pueblo como Chavez”
But this one is for real…
I don’t mind the populist rhetoric, as long as he continues to deliver where it counts.
Well, certainly contrasts with what the nomenklatura is doing, right?
Just one question: who the hell was producing this cadena, and how retarded have you got to be to cut to the camera with the sleeping people? Maybe the producer was asleep in the booth, too.
¿Por qué diablos hay una bandera argentina detrás de la bella durmiente?!
Definitivamente este es un gobierno de narcos … pero de narcolépticos!
El salon del Consejo de Ministros se llama Nelson Kirchner y esta dedicado a el.
http://www.lapatilla.com/site/2011/12/01/inaugurado-el-salon-del-consejo-de-ministros-con-el-nombre-de-nestor-kirchner-en-el-palacio-de-miraflores/
Se ve y se siente frio e impersonal. Dios saben cuanto han gastado en remodelar Miraflores.
lol
I deny I am in the government!
Plus, you do not need to be a narcoleptic to sleep with that
Jajajaj this is getting more hilarious, according to the twitter account of the Ministerio de Educación, she wasnt sleeping she was sending a text message! apparently with her eyes closed:
Globovisión @globovision
· Open
Ministra Hanson se queda dormida en cadena nacional youtu.be/wd7wHUp6K3A
MPPE MPPE @MPPEDUCACION
@globovision responder un mensaje de texto no es quedarse dormido
She was testing some new mind interface for text messages, so she was really concentrated on that. It’s a gadget made by the students of the misiones, and Chávez will announce it when he comes back from Cuba, they’re going to make a start up out of it, and beat the crap out of Apple. Siri? That’s nothing, dude!, We have Hanson, mind controlled, only for El Vergatario.
On a historical note, the last president who refashioned Miraflores palace to his own liking was General Marcos Pérez Jiménez, who ordered the original Joaquín Crespo’s interior finishes, embellishment and decoration to be removed and modernized, i.e. to leave no trace of history. Nevertheless, I think this is the first time a president does an overt suck-up of this kind to a foreign government.
Not to mention that he painted the palace rojo rojito … and pink. Pink and red … yikes.
http://static.flickr.com/2028/2219280657_2e02df78f4.jpg
the red tone is not bad, rather unique. but the pink is better suited to a little girl’s bedroom. If the idea was to copy an element of la casa rosada in Buenos Aires, they missed by a mile.
Syd! That’s a sexist comment! How come a boy can’t have a pink bedroom! Shame on you!
LOL
Tienes razón. Es que la cabra tira pa’l monte, querida amiga.
The red is the worst part. Bricks are not meant to be painted over! Neither are palm trees, for that matter. But there you go, that’s how Venezuelan I am.
I agree. The whole colorful thing is wrong, especially the red. I am all against changing the color of the painting of historical buildings just because.
This building is a heritage building and it should be protected from this kind of interventions.
Here is how it should look like:
http://www.venezuelatuya.com/historia/palacio_miraflores.htm
Juan, I doubt the detailing in the corners and pillars is made of brick. Back in the day, all the detailing was made with plaster.
Thank you for that reference, Carolina. What a treat! Miraflores was once a very pretty building of good proportions and quiet, calming architecture. its green rooftop blended well with the surrounding mountainside.
Today, you have way too many colors being used — too busy — not calming at all. It’s like the building screams: “Misión Decorador@” was here. I counted 6 colors in the palette used. Crazy.
The curlicue appliqués, now above the windows (and in my opinion, overused in the 1980s), at least blended in, color-wise, when the palacio was built, if they were even in vogue then .
The ‘brick’ that Juan refers to is an architectural detail called ‘keystone’, once very ‘Frenchy’. I don’t know if the keystoning on the columns is original to the Palacio.
As for painting the trunks of the chaguaramos,I didn’t see that earlier. Qué locura.
This is not funny as Hanson. But was another strike. Was an awkward moment.
Ugh. Absolutely despicable.
Indeed. Despicable. I’m curious what was going on in Chavez’s mind in the little moment of awkward silence. Did he really cared about them or he just thought in 7-O votes? We’ll never know.
Wow, Chavez almost speechless for once. But he went back into his tirade. I weep for Venezuela.
Oh, so that’s why murders don’t matter, he’s really alive somewhere around!
I need to puke
Creepy-in-chief. And the three other creepy oficialistas looking on. Are they going to lose one minute of sleep at their fincas thinking about that boy? Nada. Zero. Find another prop for your horror show you repulsive people.
The more I look at this video, the more I am in awe of the great editing. Think of all the messages it conveys:
- I’m young and energetic
- It’s hard to keep up with me, I’m a man on the move (his aide has a hard time catching up to him)
- It’s OK for poor people, or people of color, to “love” Capriles
- I know the Miranda anthem. I’m a patriot.
- I’ve been to this community before, I’m not just coming here for the first time. (“Hola, mi amor” denotes familiarity)
- I care about efficiency. If the government gives you the same thing I’m giving you, share with someone else.
- I care about kids having proper schools, good sports venues.
- I’m approachable. I dress like any regular person dresses, not in some crazy red shirt or some weird military uniform.
- Nowhere do they put his name in writing. It ends with “Hay un Camino.”
- I can help you, but you have to help yourself too. “¿Tienes quien te ponga el techo?”
- I sit in the front seat, and I ride with my window open saying hi to people. I’m not in some limo, surrounded by Cuban security.
- I care about spending money where it counts (75% …)
- Nice touch with the subtle music instead of a jarring reggaetón.
Powerful stuff. That’s a lot to cram in two short minutes. This is the best political video I’ve seen anywhere in a long, long time.
Juan, I couldn’t agree more. The simplicity in the way he deals with his constituents is such a powerful political asset. The “Hola mi amor” is as good as any of Chavez’ moments with his supporters. Clearly he feels very comfortable in this type of environment.
agree. That’s the sort of people connection I had hoped from MCM. Unfortunately, her ‘fisnura’ gets in the way — as well as her hard line, which doesn’t go down well with Venezuela’s political reality.
I loved the video, btw. A few more of these, before October 7th, could erase Capriles’ somewhat mediocre *debating* skills.
As a labeled “reactionary”, I don’t like the populist twist of this ad, but I also understand that the greater goal is to beat Chávez. Having said that, there is one thing I would change: use “vamos”, “damos” instead of “voy”, doy”. After all, it’s public money and resources he’s distributing.
Whenever I visit Venezuela, and see chavista and oppo state and city ads with the face of the incumbent, I have to pull over and throw up.
Just sayin’…
excellent observation, ricardo.
Agreed.
Ricardo,
Self-described reactionaries like yourself are not really the target audience of a video like this. I hope we can all agree to that.
I’m with you on the signs. Having said that, I have yet to see a big Gobernacion de Miranda billboard with Capriles’s face on it. I’ve seen plenty with Pablo Perez’s mug. Perhaps Capriles has some out there, though.
100% with you on the signs, and the faces on public vehicles, and the names on the uniforms of public employees, etc.
I really react badly to such blatant abuse of the public trust by the incumbent (Chavista or Oppo).
- I can shake my white ass dancing tambores with a barloventeña too… ;D
I totally agree with you Juan. Se ve, Se Siente, Capriles Presidente!!!
“I have a deeply personal relationshipo with you, like Chavez, but I am a humble human instead of a wrathful demi-god.”
It’s very good and all. But there is something I find a little bit strange: why do they say “gobierno” to refer to the Chávez government as if that were the only government?
I would say “gobierno nacional”. Sometimes, but not in opposition to the local governments, I would let Venezuelans get used to the term “gobierno de turno”.
Wow! I cannot fault this video. Finally, some suits in Caracas have found a way to communicate to people beyond El Cafetal. I find Capriles’s speech sincere, genuine, not patronising at all. I believe in his intention to answer to all those pieces of paper, to help the needy and vulnerable. He is shown as (and I think he really is) a true public servant and it seems to me that his it’s an apostolate, a call. I wonder how true may be in what I read or heard somewhere, that Erika DeLaVega once said she couldn’t married him as he was already married to Venezuela (…sorry, I know it may sound cheesy but this video has made me a bit emotional… I think we are getting closer…Adelante!).
20 puntos on this one Juan, but 05 on this one. He has to be very careful with what he says…
http://cuentosintrascendentes.blogspot.com/2012/02/no-metas-la-pata-henrique.html
good catch, bruni. yes, that was an unfortunate slip, especially for one who promotes education, presumably for either gender. I thought Caprilito might have been more evolved. But perhaps that’s asking too much from someone raised in a system that’s so heavily machista, and where there is so much influence on women to focus on more superficial aspects.
Perhaps it’ll take another generation or two for Vz women to SHOW that educational and professional achievements have absolutely no gender barrier. Once that happens — across the board — men will follow.
Yikes, I had not seen that. Good catch, Bruni. That was awful.
Actually, I didn’t know what to make of it. I was appaled and then I remembered the men-only Trabuco. I was wondering if this could be a trend in Primero Justicia’s leaders.
I hope not, I am giving Capriles and PJ the benefit of the doubt.
Nevertheless, Juan, pass the info. He should be more careful.
It is not about being more careful. It is about – I am going to use an expression I don’t often use- dejarse de huevonadas. This IS an attitude problem. You don’t say something like that just because you find any person, female or male, very beautiful.
That’s probably true. But let’s remember that is commonplace in Venezuela. There are certain things that people say that we wouldn’t dream of saying in our foreign environments. Capriles has not been exposed to different ways of thinking the way we all hive. I’m not justifying him, I’m trying to explain it.
Henrique is probably more than a bit machista, although keep in mind his right-hand person in the Alcaldia de Baruta and in the Gobernacion de Miranda (and the person most likely to take over when he separates from the Governorship, as he will do in a short while) is the very smart Adriana D’Elia.
Now, this sissy gay-machista needs to learn…
Seriously, I do not buy that he has not been exposed to different ways of thinking, he has been in Columbia, of all places, and he has good English. This faux pas is a symptom of something deeper, that lies in the mind of >80% of our countrymen and women. I do think it’s a bad cultural attitude, but nothing conscious or that will affect his policies.
Capriles has not been exposed to different ways of thinking the way we all hive.
Really, Juan? HCR’s bio tells a different tale. Because of a mixed heritage, HCR grew up with stories from different places. He specialized in the very byzantine arena of tax law, not only in Vz, but also in Amsterdam, Italy, and New York. Preparadísimo, HCR es un pájaro que vuela alto.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrique_Capriles_Radonski
Maybe, but he probably lived abroad, what, two years?
Actually, his English is very bad, or so I was told. Leopoldo, on the other hand, is almost a native speaker.
Keep in mind that Sebastian Piñera has a frikkin PhD from Harvard, and the other day a blonde boy came up to him in an event in a working class district, and he said the boy was “mejorando la raza.”
It can happen to anyone. La cabra tira pa’l monte.
I know, Juan, you are explaining it and I agree with you, but it really makes me angry.
I wrote to someone close to him and added some stuff about things he should be saying on “violence against women” and women’s rights instead.
One of my sisters is a successful civil engineer and the other is a surgeon. Two of my best female friends from Venezuela are a professor of mathematics in a very good university and a brilliant computer scientist. They all would want to hang Capriles if he repeats something like that, whatever idiot Chávez or someone else says.
Escusa de muchos es consuelo de tontos. We cannot tolerate that.
EXCUSA I meant…oops.
Sometimes you just repeat something you heard 1.000 times without thinking, just to realize, what stupid think you are saying… It happened to me at least one time.
Ah, the day when “gender mainstreaming” starts being taken into account by political parties and policy-makers in Venezuela…
I’m very glad, though, that this is something they [at least] mentioned in the “Lineamientos”.
Btw, Guido…not a “bad cultural attitude”? Believing women are destined to particular/limited tasks and responsibilities is not a “bad cultural attitude”? It’s not only bad, it’s pernicious and destructive. I hope when HCR reaches the presidency, his promises of “progressiveness” materialise in fighting this endemic curse.
It is hard, because it is a fight against oneself…but it is about time…
What part of ” I do think it’s a bad cultural attitude” you did not understand?
My apologies, I misread the emphasis as a negative. I *do* hope it doesn’t affect policy.
Yes, he has to be careful! We really do not want to alienate any cuaimas! Lol. I thought it was great that Capriles introduced MCM as an arrecha during his acceptance speech!
Btw, I applaud the policy of gender equality implemented for Voluntad Popular’s internal elections. We have a long way to go to reverse so many years of machismo, particularly during Esteban’s rule.
Soooo much better than the culebrones you shared in the focus group post.
This is a winning ad!
I, too, give this video 20 puntos. It targets people of all ages and who in Venezuela does not have a heart for the abuelita that HCR calls “mi amor”. This ad is a jonrón.
Somwhat OT:
What flag is the one flown wirh the Venezuelan one in the 1st video? It has the colors of Germany: Black / Red / Gold, plus 5 stars in the center (no variant of German flag has stars) and what looks like a blazon in the canton part (upper left quadrant, from viewers side, pole to left – stag). Why is it flown there?
Is it the Miranda State Flag?
Just curious and thanks in advance for any answer(s).
It’s the Miranda state flag, based on a design by Francisco de Miranda first made 70 years before Germany even existed.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandera_del_estado_Bolivariano_de_Miranda
BTW, that flag was changed by Diosdado while he was Governor.
yes, I thought about that, too, Mike, before googling. Miranda’s flag was changed in 2006, or thereabouts, taking, as Quico points out, the design by Fco de Miranda.
A few years ago, I askeda group of Germans, how the design of their flag came about, and what meaning was there to the colours selected. The answer was that the design was based on submissions from a student compeition. They didn’t know the meaning of the colours.
Google just came to the rescue: http://www.worldflags101.com/g/germany-flag.aspx .
Thanks for everybody’s input.
So, Chavez has left for Cuba to have an operation. We don’t know for sure how serious his condition is, because this is a state secret. We do not know for how long he will be incapacitated. And, he has not temporarily passed executive power to anyone. A constitutional succession of power is defined, but has not been confirmed or explained to the public. There exists doubt that the constitution would be respected in any case.
And so a pregnant silence falls on Venezuela… The future of the country rests in the balance, and we have no way to guess which way it will go. The country is paralyzed with regards to the long-term. All major decisions are deferred. If someone was considering buying an apartment last week, that decision is now on hold, by mutual consent of both the buyer and the vendor. Business deals will not be closed. Investments will wait. To be sure, we all go on about our business. We go to work, buy groceries, get our hair cut, drink coffee, etc. But all plans that extend beyond a month or so, are difficult to form and execute, because of the high level of uncertainty created by the actions (or lack of actions) of one man.
This is what used to happen under feudalism when the monarch was ill. The creation of the Republic was meant to prevent this. The state is organized in a manner that does not depend on any one individual. In a functional democracy, there is continuity that does not depend on any one individual. In Venezuela, this has been reversed. So, with the Comandante facing his mortality, 27 million Venezuelans wait in the dark.
Great comment, Roy.
Thanks, Juan. I was sort of venting my general angst.
Venezuela IS a feudal country and not only because of Chávez. There are some aspects that may look very modern, more open, etc, but its structure and a lot of the general mindset – on wealth, progress, regions, governance, accountability, land property – is simply Middle Age.
Totally approved! In my humble opinion, the best idea thought by Capriles’ team so far. Given its length, the ad fits best in cinemas. Also, it can be drawn forth three or four different ads for TV from this one.
Just saying”What if”-the first surgery was an operation removing a cancer the “size of a pea”
[this is what I said before] -wheres Chavez claimed it was the size of a baseball [to which I pointed out
that imagine you are looking in an area the size of both of your hands and you could not find a baseball, or imagine looking at the sky and night and you cannot find the moon]. A week or two before they found nothing- then-2 weeks later they find one the size of a freakin’ baseball in Cuba-c’mon I know I heard a who?
Point is- maybe there is nothing -just another drama/ pause for Chavez to spend time and get more programming in Cuba…
I think Chavez is not going to seriously campaign at all- only play the
love me/pity me and at the last resort Chavez will simply buy the votes,
yes BUY the votes easily.
Look at the big bad international players on Chavez’s side:
China,Russia,Brazil? Opposition has a truly impossible task-
the only way is to get people to vote based on honesty- I fear
too many Venezuelans lack character and can be bought very
cheaply -maybe $10 …
A cold cerveza on Sunday will work also.