generalspeaking

 The Revolution Continues Apace

A return, not a particularly triumphant one, but you'd never know it from the joyous greeting that resounded in the public sphere with the information that Hugo Chavez had flown back into Venezuela from Cuba. His supporters are jubilant, the opposition to his ongoing reign somewhat less so. With his fourth cancer operation behind him he is not exactly reinvigorated but insists on clinging to power.

And his delegated cabinet continues with the fiction that they carry on his programs in his name, awaiting his return to a sustained rule.

His recovery post-surgery has not accelerated; he was unable to breathe on his own for months, using a respirator in recovery for quite an extended period. He has been comatose, unaware of what has been happening around him, and clearly unfit to return to the helm of government. But this is a man who claims that he is the spiritual embodiment of Venezuela; without his firm guiding hand the country would collapse.

This is a man who is on a speaking relationship with Satan, who confided in him during one session of collegial good-humour that U.S. President G.W. Bush was an avid fan of his. So that when President Bush left the podium at the United Nations, President Chavez was privileged to call upon his familiarity with the devil, expressing to the General Assembly that the stench of the devil was evident at the departure of the American president.

It is Mr. Chavez himself who appears to have made a bargain with the devil. Whom he cajoled to forbid the Grim Reaper from his collection duties, leaving him to recover from a fourth bout with cancer, to return to his beloved task of transforming Venezuela completely into the model Socialist state, hauling along on the tail of  his accomplishments those other regional states eager to demonstrate their devotion to the People.

Like his dear, good friend Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez hones his speaking skills to a fine pitch, ennobling himself in the opinion of his devoted followers as the spirit of the Venezuelan oops - Bolivarian revolution. He has done such a fine job that the country remains divided, the middle class beleaguered, crime rampant, the economy in tatters and now a government in a fine chaos of uncertainty.

Information Minister Ernesto Villegas made a solemn announcement for the edification of Mr. Chavez's adoring public: "After two months of a complicated post-operative process, the patient remains conscious, with his intellectual functions intact, in close communication with his government team."  And is that not a huge relief, to know that the beloved's 'intellectual functions' remain 'intact'.

His ability to convey his elevated thoughts somewhat constrained, however, since the tracheal tube that helps him to breathe, hinders him from communication.

The president's 'delicate' condition continues to allow him to slowly recover as he undergoes "vigorous treatment for his fundamental illness". The fundamental illness referred to representing recovery from cancer yet again, not the pathology of his Napoleon complex. "We've arrived once again in our Venezuelan homeland. Thank you, my God!! Thank you, beloved nation!! We will continue our treatment here," he tweeted.

Oh, this is dreadfully good news.

Labels: Communication, Controversy, Crisis Politics, Culture, Health, Venezuela

posted by Pieface @ Monday, February 18, 2013