Panic is thine enemy
Smoking gun or hot air?
Recent shenanigans at the National Assembly have created a sense of panic in certain opposition circles.
To recap: following the defection (which sounds curiously like defecation) of two opposition deputies, William Ojeda and Hernán Núñez, chavismo is aiming at two more deputies: Primero Justicia’s Richard Mardo and Gustavo Marcano (who is actually a substitute deputy, not a main one).Their ploy is to link them to purported corruption schemes involving checks or something, none of it illegal mind you. As it happens, the Ley Antitalanquera works only one way.
The prevailing theory is that chavismo is going all out to ensure a 2/3 majority in the National Assembly. Presumably, they have already “talked” to whoever would replace deputies Marcano and Mardo, and once they are installed, they will immediately jump ship.
This is all a show. Apparently, the strategy is to ensure the 3/5 majority to get an Enabling Law, or to name a new, or a 2/3 majority to name an even more partisan CNE. But do we really think they need a 3/5 or 2/3 majority to do anything anymore?
It’s worth remembering that the point where chavismo had any constraints in terms of what it could and could not do was passed a long time ago. With the Supreme Tribunal rubber stamping any harebrained scheme they can think of, it’s really just a matter of form more than content at this point.
Therefore, I refuse to get worked up about these latest happenings. They can do whatever they please – that was true a few months ago, true yesterday, true today, and true in the near future.
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