Higuerote, after Vargas, is the closest beach area to Caracas, a mix of popular and middle class, amen of the extended environmental problems already existing there. Miranda Governor Capriles Radonski who is trying to scrap whatever relief he can in as ordered a way as possible announced today that the floods there were so bad that Higuerote was cut off from the rest of the country. Think about it for a second, relief is going to be hard to get there, the natives will become really restless as panic sets in. If there is a moment to keep cool heads, to send a reassuring message it is now. After all the navy can easily land at Higuerote if needs arise, the airport is still functioning. A critical but not desperate situation.
So what does Chavez do during his visit? He tells people to take over any touristy construction that is empty. Voila! That is all. He is not guaranteeing food, electricity, health, whatever, just take whatever you want "provisionally" without even a good word for the owners that they will be adequately compensated.
In fact, the owners can be pretty sure that they are screwed because Chavez added these words:
“Estoy seguro que los ricos como ven que el pueblo está inundado para acá no van a venir, esos se van para Europa, Miami, a pasara la navidad.That is:
El que se ponga bravo que se ponga bravo, porque algunos son tan egoístas que tienen tremendos edificios abandonados y se ponen bravos, pero el pueblo tiene el mismo derecho"
"I am certain that since the rich are goign to see the village flooded they are not going to come, these go to Europe, to Miami, to spend Christmas there.Where do I start? With the incongruousness of a speech that only reflects a sick mind? On the open appeal to class war? On his not knowing how Higuerote really works? On blowing away any chance of recovery for a village that could have seen tourists coming back by New Year but that will not come back for sure not because of the floods that will be gone by then but because the hotels and resorts will be wrecks that will require months of repair? In other words Chavez has proclaimed the economic destruction of Higuerote.
Whoever gets mad, so be it, because some are so selfish that they have fabulous buildings abandonned and they get mad, but "el pueblo" has the same rights"
Now, it is not that those hotels and refuges cannot be put to good use: in fact they should. But not that way, not because Chavez gave license to take over. So clear were the consequences of his words that within hours, the vice president had to come to precise that private homes could not be taken away. Will his words be heard? What are the chances you think that his "precisions" will arrive on time?
Capriles Radonski also replied. He said that Chavez came to visit without bringing anything, no food, no water, nothing. That his words are only going to start anarchy in the area. And that of course Chavez did not bother to talk to the people in the area that did not wait for him to come and do his show to start their rescue work.
And yet, this is not all! Chavez earlier today announced that he was going to push back the borders of Caracas National Park by up to 100 meters in height to build houses (that could be up to 500 meters!). That is right, for you all silly ecologists of the world who think Chavez is hot stuff, he is simply taking to slice off 10% of a fragile national park, or steep hillsides to build houses that will fall over within a decade at most when the next cyclical wave of rains come.
Does any one thinks that Chavez retains any coherence at this point? I mean, seriously, how long can we let such a destructive guy in office much longer? Can't the very same chavistas realize what a danger to the country Chavez has become?