Dear Venezuela

I love you.  Please do not jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.

                 

Venezuela may be on the brink of making what I believe would be a tragic mistake.

Due to many factors including incompetent leadership, the collapse of the price of petroleum, that has been a goal of United States policy, corruption and impunity, Venezuelans have been suffering.

Shortages of basic staple foods,  medicines, medical equipment and necessities like toothpaste have been a problem in recent years and many Venezuelans are quite angry with their President Maduro although they honor the memory of the late leader Hugo Chavez.

May I humbly add my outsider viewpoint ?

The Bolivarian movement and political revolution has been about your country and Latin America asserting an independent role in world affairs. It's been about giving a voice that is heard and not ignored to the poor, the working class, the indigenous and the Afro-descended people. It's been about safe and decent places to live in, ending extreme poverty and illiteracy.

In some of these goals it's made great progress, in others it has not.

There are National Assembly elections coming soon - December 6. If Chavistas abstain, or worse, vote for the opposition, or for an "alternative " like Marea Socialista  they'll be making a big mistake.  The PSUV has made big mistakes but the MUD opposition has no good,  pro working people plans at all. They are hoping for Chavista voters to make some big mistakes in punishing President Maduro and allowing the opposition to take power to completely sell out Venezuela and its people.  Please if you must punish President Maduro and his government you're only going to punish yourself if your decide to deliver this punishment by giving the National Assembly to the opposition.

             

An old English expression: Don't cut off your nose just to spite your own face.

PS: Marea Socialista probably has valid points about a missing  stolen large amount of money, and they might be right that they were wrongfully expelled from the PSUV.  Helping the opposition take power probably will not help win redress and justice. Its a dangerous game, playing with fire. 

Venezuela does a 180 ° on Colombian Deportees.

http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/11531

I've got to say that I have been feeling extra stupid for being had by the official Venezuelan story of its deportations  of around 1500 Colombians awhile back.

Two Venezuelan soldiers and a Venzuelan civilian had been shot by Colombian paramilitaries while the Venezuelans had been engaged in an anti smuggling operation near the Colombian border. It's beyond argument that there was and is a serious problem for Venezuela's policy of providing cheap subsidized food, toiletries, medicines and gasoline to its people. Subsidized goods were and are being diverted and resold for higher prices  in Venezuela and lots in Colombia too. Venezuelans contend with standing in long lines as they try to find milk, chicken,  medicine and famously toilet paper. Drivers slept in their cars and trucks while waiting to get gasoline - this happening in oil producing regions of the oil exporting nation.

So President Nicolas Maduro decided to take strong action. He closed busy border crossings. He ordered deportations supplementing his recently initiated crackdown on violent crime.

The narrative went like this: Over a thousand Colombian illegal residents were deported on a lawful case - by - case basis from the squatter settlement located a stone's throw away from the Colombian border known as La Invasion. 

Venzuelan authorities had uncovered a dungeon where kidnapped victims were held for ransom, a brothel staffed with underage girls, and other evidence of massive lawlessness.

So, being sympathetic to Venezuela and its travails and being no friend of Venezuela's right wing US backed opposition, I blogged about it and I defended the deportations. Imagine my surprise,  chagrin, and embarrassment when I read in Venezuela Analysis that the deported Colombians are coming back, courtesy of the same government that had deported them and said such nasty things about them. Yes, they're coming back to apply for legal residency in Venezuela. 😠😲🙉🙈🙊