Oh, the Venezuelan opposition…they seriously think no one will catch them in a lie. That their carefully contrived media campaigns against Chavecito will go off without a hitch. But as it happens, the ever alert Mario Silva (who hosts La Hojilla, VTV’s media-whore-watch show) has caught them out in at least three big, fat whoppers:
In case you haven’t guessed, the three lies are:
1. Thursday’s “big” opposition march filled Bolivar Avenue in downtown Caracas;
2. They didn’t bus in their people from elsewhere–they claimed these were just the citizens of Caracas alone;
and
3. They were nonviolent.
Of course, none of this is true. Bolivar Avenue was almost empty, as the aerial shots show to great effect; there WERE buses from elsewhere, a long line of them, clearly marked “NO”, and with the “R” for “reforma” crossed out; and the “students”, in the yellow t-shirts of Primero Justicia, the right-wing law’n’order party, were so nonviolent that they lost little time in swarming, berating and physically attacking the camera crew from the public channel, VTV.
What’s especially funny is how “El Matacuras”, the host of Alo Ciudadano, loses his smarmy little smile when he gets caught in his lie–live and on the air. But give the guy credit, he goes right on like the pro he is, claiming the buses were only for a concert. Um, yeah–and that big, white “NO R” on all the windows was probably just the band’s name. Had nothing to do with trying to get people to vote against the constitutional reforms on Sunday, swear to God!
Also funny: I suspect the VTV crew got attacked by those fine young law-abidin’ Primeros Golpistas because it dared to show them getting on the buses that they weren’t supposed to be using–you know, being real, unbussed-in citizens of Caracas and all. Or maybe because the crew were working for VTV, in which case they couldn’t be counted on to lie for the opposition. Or both. Any way you slice it–funny as hell. And not likely to be shown on mainstream TV anytime soon, so grab it here while it’s hot.