Thursday continued

I asked T to tell me why he likes Chavez. T said he had a lot of years on the young cynics like MS and knows what the previous governments were like. He's lived in Venezuela since 1973, with a break when he opposed the government and went back to The Netherlands. He returned in the early '90s, for Chavez. He is a socialist and wants to see a more equal society. He believes that a single leader is necessary to create this social change, that it wouldn't happen without the force of such a personality. He believes some of Venezuela's current problems lay with the fact that many of those in power are still the same old people, so things won't change quickly. It may take generations to see the results of the education of the people, so that they understand their rights and duties as citizens. They've been purposely kept uneducated and easily governable.

MS says the government sets staple food prices and the constitution put minimum wage in line with those prices, so if the prices rise, so must minimum wage. As the major employer in Venezuela, the government wants the prices to stay cheap, but the producers won't always agree - hence the shortage of fresh milk and widespread use of powdered milk. Powdered milk is price-stabilised but easily available, whereas fresh milk is neither. The government is trying to buy out food staples production to avoid conflict with private producers.

MS says there is a lot of chaos in the law because Chavez lets people take over unfinished builidngs or unused land that belongs to other people - to finish and live in the buildings and farm the land. Ovbiously this would cause problems for the owners of said land and buildings, and their property value goes down once poor people move in.

Venezuelans are calm and relaxed. They sit out on the street in front of their houses, drink lots of beer on the beach (this I am told). There is a distinct Italian influence - they say 'ciao' and eat pizza and pasta - and I have not noticed any of the free-floating rage that haunts Australia. People don't shout at bus drivers or make scenes with strangers.

I notice I am more comfortable with chatty people like S, F and M, than with quieter ones like MS and T. I worry that they think what I say is dumb or that they are bored by me. J, for instance, I can tell isn't bored by me. He is engaged and responsive.

The big dog at MS's always lugs around a big block of wood in his mouth. Why do dogs like me so much? Perhaps they smell other dogs on me, now T's dogs.

Today I heard Chavez singing to the people on television and radio.

Today T's house had no water. Neither did the restaurant. Fancy a country where the local government cannot be relied upon to get water to the people.