Caracas Chronicles

For Saturday, April 23, 2016. Translated by Javier Liendo.

“We’ll continue to advance the new political hegemony”

Ronald, 16 year old student, exemplary chavista, according to Nicolás Maduro.

Nicolás was driving as he explained why we should never let go of the wheel, as he announced that Cilia is recovering from a fissure in her shoulder blade, and said that we’ve had the two driest and hottest years in our history and that it hasn’t rained where the government needs it to rain. He called a cadena to launch the Tourism Engine. He did it from Playa El Agua, Margarita.

Nicolás knows how many years the Pope has been in office because his own government started at almost the same time. That must be why he said he had “Christ’s whip in his hand,” and then ratified his moral authority, adding: “those who look for violence will find themselves in jail, deputies or whomever, I won’t hesitate to face down fascists (…) All the things they’re plotting to destabilize us, everything they’re doing, it’s all destined to fail, it’s not viable (…) You’re not prepared to lead this country, and you won’t do it again.” Nicolás has a PhD in failure, that’s unquestionable.

Marleny de Cabello, icon of nepotism, dared to speak about democratization. With her husband’s distinctive charisma, she was interrupted in the middle of her reflection by a Nicolás anxious to announce (irrelevant) investments, while he mused on the direct consequences of currency exchange controls, and signed an exchange agreement so that tour operators can transact dollars. “Don’t talk so much, start working,” he said almost at the end. That should become his personal mantra, but he chose to say that he’s ruled by nobody. I imagined Raul Castro’s horrible laughter and turned the TV off. If Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, expects Nicolás to show verbal restraint in order to return his ambassador to Venezuela, he’d be better off just closing down the Spanish embassy in Caracas outright.

The Constitutional Chamber

As the cadena went on, the Supreme Tribunal’s Constitutional Chamber issued a decision regarding the National Assembly’s Rules of Procedure that clearly shows their intention of destroying Parliament. The decision suspends key articles from the Rules of Procedures, now ruling that the Assembly requires to consult with the Executive Branch any bill they intend to pass. The Constitutional Chamber seeks to make the Executive Branch’s control over Parliament a law. The decision also suspends an article concerning Parliamentary Immunity, so there’s a plain risk that they want to dissolve the Assembly. The Assembly is, at this moment, nearly powerless.

Arrugó

The minister for Electrical Energy, Luis Motta Domíguez, removed Greater Caracas from the electricity rationing plan he had announced just a day earlier. They’re only considering suspending electrical service as a punitive measure in case any municipality exceeds consumption limits. Motta’s excuse is as bad as his pictures: “Caracas isn’t included because it’s the seat of government branches.” The plan that can be read on Corpoelec’s website is a challenge for anyone with an ophthalmological condition. Ineffective, disorganized, with none of the necessary data, it doesn’t help any citizen to take precautions for power cuts. Along with Caracas, Nueva Esparta and Vargas are out of the rationing plan as well.

The High Command drop by drop

Gustavo González López, minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace, headed the first session of the High Command in charge with looking after the situation caused by the onset of the rainy season, guaranteeing that they’re “intensifying all the preventive plans” before the season. As if they’d just now taken office, they announced the creation of a risk map -which will be discussed next week- to implement measures to decrease the impact of rains that have already caused mayhem in every place they’ve fallen.

Humanitarian Aid

The National Assembly’s Foreign Policy, Sovereignty and Integration Committee, submitted the formal request for humanitarian aid for Venezuela.