Op-Ed Commentary

 

 

VenEconomy :
Neither victors nor vanquished

Hugo Chávez won the presidential elections once again. In round figures, the CNE’s final bulletin is expected to give the lead to Hugo Chávez with approximately 7 million votes (60%) versus 5 million (40%) for Manuel Rosales.

The reasons why the results turned out this way could be:

First, for a very large segment of Venezuelans who have benefited from government spending and the “missions,” it was better to continue with “the devil they know” than to risk making the acquaintance of “a devil they don’t.” For this sizeable segment of the population, the offer of the Mi Negra card, which proposed an equitable distribution of oil revenues, was not convincing enough for them to give up the present government’s handouts.

Second was the gratitude factor of a broad spectrum of those who were deprived under the 4th Republic and who feel that President Chávez has given them a voice and a place as political players in deciding the future of the country.

Third was the fear of returning to the past, which was represented by some of the groups supporting Manuel Rosales’ candidature.

However, analysts contacted by VenEconomy point out that the “Fear Factor” was what marked the difference between a photo finish and Chávez’ resounding victory.

In order to understand this phenomenon, it must be remembered that, simply for having signed a petition for the Recall Referendum, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have been subjected to persecutions of all kinds, in the form of mass firings from PDVSA and the public sector, being automatically disqualified from receiving government benefits such as the “missions” or from being entitled to win government contracts or to obtain permits and other official documents, and even encountering discrimination as citizens wishing to exercise their right to dissent.

Plus, a large number of voters thought that the present voting system did not guarantee secrecy of the vote, and when they saw that the majority of the polls gave Chávez as the likely winner, they decided not to run the risk of not voting for him.

But it is not all bad news for the Venezuelan who believes in the path of democracy. In his short election campaign, fought on grossly unequal terms, not only did united opposition candidate Manuel Rosales show the courage of a leader with great potential for drawing together and leading the opposition, but he ratified that courage and bravery on the historic dawn of December 4, when he recognized his defeat and announced that he was willing to continue the democratic fight for a free, sovereign country.

VenEconomy is a Venezuela's leading specialized publisher in the economic and financial area. VenEconomy's Points of View on the issues of the day, as seen by VenEconomy during the last week. Petroleumworld not necessarily share these views.

Editor's Note: This commentary was originally published by VenEconomy, on 12/04/2006. Petroleumworld reprint this article in the interest of our readers.

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Petroleumworld 12/06/06

Copyright ©2006 Veneconomy. All Rights Reserved.

 

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