Politics
During his report on his 2009 management at the National Assembly (AN), President Hugo Chávez denied that the socialist project under his government was a "ace up in his sleeve" and claimed that it had been planned since 2003.

He said that when he was reelected president in 2006, most Venezuelans voted his socialist project. "Since 2003, I have been proposing the issue of socialism, here and everywhere, and working on it and making proposals. And then, during the presidential campaign in 2006, this was the central topic in the speech, and more than 60 percent voted the socialist project."

The president recalled that after the 2006 election, "in Cabinet Council, our government set the general and particular guidelines of the so-called Socialist Plan of the Nation for 2007-2013. This is a law of the Republic and is being implemented."

He praised the democratic successes so far and criticized once again related results under the Fourth Republic.

"What democracy are you talking about? They used to say that it was the most mature democracy, and it was collected in this way to prepare the Country Plan, the last of the Fourth Republic. But nothing farther from reality, democracy turned out to be a tyranny of the elites," commented the president.

At the beginning of his speech, the head of state said that the opposition is eager for unrest. "Please, take a seat and wait for social upheaval. They are waiting for social turmoil, yet our people know that we are not perfect; they know that we make mistakes; they know that there are still many old vices and bad habits that should be removed. But they are also aware of our government willingness to give them social justice."

Translated by Conchita Delgado

Ocarina Espinoza
EL UNIVERSAL