Commandante Catastrophe

Ivan Aristeguieta and five friends, part of the ever-growing Venezuelan Diaspora, drove all the way from Adelaide to Canberra on the weekend in the vain hope of helping to vote out Hugo Chávez. It was not be. El Comandante has secured another term in office by “winning” one million votes more than his rival, Henrique Capriles, although the real figure is anybody’s guess.

Aristeguieta, a 33-year-old stand-up comedian, does not see anything funny about his country falling into the abyss: “Chávez is going to be there for another six years – that makes 20 years, like most dictators in history! I cannot express how bad I feel with this result. I see Venezuela becoming an even more violent, ignorant and impoverished place, ruled over by a King-God." 

A week before the election, Chavez declared that if he were a citizen of the US he would vote for Obama and if the situation were reversed Obama would vote for him. No doubt Chavez was exercising his excellent sense of humour, and yet a…