A few hours later I came back home with my dad and my sister and we waited until my mom called us for pick her up at the center, it was passed midnight and she was making the final count of the votes for sending it to the CNE (electoral institution). Since everyone can legally watch this final count I entered for the second time to my voting center, also for making my mom some company while she and the other members were trying to manage among all that complicated paperwork they had to do.After they counted the votes some technical experts from the CNE reached to my center to send the results and the military took the boxes filled with “bills” as I called the little pieces of paper printed with the results. By the time that was happening the results of the “referendo revocatorio” were already announced by the CNE; since they had already a big percentage of voting centers results in order to make that announcement.
I didn’t hear it on live, my sister told me that in a very low voice. I saw the smiles of some military and some technical experts from the CNE. “Chávez has won” – She said – “But don’t tell mom yet”.
My mom couldn’t eat during the whole day (means between 4 am and passed midnight), she couldn’t actually stop working during the whole day and logically, I have never seen her so tired before as I saw her that day. She was simply destroyed. The four of us (my mom, my dad, my sister and I jumped in the car and didn’t say a word on the way back home.
She saw the results on TV in the minute we put a step inside our house and fall sleep soon after that, with some tears in her eyes without knowing if they were because of all the tiredness she had or the fact that all her work was in vain, since it only served to confirm Chavez on his power seat.
The next day, I went out with the members of the youth group from my political party, we wanted to talk about what happened but we didn’t know what to say or expect. After all that work we were facing to the same world we were fighting against or even worse, since Chavez was more stronger now after winning another election.
We stopped at the house of the same guy who weeks before, installed alone the campaign spot to promote the “Sí” and he didn’t wanted to came out, he was way too down. And only a few months later I resign to the political party. Was truly a chain of disasters, for both the country and my personal life.
While my mom was sleeping, the opposition was already giving press conferences denouncing a fraud. A part of me doubts a lot, a part of me still belief it was a fraud.
Before the recall we were managing numbers between 40% with intentions of voting for the “no” and 60% with intentions of voting for the “si”. I ask the readers that don’t request me for statistics proof of this affirmations because as the matter of fact, I don’t have it in my hands and I don’t remember if I read them by a legitimate source or if I only heard them randomly. I know this is very irresponsible to tell, but the fact is that it is my responsibility to be honest about the stories I tell on this blog.
The thing is that the CNE (electoral institutions) gave results that were exactly backwards of what I heard before the recall: 60% voted for the “no” and “40%” for the “sí” and it smelled weird to me. Many proof were presented later that suggested the manipulation of numbers from the CNE in order to give more votes to the “no” option. I remember seeing or hearing about some military playing football with the voting boxes, and those boxes were the only proof we might had once.
The process was so complicated that I think it was equally complicated to demonstrate a fraud; if not impossible. I didn’t knew if I was being fooled or not, and if so, by who, the government or the opposition. The amount of different versions of the event from the government and the opposition and inside the opposition itself made me all confused. And still, today, they confuse me.
I reached to the conclusion that I can’t really tell if what happen on August 15 was an impressive victory of Chavez or not.
But…if you have to sign two times and “repair” another, under menaces of possible consequences if you sign against the president… if while you are making your registration at the electoral centre for being able to vote for the first time, a lot of immigrants suddenly nationalized on big events (of whom I have no speak yet) promoted by Chavez just before the recall are doing the same… if such a long time has to pass between the picking up signatures events and the recall and it’s the same time that the missions (government programs) were more strongly displayed and there results more fierily promoted… if the question approved for making the recall is semantically done in a way that its almost a sin to vote for the “sí”… if a lot of new machines are bought to make complicated what its probably the most simple electoral process ever since it its only a decision between two choices… if you have to wait eleven hours on a line to make your vote… if… if… if…
I cannot reach to the conclusion that even many opposition leaders had reached: that we were completely fooled by the opposition itself about the recall and Chavez legitimate won such a process. I cannot tell what it was, but something weird and non democratic happened that day.
When recently, three years later from the “referendo revocatorio” against the president, new picking up signatures even were announced this time for making the recall against many governors and mayors and almost no one showed up to sign, its easy to understand why. A friend of mine abroad asked me about this and all I could tell her was: “And what for? Being part of another Tascón List? I just don’t see the point of making a recall request anymore…”
About the pic: Just some random woman in Caracas wearing a red dress... do I need to explain this? (source... me!)