I am translating this article so that we can all get a look at how the campaign against Chavez is being waged within Venezuela.
It is obvious from Rosales's viewpoint that crime is a major issue in Venezuela. I have known for some time that law and order issues would be important in the campaign, but I must admit that until I began to see some statistics quite recently -- thank you Founding Father for your posts and links -- that even I had very little understanding of the true depth of the problem. What I find particularly striking, though not unexpected in my personal opinion, is that Rosales implicates Chavez personally in the growth of crime in Venezuela due to his (Chavez's) politicization of the police and justice systems. Rosales has been getting some traction recently, see
my opening comments in the last thread, and I am wondering if the analysis of the problem he is advancing above is one of the reasons why his poll numbers are rising in Venezuela. Politics and ideology are one thing, but when basic law and order issues come to the forefront people begin voting because of their fears, and this kind of dynamic may have the potential to change the electoral landscape. I'm not trying to instill false hope in anyone, because I still rate the chances of a Rosales win over Chavez as "not good" right now, but this race may become more interesting than many of us initially anticipated.
Ping.
Anyone who would like to be put on the "Latin American Left Watch" ping list I am keeping may notify me as such via Freepmail or by a post within this thread.
THanks so much for this very valuable and important info. Keep me pinged. It would be the most delectable kind of poetic justice, in light of what has happened in the past week, for Chavez and the image he left us with to be deposed from the world stage. Even better if Castro were to croak at the same time. I am so impressed by Rosales, and I hope we are behind the scenes somewhere very quietly supporting him---any other presence and Chavezistas will make it look like a CIA coup is being imposed on the Venezuelan people. I hope both Danny Glover and Citgo are soon to be heartbroken.