Hugo Chavez

Venezuela: The land of “shortstops” & Miss Universe winners

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As we’ve posted often in blog, Venezuela is an important neighbor in disarray. In other words, “the cubanization of Venezuela” is a sad thing to watch. It’s really horrible for those of us who know where “cubanization” leads to!

Our friends in Venezuela take a break from their crazy politics and shortages of everything by talking about their incredible line of major league shortstops and young women who win beauty pageants.

They can’t stop talking about Hall of Famer Luis Aparacio, “should be in the Hall of Fame” David Concepcion, the unbelievable Omar Vizquel, and now “the new kid up the middle” Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers. Who did I forget?

The men will talk to you about shortstops and the women treat the Miss Universe pageant like game 7 of the world Series. In other words,don’t ask a young Venezuela woman for a date when The Miss Universe pageant is on.  She’d rather stay home and watch it.

This weekend, a young woman from Venezuela won The Miss Universe content:

“For the seventh time in Miss Universe history, Venezuela took the crown as 25-year-old Gabriela Isler was given the title of most beautiful woman in the universe in Moscow’s Crocus City Hall on Saturday night.

As the evening came to a close, the United States’ Olivia Culpo relinquished the Miss Universe crown and placed it upon Miss Venezuela.

Isler, who was born in Maracay, is an accomplished flamenco dancer who also works on Venezuelan television.”

Beautiful and dances flamenco?   “Que maravilla!”

Congratulations to Gabriela!

Frankly, it’s nice to see Venezuelans smile and having a little fun. it’s been “hell” down there for a long time!

Maduro “esta muy podrido” in Venezuela!

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President Maduro of Venezuela may want to shoot that little “Hugo bird” who speaks to him from time to time.   Can you blame Maduro if he grabs the little bird by the neck and strangles him?

According to The NY Times, the people of Venezuela are not really into Maduro.  On the contrary, they miss Hugo, or at least “the Hugo of their dreams”:

“Prices are soaring, the country is plagued by electrical blackouts, some neighborhoods go days without water, and protests tangle the already stifling traffic. To top it all off, the cheap beer that helps people let off steam at many a weekend party has suddenly become scarce, too.

Nearly seven months after the death of Hugo Chávez, the country’s longtime leftist president and father figure, there is a growing sense that things are falling apart.”

To be fair, Venezuela’s problems were “Made by Hugo” all the way.  It was Chavez’ policies, from reckless spending to a horrible case of cronyism and corruption, that brought the country to this situation.

In other words, it did not start with Maduro but life is not fair specially when you hitch your wagon to a corrupt man like Hugo Chavez.

The problems in the country are rather severe and I am not talking about a shortage of toilet paper:

“Inflation in the first eight months of this year was more than triple the rate in the same period last year. When measured over the 12 months that ended in August, it exceeded 45 percent.

A government indicator that measures the scarcity of basic goods is close to its highest level in more than five years.”

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not defending President Maduro, a man who was “questionably” elected earlier this year after Chavez was officially pronounced dead.

All of these difficulties in the nation raise a legitimate question:  Will Maduro survive?

My opinion is that he won’t, no matter how many times he expels US diplomats or tells us that he had visions of Hugo.

Maduro probably wishes that they had kept Hugo connected to that life machine a bit longer.

Frankly, the end of Maduro is coming and it won’t be pretty.  I just hope that someone at the Obama White House is on top of events in Latin America.   Venezuela could come apart soon and Washington needs to be alert.

P.S. You can hear our chat about Colombia, Venezuela and other US-Latin America stories here.

Listen in to “Canto Talk” with guest Daniel Duquenal

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I messaged with Silvio, he corrected the Blog Talk Radio Webpage which had the show scheduled for tomorrow. So ignore the date change.  The show is tonight at 9pm CT.  Sorry for the confusion folks.

Sorry folks there’s been a date change, the show is scheduled for 9pm CT, Sunday, October 7.

Tune in to Canto Talk on Blog Talk Radio with Silvio Canto Jr this evening at 9 pm CT.  Silvio’s guest is Daniel Duquenal of Venezuela News & Views.  They will be discussing the election in Venezuela on Sunday.

“The election in Venezuela is very important for the US…….Hugo Chavez must be defeated.”

Call in number to speak with the host:  (646) 478-4933

Click here to listen.

If you missed the show, please listen here. Excellent analysis on the situation in Venezuela and tomorrow’s election.

Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio

Venezuela Getting New Currency

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UPI reports that El Burro Chavez is instituting new currency in Venezuela:

CARACAS, Venezuela, March 31 (UPI) — Venezuela will introduce a dual currency to alleviate pressure from a devalued bolivar and record-high inflation, a government financial adviser said.
“The intention is to finish with the parallel market and instead allow the dollar to trade through a global bond on the local stock market, transparently and freely,” said an adviser to the Venezuelan finance minister on condition of anonymity.
The bolivar was devalued about 100 percent against the dollar in 2007, which in turn prompted a 22.5 percent rise in inflation during the same period, The Financial Times reported online Monday.

I managed to get an advanced copy of how the new currency will look:
hugo money.jpg

Banana-Head!

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Babalusian, Chuckwalla just couldn’t help himself.
Following yesterday’s post titled “Chavez’s Never-Ending Delusions,” we received this example of interpretive photo-shopping after having referred to Venezuela’s “maximum leader” as a “banana-head.” Enjoy!
-Anatasio Blanco
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