Image of the Day

eing announced: “So, at the end of the day, this country is
chavista” ("Osea, qué arrecho, ¡este país es chavista!") complained those
present.
The reactionary Spanish newspaper ABC, known for its hatred of
Chávez and the Bolivarian revolution, did not mince its words: “These
results reveal widespread popular support for ‘chavismo’, despite the
absence of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez… On the contrary, these
election results represent a serious blow to the Venezuelan opposition
which hoped that Chavez’s frail health would mean a bigger share of
power for the MUD”.
Some opposition commentators now complain that the PSUV
benefited from the “sympathy” vote for Chavez who was undergoing
cancer treatment in Cuba as the elections took place. This might be the
case, but still does not explain why people feel sympathy for Chavez: it is
because he represents the Bolivarian revolution! In any case when Chavez
announced he was to undergo surgery again, the opposition complained
that “he had hidden his real state of health in order to win the presidential
elections” and now they are complaining that his real state of health
helped the PSUV win the regional elections. The truth is that the
Bolivarian revolution still commands overwhelming support amongst the
Venezuelan masses and the so-called “democratic” opposition has been
defeated… again.
However, it would be dangerous to fall into empty triumphalism. Not
all is well in the Bolivarian camp. As we have warned before, there has
been a growing current of discontent among the revolutionary masses
against the bureaucracy and the reformists within the movement. This was
particularly the case with the way candidates for governors were chosen:
from above, without any involvement of the rank and file.
In a number of states we have already seen governors elected as
“revolutionaries”, with the support of president Chávez, jumping over to
the opposition (in Lara, Amazonas, Aragua, Monagas, etc.). In the case of
the Andean state of Trujillo, the “Bolivarian” governor Cabezas had
become so unpopular that he had to be removed as a candidate by
president Chávez as there was a near uprising amongst the revolutionary