After having returned from 5 months of fieldwork in rural Poland where I encountered the horrors of post-socialist transition (still underway), I am excited to start my year living in Venezuela where Chavez has been unveiling the road to socialism for the past 11 years. I hope to be (not the first, but one nonetheless) a witness to how this political change from a federal republic to a socialist state occurs and how the people exert resistance or compliance to this uneven process of events. I do not know any more about Venezuelan politics than what I would read in the newspaper or hear on the news, but I do understand the human face of oppression and I hope to relay in this blog-post, the frustrating triviality of personal and everyday politics in Caracas. (Living in a 30-minute time difference between Venezuela and the United States because Chavez did not want to be in the same time zone with his political enemy is a case in point.)
The Built Environment
Caracas’ built environment reminds me of Warsaw-a drab socialist landscape of cement, block buildings with old cars (new cars are no longer sold in Venezuela, so unless one has connections, all cars on the market are used cars) driving on the bumpy autopistas. Climbing up the mountains and looming over Caracas are slums, or barrios, where Chavez’s 30% approval rating holds. Barrios have become a site of disgust for the now-struggling middle class citizens (mostly composed of professionals) who have lost their jobs due to Chavez’s nationalisation drives of oil, cement, steel, rice for the betterment of the poor.
barrios
Official propaganda posters of Chavez holding a baby, medical accomplishments and “unofficial” spray-painted, red slogans falsely purporting a people’s initiative in favour of the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV). The disconnect seems to be that the successes are only on propaganda posters and Chavez’s weekly 6-8 hour television program, while the everyday failures of the government are much more defined.
I should mention that I am learning a lot about Venezuela (and very fast) because I am in the company and under the care of anti-chavistas. These hosts in particular partook in the major 2002 oil strike in Venezuela against the nationalisation of the industry, were sued by the government, and have been blacklisted from many higher-paying jobs in Caracas. Many fled to Canada, but this family established residency there just in case of future asylum. This family is living in perpetual transition and uncertainty about the future.
Nationalised 12 Cent/Gallon Gas at Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV)
So while driving down the autopista, the anti-chavistas point out many aspects of the built environment which fuels their frustration against Chavez. For example, red-ification of the Caracas landscape. As banks and industry become engulfed by the government, banners and advertisements become marked by the colour red. Red is a physical marker of the government becoming evermore successful in its unchecked nationalisation drive. There is a mundaneness to this advertisement as the landscape of Caracas (even Nescafe advertises an enormous, red mug on top of one of the buildings linking coffee with citizenship) becomes a sea of red.
I made the mistake of wearing a pretty red shirt one day, and was embarrassed to hear that the anti-chavistas were against wearing the colour red. When I admitted my ignorance, they replied that red is a pretty colour and the important way is “how” you wear red. The chavista way of wearing red is with a red cap on which the slogan “si” -which means that the person voted in favour of the referendum in February 2009 that granted Chavez unlimited presidential term limits. If you wear the cap “no”-that means one voted against the referendum. While standing in traffic to go to a Venezuelan beisbol game (we of course rooted against the Magallanes, Chavez’s favorite team) in Caracas, the family pointed out two chavistas wearing “si” caps, red tees, and walking hand-in-hand in an uppity and proud manner. The reaction in our car was one of disgust. I asked whether or not the girls had any chavista friends and they of course said absolutely not because they attend a pro-capitalist, Catholic school where a chavista would have a difficult time fitting in. They did mention, however, that the way that they sniff out closet chavistas is when his/her family gets rich fast, moves to a nice house in a short period of time, and the chavista becomes more introverted.
About the shirt–I think they were trying to be nice to me, for I remember a day earlier they claimed that they “hated” the color red. I am deciding whether or not to take off my red nail polish, throw out my red lipstick, and my red pieces of clothing in order to make my political affiliation loud and clear.
Driving up to any house, one will be confronted with cage-like gates (not nice fences or gates)-one after another accessible by special keys. One house had 3 locks on the door after one had to enter through a gate between the elevator and the door. There is a lack of trust rampant throughout the city. Dangerous driving, kidnappings, and thieves keep people from jogging, strolling or bicycling down the streets. There is an emptiness of human contact that really makes Caracas look desolate. People flood to the mall or to the movies where there is some sort of a safe haven for human interaction outside of the household. At the mall, the host family would not enter a specific store because they knew the chavista who owned it–so even at the mall, political affiliation is expressed. From what I understand, the family also purchases a certain type of pre-paid internet because another company is jointly owned with the government which monitors internet interaction for its users.
But the mall is also becoming a constrained space in itself. For every purchase, the buyer will be asked to present her identification card and in some cases asked why she is making the purchase, for whom, which will be logged into the computer. I found it incredibly odd that the Venezuelan with whom I was purchasing my cheap Casio watch (with cash) had to present her card as if she was responsible for the purchase. In the United States, this would spark a public outrage!
For the past two days, our plans have been affected by the government. First, we could not see Avatar after 6PM because the government issued a law (!!) which ordered movie theaters, restaurants, clubs, malls, and any other public place to shut down by 9PM (Avatar would take us over the 9PM mark). The reason for this is due to an electricity shortage. What frustrates people is that the government won’t fix the electrical problem. For them, this is not temporary-but might be an exercise of power which will affect their nightlife for a long time. Chavez has found a new way to control the population, with posters hanging around the entire mall informing the masses that a law has been passed which fines businesses which operate outside of the hours of 11AM-9PM.
11AM-6PM Law
This morning, we stood in a line (very Communist style) outside of the digital store because Chavez ordered a fine for stores that opened on their usual time (10AM). We waited until 11PM until the mall lit up and the grumpy customers entered the store. Military men and women made their presence known around the mall to enforce the new law. “This is the military” the girl pointed out and added “I hate them”. She explained that while a portion of the military was in support of the anti-nationalisation oil protesters, there was not enough military will to end Chavez’s tyranny. She added that the only hope to check Chavez’s corruption of power is a military coup, but at the moment, the military is on Chavez’s side and the anti-chavistas feel powerless in their protest.
Just like with the electricity shortages, Chavez ordered a similar solution with water shortages earlier in the year (still in effect). Water is available only on certain days in certain parts of Caracas. This week, we did not have water (at all!) for several, non-consecutive days. The problems which allow the government to control the population (and tire it out!) are not being solved, but exploited.
This Sunday, I will watch a bit of Chavez’s famous 6-8 hour television program on which he blasts the United States, drones about new projects and the benefits of socialism. Locals here complain that on his campaign trail, Chavez never mentioned anything about socialism, and now, they have to conform to the everyday realities of conforming changes in their schedules and lifestyles. Many have had enough of the brotherhood between Chavez and Castro and would encourage outsiders in support of the regimes to come to Venezuela to try life out for a while.
I will try to post more photos up as they come.
