And we should not be surprised. Today well known figures have contradicted the speech that Primero Justicia has advanced so far. Meanwhile AD and related parties keep rather silent. As it is usual in Venezuela all are sort of right and all are sort of wrong, hence the danger of a fatal split.
The problems comes from October 7 and the Capriles campaign. The campaign was based on more reconciliation, on prying away chavista vote with very similar promises than Chavez, etc... It failed. And it failed badly in December 16. And yet Capriles insists on this approach and has nothing much to say about the constitutional coup of this week besides chavismo has now everything in hand and there is no excuses for Maduro not to start as of now solving the country's problems. As if chavismo does not have all in hand since at least 2005. Gimme a break!
I do not know whether this language reaches the chavista hoi polloi, but it certainly is neither comforting or energizing the Capriles root electorate in his persistence in a studied blandness that parcels carefully its moments of toughness. In my opinion the chavista voter has spoken: Capriles language is not strong enough for them to break with Chavez, the more so when they are blackmailed outright. If Capriles is not getting it at this point then I am starting to wonder really what is he doing in the position that he pretends to be: leader of the opposition.
But when we put Capriles blandness next to a more stern lecturing of Julio Borges we cannot blame them altogether They are right in that chavismo is crumbling and maybe it is not time to rock the boat too hard, just wait for the final implosion. Meanwhile, their inability to forge a more inspiring message is starting to have consequences and we saw them today.
Leopoldo Lopez launched public meetings organized by Voluntad Popular to discuss the Constitution and complain about the coup. The initiative was fast and did not attract the attendance he may have hoped for. But it attracted enough people that some opposition leaders did take the opportunity to show up and talk, such as the case of Maria Corina Machado. Even born again citizen now that she is a defenestrated justice, Marmol de Leon, joined into the Voluntad Popular gatherings. Even tougher, Diego Arria made his own press conference with his well earned right to say "I told you so".
They certainly are right to be upset and demand action, but the Venezuelan people is demonstrated a monster of apathy unless their pay check is directly involved. Chavismo has fed on that and not only it paid off for them handsomely but it contaminated badly any moral fiber inside the opposition which last twitched when RCTV was closed and the referendum of 2007 won. No wonder OAS's Insulza does not take the opposition seriously: after all the 2010 constitutional coup by an outgoing National Assembly against the incoming one was much worse and nobody talks about that one anymore except for your blogger who has put then the official date of the dictatorship in Venezuela, not this week. In a year from now, be it through Capriles be it through another come flor we will be told that now, yes, now it is our opportunity to vote to unseat chavismo...... and nobody will remember 2004 stolen election, the Tascon list still active today, the 2007 RCTV closing (his main clown now rooting for Chavez), the 2010 coup, etc, etc.....
I do not know about them all, from Borges to Arria going through AD and Falcon, but if the opposition does not put its shit together soon and does not show a little bit more of backbone in at least monitoring over time constitutional and human rights violations Maduro has it all made no matter how reticent is chavismo in embracing him.
