The Good News Is...
Finally admitting something that has been evident for a long time, Nicolas Maduro says that public utilities have failed Venezuela. This message may have gone unnoticed to many as they were sitting in the dark unable to hear him…but I digress. The fault wasn't his,of course, and he vowed to do whatever was necessary to fix the problem. He blamed sanctions (as always) and incompetent officers. "Tell me which head has to roll" he proclaimed. (How about yours?) Then he told us something that has been said every year since he took power…"2022 will be the best year of economic growth." No details on why he believes this nor how it will be accomplished but you have to credit his optimism. Especially since he has said this time and again and the economy has contracted every time.Oh, and the water supply problem will be solved in the first quarter of 2022. That would be the one he said he could solve with water trucks…overlooking the fact that they would need to deliver one every three seconds…but hope springs eternal.
Maria Corina Machado, my favorite opposition figure and the only one that has been consistent from the beginning, wants to have elections for new opposition leadership. It's long overdue as Maduro wants to keep renovating his "cohabitating" opposition. At this point there can be no doubt, cohabitation in not part of Chavismo's game plan.
In an effort to prove the Chavistas have actively been pursuing justice reforms, Venezuela's Prosecutor General informs us that the regime has charged 207 officers of state security services with Human Rights violations this year and has convicted 83 of them. No details…no names…and no way to verify this absurd claim.
And it appears that Chevron and several others will be able to continue operations in Venezuela until at least June. OFAC says the extension of the sanctions exemption is to allow for the winding down of operations but most think it's simply that the US doesn't want to completely abandon all interests to China and Russia and have no footprint in Venezuela whatsoever.
And speaking of energy companies, Gas Energy Partners tells us that only 600,000 Venezuelans have direct access to natural gas for cooking. The rest must rely on propane tanks.
The UN Refugee Agency is calling for help for an estimated 24,500 Venezuelans in Guyana border areas including 2,500 indigenous Warao. The Warao people need all the help they can get as they have been abused and abandoned by Chavismo and will now have 8 regional lawmakers speaking for them instead of their duly elected representatives. Does this sound suspiciously like "Protector of the People"?
And the survey says…36%. That's the number of Venezuelans a National Hospital survey says are fully vaccinated. A far cry from the official numbers put out there… and wasn't the goal 70% by the end of November? …revised from 70% by the end of October? And FYI, News-Medical.net informs us that Covid variants are spreading rapidly in Venezuela. Could this be why Maduro and his minions are constantly touting Cuban vaccines and recommending Abdala be utilized for boosters?
And to follow up on Maduro's claim to have the water supply problem taken care of in the first quarter of 2022, it appears that the water shortage issue may be more of a daunting task than anticipated. Public Utility Monitor reports that 90% of Venezuelans say they have problems with the water supply. I can hardly wait for Chavismo's solution. Remember their solution to the lack of protein in the Venezuelan people's diet? Stop viewing rabbits as cute little pets and look at them as two kilos of meat.
MOVER (Venezuela Movement for a Recall Referendum) is presenting proposals to the CNE (electoral council) for a Maduro recall in 2022. Good luck with that. That's the same toothless CNE that just had it's authority usurped by the TSJ (Venezuela Supreme Court) in the Barinas governor's race. We do,however, have CNE board member Roberto Picon asking the TSJ to respect the autonomy of the CNE.
And shedding a little light on the statement from the Prosecutor General, the deadline for the regime to show proof of it's own investigation to the ICC (International Criminal Court) has now passed so the ICC now has a mandate to pursue it's investigation into the Maduro regime for Human Rights violations and crimes against humanity.
And speaking of Human Rights violations, the IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union) states they reject Maduro's National Assembly (not the duly elected 2015 National Assembly) and they reiterate concern over the 154 documented cases of Human Rights violations against Deputies (representatives) of the 2015 National Assembly.
Regarding the EU-EOM (European Union Electoral Observation Mission), Caracas Chronicles opines "The actual work,content,or conclusions of the EU-EOM don't matter. The fact that the mission was allowed to come was enough",referring to how Maduro views the EU-EOM and other observers.
We also have ABC Spain confirming that the Venezuela elections didn't get the necessary approval for the international community to consider lifting sanctions. This as the Delegate Commission rejects the TSJ ruling and the CNE acceptance of same regarding the Barinas governor's race.
The Venezuela Chamber of Construction President reports that the sector has lost 1.2 million jobs since Maduro took power. And as if on cue,CANTV workers as well as health and education workers in Caracas are protesting for better salaries and conditions. This lends credence to my old neighbor wondering why anyone bothered to work in Venezuela at all.
Then we have the news that Doctors Without Borders is leaving Vargas Hospital in Caracas.It seems their agreement there has expired.
And in case you missed it, FAO rates Venezuela next to last in food security in Latin America. I guess that would be considered a win in the context of Chavismo's usual performance in almost any category. At least they're not rated last.
I know we've been all over the place today but, more often than not, such is the state of the news flow pertaining to Venezuela.
More tomorrow….