The MUD has been getting a lot of flack lately for not getting things done. But the opposition alliance continues to use what little institutional maneuvering room it has to fight the good fight. Much of this flies under the radar, and it’ll never filter out into broader public attention, but at least the political…
Schoolyard politics dictate that when a bully beats up on the nerd, the nerd has to fight back. The nerd might be smarter, or have the moral high ground, hell, he will probably go on to invent the next amazing social network and sell it for billions and marry the hot chick. But for now,…
Happy Dialogue Day, everyone! Time to put aside all your petty personal opinions and curb your oft-misguided emotions – today is a day for serious, rational discussion on the objective topic of the greater good. After two months of protests, dozens dead, hundreds wounded, three imprisoned opposition leaders (two of them acting mayors), one congress-woman stripped of…
So it’s Wednesday morning in the International Office of the MUD and I’m walking in, bleary eyed, heading straight to the coffee pot for my requisite 8:00 a.m. fix. Before I can put my bag down, open my laptop, and start on my morning ritual of checking the news and scheduling our daily fascist agenda,…
Contingency planning for the post-Chávez era is now in high gear throughout Venezuela’s political sphere. For my part, I spent the weekend writing an Obit, just to make sure we have one. The subtle and not-so-subtle jockeying inside the pro-Chávez camp is obvious. But…what about the MUD? The opposition’s Roundtable for Democratic Unity will face…
Of all the sub-species in the bewildering fauna of Venezuelan oppositionism, the one I understand the least is the Tarjeta Única Jihadist: folk who’ve made it a point of honor to have a single spot on the ballot for the Opposition Candidate, rather than as many spots as parties backing him. It’s a nice idea,…
The other day we were being accused – perhaps rightly so – of being too partial to Primero Justicia. So … I’m doing my darnedest to ignore what Henrique Capriles has been doing or saying… or posting on his Facebook page. Move along, folks, nothing to see here. No reason to check out the video…
The Carabobo newspaper Notitarde is citing unnamed sources as saying Venezuela’s Electoral Council is considering holding the Presidential elections in July or August of next year. In the case of July, it would leave the opposition’s candidate (supposed to be elected in a February 2012 primary) all of five months to campaign. The MUD has…
The weekly roundup from a well-regarded intel firm: “Disagreement among opposition leaders regarding the primary date resulted in the MUD choosing a date closer to the end of its November-March timeframe for primaries, announced in February. While it is positive for the opposition to have finally agreed on a date, its relatively late timing will…
Over in Spanish, Juan sets out to join me in Duodenal Ulcer Chronicles with a dyspeptic rant on the oppo primary date. Ommmmmmmmmm…
(A guest post by Roberto Silvers) After much squabbling, the Venezuelan opposition coalition has decided to hold its presidential primary elections on February 12, 2012. While this date is three months later than a majority of opposition voters and likely candidates would like, it is a fine date for the primary. The National Electoral Council…
(Note: The following guest post, by longtime reader and fellow blogger Roberto Silvers, is an open letter offering some free political advice for Venezuela’s parliamentary opposition) by Roberto Silvers 23 March 2011 (Caracas) Honorable Opposition Deputies of the National Assembly of Venezuela – It is time for a strategy change. I have watched you closely for three…
Caracas Chronicles 