Today, 7 October 2012, is a very important day in the modern history of Venezuela. Personally, it is a tremendous day for myself.
Presidential elections in Venezuela are taking place today, and after 14 years of Chavismo, I feel that change has finally arrived to the politics and social life of Venezuela.
Let me put it in simpler terms, It's been 14 years of the same bullshitting autocrat, mentiroso, ladrón whose name I will never be able to forget: Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias.
Where do I begin to tell the story that will forever be intertwined between this individual and myself?
I was nine years old, and living in Caracas, when he was elected for the first time in 1999, and i remember both of my parents being were very outspoken about their dislike towards Chavez and his political party MVR (Movimiento Quinta Republica). They were instead rooting for Henrique Salas Romer who ended up in second place, right behind Chavez.
Chavez was a rookie when he first ran for the presidency in 1998, but he was well known in Venezuela, having orchestrated a coup d'etat against President Carlos Andres Perez in 1992. My parents knew what kind of criminal they would get themselves involved with which is why they were constantly urging people not to vote for him. However, there was something rather appealing about this rookie Mr. Chavez, and that I came to realize later in life while attending college (more on that later). He was an idealist who believed in the power of the less powerful and forgotten, he was a socialist (which he defined himself as later in his presidency), he was a people's man who came from a very remote state in Venezuela, Barinas (please DO go ahead and look it up in a map). His humble background, and his patriotic stance and sometimes condemning approach towards the rich and powerful was, I believe, what won people over to him, especially the always forgotten masses.
So here we are, 14 years later, trying to figure out what the fuck went wrong with Venezuelans back in 1998. 14 years of violence and deaths of innocent civilians in the hands of el hampa (criminals), corrupción Chavista (meaning the same corruption that existed before him, but ten times worse), food scarcity, and even more poverty, national debt, and inflation than was ever thought possible before he came to power.
But you know what infuriates me the most? The fact that there are people outside of Venezuela who support him. IGNORANT MOTHERFUCKERS who have never had to live under his tutelage who think he is a Latin American hero of the poor and powerless. You know what I say to them? Fuck YOU!
They didn't have to lose a cousin to the streets of Caracas which now sadly belong to gangs who proudly support his government. They didn't have to watch their mother, a professional and business owner whose publishing company dissapeared as its costumers grew scared of the political craziness that was beginning to ensue Venezuelan and International companies in 2002. Unemployed, with two children, and increasingly paranoid of the political and violent unrest felt in the streets of Caracas, she migrated to another country whose language she did not speak, to work in menial jobs and provide her two pre-teenage children a safer environment, a bilingual life, and a future with OPPORTUNITIES and CHOICES.
My mother is the biggest badass I know, now that's what I call REAL, not the crazy ignorant and naive students I met in college who never ceased to boast about Chavez. Please, I dare them to live under him and see for themselves what it's like to experience the "Revolution."
ANYWAY, ever since I was nine years old I've been surrounded by politics and active participation. I went to my first march/rally when I was ten years old and it was against CHAVEZ. I have also proudly been gassed before by the police when I was marching against CHAVEZ. My throat and eyes burned like HELL, but after some hours and the smell of vinegar, it all went away. I was raised to question my government, to be outspoken, to raise awareness, to scream my lungs out, to march, to walk, to run when it was necessary and I am so darn proud. The generation of Venezuelans who were raised in the 90s and 00s are strong individuals who have had to live in a politically divided society (chavistas and non chavistas), politics are one more language we speak. Our parents do, and so will be, whether you are chavista or not. I have come to noticed that people from my generation are much more cultured, organized and active in their Government. I, too, in New York became the same way with the topics of immigration, dream act and Occupy Wall Street.
Truthfully, I understand where pro-Chavez students come from, we have been raised under very stressful circumstances, following 9/11, Iraq War, the ongoing war in Afghanistan, reality T.V. and now possibly a war on Iran. Ever since I migrated to the United States I have been surrounded by war and so have many people from my generation. It takes a toll on you, especially if you happen to move from one unstable government to another.
Today is a special day. I can feel it. Capriles Radonsky has been able to gather so much support, its the first time in fourteen years that we are witnessing unity in Venezuelan society. He reminds me of Barack Obama running in 2008. It's a powerful vibe of positive emotions that brings (most) people together who wouldn't normally do so. It's also known as change.
Whatever happens later today will undeniably open a new chapter for Venezuelans and for myself mostly.
