La fábrica de miedo
Milagros Socorro
El Nacional
8 Junio 2005
Una gran desesperanza abate el corazón de Venezuela.
Un agobio que acogota por igual a todos los sectores políticos de la nación. A los simpatizantes del Gobierno, porque tras seis años de retórica y de abuso del expediente de la confrontación, no ven una verdadera recuperación del país, no logran avizorar el inicio de un camino de paz, de trabajo, de perspectivas favorables para el desarrollo de una vida amable, con posibilidades de ejercer el derecho a la libertad y a la seguridad personal, de estudiar, de cultivar una vocación, de tener una existencia cónsona con las promesas de bienestar de la modernidad (que vemos satisfechas en las series televisivas extranjeras, en el cine y en las cartas que recibimos de nuestros familiares expatriados). Y a las distintas cepas de la oposición, porque casi todas han perdido la fe en que las cosas puedan cambiar:
hemos sido humillados con tal frecuencia, crueldad e inmisericordia, que hasta los ánimos más templados han comenzado a ceder al desencanto.
Además, los métodos democráticos han demostrado ser más frágiles que lo que creíamos, y muchos han fallado en el intento de torcer la ruta autoritaria por la que se despeña nuestro país.
POR SI ESTO FUERA POCO, ALGUNOS GAJOS DE LA OPOSICIÓN SE HAN PERMITIDO DESMELENARSE POR RAÍLES QUE CREYERON RÁPIDOS y que resultaron pantanos donde zozobraron sus aspiraciones. Estoy pensando en aquella época en que algunos opositores creyeron que si hacían mucho ruido en los lugares públicos donde descubrieran la presencia de un funcionario gubernamental, esto contribuiría a minar su moral y a hacerlo desistir de su frecuentación burocrática. Hubo, pues, quien creyera que Juan Barreto, pongamos por caso, el hombre que hizo publicar un panfleto anónimo donde insultaba a varias periodistas (entre quienes tuve el honor de contarme), se iba a amilanar porque le hicieran un cacerolazo.
Y estoy pensando en aquella otra época en que una parte de la oposición apostó a que en los oficiales disidentes de Altamira estaba la salvación de la República. Guardo en carpeta sellada los insultos que recibí entonces por haber reaccionado, a pocas horas de la maniobra del obelisco, señalando su inutilidad y patetismo teatral. (Condensa el estilo de los remitentes un mensaje que rezaba: “perra, puta, maracucha”. Toda una imprecisión, por cierto, puesto que soy perijanera). Como puede verse, esa fracción de la oposición estaba convencida de que los oficiales disidentes derrocarían el gobierno de Chávez y se abriría para el país una nueva era. ¿Cómo se explica este desatino? Porque ya entonces comenzaba a fraguarse este estado de desesperanza que hoy se percibe con toda claridad en todo, absolutamente todo, el país.
[...]
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VENDRÍAN OTRAS, TERRIBLES, ÉPOCAS. Los tiempos, por ejemplo, de lo que ha dado en llamarse, muy apropiadamente, “el fraude continuado”, tan minuciosamente documentado por El informe Súmate, la verdad sobre el Reafirmazo, uno de los libros más escalofriantes, por su riguroso tono técnico y lo irrebatible de sus argumentos, en la historia de la tortura, en este caso practicada a una situación en su conjunto y no a un sólo detenido en una dependencia militar (un libro, al parecer, que muy pocos hemos leído y respetamos, puesto que nadie lo cita cuando toca mencionar los grandes méritos de los directivos de Súmate, que rebasan con mucho sus gracias físicas, también innegables y muy de apreciar).
Aquella seguidilla de trampas, de burlas a la ciudadanía, de descarado abuso de poder, concluiría con el referéndum del 15 de agosto, sobre cuyos resultados aún existen dudas; si no en cuanto el apoyo con que contaba y cuenta el presidente Chávez (que las encuestas de entonces y de ahora refrendan), sí por aquellos antecedentes de grosero desconocimiento de los derechos políticos de muy buena parte de la población.
El 15 de Agosto estrangularía aún más la esperanza. Y me permito asegurar que la esperanza de todos, no sólo de quienes votamos por la opción revocatoria del mandato presidencial, sino de todos los venezolanos, porque esa fecha marcaría el desbordamiento del autoritarismo de Chávez (cuya máxima coagulación es la lista de Tascón), su nefasta alianza con Fidel Castro, la entrega de los recursos de Venezuela a la dictadura cubana, el ingreso de los agentes del G–2, ya, desde luego, en marcha desde el comienzo del gobierno pero entonces convertida en muchedumbre, claramente perceptible por la población. Y marcaría también, y sobre todo, el desbocamiento de la corrupción administrativa en todos los estratos del Gobierno. Nadie ganó con el 15–A, sólo Chávez y su camarilla. Y Fidel Castro, evidentemente, el principal beneficiario.
DESPUÉS DE AQUELLA FECHA, EL GOBIERNO SE COMPROMETERÍA EN UNA ESTRATEGIA DE INTIMIDACIÓN ELABORADA PARA QUE ALCANZARA A TODOS LOS VENEZOLANOS. A sus acólitos, para garantizar la militancia, la lealtad... y la complicidad, en muchos casos. Y a los adversarios, para demoler, dentro de sus cabezas, en el centro de sus almas, la rebeldía, el espíritu crítico, la claridad opositora. El miedo y la desesperación son los mejores estímulos para incurrir en errores, para dar bandazos, para dejar en la cuneta los principios porque la dolorosa impaciencia empuja a embestir sin mayores discernimientos.
Y en eso nos encontramos ahora.
Yo quisiera que mi escritura tuviera la eficiencia y el vigor necesarios para expresar la consternación que siento cuando veo al presidente de la Asamblea Nacional de Cuba, Ricardo Alarcón, en el estrado de nuestra Asamblea Nacional. No he aprendido en mi peregrinación por el castellano las palabras exactas para dar cuenta del tornado que se desata en mi pecho, esa mortificante lava que r
(...)
Yo quisiera que mi escritura tuviera la eficiencia y el vigor necesarios para expresar la consternación que siento cuando veo al presidente de la Asamblea Nacional de Cuba, Ricardo Alarcón, en el estrado de nuestra Asamblea Nacional. No he aprendido en mi peregrinación por el castellano las palabras exactas para dar cuenta del tornado que se desata en mi pecho, esa mortificante lava que rápidamente se desplaza hasta mi garganta y barre mis brazos. Los cubanos me han tatuado con la humillación.
La presencia del embajador de Cuba en nuestro Parlamento, en nuestra vida política, en los entornos que son de Venezuela y de los venezolanos, me ha impregnado de la mayor vergüenza que nunca he experimentado.
Pero si no tengo las palabras para nombrar la deshonra en que vivo desde que Fidel Castro y sus rufianes son los amos de mi país, los artífices de nuestro destino, quisiera tenerlas al menos para contribuir a desmontar el ardid preparado para mantenernos en el miedo y la desarticulación.
Es con el objetivo de paralizarnos de miedo que el dictador de Cuba, el último invasor de Venezuela y verdugo de nuestros soldados (durante los años sesenta), ha sido escogido como padrino de la promoción del curso de Estado Mayor del Ejército. Es para que nos convirtamos en colaboradores de su proyecto totalitario que el comandante general del Ejército, general Raúl Baduel, envía un boletín a los medios de comunicación para anunciar “la incorporación de la Reserva a los ejercicios militares que se realizan en la población de El Pao, estado Cojedes”. No es un gesto de mero carácter informativo que con su jerga abstrusa, el oficial esotérico reencarna en la perversión para hacernos saber que el Ejército está concentrado en reconvertirse en guerrero asimétrico, es decir, en instantáneo represor de cualquier iniciativa subversiva (la asimetría no es entre Estados Unidos y Venezuela, en cuyo caso hablaríamos de disimilitud sideral de las posibilidades militares, sino entre la población y el Gobierno).
Eso, que los aduladores llaman “pensamiento militar”, para atribuirle a Chávez una capacidad filosófica, está concebido para aterrar, confundir y obstaculizar la formidable tarea liberadora que tenemos por delante.
Todos los venezolanos.
(Milagros Socorro, El Nacional, 9 Junio 2005)
cool, are you going to post everything from El Nacional here so I can stop buying it? Not, as is obvious from the above, that it is really worth buying but I'm always looking to save.
GP--convince your oppos. blog cohorts to let dissident opinions be heard on their web blogs.
It's a democracy thing Parra==oh, yeah, i forgot, you think that the US invasion of iraq is about democracy.
never mind.
There are people who think invading Iraq was about democracy? Oh my.
Well at least they've moved beyond the WMD stage 
" GP--convince your oppos. blog cohorts to let dissident opinions be heard on their web blogs."
Indeed, I am not even Chavista and I was banned by daniel because I simply disagreed with his point of view in a calm respectful manner.
Of course his excuse was that he did not have time to respond to my posts... wow.
Anywho
"Y estoy pensando en aquella otra época en que una parte de la oposición apostó a que en los oficiales disidentes de Altamira estaba la salvación de la República. Guardo en carpeta sellada los insultos que recibí entonces por haber reaccionado, a pocas horas de la maniobra del obelisco, señalando su inutilidad y patetismo teatral. (Condensa el estilo de los remitentes un mensaje que rezaba: “perra, puta, maracucha”. Toda una imprecisión, por cierto, puesto que soy perijanera). Como puede verse, esa fracción de la oposición estaba convencida de que los oficiales disidentes derrocarían el gobierno de Chávez y se abriría para el país una nueva era. ¿Cómo se explica este desatino? Porque ya entonces comenzaba a fraguarse este estado de desesperanza que hoy se percibe con toda claridad en todo, absolutamente todo, el país."
That is a very subtle critique of the oposition, it is true that all of their solutions have been quick fixes, military coups, PDVSA shut down, and now Bush doing what he does best.
I respect Socorro's opinion of the country and share some of her worries, I worry about cubanization, both from havana and from miami. It is shocking how extremist my country's oposition has become. Case in point how the same author is treated for not being a hypocrite re: MCM and Bush meeting
http://www.noticierodigital.com/...pic.php?
t=11023
Almost 20 pages with some vicious attacks. For not being hardcore enough.
The cuban exile community is the most rabid and irrational group of people I have ever come across. I pray that we never reach that level.
"el último invasor de Venezuela"
Nitpick, second to last invader, but I am sure she understands that the last invader will never help Venezuela either.
Flanker:
Yes their desperation to be rid of Chavez at all costs and immediately has been the the major factor in Venezuelan politics for the last three years.
Why do you think that is?
I certainly have an opinion on it but I was wondering what you thought of it.
"Why do you think that is?"
Like I said it might be some sort of cultural phenomenon, the cuban exile comunity behaves in the exact manner, instead of proposing a smarter and humane end to the embargo, they prefer to ratchet the intensity now, not only must he go, but he must go NOW! I am telling you a lot of exiles will cry when Fidel dies, not because they care, but because he died happy or something, no bull.
My family is almost unanimous against Chavez, their behaviour is no different, after the coup I tried to reason with them that the smart thing to do was to wait, be patient and see if Chavez was as incompetent as claimed that the electorate would dump him. The constant alarmist response was there would be NO country by 2003-2004. It was as if a black hole or holocaust was going to swallow us up.
I have my theories for why this happens, the latino (or at least from the caribean) has a stereotype for being too passionate, trust me you do not want to be near a cuban or venezuelan when they blow up.
Both extremes are too angry to think clearly, that said I am thankful that they themselves are a minority, the majority are mostly mellow and selfish people that only care for 'what have you done for me lately'. I wish there was a way to cure apathy without passionate extremism.
Flanker there is a lot of truth to what you said - no doubt about it.
But I think there is something more to it than that. To me it is clear that this obsesive hatred in Venezuela and alarmist feelings are strongly fanned, if not entirely created, by the media. If you are bombarded by those sentiments 24/7 and you just hear non-stop hysteronics it is going to have a large effect. That your relatives thought the country as collapsing even when it clearly wasn't isn't something they probably thought up on their own. It was repeated, and repeated, and repeated, and repeated so many times that it was hard to avoid believing it. And even some of the saner media types, like Petkoff, said it. I remember in February 03 who wrote a pieced insisting that the Constitution be revised to allow for an immediate referendum, his logic being that the country simply woulnd't last long enough for the legal date of 8/19/03 to get there. So you see where this is coming from.
A funny anectdote on this is I know people who used to think PDVSA was the worst - that it was corrupt, incompetent, that it was pure connections to get a job there. But they are opposition supporters and after years now of listening to all the propoganda about the meritocracy they all think PDVSA was the best run company in the world!!! So you just can't underestimate the power of the mass media.
Of course, this just makes the question why are the owners of the media and other major powers so desperate to get Chavez out?
"
But I think there is something more to it than that. To me it is clear that this obsesive hatred in Venezuela and alarmist feelings are strongly fanned, if not entirely created, by the media. If you are bombarded by those sentiments 24/7 and you just hear non-stop hysteronics it is going to have a large effect. That your relatives thought the country as collapsing even when it clearly wasn't isn't something they probably thought up on their own. It was repeated, and repeated, and repeated, and repeated so many times that it was hard to avoid believing it. And even some of the saner media types, like Petkoff, said it. I remember in February 03 who wrote a pieced insisting that the Constitution be revised to allow for an immediate referendum, his logic being that the country simply woulnd't last long enough for the legal date of 8/19/03 to get there. So you see where this is coming from."
The media has some sway, and in a way they have manipulated some and enraged some even more, but the anti-chavez sentiment preceded the massive media histerics by a long shot. I still remember the 98 campaign, the media while somewhat hostile could not have drummed up so much hatred in such a short amount of time. Almost a year before the elections Chavez was a nobody (I remember reading an article I found on a Lexis nexis clone that he had 10% support). Back then and for a while it was assumed (even by me) that Irene Saez was unbeatable (In hindsight Thatcher lite would have sucked).
The same thing happened like in all Chavez elections, the oposition feared and demanded that a single opo candidate should surface, which was Salas Romer... The same rumors ran rampant, communist cuba, if you owned two homes they would take one, two cars etc. Anyhow I did support the anybody but Chavez camp, despite being a lifelong leftie, and I was not exposed too much to the local media. However I know realized that it was mostly an emotional judgement.
Of course even though the oposition is pretty much percentage wise the same as 98, they are a LOT more rabid, and I guess the media should shoulder the part of blame, it was like a vicious cycle they reported what their subscriber base wanted to hear, and the subscriber base got more militant from what they read.
That said most Venezuelans ignore the media, they vote with what they get, which is good right now I guess, had a referendum been held in 2002 Chavez would have lost big time.
"A funny anectdote on this is I know people who used to think PDVSA was the worst - that it was corrupt, incompetent, that it was pure connections to get a job there. But they are opposition supporters and after years now of listening to all the propoganda about the meritocracy they all think PDVSA was the best run company in the world!!! So you just can't underestimate the power of the mass media."
Well they sort of have a point, I grew up with the old PDVSA, I remember eating in the cafeteria of PDVSA chuao, the constant use of blue security cards just to go to the bathroom, and going on those silly fieldtrips. PDVSA used to be the model of how a state run company should be run... if efficiency was the most important thing. The whole pridefull boasting that it was one of the top Oil companies in the world had some merit, it was boasted long before Chavez. I assumed it involved some fuzzy math, but back then there was little competition the Exxons, Mobils, Texacos, were on the verge of collapse.
That PDVSA died in 2002-2003 but it was not necesserally Chavez that did it, he just provided a coup de grace. It died when people became so politically enraged that they abandoned all reason, their apolitical chant of 'meritocracia!', their duty to their country to not sabotage the lifeblood of the nation. Everybody deserved part of the blame.
In the end I would not go back to it, even though it was efficient it still owed the people more than what it was giving, and also because if it went back to were it was this whole thing was bound to repeat itself. That said I do not support the new PDVSA either, and I do worry about investment in new fields. However I thought we would recover to 2.7 million barrels a day so quickly.
There is hope that a compromise can be reached, the goverment is reaching out to some misled or currently buonero workers into comming back (more of an acceptance of reality rather than a solution), and there are statements of multi billion dollar investments, but something I learned in 99 is that with Chavez you have to look at facts not words, even if they insult you.
OW: Vaca Diez seems to have come to his senses, and stated that he will not take the presidency of Bolivia.
Seems that rightwing coup imposition of power against the mass of the population has been stopped--for now anyway.
Boliva going to the left will, hopefully, empower the long-marginalized indigenous population.
This could portend a positive trend for indigenous people in the Americas.
So who will be president? Are they going to have elections?
Jim,
If you are interested in Bolivia and Colombia this blog seems to cover them at least somewhat:
http://www.killingtrain.com/
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