Armando Briquet Live from Capriles Campaign HQ

/ October 7, 2012

8:09 – Briquet looked happy, but carómetros are inherently unreliable. I still don’t have any kind of firm number to share, and the rumors going around strike me as either very partial, or entirely made up and not worth passing on. Para qué enrarecer el ambiente? 

8:06 – Seriously frustrated with the connectivity problems here. If this keeps up I may need to go home to blog.

7:36 – The Free WiFi in the press room sucks! Unbelievable…

7:32 – An absurd press conference to suit an absurd political system. 99% of the information being conveyed here is being conveyed non-verbally.

7:24 – Briquet to a journo: “If you think I look happy, you have a good eye. There are plenty of reasons to be happy tonight.”

7:21  – Briquet is very coyly intimating victory here, while saying he has no results to give out. “We are highly satisfied with the results of the day.” “We have made a commitment to wait until CNE announces the next president of the republic.” Wink wink…

7:20 – Armando Briquet, Capriles campaign chairman, calls on the Plan República to tamp down on weird motorcycle movements.

7:18 – The guy looks very confident.

Related posts

123 thoughts on “Armando Briquet Live from Capriles Campaign HQ”

  10. Your comment about the non-verbal info is “spot-on”. Put simply, this guy Briquet is behaving like a winner.

    Very positive!

    To your point, the system is absurd.

    Like

  11. Armando Briquet “… a las 19:36 PM anuncion que no hay cifras oficiales…” Then why are you blatantly giving declarations insinuating a Capriles victory… these guys are clowns.

    Like

    • “There are no official numbers” = “CNE has not announced anything”. But actas are actas, my friend. It’s up to the CNE to acknowledge their truth or break the law.

      Like

        • I trust politicians on nights when misleading their constituency could lead to the end of their careers.

          Like

          • Not in Vzla, where a guy who tried to broadcsat some fake results on the aftermath of a CNE announcement, 4 year later gets elected as deputy…

            Like

          • Come on, EA, remember in the Primaries, Ramos Allup was saying that Pablo Pérez won in Australia before the Mesa closed, with a completely made up number.

            There are very few penalties for politicians who lie in Venezuela.

            Like

    • all the theatrics are signals sent to different players (cne, comando carabobo, fnbv, international observers, etc)

      Like

  14. Quico, ni esperaste que se terminaran los aplausos, te levantaste y te llevaste el morral. Desde Australia, por Globovision te estamos viendo. Keep up the good work!

    Like

    • They’re holding their press conference now, but have spent the opening minutes spewing the usual empty platitudes… Praising the electorate, civility, “Venezuela wins”, etc. etc. Not getting their usual cockiness.

      Like

  19. The last time I saw the oppo guys happy in a situation like this was when we won the constitutional referendum in 2007.

    If Briquet doesn’t really know anything and is only trying to keep the morale up I may just die.

    Like

    • Thats exactly my point, these guyss are politicians, it is their job to defend their votes, even on defeat a 45% voting share shows some muscle, power to negotiate and shifts momentum to the January elections…

      Like

  20. I hope Jorge Rodriquez smiles are fake right now! He looks like he is sincerely happy, then like he is faking it…anyone else notice the same thing?

    Like

  21. Wow…another rumor….they are removing the stage that was set up for Chavez…what does this mean if it is true??

    Like

  23. Hey wtf, Jorge Rodríguez just said “Tengo la sospecha que nos vamos a ver más tarde” and has been smiling like crazy.

    WHY DO THEY PLAY WITH US LIKE THIS?

    Like

  25. Now Capriles is doubling down (twitter feed, but it may as well be ‘him’): Calma, cordura, paciencia!Hoy fue una jornada histórica, grandiosa, un pueblo que habló! Sabemos lo que pasó y debemos esperar! Que viva Vzla!

    Like

  26. folks, we have been here before. The most devastating feel good moment of all – the 2004 Referendum. Who doesnt remember going to bed that night and feeling pretty excited about things. Con calma. It really isnt over til it the end. We have had 13 years of antics and tactics, so let us not let our guard down.

    Like

  28. Guys, I hate to rain on your parade, but Chavez and his compinches will never leave due to losing an election.

    Like

    • We’ll deal with that when the problem shows up. Until then, it is hypothetical we will even face that scenario.

      Like

  29. 8:09 – Briquet looked happy, but carómetros are inherently unreliable. I still don’t have any kind of firm number to share, and the rumors going around strike me as either very partial, or entirely made up and not worth passing on. Para qué enrarecer el ambiente?

    THANK YOU!!!!!

    Sanity is disappearing here. It seems Cthulu is arriving instead of the results.

    Like

    • haha wow, following this from Sweden. Curious about your country and if Capriles wins I have a start up who will fit in to Vezla. I have had contact with venezuelans almost everyday since 2 years back but this 48 hours has made me learn more about this country.

      Like

      • OK; I am going to be blunt. I just came in my pants.

        A Scandinavian interested in a Start Up in Venezuela? (rubs his eyes)

        You know, one of my issues with this “leftist”(militarist) govt is that they do have perfectly sane models to follow in your countries, and they chose to emulate Cuba, to be friends with Iran, Iraq, before the war, with Gadaffi, Al-Assad, and every other tyrant they could find.

        Investing in a start up in Venezuela would be mad, even if Capriles wins, but mad ideas pay really well when they are successful, and, believe it or not, Venezuela has some great advantages despite all the red tape. Hay un camino, indeed. Difficult, winding, long, uphill, but there is a way.

        Meanwhile, check about Start Up Chile.

        Like

        • Guido, what is the risk if Capriles wins? Of course there’s a long way for Venezuela but when I talk to my contats and sees all the commercials on the TV it looks quite much like high tech country. I have a web developer from caracas and he is positive for the tech industry in venezuela if Capriles wins. How come Chile?

          se.linkedin.com/in/fredrikkhedin

          Like

          • Bureaucracy is still going to be a pain in the ass. Culture can be difficult, the exchange control is not going to be lifted right away, there are not enough English speaking people to support a big company and you can have trouble finding the right people if you have very specific requirements. There are qualified people, but often their English is substandard. OTOH, you can offer a modest amount and get top, excellent people. Salaries are really low in Venezuela for professionals, even for Chilean standards.

            http://www.startupchile.org
            Chile can give you funds for proof of concept, $40.000. Specially if your business plan involves the rest of Latin America. We can talk more about that, applications are open.

            Like

          • A Norwegian in a start up in Venezuela?

            OK, I am going insane.

            Whoever you are, thanks for believing. Big hug.

            Like

            • Yeah this was unexpected indeed. Now I have a web developer plus a norwegian webdeveloper in venezuela. And me, I a finance geek who are sold on equity-option trading.

              Like

  30. El barrio 23 de enero de Caracas, uno de los más chavistas de la capital venezolana, está esta noche igual que un domingo cualquiera. En los alrededores del palacio de Gobierno de Miraflores tampoco hay mucha gente, informa Luis Prados.

    source: el pais

    Like

  31. i felt some CCC faces fake, but some others I felt real! either they think the information they are receiving is real and a Chavez victory, or else they have been taking real good acting classes.

    My concern is all this circo about hundreds of people still voting and in line, they just operate better in the darkness and by allowing for this they basically buy all the time they can….

    I liked Armando’s B. performance, a solid happy guy. If both sides are to be taken on their word, then both sides have won!

    A very nerve wrecking night ahead…

    Like

    • I like your comment, LuisF: “If both sides [in Vzla] are to be taken on their word, then both sides have won!” Actually, there is a scenario in which this is plausible, or at least not far fetched, if played correctly. If Chavez wins with less than 55 percent of the vote, or conversely, if the opposition gets more than 45 percent of the vote, both sides can claim victory: Chavez a technical win, the opposition a symbolic win. And a symbolic win here with consequences, given that regional elections are in December and the opposition – unless it gives in to unsubstantiated cries of fraud (which is not to suggest such cries can’t be made, but they should be substantiated) – can build on what is a steady increase in support, and a proven effective electoral apparatus, to mount more local level wins, with an eye toward National Assembly elections in 2014 and a potential recall referendum in 2015.

      Like

      • I’m on your side, as expected Chavez wins by 10%, Oppo leaders are protecting their work, their future stream of income, they have to fake happyness otherwise Chavismo will say they won 67 vs 30 and destoy morale for December…

        Like

        • “As expected” by one pollster who also expected the opposition to get no more than 25 MPs in 2010. Every other reputable pollster has the race as too tight to call, or with Capriles edging Chavez.

          Like

        • Personally I tend to think a closer win. Again, Chavez really needs at least 55 percent – though it’s not like he can’t parlay even a close win into renewed sense of purpose, mission (or misiones, como venga al caso), etc that would eventually reclaim some of his lost ground. But the Datanalisis poll was fairly convincing in terms of trends, underlying assumptions, etc, and those trends pointed to a close win. The Consultores poll, by contrast, made assumptions on the basis of an apples/oranges comparison (using trends from different kinds of electoral events) to make a case about a minimum number of votes. Obviously, you want to control for data that seem implausible. But you don’t credibly do that on the basis of the outcome you think you want. If your methodology is sound, and you it doesn’t give you the results you were expecting, then trouble is your assumptions, not the results.

          Like

  39. Henrique Capriles R. ‏@hcapriles
    Calma,cordura,paciencia!Hoy fue una jornada histórica,grandiosa,un pueblo que habló!Sabemos lo que pasó y debemos esperar!Que viva Vzla!

    Like

  40. Anyone else annoyed by the obligatory “public service message” Globo has to show to comply with “the law”? I mean, what a bunch of propaganda!!

    Like

  43. Could be wrong, but called the Legislative elections exactly percentage-wise: multiple sources give a Capriles’ win by varying (not large) percentages (sources are Chavista, including Congress members). Meanwhile armed gangs are robbing people on streets in La Florida/Los Caobos, and are congregating at Puente Llaguno…

    Like

    • The problem with the quick counts is that there are still a number of tables that have not been counted. I really hope they are not in Chavista strongholds!

      Like

  48. Ahora existen dos grandes preguntas: 1) si aceptara el perdedor la derrota, especialmente si hay gritos de trampa y 2) como actuara a la FAN para defender el resultado.

    Segun esta discussion – http://www.the-counterpoint.com/discussion/D – la mayoria aun cree que chavez no soltara el poder. Desafortunadamente estoy de acuerdo, el ve su revolucion como un fin sin importar el costo al pais.

    Like

  49. Henrique Capriles R. ‏@hcapriles
    A esta hr algunos siguen con la misma cháchara de siempre,los mismos cuentos,con la diferencia que estos ya son de despedida!

    Like

  50. Remember the referendum back in 2010: The opposition won, but they announced it at 2am.
    Therefore the way I see it, should the CNE announce the results within the next hour: We are royally fucked. Chavez won. However If the CNE takes longer, the more hopeful I will get for an opposition win. What do you think?
    Just in: A contact of mine in New Orleans who volunteered informed me that consulate decided to NOT COUNT the votes today. Por lo tanto estan empezando ha armar un peo. Que sucios

    Like

  51. New Orleans is all noise. 7,000 people wont move the election… and I have yet to see international votes EVER counted.

    Miguel Octavio reports bad news… “9:20 PM As certain results come in Chávez opens lead”

    Like

  52. I’m seeing pics of armored vehicles on Barquisimeto and Caracas, Twitter is on fire with this and I’m not sure of the veracity of such claims and photos, the other rumor going around now is that Chavez won. Here’s hope CNE ends this soon

    Like

  53. Hey guys:

    I don’t know what to believe anymore.

    Like

    • I am in peace.
      I was expecting this, but there was a slight chance things would be different. Now I can take it easy, even if it is the calm of stoicism, not the calm of beatitude.

      Like

  55. Haven’t had time OR internet to keep up with comments.
    However,all i wanna say is:
    Capriles lost by probably 1 million “votes”. Win or lose, i was gonna leave this country but i was hoping that when i came back i came back to a healed country, a patient showing signs of obvious progress. But i remember Belarus and their elections and Cuba and authoritarism and Venezuelan society as they are now. Opportunistic and/or Indoctrinared. It’s sad but true.

    Thank you CaracasChronicles for keeping us informed on EVERYTHING, and thank you comment section guys for the support. Madness is a MUST if we don’t have you indepedent bloggers. I will read you forever(till i die).

    P:S: Vodka is a demon and it as possessed me.

    Like

Comments are closed.