Is it possible?

The polls are showing a lot of people believe that Chavez is faking having cancer. Here's why they may be right. After 14 grueling years in power, Chavez has nothing to show for his revolution. It was all talk. Everything revolutions are historically fought for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in America; liberty, equality and fraternity in France has been smashed like the blood of a mosquito on a car windshield racing from the scene of a crime.  The true misery of this failure is measured by the denial, mendacity and obfuscation of those who perpetrated it. They want to be seen as victims and not criminals. And what's better than a telenovela, a huge distraction, a pathetic story about a struggle with cancer laced with secrecy and assassination conspiracies? After all, this is a revolution that was televised, whose motto is: the revolution will not be televised. The revolution was and is Aló Presidente, the TV program.

Why is such a monster distraction useful? Because during those 14 years of violence and failure so thoroughly ignored in Aló Presidente, over one thousand billion dollars, or a million bags of a million dollars each -an unimaginable sum with twelve zeroes after the one- passed through the hands of a crowd who fifteen years ago were unskilled at managing anything.  There's money to be accounted for and a lot of blood too: over 90,000 homicides have occurred since Chavez got power.

So what's playing out in 2012 is a scene straight from hell: One side has nothing to lose and the other has everything to lose, while many are in the middle screaming No No Ni Ni. One side had everything taken away including dignity, and the other side is staring at prison or ignominy if they lose power. This is the way it was in Libya when Qadaffi was blown away and the way it is in Syria with Assad mowing down innocent citizens in the streets. How it ends here is anybody's guess but guns and killing are omnipresent in Venezuela today.  By some counts, it is the most violent country in the world and one of the most corrupt. A bout with cancer might be a useful distraction from that.

michaelrowan22@gmail.com