A different post-mortem, this one focusing on the President, the nation that loves him, and the challenges he faces. Over at Americas Quarterly.
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oh man, enough with the Throw in the Towel Chronicles! What about the almost half that said Enough! What about an inspiring new leader- remarkable new leader! I know it is hard on Venezuelans. I know this A LOT. But please! Salt meet wound. Rub. Feel pain. Get more salt….
I’m done with the cheerleading. Cold, hard analysis is what you folks are getting from me from now on… sorry.
and we thank you for it!
On the other hand, I am quite riled up with Capriles press conference. The guy has completed its Jedi training,
*aplaude fuertemente*
This article reminded me of the “Venezuela beyond the clichés” slogan. Nobody can blame you for the cheerleading you did, and I’m glad you’re going back to your roots.
And please keep doing it, it is the reason why most of us visit this blog
Juan, I agree that we were trying to believe in “pajaritos prenhaos” or things like the “voto oculto”. In that regard I agree we have to analyze our mistakes and be more realistic.
However, you are not being cold or hard, you are deciding now to believe only on the supernatural connection with their leader. You might be right, I will not pretend to know what moves chavistas, but you really DON’T know. You are making the same mistake than before, projecting onto them what you believe.
Have we really done the work of analyzing what moves them? I don’t think so. So until we do, we can only speculate. And I don’t believe in simplistic explanations, not one single mission or one single emotion accounts for all those 8 million votes. The same way in the opposition not everyone voted for Capriles because they wanted to end confrontation.
I have always blamed venezuelas of acting like teenagers, one day they Loooove something, the next day they Haaaate it, and they are very loud and emotional about it. We are seeing this reacion in some camps, so lets take a breat and try to coold our heand and regain objectivity. And we need to keep working, we can’t just give up and let them take over without a fight, we are still an important part of this country. We can’t make the mistake of the Assembly elections once again.
If you feel despondent think of Yoani Sanchez, don’t you think that after 6 years all cubans would have given up? And she is still there fighting with words and doing what no one else wants to do. We need to dust off and get back in the saddle.
thumbs up. I’ve heard talk of people saying they will not vote again after this election. I think with some time and some healing and reflection, they will be back on “the bus”, as Capriles puts it.
El vaso medio vacío…
Still dont forgive you guys for the misleading ‘updates’ on election night suggesting a positive outcome. WTF was that?
A conspiracy.
See? Nostradamus here thinks he’s got a handle on The Pulse.
Anyway, please keep doing what you are doing. (Goes without saying really.)
Which updates in particular? Our posts were pretty clear in that we had no news.
Delusion.
You have to pity the poor people who voted for Chavez. They know not what they are clinging to.
Chávez lost the area where he grew up (Daniel Florencio OLeary school).
really? That is nice, at least!
http://www.cne.gob.ve/resultado_presidencial_2012/pp/3/reg_050202002.html
Granted the vecindario, like the man, has “gentrified” a little bit.
THanks Juan for giving us the analysis it is helpful in this difficult time.
it seems CC has developed the Stockholm Syndrome.
How is the other side analyzing this? I went to Aporrea and what I saw made my day. The money quote, sorry don’t remember in which one, “There aren’t 6,5 million of oligarchs”
?Se Desinfla el Chavismo?: http://www.aporrea.org/regionales/a151835.html
En 2018 nos superarán por 854.860 votos si no corregimos y avanzamos: http://www.aporrea.org/actualidad/a151836.html
Rabia, Dolor y Frustración en Clase Media. Disminución Porcentual Dramática de Votación Chavista respecto a 2006: http://www.aporrea.org/actualidad/a151812.html
Juan,
Adding to your love affair theory (between Chavez and his supporters), it’s twisted love we’re talking about. Chavez and his supporters have a masochistic relationship were he gives them goodies only after they’ve shown submissiveness. His omnipresence makes them feel watched and be extremely cautious about their actions, but deep inside lots of them must feel frustration.
Right now they all look happy; they just received lots of rewards to ensure they would go vote. But in a couple of months, Hugo the bully, the abusive, rich leader who lives like a king while his people drown in misery, will be back.