Venezuela's poor join protests as turmoil grips Chávez's revolution

[MADem]

43. Jesus! Now that would be something!

I gotta say, I was puzzled waaaay back when that "God Given Hair" didn't get the nod as Chavez's successor. They always seemed closer to me, given their shared military history, and Maduro always looked like the odd man out.

Now, so long as we're indulging in conspiracies (and this is full bore speculation) I have to wonder if DC and Chavez talked this over before Chavez slipped away and was put on life support...you know, along the lines of "Look, we'll let Maduro take over because the country is on a crash course to hell anyway....when the shit hits the fan, you step in--you've got the Army connections, after all, and you can orchestrate a coup-ish kind of non-coup, should it come to that...and persuade Nicky to take a powder if he wants to stay healthy. Then, you take over the show--you'll be able to blame everything that goes wrong for the next four years on Maduro!" I mean, the guy IS incompetent, everyone knew he was incompetent, all he had going for him was loyalty--not brains, and a lot of people thought he was a lousy choice to succeed Hugo. In a lot of ways, this crash-and-burn of the VZ economy is no surprise. The cronies have robbed the country blind, and the place is dysfunctional.

Of course, the only way that VZ comes back from the brink is with some economic stability and common sense--and who best to chart that course than an economist like Lopez? The pairing of DC and Lopez makes complete sense when viewed through that prism--and it would certainly calm all the people protesting in the streets wearing white.

I did see some footage of of Lopez surrendering and there was a report that DC did go there and they spent a lot of time together--that is indeed documented. I have to admit, I'm puzzled, but if they end up power sharing, how are the people calling Lopez a "fascist" going to explain that, I wonder? There'd be enough spinning to generate a lotta electricity, I'd bet...