Caracas Chronicles

On the heels of a massive blackout that left Havana, one of Cubazuela’s largest cities, without electricity, I went on Twitter to see what the electricity situation in Venezuela was.

In just the last day, there are reported blackouts in:

• Naguanagua, Valencia, and Puerto Cabello, with some sectors reporting more than 14 hours in the dark;
• Barquisimeto, for more than three hours;
• El Hatillo and la Lagunita;
• Maracaibo, where the thermometer hit 45 degrees yesterday;
• Aragua;
• Mérida; and
• Maturín, where the lights have been out for more than six hours.

How is this not a bigger campaign issue?

If there is one thing we can point to, one causality we can easily make, it’s that right after the government nationalized the electricity industry, blackouts began. Is there any clearer evidence of chavista mismanagement than this?

Estatización = apagones. Chávez = apagones. Simple, ¿no?

But no, the government insists we discuss a supposed “neoliberal” package, or its latest meme, that Capriles uses “sexist” language.
And we fall for it!

Go on offense guys. The potato is peeled for you.