*Hyperbole is more than acceptable at funerals. In the case of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, he was compared to both Jesus Christ and Simón Bolívar. And it was announced that his body would be embalmed and put on “eternal” display.
It was impossible, however, to ignore the rhetorical irony inherent at Chavez’s fiery, foot-stomping state funeral. “Chavez lives!” declared Acting President Nicolás Maduro. “Mission accomplished!” Imagine, however, what Maduro would have said had Chavez’s 14-year legacy not included:
^Horrific crime rates.
^Squandered oil riches.
^Decaying infrastructure.
^20 percent inflation rate.
^Constitutional manipulation.
^Narcissism embodiment.
*Chavez’s legacy also includes his singular contribution to political stagecraft: his long-running, Sunday morning TV show, “Aló Presidente.” It was a hodgepodge of unscripted policy pep talks, bully pulpit harangues, tours and dedications of social projects. Government ministers were required to attend. They could be called on the carpet about anything. Sometimes policy was made on the spot. Nothing was left on the editing-room floor. Personality-cult sausage for the masses.
I saw it a few years ago when I was in Caracas. It came on at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. There was no fixed end time. At 5 p.m., it was still plodding on. CTTV never looked so good.
For Chavistas, the late president will be an impossible act to follow. For fans of “Aló Presidente,” Chavez’s passing has added a lot more free time to their Sundays.
*Chavez was known for his fulminating ways when it came to the United States. Among his more memorable, if revolutionarily parsed, messages: “There is no poverty in Venezuela! Factory capitalism is poverty!”
And doesn’t it seem surreal that Chavez once (1999) waved to the New York Stock Exchange gallery at the closing bell ceremonies?