And yet for all the dramatic news and scenery an air of dejà vu pervades the whole thing. In spite of the major disaster of 1999, in spite of the warning of 2005, it seems that once again the regime is caught pants down, nothing prepared, not even able to raise supplies to the point that it has to steal food and water from charitable and other political organizations to distribute them as if it were its own.
So irksome it is for the regime that Tal Cual reports today that firebrand Iris Varela is even accusing Capriles of all sorts of declarations for which there is no record. That is, they accuse him of anything hoping that something will stick. Elias Jaua the Vice President went as far as saying that Capriles was not doing shit, in spite of pictures proving otherwise; and despite the well known fact that Capriles cannot do more than what he does because his revenues have been slashed by the regime and a lot of the state equipment for natural disasters was taken away by Diosdado Cabello when he lost his reelection bid two years ago. Capriles is, well, rubbing the regimes nose in its incompetence, and I guess that a lot of people in Miranda state are not going to buy the regime's line against Capriles, as we can see already from some reports. His reelection is probably now a given..
Let's face it: there are no refuges for example. That is, the regime is requisitioning even hotels who charge by the hour, and in a display of demagoguery we even saw Chavez offering some ministerial office space for refugees, and even Miraflores Palace corners.... Why? Because in 10 years since the Vargas disaster the regime has not had the prevision to organize schools and sports facilities as potential shelters as you see in the US, namely in hurricane and tornado states, places that in normal day time host kids basketball games but places that in a few hours can be transformed in shelters. Find one such example in Venezuela today, I dare you! Sure, some are been used as such but almost because they were taken over, not led to. And you will not see the display of beds, mattresses, outhouses, etc....
So, once again, waking up late to the reality of the floods, we see a regime in a hurry, Chavez ahead, making all sort of last minute shows and going as far as promising 10,000 homes, FREE for refugees within the next 4 months. I kid you not! A regime that has not been able to build 30,000 homes a year in normal times of plenty will build 10, 000 in a time of crisis, for free, in two months. Maybe a new bridge in Brooklyn while we are at it.... And of course, all is the fault of capitalism even if that asshole in a very few weeks will have been in office for 12 years!
Natural disasters happen, everywhere, but preparation for them can make them a real disaster or just a tough moment to go through. Ask George Bush after Katrina...... The amazing thing here is that too many in the chavista electorate carried by the emotion of the moment are stupid enough to once again buy vague promises... Well, they'll get what they deserve.