Chavecito’s New Year’s message

Happy New Year, everybody, from you-know-who:

It starts with his swearing-in, in which he promises on the corpse of the old constitution to give Venezuela a new, improved one (the first mischievous, dramatic and prophetic act of his presidency). Then it moves on to history lessons–if he ever doesn’t get re-elected, he’s got a great career as a history prof ahead of him. And of course, economics, in which the ‘Cito points out how social inequality has dropped over the course of his reign. The only time it ever rose was when the right-wing sectors tried to wreck the economy with the intent of forcing him out. As soon as that failed, things rectified themselves again with a vengeance. It’s a terrific lesson in what the “market forces” got wrong, all in all, and a great way to mark ten transformative years in office–in which so much has changed for the better. For those who don’t understand Spanish (or have the patience to sit through a three-quarter hour speech), a Reader’s Digest condensed version can be read at Venezuelanalysis.

Feliz año nuevo, everyone!