It would be hypocrite for me to just wish plainly a Happy New Year when we all know that this would not be the case for those of us living in Venezuela. Even if the new year wish of a majority of Venezuelans, that Chavez leaves office, were to take place in the next few days, the damage he has brought to the country is so profound that the year ahead would be very tough, no matter how elated the we could be at the prospect of a recovery.
Thus, in all honesty, I can only wish a Happy New Year for those of you who live outside of Venezuela where mundane issues are still a balm. For those of us inside Venezuela I can only wish, in all sincerity, that the coming year does not bring you any new degradation, any personal tragedy; because short of hitting the jackpot, it is as much as you can hope for the next year.
And not to sound as dark as I started, at least for us inside, next year we will be motivated because indeed we need to put an end to this regime before this regime puts an end on us. The real wish for us is that we may have the strength to deal with what is in store.