Category Archives: Chavez cancer

Vote for me. The other guys are crazy.

Posted on March 22, 2013 by

I have to admit, I’m more than a little turned off by the current Presidential campaign. Part of my frustrechera lies with the fact that, while Henrique Capriles is engaging in the kind of negative campaign the doctor ordered, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavez cancer, Nicolas Maduro | 90 Comments

Plunging to new lows

Posted on March 11, 2013 by

In a sign that Hugo Chávez has indeed made headlines in corners of the world we never thought we’d be in, get this: there is a growing controversy in Iran over Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s embrace of doña Elena Frías de Chávez … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavez cancer, International | 29 Comments

ABC: the coffin on parade was empty

Posted on March 8, 2013 by

Spanish newspaper ABC has been relentless in its reporting on Hugo Chávez’s health. Now, on the heels of Chávez’s funeral, journalist Emili Blasco launches an explosive allegation: the coffin they paraded through Caracas was empty, Chávez died in Havana, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavez cancer | 66 Comments

#EpicFail in Los Próceres

Posted on March 7, 2013 by

Emiliana Duarte gives us this brilliant first-hand account: I just came back from la Academia Militar, after 8 hours of lines and shoving and a metallic sun and a magenta sunburn. I did not get to see Chavez, and neither … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavez cancer | 92 Comments

Oh, by the way …

Posted on March 7, 2013 by

I know Quico hates it when I post random bullet points of stuff, but there are several things I need to say, and I don’t have time today for an ellaborate post on each one: Don’t dwell too much on … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavez cancer, Constitution, Henrique Capriles | 40 Comments

Hugo Chávez is dead

Posted on March 5, 2013 by

Hugo Chávez, who transformed Venezuela from a deeply flawed democracy into a nearly flawless autocracy, is dead at 58. My thoughts on the way Fidel Castro shaped his political imagination are in The New Republic. My review of the way the … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavez cancer | 92 Comments

The Possibility of an Island

Posted on March 1, 2013 by

So now it turns out President Chávez is (or is not – you know how these things are) spending his last days receiving hospice care on the tiny naval-base/island of La Orchila, about 160 km. north of Caracas. The government … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavez cancer | 67 Comments

“Enfermedad de Base” Chronicles

Posted on February 22, 2013 by

Overheard at my breakfast table today… Me: It’s funny, I guess the new euphemism they’re using on Venezuelan State media reports about Chávez is “the underlying disease”… My [genuinely confused] wife: Meaning “insanity”, right?

Posted in Chavez cancer | Tagged | 18 Comments

Adrift in Caracas

Posted on February 20, 2013 by

I’m in Venezuela this week visiting friends and family, so I’m not going to be posting much. However, I did want to convey the very strong sense that the nation is rudderless. Everything is as expected. The economy is dysfunctional, … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavez cancer, Nicolas Maduro, Politics, The Economy | 23 Comments

The World is my Podcast

Posted on February 18, 2013 by

I was on PRI’s The World today talking about The Return. It was fun!

Posted in Chavez cancer | 25 Comments

Chávez sneaks in through the bathroom window

Posted on February 18, 2013 by

So Chávez snuck back into the country at 2:30 in the morning with no previous announcement, no cameras around and only a 3 a.m. tweet to announce the whole thing so…nothing at all strange about that, right!?

Posted in Chavez cancer | 107 Comments

Losing the spin war

Posted on February 15, 2013 by

My immediate reaction after today’s “pictures” and revelations, in Foreign Policy’s Transitions blog. Whether it’s Chávez’s health or the economy, it seems the only “proof” we have is that the government’s messaging is just as bad as its handling of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavez cancer | 52 Comments

First image of Chávez since December released

Posted on February 15, 2013 by

Information Minister Ernesto Villegas and Science Minister Jorge Arreaza have made public in cadena nacional the first image of the comandante presidente since December 8th, 2012. Arreaza showed two photos of Hugo Chávez with his daughters in Havana. Previously, Villegas … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavez cancer, Politics | 110 Comments

Chávez, the myth

Posted on January 23, 2013 by

A pretty good op-ed in the New York Times, by Cristina Marcano and Alberto Barrera. The money quote: From the intensive care unit, the president “continues to perform his duties”; he gives orders and sends kisses to children. This is … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavez cancer | 30 Comments

Does a scribble prove a life?

Posted on January 16, 2013 by

Yesterday, Nicolás Maduro named Elías Jaua Foreign minister, or rather, he announced that Chávez had named him. Today, the official newspaper of the Venezuelan government (where all public acts must be published) includes the decree naming Jaua, along with … … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavez cancer, Nicolas Maduro | 38 Comments