Predictions
I have never presumed to have prophetic vision, even to the point that, half a century ago, facing the fear of an eternity of Pérez Jiménez in power, I was outside the country for months before his escape, and I was seeking ways for us to remain living there, despite the memories of a previous exile.
Years later I believed in the deposition of Rómulo Betancourt and I never thought, when Medina, in his. I repeat then, I lack prophetic vision, but neither does one have to be an astronomer to distinguish the Sun from the Moon nor a strategist to jump on the sidewalk if a car comes. That is why I was not mistaken in predicting the attack against the media when I wrote that the Chavista objective was a Pérez Jiménez-like barbarism, seasoned with economic idiocy.
Castro's government is murderous and intelligent; our chubby leader's is not one or the other. Castro murdered the valuable adversaries he could at the "paredón" [by firing squad] and he facilitated the escape abroad of those who would discredit anti-Fidelismo with their methods.
An absurdity called the OLA arrived here from Cuba, which, according to many, was infiltrated and sustained by Castro himself. In any case, it would have been humiliating to coincide with their idiocy and I chose to silence my opinions.
Our chubby leader, on the other hand, has chosen as collaborators those who do much more damage against him than those of us who fight against him openly...A poor panegyric in favor of causes more damage than a good diatribe against.
Some time ago I wrote that Chavismo wouldn't delay in unleashing a true campaign against culture and its adepts. Today a judge, beside whom I am harmless, dictates a few rulings that would make the press an additional instrument of the government.
Moreover, they remove the name of Sofia Imber from a cultural institution that owes its existence to her.
She explains it all by attributing it to her being Jewish...and I find a laudable generosity on her part in such an explanation. One does not need to be a Heidegger to be anti-Semitic; but it is at least indispensible to understant that a certain sector exists with its own unique characteristics, one that affirms its descent from Biblical protagonists, despite the racial diffrences between Sephardics and Ashkenazis. But I believe such knowledge is too much for a Chavista mind.
There is another factor. Many years ago, when the Medina government created that odious PDV [Partido Democrático Venezolano], Marco Aurelio Rodríguez confessed to me that he was so disgusted by politics he had considered becoming a communist. Something must have bit him because he immediately said: "But I don't have the money for that and it would be a ridiculous vanity." Indeed, the communists at that time were José Marturet, Inocente Palacios, Miguel Otero Silva, etcetera. The Chavista communists of today have nothing to fear from Marco Aurelio's jokes, because their bank accounts are much more robust than those of past comrades.
It could happen that, once a situation disappears, its unlikeliness could be seen. But this unlikeliness can co-exist with reality.
When foreigners read or hear news from Venezuela, the most frequent comment is: "It can't be true."
There is a new concept in literature that is known as Fantastic Realism, but if we wanted to diagnose our country it would be better to speak of Absurd Reality.
In order to conspire, the application of leadership and material force is needed. Not only do I deny Power but I have also distanced myself from my closest friends when they have obtained it and I have never used nor will I use any other weapon besides oral or written language. But I would accept with almost joyful resignation if unlikeliness were to drown the present truth. It was a dilemma for many to decide whether they would stand against stupidity or against communism.
In Venezuela we have the strategic convenience of both factors coinciding within a single enemy: Chavismo.
{ Francisco Vera Izquierdo, El Nacional, 6 February 2006 }
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