As my recovery improves I started reading the papers again. Fortunately this time of the year papers are thin, less news and advertisement. Unfortunately this "light" version allows for a clearer view of the idiocies and bad news reported (never mind about the not very bright staff left to report during this holiday season).
The one that seemed the most idiotic "research" published in a long time was a lengthy El Nacional article about how to solve Caracas hyper congested streets. Since it is by subscription I can only tell you that it was a full page article with a map of Caracas featuring the highways that an expert, Daniel Quintini, said should be built. For that he updated a 2000 proposal.
I do not know where to start? That a broken government who cannot even maintain the existing subway lines should start building highways? That this Quintini should know that it does not matter whether you have a 10 lanes highway, it is useless if the exit is a narrow two lanes street? That the real Caracas problem is the excess of cars fueled by the cheapest gas in the world and the insecurity and less than sub par service offered by public transportation? There are people actually being paid to update plans that ALREADY in 2000 were outdated.......
The next discouraging semi idiotic piece comes from nobody else but Enrique Mendoza, the ex governor of Miranda who is reintegrating the political battle field for the legislative election where he could well win a seat. His complain was that the CNE is starting to gerrymander electoral districts. Duh! This blog already reported some of the possible ways that it could be done for Miranda, the state where Mendoza would have to run.
Now, mind you, it is OK for someone in the opposition to scream bloody murder before the CNE makes final its new electoral district. The problem is that Mendoza speaks loudly while we have not heard anything new from the opposition since last time I reported news on them. It was November 19 2009 and today January 3 2010 we have not heard more than complaints while Chavez is campaigning hard, and already starting to release some money in the streets to try to recover votes. What is the opposition discourse? How come we do not hear EVERYDAY accusations linking Chavez to, say, corruption or electricity cuts? Are there not enough leaders to take turns? I was becoming somewhat optimistic in November 19 but today I am sliding back into opposition bashing mode....
Depressing news also come in today's El Universal, news to which I am particularly sensitive since dengue fever almost did me in. I wrote then that the government does not publishes statistics anymore on Dengue fever or Malaria. But those statistics exist and are "leaked".
Malaria has increased by 12,7%, and in areas where there should NOT be Malaria, such as Tachira or Nueva Esparta.Although the few cases reported in those states could, in theory, correspond to travelers, it remains that there are more and more areas of Venezuela where you can now get Malaria, and bring it back home. It is to be noted that before Chavez Malaria was very limited in Venezuela, totally absent of Caracas and Miranda state where now new cases are reported regularly.
Dengue fever is also another report leaked recently, and perhaps even more chilling than Malaria of which evidence of return exist already for at least three years. Dengue went up 38% last year (more tan 61,000 cases). This is scary because I have first hand indication that the government agency that does this research does not do its work properly since, for example, the hospital that treated me is never asked for its own epidemiological results. We also learn now that hemorrhagic dengue is 1 in 13 cases and that the government reports 14 deaths in 2009. Really? 14 only? If you revisit my own dengue story you will understand how come I am highly skeptical.
How can you expect public health plans to be designed and implemented since 2007 the government has decided to hide it all?.......
And to top it all, the Miranda Health official is saying that the central government is not sending H1N1 vaccines. See, Miranda is opposition state so they can all go to hell while vaccines are reserved to chavistas that can vote next September....