As I argued in my previous post, the political and economic crisis that Venezuela is facing gives ample room for outsiders to appeal to the people who are not convinced by chavismo, the MUD block, or both.
Take a look at the following video from Julio Jimenez (aka, @juliococo), and tell me if he’s not grasping this opportunity to thrive in the political spectrum (I guarantee that those 12 minutes are worth it).
Who is Julio Coco? Not much is known about him other than he claims to be an unemployed left-wing activist, a self-proclaimed atheist marxist who nonetheless celebrates Christmas. When the protests began, he recorded a video that quickly went viral. Now, he is a celebrity, gracing talk shows and debates.
Basically, Julio Coco’s points are:
- people are dying,
- mayors and legislators have seen their rights trampled,
- there are no dollars for medicine, so there is also “economic repression” caused by scarcity,
so, how dare the MUD talk to the government about “human rights”? How dare they sit and talk to the government?
Julio Coco is a nobody, but he is a silver-tongued nobody. Lacing his speech with profanities, he rants against the government and against the opposition, against old-time politicians and against believers in market economics. Julio Coco has become an important mouthpiece for the current protest movement – bark, rage, righteous indignation, but ultimately not much more than that … other than a blanket defense of the same economic model that got us into this mess.
Juliococo smells his chance, and he is taking it. As he himself wrote a few months ago:
“When people do not understand, they act as if out of inertia, they follow the trends, they are susceptible to the machinery of mass psychology, to lies, to pressure, to blackmail, to fear…”
Words to live by.
Caracas Chronicles 
JCOCO has any right as any to go after his political goals. He was fortunate to have his “15 minutes” and is now riding the protest wave. Good for him.
Many aspiring political figures can only wish they had his opportune good luck break.
Now calling JCOCO a nobody, is a bit offensive IMO.
He is a citizen and he is endowed with , yes, a silver tongue aright! and is spinning a discourse that many want to hear, so , what else is new? a demagogue,? I say politician.
.I have little knowledge where he came from, his track record, whether he is a G2 operative, etc… those are ll valid concerns and should be followed through! but hey, we have president whose past is murky as MUD and nobody seems to care much, so lets be consistent people!!!!
And yes, when you allowed a teniente coronel to run a coup, and get to power, next time around the coup cycle will be shorter, 10 years from 1992 to 2002, and next time around we could get only a Sargento or worse….
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and condescending
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Thanks LuisF, I agree, calling JulioCoco a “nobody”…is offensive.
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and it smacks of classism.
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Nah, he is thinking in political terms. And seriously, in political terms he has not more political base power than any other agitator that gets on the gullible minds of oposition (like Reinaldo do santos xD)
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Well. It’s naive not to think that he is not grasping the opportunity in order to launch his political career and maybe his speech is of “bark, rage, righteous indignation, but ultimately not much more than that” it’s true also, but to imply that he is using the machinery of mass psychology, etc, etc, etc… as Chávez did is too much.
The guy is communist, he doesn’t hide it as Chávez did. You can agree or disagree with him, but at least his posture is clear, and what is the worst that can happen? That he come out as a liberal later?, you can agree or disagree with him, but there is consistency in what he says.
If he runs for presidency I’ not going to vote for him, neither for a public office. But to disqualify his speech because is no more than that, a speech, is an argument that I could apply to MUD too. And he is not making wild claims; I suscribe to them, not with the conclusion, but with the claims. If politicians stay dea to this claims, Maduro will keep loosing popularity, but this will not be translated in gains for opposition.
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He reminds me a bit of the “joe the plumber” character from McCain’s campaign.
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This is a loose argumented article about Juliococo, sounds more like a xenophobic rant at an emerging political figure. I’m still not convinced by Juliococo but it’s memorable how he has connected with the people in the current situation, something longed by the opposition and by the ones expenting things to change (light chavismo and ninis).
I found funny that you argument that he’s an marxist-atheist that celebrates christmas using his own article where he says exactly that and justifies it.
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How is this article “xenophobic”? We are all Venezuelans here.
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I don’t agree with this guy in many things but I do agree in many others. He has the same rights as any other Venezuelan to pursue a politicians career as MCM, Julio Borges, or Diosdado. I can also say the writer of this article is a nobody, and I can also say Juan, Emiliana or any other writer from this blog are nobodies just because I say so but that would be a very stupid and mediocre way of disaccrediting their efforts. If he wants to be a politician he should go for it, and to be honest he has way more followers than you and I together so that means he is less “nobody” than you and I.
I do believe he represents a big portion of the Venezuelan population that doesn’t speaks as prettier as you would like but it doesn’t mean he cant understand the situation and cant asses what is good or bad for the country. We need to stop the social wall that if a politician doesn’t come from the same social background than me he is a niche and should not be an alcalde. So you really think that Chavez attitude did not represent the real Venezuelan? He was the representation of the average Venezuelan and the reason why we are a third world country.
I do agree with him that we should not be attacking chavismo just for been chavista. They probably have a reason to be one. They are good chavistas who believe in a philosophy due to certain social and environmental conditions, for example they feel marginalized by the other parties.
We should attack bad chavistas as well as bad opposition representative because they steal money, because they are not looking to create a better country or because they just can not control crime. That is the reasons to attack them. As a society we need to attack the rotten apples no matter if they belong to the opposition, the guy who cut the line, the guy who pays the police when he gets caught drunk driving.
I don’t think we should attack this guy who is actually trying to show the popular masses how corrupt and dysfunctional this government is. I don’t agree in many things he say but, so far I know, he have not done has not been involved in any illegal activity as I do know from Salas Romer just to give you an example.
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First of all, I don’t generally disagree with your comments. However, there is a real possibility that the political debate among those in government and the opposition and other’s is irrelevant. If Venezuela’s real government has been hijacked by Cuba, then the debate is just a show to distract the elecorate, and any beliefs in the electoral process are nothing but false hopes. On the other hand, if demonstrations and/or elections can change anything, then your comments would be relevant. It is clear to us all that the basic needs of Venezuelans have been subordinated to other priorities, and what those priorities are is largely being hidden. We know that Cuba and others continue receiving subsidies, and that various finanancial and fiscal reports have ceased production, and that constitutional madates are not executed and government institutions have become partisan. What is there to debate?
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Sorry Gordo, I don’t understand. I think you replied to the wrong person
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What is the fucking point of going against this guy? Juan also said something about him the other day.
At least he has the balls to be there and seize his opportunity and right to do so.
Why do you call him outsider? Outsider to what? Perhaps because he was not educated outside like you guys or is bilingual?
What a cheap shot. This blog losses credibility on each post.
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I can see why he appeals to you. You both share an uncomfortable love for profanities, and straw men.
As per your point, he is a sideshow, and a pretty harmful one at that, but not irrelevant. He spits out innuendo. He is an opportunistic, talented guy who defends things we disagree with, and since he has become a public figure giving speeches all over the country, he should be talked about. And yes, he is an outsider – he is new to the scene, and does not belong to an established political party or any group that we know of.
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Don’t be a sissy with regards to profanity.
The fact of the matter is that the guy has said some things that stroke a chord with people. Chavez style if you wish.
As for the straw man point, this article is obviously not shared by the majority of the readers.
Not xenophobic, but the tone was classist. And I do not think that is a misinterpretation of the article.
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Now that you put it like that, I think I understand the criticism of Julio Coco: He appeared pretty much out of the blue; few things are known from him; he is saying what has already been said (in an incendiary way) but not giving any answers or real, applicable solutions to the crisis; and so on.
Still, you have to admit, the post is written in a very sarcastic, mocking tone. Few arguments and a lot of rhetorics!
Examples:
“a self-proclaimed atheist marxist who nonetheless celebrates Christmas”
“he is a celebrity, gracing talk shows and debates” (in short, not much of a politican but a celebrity!)
“silver-tongued nobody”
By the way, what the writer wanted to express using with Mr. Cocos own words, is quite an exageration:
“they act as if out of inertia, they follow the trends, they are susceptible to the machinery of mass psychology, to lies, to pressure, to blackmail, to fear…”
If the quote had ended with the word ´trends´, I wouldn´t have anything against it, but the rest (“machinery of mass psychology”, etc) is an exageration!
A post like this may be more entertaining to read, but they are not very informative, nor convincing.
And let me just say, I´m a big fan of this blog! I will read CC no matter what Quico sarcastic replies are! You have great writers among you and its already a great blog. But it could be even better. Just accept the feedback: This article could have been written in a more convincing way.
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There´s nothing wrong with a guy like Julio Coco achieving political momentum. Yet the bigger picture hasnt been seen by major political players from both sides of the political spectrum. My argument is that both chavismo and the MUD bloc are dropping the ball while others like Julio Coco are grasping every bit of opportunity to appeal to frustrated and disgruntled venezuelans. Certainly he is speaking crystal clear while others remain querulous with their own base supporters (aka Capriles or la MUD).
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In other words, my argument dictates that Capriles, MUD, and others from the opposition face utter oblivion and Julio Coco´s rise might be a good proxy for gauging this political feature.
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Sorry Carlos. I think you are trying to about-face your position. Your title says tragic and the text is malicious at best.
By the way, if you really believe that venezuela’s celebration of xmas is for the believer only, you definitely live in a Venezuela I know nothing about. Our xmas is more a celebration of family and friends (as Julio said in the link you provided) than the coming of a messiah.
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Well said.
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“Julio Coco is a nobody, but he is a silver-tongued nobody.”
Pray tell us, what does a Venezuelan require to be considered a “somebody” by the author?
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Tell us what exactly Julio Coco is then. Is he the mayor of something? A succesful entrepreneur? An artist? A Governor? A legislator? The founder of a political party? What exactly is his merit for giving speeches all over the country, other than the fact that he says things on video and people respond to them?
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This is a tragic comment. Is so close to say that if somebody is not a succesful entrepeneur, an artist, a governor, or legislator, cannot give an opinion, have his fifteen minutes, or give speeches over the country,? I don’t debate if he is wrong or right, but attacking the guy, and not what he says is Ad Hominem at least. (given yout commentary to straw man)
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Agreed. I don’t even agree with most of what Julio says, but Christ on a pancake, Juan’s two steps shy of saying only landowners should get to vote.
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Por favor… un poquito de nivel.
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¿ A Escualidus Arrechus le falta “clase” también?
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Si a ustedes les disgusta Julio Coco porque le falte clase, ese es problema de ustedes. Creo que la crítica que se ha hecho en este blog apunta a lo contradictorio y vacío de su discurso. Es una crítica de contenido, con algo de forma. El hecho de que una porción de la población venezolana se vea hechizada por un tipo con labia que no detenta un cargo público, que no tiene una trayectoria de servicio, y que lo poco que sabemos de él es que es un marxista, es motivo de preocupación y de un sano y necesario análisis. El país no está para improvisaciones.
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Juan, con lo de clase estaba siendo sarcástico porque lo de “mérito” me parece tan fuera de lugar para que alguien tenga que ponerse a hablar de política como lo de “clase”.
El discurso es vacío, pero uno tiene que preguntarse porqué su discurso cala entre ciertos grupos. Es solo por culpa de las masas?
Los otros no han ofrecido discursos mucho mejores. El discurso de Machado con su capitalismo popular y la gelatinosidad y falta de propuesta clara de Capriles no son mucho mejores, aunque probablemente, si llegasen al poder, tendrían más posibilidad de no meter la pata hasta el final.
El tipo tiene todo el derecho de hablar y quizás sea bueno que lo haga a ver si Capriles u otro viene con un mensaje más claro…y encima los políticos nuestros comienzan a pulir un poco más su arte retórico. Como dijo Cicerón hace más de dos milenios, lamentablemente eso cuenta.
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Tiene todo el derecho a hablar, y tenemos todo el derecho a criticarlo. ¿De cuándo acá una figura pública está exenta de críticas? En este blog le hemos dado palo a Maria Corina, a Henrique, a Leopoldo, en fin…
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@JCN
“De cuándo acá una figura pública está exenta de críticas?”
El asunto es que arrancaron diciéndo que era un “nobody”. Y en plena discusión lo cambias a figura pública, y lo comparas con los principales líderes de la oposición, supongo entonces que no era tan “nobody”, como se afirmaba, y eso fue lo que inició la discusión.
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Está claro que lo de “nobody” se refería a que no tiene un trabajo o un cargo o una posición que le sirva de tribuna. Es una celebridad política, whatever that is. Eso no significa que sea irrelevante, de hecho estos comentarios dejan bien claro que el tipo pega y tiene arrastre. Good for him, bad for us.
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@JCN
“Está claro que lo de “nobody” se refería a que no tiene un trabajo o un cargo o una posición que le sirva de tribuna”
Creo que ahora entiendo mejor el objetivo del argumento.
Lo que se quiso decir fue “Julio Coco se ha vuelto un orador prominente a pesar de no contar con un partido político, cargo público, dinero u otros recursos que le sirviesen como respaldo, ni una propuesta concreta” (crítica con un poco de cumplido ambiguo [backhanded compliment])
Lo que yo entendí fue casi: “Julio Coco es un pata en el suelo, que lo único que tiene es que habla bonito, pero no dice nada, no sé por qué tanta gente le para” (crítica desdeñante, con un whiff elitista).
Aclarado el punto.
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Agreed. I think this blog post calls for some intense and honest soul-searching. I’d venture to guess that most people that read and comment on this blog are not successful entrepreneurs, artists, governors, or legislators. He is a nobody because he is unemployed by the very economic system that you criticize? If you listened to interviews he has given on TV you’d know that he is a chemical engineer that comes from a low socio-economic status. That he was sick and almost died because of the the ineffective public medical system. There are constant calls from the middle-class (and up) opposition for the people of las zonas populares to protest and when they do we criticize them? The other thing is that at least he is willing to discuss (or has even thought about) his preferred economic model. I don’t think we have a clear idea of the economic model that any opposition party would promote.
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“People responding to the things he say” is the only qualification he needs.
What does being an entrepreneur (!) or an artist (!!) or the founder of a political part (SERIOUSLY, NOW?) have to do with being worthy of having your countrymen hear your words and evaluate them on their own merits?
Juan, your elitism is showing, and it’s not pretty.
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Excuse me for disliking a marxist peddling opposition rage to a clueless populace hungry for something different.
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Juan, I dislike what he says there and I think he is, like every Marxist I have seen,a bag full of contradictions, but that doesn’t take the fact no one needs to have some “merit” to give speeches. It’s up to the people to listen to him…and frankly: I have seen a lot of guys who have written books and are governors or the like who give as much rubbish in his speeches.
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It’s 1994 all over again! Chavez hit the public consciousness with his “por ahora” speech and in out touring the country telling the stories people like to hear.
Julio coco is no less. With the right backing ($$$) and padrinos (michelena, otero! Rangel! CASTRO!) and council, it can be packaged into a successful electoral product, be it Asambleista, alcalde, governador, or whatever.
We do live in the land of a puppet government as we speak.
The challenge for venezuela is to face its structural bankruptcy, and to learn the right lessons from the upcoming catastrophic aftermath of The V republic “revolutionary” times. Nothing different that la guanabana on steroids, with 100$ oil and different people at the same helm.
Everyone is just trying to evade reality a little longer….
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In short: His merit for giving speeches all over the country is precisely that people respond to his message.
My understanding is that he’s a former Bandera Roja militant (granted that’s not exactly mainstream). But there’s nothing weird about someone who’s been a member of a political party issuing public statements in the middle of a political crisis, that are well received by some people.
I don’t share his political views at all, but I’m inclined to think that the people he’s reaching are not being reached by either MUD’s nor PSUV’s political “somebodys”.
I don’t agree with your logic. There’s plenty of businesspeople who’ve ran for office and came dead last, microparties (Movimiento Ecológico, MIN, Vanguardia Popular, ORA, NOS) who’ve failed to any member for office including their founders, renowned artists who’ve turned into unsuccesful politicians (El Conde, anyone?), I’d argue that he’s more of a hosehold name than many of those I mention, and his presence at rallies has been found more relevant as well.
On the other hand, NO ONE starts their political career as a governor, mayor or legislator. Capriles had been merely a legislator aide before running for congress, yet he was chosen as speaker of the lower chamber in 1998, for example. Political careers start usually by giving speeches at rallies, that people identify with. It’s too soon to know if Juliococo is peaking and will soon be forgotten or if he’ll be joining/founding a party, running for office, or having any political success.
I would have had no contention if instead of “nobody” the article had referred to him as an “outsider”. Refering to Julio as a nobody, seems rather dismissive.
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How do you become a mayor in the first place? Either some people (UCAB friends? the military?) select you as a candidate OR you start on your own by giving speeches and the like.
Every free man (and woman) has the right to proceed like he is doing all over the country.
I don’t agree with things he says and I don’t agree with his Marxist views (if he has them, although I didn’t hear much of that in that speech) but he is a human being and can thus give his opinion. It’s up to the people to judge and to the different political actors to react with something better.
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Thus spoke a true libertarian. Kepler, you may be drifting towards anarchism, which is, in my opinion, the best drift there is.
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In an interview on January 27, Ledezma predicted that if MUD leadership continued to drop the ball, new players would emerge.
“[…] Hay gente que busca evadir responsabilidades diciendo: “es que el líder es usted mismo”. ¡No, esa vaina no es así! Un pueblo movilizado sin un rumbo definido no llega a ninguna parte. ¡Aquí la dirigencia está para dirigir! O dirigimos o alguien nos va a sustituir en el camino”
“[..] There’s people out there ducking their responsibility and saying: ‘You ave to be your own leader’. That ain’t right! A mobilized people without goals achieves nothing. Leadership is meant to lead! Either we lead, or someone is going to eat our lunch”
http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140127/ledezma-maduro-ofrece-descuento-de-80-en-boletos-para-la-luna
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Could you also add a paragraph suggesting valid options that JulioCoco might explore to augment his political effectiveness? I like the guy very much, but I can see rough edges on his message. I would never criticize him for not having an established pedigree in the Venezuelan political landscape; on the contrary, that is the trait that I like the most on the guy. He lives in Sarria, had kidney stones and solicited help to undergo medical treatment last year, has three kids not living with him, is (or was) a member of Bandera Roja, and tries hard to share a message. Kudos to him.
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An old and stablished pedigree in politics is more of a liability in Venezuela: AD and COPEI have a lot more rejection than PJ, VP and even UNT.
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The way we discard our politicians is a really bad trait in our society. We have this insatiable need for someone new to emerge as a savior.
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I’m on the other side of the spectrum, I believe the worst trait of our politicians is their unwillingness to retire and pass the torch to the next generations. That is, the unwillingness of old politicians to discard themselves from leadership positions (not necessarily from political parties altogether (they could take up advisory positions, remain as militants, retire in international organizations, etc).
There’s CAP and his second presidency, with the right policies but the wrong attitude. There’s Caldera and his second presidency, when he managed (undead as he was) to kill the 1961 constitution, the second largest party (COPEI) and unleash Chavismo.
There’s also the balcanization of political parties, caused by younger generations being unable to rise to the higher posts. ABP, UNT and MiGato were all born out of the frustation of being held back by older politicians (like Ramos Allup or Guillermo Call). This will only get worse with the removal of reelection limits, allowing charismatic-clientelar leaders to hold indefinetly to governorships and mayorships as fiefdom, thus denying other politicians the chance to rise.
There’s also the growing trend of political parties becoming single-candidate platforms. Quick: who are the top 5 leaders in LCR besides Velásquez? in ABP besides Ledezma? in Cuentas Claras besides Scarano?
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It would be quite remarkable if economists could talk this guy Julio, (Maybe without most of the profanity)
Can you imagine this guy with a degree in Economics, Finance, or even political science?
Whenever I see viral stars like Julio come out of seemingly nowhere and yet manage to capture an audience, I think if only there was an economist with a these same talents. An economist whose eloquence and articulation captures a significant audience in the streets of venezuela…
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Economists would have to dumb down what they say anyway. Part of the reason guys like this connect with so many is that he drastically simplifies complex realities into simple slogans and speeches. Whether they are correct is irrelevant.
Even in many developed countries, there is a very low level of macroeconomic literacy among the voters.
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He has a degree in chemical engineering, not quite economics but we don’t call one a hard science and the other a soft science for no reason.
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The speech of epic righteous rage against the ‘luke warm’ and ‘soft’ is always emotionally sexy , its also the dumbest!! , the regime is institutionally entrenched , still counts with the fanatical loyalty of close to 30% of the population , has all the coercive resources of govt and is absolutely unscrupulous , Even though weakened by the unconcealable failures of these last years its still a formidable foe . Confronting it probably requires a two pronged strategy , the street protest approach ( which galvanizes oppo enthusiasm and reveals the govt repressive character to the world) and the unsexy ‘political’ approach of using all peaceful avenues to attempt to widen the manouvering room the oppo needs to strenghten its institutional presence in the political arena and ultimately be able to use an electoral approach to unfaging the regime and bringing it down .!! To think that the regime can be brought down by indignant street protests alone at this moment is folly .!! The MUD approach and the Salida approach in a way complement each other . its like the good and bad cop system of interrogation . Coco is going for the sexy outraged approach , the visceral approach , while defamating the oppo group that practices the politics of dialogue and compromise knowing full well that by itself it wont get anywhere but that certain concessions might be obtained that improve the opposition situation overall . !!
Once before the oppo rank and file took the epically enraged righteous position that it would not participate in any elections which could be gamed by the regime , the result was giving the regime in a silver platter full control over the TSJ, the National Assembly , the CNE, etc.
As the saying goes , Once struck twice shy, The best strategy is to use that kind of heroic approach when it can yield the best results but also leaving some space for other less heroic strategies to be used where there is the possibility of obtaining some advantage from it .
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I think the guy makes some valid points. And that is what we should we debating, the message (or messages) not the messenger. What connects with people is what he is saying, so why don’t we analyze / discuss that. Agree with other posts that these ad-hominem attacks on the guy are distatesful (worthy of what Chavistas tend to do….I guess in the end we are all humans). Please let’s stick to what he is saying and where he may be right/wrong and why.
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errata (late here): ‘we should be debating’ (not we debating) and ‘distasteful’ (+ the rest which I can’t spot right now)
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You know, this article could be seen as a knee-jerk reaction because Juliococo pissed on the “dialogue”.
I mean, I disagree with his economics, but I agree that the circus show was an insulting waste of time.
For those that care, here’s Juliococo on Shirley, when he explains where he came from:
After being asked “Ok, what do you expect to win from this?”:
And an interview on Panfleto Negro about his economic views and some other stuff:
http://www.panfletonegro.com/v/2014/04/16/entrevista-juliococo-por-elreytuqueque-cocoverdades/
Here’s a better angle against him: Is easy to say “I’m not looking for any public office” now, because the regime wants every politician that opposes it dead, exiled on in jail, and the competition for the biggest adulator on the PSUV is fierce.
But overall, the division between the protesters and the MUD, the opportunity that Leopoldo López, María Corina and Ledezma saw to promote #LaSalida cames from a very simple belief, a belief that earned a lot of popularity while enduring the goverment of Maduro and Cabello:
Capriles was wrong on pulling back the protests after April 14 of last year.
“Are we going to keep arguing about this?” YES. In fact, one of the reasons of the protests is because it wasn’t discussed enough.
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OMG
“Si bien es cierto que yo vengo de la izquierda clásica para mí eso fue una inversión de vida que me dejó una experiencia pero ya lo superé. Lo superé en tanto entiendo que la realidad venezolana tiene un conjunto de niveles que no pueden ser fácilmente teorizables en las teorías revolucionarias históricas. En ese sentido nosotros no creemos que los problemas del país se solucionen mediante la escolástica económica marxista. Yo considero, y es donde me estoy ubicando el día de hoy, que mi propuesta económica debe ser muy parecida al modelo económico que se maneja en Canadá.”
Molleja’e mezcolanza. What a bunch of nonsense.
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It is but the best thing we can do to make him more important is to dismiss him as someone who “doesn’t have merits” instead of presenting people who can speak clearly, reach the masses and yet make sense.
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I disagree, Jcoco CAN and DOES speak very clearly.
You may see through his message and punch holes on his reasoning for sure, I do too, but the guy has found a political market and is definitely exploiting the opportunity. Again, kudos.
What I find deceiving is any actions that reinforce the hope of a pacific, non openly confrontational, electoral even solution. My paradigm is one of occupation by an alien power.
FIGURAS SOBREVENIDAS like jcoco in question do raise red flags with me because I fell their discourse promotes the belief of an political solution.
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There’s going to be a political aftermath after, well, so far it looks like it will be a civil takeover of Miraflores or something.
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I get it, he’s not you cup of tea.
But you’re singling him for having an unclear economic platform in a land where the main schools of economic thought are: Bolivarian Socialism, Progressism, A Better Venezuela and People’s Capitalism. And we both know neither of these proposals have passed the slogan stage. What Julio Coco is lacking is a tag for his “Canadian Economic Model”.
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Stephen Harper would be LIVID if he read that someone thought Canada’s economy is in any way Marxist.
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Harper is not Canada.
Although the Harper era policies have worked in the resource /commodities upside cycle, they face strong opposition among many Canadians that are not from Alberta, from oil and Gas and other resource industries….
The merit for Canada is that its institutions have proven to be strong enough to resist even a successful HArper government.
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Agreed! (I live in Canada and I’m far from a Harper supporter)
I meant it mostly as a joke. And in any case, Canada is far from Marxist, even before Harper.
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Beyond the fact that there is public funding for health care in Canada (provincial for the most part), after almost six years in Canada my impression is that Canada is much worse than the good old USA: It is a really strong fend for yourselves country!
Again, its not even that we spend in health care (the USA spends more public funds per capita), we just spend them better… that doesn’t make us anywhere near a left leaning country… quite the contrary. Even the liberals that have ruled Ontario for over a decade are pretty center, Ontario can’t be considered left… Quebec is a different story… but they are a world on their own.
From this video I agree: This guy has no clue what he is talking about… Canada is NOT a socialist economy! and it is a BAD example of what I think he is trying to convey.
To add to the first point… I happen to agree with the author and Juan, he could perfectly be described as a nobody (politically speaking), perhaps with the potential to become someone in the future, if he endures. He will otherwise become an anecdotal speech giving guy from “humble origins”. I kid you not, there are tons of these guys in every town in Venezuela, some of them have been at it for years… most of you have not spent time in rural Venezuela then, they just didn’t go viral with Youtube. Most people in town stop paying attention after a few years… they changed nothing, they accomplish nothing (politically speaking).
I think that pointing out the possible “classist” undertone or possible interpretation is fine, but some readers are just making such a fuss about it I think of it two ways: 1) You are personally affected (get over it and stop being a “resentido”; or 2) You might be worried that because of such undertones this post/author/blog will not percolate to the masses. Well, maybe its true… because of these interpretations is why educated technocrats and most of the opposition don’t make far with the masses.
Truth be told, the author is not trying to be “politically correct” either way you choose to see it, and I don’t think this blog should even have to start worrying about that. It would be self censoring!
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Juan, querido Juan.
If the article had quoted that kind of stuff, and made a solid criticism against Julio, it’d be great.
But what I see is a petty article, full of ad hominems and that reeks of classism. A ‘nobody’? Shit, that sounds like something that a villain from a telenovela would say.
You know, when people that love your blog, that have read you for years, that agree with you in most issues, at least partially, criticizes you this way, you better start listening and try to see if they have a point. It’s not like Kepler, Escualidus, Evilchip, and others are clones.
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“Reeks of classism” … why? That’s a huge accusation to be making, you better back it up.
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As I said, I m not the only one perceiving it.
I didn’t call you a classist, Juan. (ANd I don’t see why you are defending this article so much if you didn’t write it). Were you one, I would not be your friend and visit you often. However, this post for better or for worse, can be interpreted that way. You could have built a much better case against him quoting his merjunje rather than just calling him a nobody. What this piece says is basically that Juan Bimba has no place in politics unless he is already an enchufado.
I am writing this because I love this blog to pieces and I consider you and Quico my friends. My duty as a friend is to call out when I see what I think is wrong, so you can correct it and improve. It’s up to you to take it or leave it, Juan.
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Undoubtedly this text is classist elements.
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Some mezcolanza like “capitalismo popular” perhaps?
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Or Lula-nomics.
Note that in the very same article, it also says “don’t know about exchange controls” and “the only person that has a clear project is Leopoldo López”.
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Not being a fan of “capitalismo popular,” tiene bastante más fundamento que el arroz con mango de Julio Coco. Por ejemplo,
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/jan/19/david-cameron-pledges-popular-capitalism
http://www.getcited.org/pub/102817898
http://www.getcited.org/pub/103106611
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Creo que si no he dicho una propuesta difícilmente puedes saber cuales son sus fundamentos.
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The “mezcolanza” is a serious problem in the Venezuelan cultural elite. I call it SILA (a derivative of SIDA) or the “Síndrome de Insuficiencia Lingüística Adquirida” One of the purest exhibits of SILA is the following:
“La Universidad se ha acomodado a un cierto tipo de teoría del conocimiento que prestigia particularmente todas las producciones científicas y humanísticas que proceden, por cierto, de todos y cualesquier países que exhiben un desarrollo industrial avanzado.
No constituye esto una invitación al chauvinismo gnoseológico, sino que se pretende señalar que, no habiendo una actitud epistemológica que mida sus proporciones, superficies y fondes a partir del entorno nacional mismo, solo queda un proceso aluvional y desarticulado de directrices congnoscitivas ajenas.”
Folleto: Estructuración UCV 1974. pag 17
Publicado por la Universidad Central de Venezuela, Vicerrectorado Académico, Comisión de Estructuración Universitaria.
Ediciones del Vicerrectorado Académico, Mayo 1974.
Miembros de la Comisión:
Dr. Antonio Muskus, Presidente
Arq. Eduardo Castillo Castillo (Presidente-Encargado)
Dr. Luis Manuel Manzanilla (Coordinador)
Dr. Luis Mariano Serpa Sanabria
Dr. Vladimir Yackovlev
Br. Leonardo Vivas
Asesor: Dr. Miguel Angel Perez
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Coño que fino… No tenían mucho que decir, así que metieron palabras poco comunes para que a uno le de fastidio buscar el diccionario, y así llevarlo a dos párrafos.
En resumen dijeron: “Nuestras universidades se dejan maravillar por las investigaciones de países más desarrollados, las cuales pueden resultarnos ajenas si no se adaptan a nuestra realidad antes de aplicarlas”.
Uno de los mejores artículos críticos de este fenómeno lo escribió el mismísimo George Orwell: “Politics and the English Language”
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm
Un esfuerzo por erradicar esta plaga de textos redactados para confundir http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/
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“Yes, I was a hardcore Marxist but I got over it. Classical Marxism won’t fix our problems. Our economy should be like Canada”.
Stripped of the extra fluff. Now, can we argue about it?
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I’m a lot more distrustful of “crystal clear”, angry analysis of any current system, now.
After all, current batch of fools in power is full of people with crystal clear angry analysis of the IV Republic.
But well, at least there is something positive about this – I think it shows that people can move away from the shoddy ideological “arroz con mango” of Chavismo. To something as confused as this, but well, its a start.
Also, no idea why the whole indignation with “nobody”. It is clear the guy is a nobody; his whole appeal IS being a nobody in terms of the political struggle. An outsider that does not represent any particular power group in the conflict so he can portrait himself as voice of everybody else.
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Cítame los minutos, porfa, Juan!
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Translation: “Yes it’s true that I come from the classic left and that was a life investment that left me with experience but that I’ve now surpassed. I surpassed in that I now understand that the Venezuelan reality has a set of levels that are not easily theorized with historic revolutionary theories. In that sense, we don’t believe that the countries problems should be solved by marxist economic scholarship. I think that my economic proposal should be similar to the economic model of Canada.” – How is that nonsense? He is saying that he has moderated his “radical” views and now believes in a model that could be described as social democracy with free market values.
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More examples of nonsense:
“”Por supuesto, esta teoría política general se nutre de otras vertientes contemporáneas sobre la política, la moral y el humanismo: el cristianismo, el marxismo, la politología norteamericana y las más variadas filosofías antropocéntricas que copan el pensamiento y la acción del mundo actual. El proyecto político y el proyecto de movilización social de la V República implican ir construyendo, en el proceso práctico-racional, una “teoría política de síntesis”, que englobe tanto esta teoría política general como las actuales problemáticas específicas de las crisis, en los diversos ámbitos, que vive la nación y el pueblo venezolanos.. Vendría a ser nuestra potencial capacidad de articular –en la acción y en el pensamiento– la teoría general con las cuestiones coyunturales contemporáneas que sacuden a la república. En ello está la posibilidad cierta de edificar una estrategia, una táctica y un plan operacional de trabajo cotidiano que pueda hacer realidad el proyecto político y de movilización de la V República. Justamente, esta estrategia, esta táctica y este plan operacional constituyen los elementos fundamentales de nuestra “teoría política de síntesis”, que se construye al calor de las luchas de nuestro pueblo.”
Taken from a Web page of the MVR back in 2000 (http://WWW.4F.ORG/mvr.htm)
And, on the other side of the aisle, here is AD
“El Partido Acción Democrática tiene un sólido basamento doctrinario, desarrollado en base a los postulados ideológicos del PDN, Partido Democrático Nacional, antecesor político directo de AD. Su doctrina, programa y táctica han surgido luego del análisis sólido de la realidad venezolana. De aquí que la tesis política del Partido no sea un simple transplante mecánico a Venezuela de concepciones teóricas y de métodos de lucha inadecuados a la realidad del país. Se trata de una revisión seria de la realidad económico-social de Venezuela y de los métodos adecuados para transformarla en un sentido renovador, hecha desde el ángulo del universal anhelo de progreso incesante y de justicia social, pero desde una perspectiva venezolanista. Claro que AD perdería vigencia si limitara su misión histórica a los logros mencionados y si no tuviera conciencia de que estos exigen ampliación, profundización y perfeccionamiento según el ritmo indeclinable de la dialéctica social. Pero si en este terreno pudieran justificarse censuras a las capacidades de determinados administradores o gobernantes de AD, sería, más que injusto, absurdo, hablar de abandono de las ideas básicas. Por otra parte, si AD encontró realidades limitativas en el momento de su fundación, hay que recordar las otras realidades del mismo género que aparecen en el curso del trayecto que está recorriendo.”
Taken from http://datastrategia.com/accion-democratica/ideolog.html (link does not work anymore)
JulioCoco drinks that koolaid, but he can’t be blamed for speaking nonsense. Most Venezuelan politicians speak nonsense.
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He knows canada is a Petro state with a lot of entrepeneurs/venture capitalist and a Free market aproach? Nyet? Well, that is like Capriles talking about the “Brazilian model”
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He might as well be an emerging figure (good for him, indeed); he’s not free of political acumen, to his credit.
But, could his rise belie his picture of the government as repressive? Which it is, but it might serve as a counterpoint for the State propaganda machine…
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The State propaganda machine already did a hit piece on him and Yeiker Guerra: A very racist rant published by Pérez Pirela:
http://laiguana.tv/noticias/2014/03/31/14014/LA-VERDAD-QUE-ESCONDE-LA-OPOSICION-DE-JULIO-COCO-Y-YEIKER-GUERRA-EL-CHAMO-DE-PETARE-.html
(And likely authored, but of course he was a coward and didn’t signed it).
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Thank you for the link, OpUno. I read the article against Julio. I also read scores of comments. It was nice to see that the majority of the comments painted the misery without mincing words.
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I dislike a lot about JulioCoco, but I think that he can connect to people and a lot of what he says makes sense.
I am not voting for him anytime soon, with that arroz con mango in his head.
BUT… this is one of the worst pieces I have seen on this blog. Terrible, terrible. You are not winning any fans with this kind of speech, guys and gals.
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I have to agree with you, and with Juan’s rectifications, which he has taken from being a tad elitist to making a lot of sense about Juliococo.
It’s a nice debate that has been opened, which I don’t think this blog had touched yet.
The only problem is that it originates from a really mediocre article, starting because CC has such a high standard for us readers.
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Agreed. Been reading CC for months now. I recommend it left and right (pun intended). This is the first I feel a need to comment. This is dangerous fodder for VenAn types. They’ll be frothing at the mouth to use this in more misguided tripe. Not a time to disparage the underdog. I can see it now: “The Opposition: No Room for Coco at the Top: Why the opposition won’t allow non-elites to join the inner circle.”
Besides, he’s made some useful points and inspires those on the fence or under-motivated types. Better to let him in, before the Gov. gets their hands on him.
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Right on, Calabashhhouse.
Exactly what I was thinking
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Wish they could delete it, but the damage is done (VenAn has screenshots). I remain an avid CC reader, and also anticipate some good things from JulioCoco. He speaks to the part of the opposition that was once into chavismo but jumped ship, I believe.
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I’m glad this article isn’t about how butthurt CC is about Julio Coco doing in 2 months what they’ve been trying to do for 10+ years.
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Juan y Carlos, me parece imperdonable còmo critican a Juliococo dejando MCM a salvo. La mayorías de tus comentarios en este post, Juan, por cierto, han sido muy ad hominem y straw-men. Triste que CC se ha vuelto un blog MCM, LL….
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El post es sobre Juliococo, ¿por qué le hace falta críticas a Maria Corina?
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“[…] dejando MCM a salvo. […] Triste que CC se ha vuelto un blog MCM, LL….”
Yo no sé que blog has leído, pero CC ha sido bastante crítico hacia MCM, LL, etc.
http://caracaschronicles.com/2014/04/09/not-an-either-or-situation/
http://caracaschronicles.com/2014/03/26/we-have-learned-nothing/
http://caracaschronicles.com/2014/02/17/34988/
http://caracaschronicles.com/2014/02/11/lasalida-is-not-a-strategy/
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Los manerismos Asustan! defiendenos dios, conciencia universal
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Da miedo, y los estudiantes dan, como te digo, verguenza! hacia uno!
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This article makes it seem as if it is important his lack of a “status” (being a nobody) over the fact that his speech sucks. I don’t like him, not only because his leftism, but also because of his lack of making sense (something that seems to be popular in this country).
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Plumas de obsidiano…
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Julio Coco rocks!! I agree with all critical comments on this Post. The commenters also rock!!
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When compared to the pichones de políticos incubated by the MUD, Julio Coco has formulated, from the get-go, a crystal-clear vision of how things are, while he delivers that vision with extraordinary strength that reminds me of the políticos of old.
I also like his self-awareness and humility. He know who he is. He knows where he has come from, he knows what his capabilities are, at present, and what he needs if he were ever to enter politics for real. Julio Coco He isn’t pretending to be what he isn’t. I respect that.
Finalmente, luego de tanta bolsería, hace falta escuchar a quien canta claro y raspao, a través del gran número de niveles socio-económicos.
Este jóven tiene un buen futuro politico.
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The video that won me over is the one right before Leopoldo López got jailed:
And his reactions to “Juliococo for President” make sense: “Are you serious? I don’t want to be President, it’s going to take a shitload of effort to even start to fix the country, I’m not even close to be ready for that”.
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OK, why don’t we go to the essence of the issue then?
From my point of view
1) what is wrong with Julio Coco?
As typical of so many others, specially Marxists, he doesn’t have such a bad analysis of what is wrong. What is really bad is what he proposes.
2) He is a maverick, unlike Chávez, who was trained and for a long time associated with the likes of Douglas Bravo etc. So: it is less likely that he will be more than a secondary figure…and still, he has some potential for disruption.
3) why, why is the opposition failing to get produce with the rhetoric skills and with a couple of decent analysis of the current situation in Venezuela?
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Is not just rethoric. The right question is: Why his message is making impact?
A very common point of view (full disclaimer: also mine) is people disagreeing with his economic views, but actually respecting:
*His analysis of the current situation. Up to saying “we need politicians and political parties, but several of the ones we have have to either change or make space for new ones”.
*His advices on what the fuck are you supposed to do in a protest movement. People are clueless about it, and said cluelessness can get people killed or arrested.
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Caracaschronicles, I have shared many of your articles before and carried a banner with your Webpage address (amongst others) during a demonstration in the USA, so that people around the world could read about the situation in Venezuela; however, an article like this makes me question my choice to share your site any longer. What is the author trying to tell us other than his condescending opinions of a fellow Venezuelan and inaccuracies about how he first came to the public’s attention? Type in “Juliococo Beta político” into YouTube and find out that your statement: ” When the protests began, he recorded a video that quickly went viral. Now, he is a celebrity, gracing talk shows and debates.” is inaccurate, I shared a video of Julio Coco’s over a year ago as did many of my friends and family; I suggest you do your research when you write a piece about someone. What relevant information did we learn about Julio Coco from your article other than your biased opinion of him? Nothing really, so let’s just cut to what your article HAS accomplished:
1-It has proven that JulioCoco is most definitely NOT a NOBODY
2-It has shown that someone who is not backed up by money, a good name or a career in politics can capture people’s attention by speaking up.
I follow Julio Coco on Facebook and Twitter, he and I don’t share the same background but that does not prevent me from seeing what is appealing about his rhetoric and how not having a “cola de paja” allows him to say what he truly wants to say. Do I think he should be the next president of Venezuela? I think he has a VERY long way to go and a lot to learn before he should even consider running, but I would not begrudge him a political career just because he swears a lot and is not an entrepreneur.
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Again, I’m puzzled by how people read “nobody”.
He is a nobody. I’m a nobody. You are a nobody. Well, I think you are, unless you are in secret some big political leader in one party or another.
His whole appeal is being a nobody. A non-Chavista, non-MUD, non-party affiliated nobody. Thus, supposed to be more representative (of whom and how many, who knows) and less tied up in dark interests of some group or another. But he is, at the same time and for that same reason, a nobody – meaning that whatever he says, has absolutely no relevance at all in what is going to happen in Venezuela right now. He may be looking to change that, I dont know. He may get some kind of support, or lead a new faction, or whatever. Those are his rights. But right now he is just another guy talking without any power to make any change, same as… well, anybody here. Its not like Maduro is going to listen to him, for example.
You are praising those same qualities (“not backed up by money, a good name or a career in politics”) while angry at being summarized as “nobody”, which makes no sense.
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A los venezolanos nos encanta distraernos hablando paja definitivamente… discusiones bizantinas, ángeles asexuados, etc. Lo que debemos preguntarnos: como una contradicción con patas logra tener tanto calado en la gente? No dice eso bastante del bajo nivel (no lo digo peyorativamente) que TODOS tenemos y que evidentemente es la causa del absoluto desastre en el que vive Venezuela?
Que discutamos si el tipo es negro, zambo, salto atrás o lo que sea es muestra de lo bien que lo ha hecho el castro-chavismo (dios! Algo hacen bien los inútiles esos) en sembrar la división social. No sé por qué odian tanto a su propio país…
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I like your point.
As Juan put it in one of his comments: “we’re hungry for something different”.
That shouldn’t be sufficient to convince us. And with the Juliococo following it just shows that it appears to be.
We’re really f..ed.
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Que discutamos si el tipo es negro, zambo, salto atrás o lo que sea es muestra de lo bien que lo ha hecho el castro-chavismo
Perdona, pero esto es delirante. Cómo que la Gente (sí, con mayúscula) no discutía, antes del castro-chavismo, si el tipo es negro, zambo, salto atrás, o lo que sea…?
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Que te puedo decir…, no somos un pais delirante?
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OK, let’s stop discussing whether he “merits” or whether we are all nobodies or nobodies.
Let’s go to what he proposes. What is it?
I don’t see it. I do see he can criticise everyone because he is independent and that is refreshing for many. He also points at a lot of bad stuff in the system and that is right as well. I do remember reading Das Kapital, for which Marx actually did a lot of research…the book is boring but it presents a very correct – even for economists who do read it – description of economic reality in Europe in the XIX century. The problem was what Marx proposed.
Right now in Germany there are lots of people who like at least some of the analysis of Sara Wagenknecht of the current situation in Europe. She is lefty, rather communist (from Die Linke). Still: very few would vote for her because the large majority of people do think her proposals are rubbish.
And this guy comes and says he is for a system like Canada’s.
At the same time he declares himself “Marxist” (or perhaps he has recanted from that). In any case, Canada has a pluralistic system where capitalism exists even if it does have a larger state and a strong social network. Neither the guy nor anyone else in Venezuela seem to want to discuss in length how on Earth we reach that level or any other level at all.
This is what I find utterly frustrating in Venezuela’s discussions. There is never a project, there is never a calculation, there is only a fluffy wish list.
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So far, he’s been good at raising a different kind of awareness, with a less ‘politicized’ speech. His is a more down to earth speech about the fresher status quo, specially that one derived from the post-Chavez Maduro administration.
I don’t think his intention is to propose. He’s just been critical with a different tone and background. That’s the hook for people. But as you say, without a real project. His magnetism has to be truly analyzed (with really objective views and opinions, no classicist approach please) in a blog like CC.
Maybe Juliococo’s out-of-the-blue emergence can be an example for other leaders out there, those with much clearer ideas, that could reach and represent that group that Capriles et al long.
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I think that when it comes to create and communicate an structured speech is when “the leaders” lose their appeal. Venezuela has become a place where is impossible to transmit effectively any semi-complex idea. And that’s quite concerning… does that mean that we have to wait for an caudillo like leader, effective communicator with the right ideas to come and save the country? It appears so… by democratic means (people voting) that’s the only chance we have to change direction I’m afraid….
I don’t see Venezuelans, all the sudden, starting to think in alternative ways of directing the economy, reforming the educational systems, let alone calm down the polarization who is destroying our country. Is getting worse: they doesn’t heard us and we doesn’t heard them. Fertile ground to people with crazy ideas (Not Mr Coco, but it can be very, very dangerous)
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Well… its kinda of a tall order. I mean, I can say something that sounds reasonable, like, “I want a mature and stable set of democratic institutions and on top of that I think a social-democratic approach to governing the country would be the best”, but hell if I know how do you transform Venezuela into that. It was not easy in the 80’s, but it was possible to imagine that better leadership would do the trick; now?
The diagnostic is easy, anybody can do it. The recipes for change… those are difficult, and require a lot of knowledge of politics, law, economics…
That, not even entering into the question of how you plan to get rid of the current system and its owners, because they would never ever want to implement any change toward anything different, and that is another difficult question – if the guarimbas debate as an example.
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Exactly. But what this guy is doing at least is to be making a lot of people uneasy because they are even fluffier than he is.
That is one of the reasons why the MUD hasn’t insisted on going on with the live dialogue (or, let’s name it as it should be, with the live parallel monologues).
If we were to put the regime and the MUD to debate about how they plan to finance the payment of pensions if oil prices remain stable for 5 years: that will be impossible. I doubt anyone of them would know what maths are necessary to calculate that and then what policies to come up with the money (definitely not Merentes).
The MUD says it wants to do things differently but doesn’t have the cojones to say what it is going to change, as if by simply stopping Cuba-aid things will get fixed.
The regime is even fluffier. It talks all the time about socialism and doesn’t want to explain how it will avoid all the errors committed by other systems where socialism was tried.
No one asks questions that go deeper into anything.
Of course, people suddenly fall in love for a bloke like this. For me, the most likely is that he will become some deputy at the next National Assembly. But anything can happen in Venezuela, as we often say.
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I think it is offensive to say he is a nobody. What defines being somebody? Is Ramos Allup somebody? Why? You may question the guy, but to do so in such a derogatory manner is simply a cheap shot in my opinion.
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Latin America is doomed forever. The people that had opportunities think they are geniuses and the people that did not have opportunities (and did as well) just want power as a shortcut for influence and corruption. This guys does not speak well, he probably does not have much education, but he is definitely doing something for the country – contrary to the “genius” that wrote this article. Probably someone that had opportunities but is looked downed at in whichever G7 country he lives in, thus, looks down at some random Venezuelan that will be forgotten tomorrow…
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Maria Corina is “somebody” but got 1% in the opposition primary. And Julio borges does not run because he has the charisma of a granite rock. This post sucks, a low for this once great blog.
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Well said!
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In an election with this guy as a candidate, would the votes he gets be of greater proportion from chavismo, or from opposition?
—
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Si les dieran el gobierno a todos ustedes! llorarian los angeles de alegro!
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como se preguntan por cada piedra!
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comentaristas… por si acaso
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There is something wrong with a system which prizes eloquence and capacity for speech which caters to peoples most virulent passions as a means of raising someone to leadership status and yet takes no consideration of the persons knowledge or organizational competence to deal on a hands on basis with the complex problems of a country. Weve turned the political process into a popularity contest o blood sport where the prize is given to people for their oratorical and histrionic talents without any consideration to their ability as responsible managers of public resources and activities . If we take away the guys oratorical gifts, what is left ?? If the system is wrong as it clearly is why dont we ever even think of how to remedy its most obvious failure ?? We think too much that spousal of lofty and exultant abstract ideals is enough to enable people to rise to positions of official responsability !!
Its like choosing a marriage partner on the basis of its credentials as a bed partner and nothing else, we act as if the choosing of leaders who are profficient at the hitrionic arts is enough to determine who is best equipped to rule over our country !!
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One factor to reduce the effects of the system flaw is to have the system give the winner of the contest less power, that is, eliminate the petro-state model.
Another factor is that even those who, like you, suggest reducing the flaws of the system, refuse to espouse the proposals that eliminate the petro-state model.
It’s about the Ring of Power. The Gandalf in all of us is too weak to get us to see the need to destroy the ring.
—
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I won’t tell you anything new, but it is the same with everything in life.
You would think history teaches us anything, but no.
Feel free to disagree but the world is changing, and none of us have no control whatsoever over it.
E.g., imagine Obama had any balls to put Putin to his place, but it seems like it’s not happening, welcome third world war.
Awesome post, thanks!
Sarah http://phyto-renew350i.com/
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Carlos Rangel thank you for your words. I became interested in reading the text and all comments because I am a man I hear criticism every venezuelan that i can. This letter and your comments I assume as valid concerns about my proposal on economic matters, to which I must respond responsibly:
Given my form of political activism and the time of struggle we go through in Venezuela I think empt present something unfinished is irresponsible, meanwhile, what comes after this regime will be unit where no one will possess the truth, and in my opinion public policy should be defined by consensus. On the other hand, am not a presidential candidate nor am I aspiring managers in the national executive in the economic area, so I am not required to present a proposal of such magnitude, that is the responsibility of those who are aspiring those charges in any event, I do dese have opinions about the point of view of politics and society, not as a specialist.
Mr. Juan Cristóbal Nagel agree that is a moot point, why accept the debate, and if you want I can challenge accept it, but we do it publicly on a popular sector in Castilian language. I think that is where the real changes where average people and decides how criteria are brewing. If you accept I am responsible for all logistics and security for the event successful.
( Thank google translator for ayudaíta )
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Sr Jiménez,
Evidentemente, Ud, como bien escribe arribe, no ha hecho una propuesta concreta, sino que se ha concentrado en analizar los problemas actuales, o al menos las manifestaciones más exteriores de dichos problemas. Que se hable de Ud en la esfera venezolana de Internet se debe ante todo a que describe de manera más elocuente que Borges o Capriles los males que achacan a tantos venezolanos…y lo hace sin ataduras a un partido.
Pero aquí viene: Ud dice que es marxista y a la vez pregona que ahora Venezuela lo que necesita es un modelo parecido a lo que hay en Canadá. A la hora de la chiquita, para que Venezuela trate de moverse hacia un desarrollo sustentable – con sustentable me refiero primordialmente a lo económico y social, no solo a lo ambiental, que en Venezuela aun es visto como muy utópico o “pura paja” – toda la población va a tener que cambiar de actitud y un montón de gente va a tener que realizar sacrificios y aprender un montón de cosas nuevas.
Como Ud debe saber, el sistema que hay en Canadá es un sistema pluralista, multipartidista, con una economía básicamente capitalista, aunque tenga un sistema de ayuda social de lo más avanzado para nuestro continente americano. El marxismo, al menos hasta sus últimas consecuencias, implica el establecimiento de una revolución de los trabajadores…trabajadores que hoy en día son cada vez más diferentes a los que había en el siglo XIX cuando Marx escribió sus obras…la mayoría ahora tienden a ser empleados de servicios. Eso no tiene nada que ver con lo que hay en Canadá.
Al final de cuentas, me da la impresión de que sus visiones no van más allá de las declaraciones que han tenido gente como Teodoro Petkoff en tiempos del Chiripero y del chavismo-madurismo: quieren un mundo más social pero no saben cómo realizarlo. La situación se ha complicado porque la corrupción y el carácter rentista del país han empeorado de manera aterradora desde que los milicos volvieron al poder de frente con Chávez.
Ud habla de concenso. Suena bonito eso pero al final de cuentas ahora necesitamos más que
1) una buena crítica del desastre actual y
2) un llamado al concenso.
Lamentablemente en Venezuela concenso es sinónimo de cogollismo entre bastidores. Ud no dice cómo se evitará eso.
Lamentablemente en Venezuela se confunden listas de deseos con un plan de gerencia. Ud tendrá que presentar lo segundo si quiere ser algo más que un orador, si aspira a realizar política de manera más activa, ya sea como consejal, diputado o lo que sea.
Al final de cuentas, en Venezuela nadie quiere presentar un plan de acción. Todos critican de manera más o menos efectiva una situación y esperan que eso sea suficiente para que el pueblo lo elija.
Aparentemente algunos temen que les roben las ideas si las presentan antes de ser electos. Es hora de que el pueblo venezolano exija que cada actor político presente su plan y sea capaz de debatir sobre el mismo.
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^^aplausos^^
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Joo…conSENSO, conSenso, conSenso.
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