Before Julio Coco. Before Irene Saez, and El Conde del Guácharo, and Luis Chataing. Before Hugo Chávez himself, there was Renny. Renny Ottolina was the ultimate political outsider. A cross between Ed Sullivan and Jon Stewart, Renny was a fixture in Venezuelan TV for much of the 1960s and 1970s. In the middle of that decade,…
Nothing Leopoldo López says in this clandestine video is new. But hearing the conviction in his voice, clinging to the bars on his window, is more powerful than anything he says. (Note: the video appears to be old, but it has only recently been released)
It wouldn’t be an ordinary week in today’s Venezuela without the highest court in the land taking over a political party to appoint a pro-government clique to lead it. This week saw the turn of the National Integrity Movement, better known as MIN-UNIDAD. The Constitutional Chamber admitted a motion by Alix Ramon Medina, head of the MIN’s Barinas State branch, who…
Good old Maria Corina Machado. Today she was not allowed to register her candidacy due to the government’s push to have her barred from public office. So, instead, she announced that her replacement candidate would be Sociologist Isabel Pereira. I didn’t know much about Pereira before today, but from the looks of it, she brings…
It’s become commonplace: our highest court gets involved in the internal affairs of political parties. This week the gauntlet fell on two more: Bandera Roja (Red Flag), a once guerrilla group that decided eventually to replace the armed struggle for the electoral one, and Christian Democratic party COPEI, one of the main Venezuelan political parties of the pre-Chavez era. On…
This Foreign Policy piece by Roberto Lovato has gotten a bit of pushback because of its less-than-rosy account of the public persona of Leopoldo López. And, in particular, for its cryptochavista fixation with the events of April, 2002. Putting that aside, though, it’s an accomplished, in-depth look at López’s life and career – where he grew up, who his…
CC commenter Syd asked this question in the previous post: “Does Maria Corina Machado lead a political party?” The answer is both yes and no. Confused? Then, allow me to explain. It does exist, but isn’t allowed yet to participate in any election (at least on its own). Why? Well… it’s a long story. Two…
(Una entrevista exclusiva con Caracas Chronicles) En la Quinta El Bejucal de Altamira todo es movimiento. La casa es de esas típicas quintas de los años cuarenta o cincuenta que recuerdan a una Venezuela que ya no existe – espacios amplios que integran la vegetación tropical a la casa, y que permiten que entre la…
Yesterday, Maria Corina Machado offered a press conference to react to the Comptroller-General’s decision to bar her from holding public office for 12 months, which would leave her out of December 6th’s legislative election. Machado said that the formal reason given for her punishment is that she failed to declare her CestaTickets (a kind of private food-stamp often included…
Capping off a horrifically depressing news day, Henrique Capriles gave a “major speech” on economic policy today that barely merited the name. Capriles portrayed himself as presenting a short-term package of emergency economic recommendations, but the speech itself was so disjointed and incoherent it was hard to make heads or tails of what he was proposing.…
Maria Corina Machado received today this paper from the Comptroller-General’s office, informing her that she’s declared ineligible to hold any public post for the next twelve months, therefore barring her of running in the December 6th legislative election. The picture of the document’s first page doesn’t say the specific reasons of why she has been…
The hunger strike – an essential tool in the non-violent struggle against tyranny – has an uneven history. Mahatma Gandhi undertook numerous hunger strikes, most of them succesful. According to this Wikipedia page, Gandhi took part in seventeen hunger strikes during his lifetime, and not all of them against the British. Some of them were to call…
In early March, I wrote about Lumay Barreto, the opposition (VP) mayor of bordertown Guasdualito (Apure State) who was swiftly impeached by the PSUV-controlled municipal council for allegedly “abandoning her post”. As expected, the TSJ’s Constitutional Hall has validated the council’s decision, confirming its president Víctor Blanco (PSUV) as caretaker. Gladys Gutierrez (head of both…
Over the last three years, divisions within the Venezuelan opposition have gone from taboo to in-your-face, from elephant in the room to full-blown suppurating eyesore. And everyone seems to admit this, except for the opposition leadership. I understand Chavismo’s need to resort to denial of dissent as a defense mechanism for unresolved daddy issues, but…
Some of our readers have been wondering why we haven’t said anything about Saturday’s marches in Venezuela and abroad. For the record, here is my brief take: The marches? A galvanizing, resounding success. Obviously, not enough. But they amp up the pressure, and that´s not a bad thing. Leopoldo? Proved his mettle as a leader by…
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