Nicolas Maduro, current president of Venezuela is both illegitimate in
origin and in performance. His election by a narrow margin of less than one
point was full of irregularities, causing UNASUR, the Latin American
organization which has been very pro-Venezuelan government, to demand a full recount
of the votes, something Maduro originally accepted and later did not allow to
happen. Once in power Maduro has proven to be repressive, anti-democratic and
abusive in the exercise of power. The results are clear for all to see. His
economic performance has been called by international analysts “the worst managed
in the world”, See The Economist “Oil and Coconut water”, http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21618782-probably-worlds-worst-managed-economy-oil-and-coconut-water?frsc=dg%7ca
. Many young Venezuelans have been killed by police and army forces when protesting
against Maduro’s government. Many others are in prison without being judged impartially.
Food, electricity, water, medicines are scarce. Disease is rampant and crime and inflation
are among the very highest in the world.
Today Mr. Maduro is in New York, preparing his speech to the United Nations
this coming Friday. He said in Caracas
before leaving: “I will bring to the UN the voice of the Venezuela people, the
voice of ALBA (the political club made up of Nicaragua, Cuba, Bolivia,
parasitic governments which receive Venezuelan money in exchange for their
political loyalty), the voice of dignity, the voice of Chavez and of our people”.
It is true that he will speak with the voice of ALBA and with the voice of
deceased Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, but is not true that he will
represent the voice of the Venezuelan people and the voice of dignity.
Venezuela is today in ruins, in deep debt, which is six times greater
than the one found by the Chavez-Maduro regime in 1999. with China as its
almost single source of financing since its credit rating is now approaching
junk status, with one of the highest indices of country risk in the world, the
highest inflation rate, one of the highest criminal rates and already into
selective default with airlines, pharmaceutical companies and petroleum
industry contractors. How can this man represent the voice of the Venezuelan
people who are suffering under the humiliations and ineptitude of the regime he
leads?
When Maduro speaks Friday in the U.N. he will be representing
dictatorships such as Cuba’s, Belarus, Syrian and corrupt regimes such as
Ortega’s in Nicaragua and his own Venezuelan band of thugs, rogue countries
such as Zimbabwe, Iran and North Korea, terrorists such as FARC, ETA, Hezbollah
and Hamas and, in general, anti-democratic forces from all over the world.
And he will speak with his characteristic ignorance. Venezuela has an
almost illiterate president , one who speaks of Portugal as sharing borders with Venezuela
and confuses a stethoscope with a telescope. No doubt he will use this
opportunity at the U.N. to expand on his already well –established reputation as a rapist
of the Spanish language.
