Opposition Picks Up Seats in Venezuelan Parliament

Venezuelans went to the polls yesterday and gave the anti-Chavez opposition about a third of the seats. Thanks to some clearly undemocratic gerrymandering, they did so with 52% of the vote. Although Mr. Chavez's followers retain a majority, his United Socialist Party failed to attain the 110 seats needed to allow him to rule by decree. While the opposition Democratic Unity umbrella group latched onto the majority of votes it won, the truth is that the Bolivarian Revolution of Mr. Chavez will continue, and it will continue to run Venezuela into the ground.

The Associated Press is reporting that The USP won at least 96 seats out of the 165 seats in the National Assembly. The DU took at least 61. This is a substantial change from the outgoing assembly, elections for which were stupidly boycotted by the anti-Chavez forces (giving him almost dictatorial control). With more than a third of the seats, the DU can now prevent certain decisions that require 67% backing of the assembly.

However, Mr. Chavez is nothing if not creative in his definition of democracy and constitutional government. He redrew the electoral boundaries to give himself an advantage. As Bloomberg notes, "20,000 people in pro-Chavez Amazonas state elected a single lawmaker, giving them the same representation as 350,000 people in the opposition-controlled capital of Caracas."

Luis Vicente Leon, director of the Datanalisis polling firm, told Bloomberg, "We're heading to a situation of further radicalization. Chavez has several elements at his disposal to ride out any result." For example, if he doesn't like the way the National Assembly is currently constituted, he can transfer some of its power to local community councils, where he has the power to appoint members.

Mr. Chavez came to office at a fortunate time. Twelve years ago, the price of oil was only beginning its long march higher. Much of the money he has spent rather than invested, although no one can fault is efforts to get medical care into poor villages and neighborhoods in cities. At the same time, inflation is soaring, the GDP shrunk 3.5% in the first half of the year (while most of Venezuela's neighbors experienced a recovery from the global economic mess), and homicides "have more than tripled since Chavez came to power to a record 16,047 last year from 4,550 in 1998, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence, a Caracas-based research group," says Bloomberg.

Further, one cannot forget the president of a country that exports oil had to ask his fellow citizens to spend more time on vacation back in January to take pressure off the electrical grid in the capitol city. Mr. Chavez has wasted an opportunity to make his country a better place and to give his people a happier future. As Oliver Cromwell told a Parliament that had done the same, "You have sat too long for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!" This journal said so at the beginning of the year and will continue to say so.

One expects Mr. Chavez to run for re-election in 2012. One also expects him to cheat to win, and to get away with it.

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