Three weeks from today, Venezuelans will head to the polls to
elect a new president re-elect current president Hugo Chavez. I am not pro-Chavez but, being realistic, I think it's unlikely that Chavez will lose this time around despite the strong and cohesive campaign of Manuel Rosales. The opposition has actually pulled itself together after a devastating loss in the recall referendum 2 years ago.
Writing a "Why I don't like Chavez" diary on dKos is a risky proposition (just ask Armando) but I am going to take my chances with a handful of diaries in anticipation of the elections. If one pro-Chavez Kossack changes his/her mind or, at least, gives the opposition the benefit of the doubt without calling them "elite", it would have been worth the risk.
So jump with me to the fold where I address the first of two issues: Corruption and Crime
Keep in mind, when reading, that Chavez has been in power for 8 years. For reference, remember that 8 years is the longest a person can serve as president in the USA. Just saying...
CORRUPTION
The latest report from Transparency International Transparency International, on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), lists Venezuela's CPI as 2.3 second worst in the Americas - only Haiti scored lowest.
I put together this chart based on figures found in the AI site, no information is available for prior years. Because some of the methodology for calculating the CPI may have changed throughout the years, I have added the world ranking. Also, the earlier years did not include as many countries as the later years do, so the 38 should be looked at in the context of a total of 41 countries reviewed.
Year CPI World Ranking
2006 2.3 138
2005 2.3 130
2004 2.3 114
2003 2.4 100
2002 2.5 81
2001 2.8 69
2000 2.7 71
1999 2.5 75
1998 2.3 77
1997 2.7 44
1996 2.5 49
1995 2.6 38
Note: in this case, highest is NOT better :-)
To be fair, starting with the presidency of Carlos Andres Perez (CAP) from 1974 to 1979, Venezuela has been well known to be a fairly corrupt country. CAP nationalized the oil and aluminum industries and the inflow of revenues was just too much temptation. People, particularly those in influential government positions, became wealthy overnight. Unfortunately, following governments were not any better.
CRIME
Much can be said about this issue. Any Kossack that has recently traveled to Venezuela can attest how bad this problem is. Government data is simply unavailable. It used to be that one would find official homicide statistics (up to 2003) in the government webpage but they have disappeared. That data indicated that homicide rates had increased significantly. I have read that, among males, homicides is the number 1 cause of death in Venezuela but, this being dKos and all that ;-), I do not want to link to sites that may, or may not, be questionable.
So, since I do not have data to actually write something original not only for homicides but for "lesser" crimes, I'll just give you a few tidbits from here and there:
First, a Pro-Chavez website Oil Wars (OW)
As has been pointed out on numerous occasions crime is a big problem in Venezuela. Crime rates are very high, even by Latin American standards, and have risen significantly during Chavez's tenure. Although crime rates seem to have stabilized some (truthfully though, you reach a point where how much worse can it get) and local officials have been less than helpful in solving this problem clearly Chavez can definitely be said to have failed in the area of crime. And not only have things deteriorated in the past 8 years but if he has a plan to turn things around I sure haven't heard it Emphasis mine
The above link, btw, has the plan of the opposition for fighting crime. OW, of course, doesn't like it but just read his answer to No 6. for a chuckle:
6. Hiring more judges and more prosecutors
Ok, I suppose this could be useful but seeing as the Venezuelan judicial is notoriously corrupt he will probably just be creating more corruption
I will end with a few quotes from an anti-Chavez blog The Devil's Excrement, (ahem, that would be the oil not Chavez) one of the very few I send people to because I find the analysis to be fairly thorough and without too much foaming at the mouth :-).
...Deaths for "resisting the authorities" have increased 254% since 1999 in the country and 759% in the Federal District (i.e. Caracas)
...90,027 people have died violently since 1999 in Venezuela (Pop is approx 25MM)
...There is an estimated 6 million weapons in Venezuela floating around, of which only 15,000 are registered.
My comment/clarification in BOLD for context.
According to UNESCO, Venezuela tops the list in firearms deaths with over 34 deaths per 100,000 - Sorry no linky, the UNESCO site is a maze!, but google "deaths by firearms and UNESCO and you will see the many articles referencing this.
And, at the risk of overstaying my welcome by quoting State, the US State Dept has this:
SAFETY AND SECURITY: Violent crime in Venezuela has spiked in recent months. The country has the highest per-capita murder rate in the world. Armed robberies take place in broad daylight throughout the city, including areas generally presumed safe and frequented by tourists. Well armed criminal gangs operate with impunity, often setting up fake police checkpoints. Kidnapping is a particularly serious problem, with more than 1,000 reported during the past year alone
Hugo Chavez's first presidential campaign was run on three basic promises:
Fight crime
Eliminate out-of-control corruption
Reduce poverty (redistributing of Venezuelan's riches)
Like the poor, middle class, many intellectuals and socialists in Venezuela, I believed him! I sick and tired of the rampant corruption and inequalities of Venezuela, a country SO very rich that it could easily be the best socialist country in the world, so, yes, I confess, I was once a "Chavista"
So far, Chavez has failed to deliver on 2 out of his 3 promises. Skeptics and cynics will tell you that the largest redistribution of riches has been to those in the military, which now occupy the majority of public government positions - alas, no official numbers available either.
Chavez government claims that poverty in Venezuela has been reduced but the country has not seen, as sociologists and economists would expect, the same decline in corruption and crime. High corruption levels and increasing crime rates are usually strong indicators of increasing poverty rates.
I will tackle the poverty issue in a following diary as well as election "irregularities"