Hilda (Mañanita) Ochoa

Primary Colors

2009-06-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

Political scientists, trained to think in buckets and building intellectual scaffoldings, lose their compass when political processes do not fit perfectly in the buckets that have been useful in the creation of theories that explain the past.

I remember when sets with paint brushes, water colors and drawings with numbered grids became popular. It was suddenly possible to paint by numbers. I received a colorful and splendorous macaw as a gift. I spent days coloring it carefully, making sure to stay within the lines. The result was no work of art, but the process was fun and the toy continues to sell well. None of them is a Picasso, but many could resemble one.

Something similar to painting by numbers occurs when we try to grid the political processes and their dynamics under the rubric of democracy, dictatorship, capitalism, socialism, communism or mercantilism. The labels lose significance when we do not understand how governments and societies combine the primary colors of political organization. In order to understand if a political system is participatory and progressive or repressive and destructive, and other permutations of these four factors in the political spectrum of a society, it is useful to indentify the “primary colors” with which the social reality of a country is painted. Societies and processes that are constructive, participatory and dynamic produce “works of art” that inspire and uplift the citizenry, even if not everyone likes them. When the primary colors do not combine, the end result is a destructive dynamic.

The “primary colors” of constructive political processes are: Freedom of expression (speech and conscience); connectedness, or the opportunity to connect with leaders and everyone else; and constructive recognition and feedback. Freedom of expression is achieved through training and specialization. Social connectivity with my co-citizens and leaders is developed through the growth of mutual respect. Constructive recognition and feedback is achieved through evaluation and reporting systems that we understand and to which we can respond in order to get “good grades.” Freedom, connectivity and recognition are the yellow, blue and red of political growth.

If a government is able to utilize at least two of the three primary colors, the political system will last, even if the economy fails. If a government uses only one or less of the “primary colors” to paint society, the political system will collapse even if the economy is relatively stable. Of course a growing economy allows us to forget the colors for a while, but not indefinitely. Two examples are helpful in the analysis. Cuba has grown poorer over the last 50 years and the political system has lived on. Beside military repression, the Cuban regime has used two primary colors to satisfy the political needs of its inhabitants: connectivity and constructive recognition and feedback. It has not allowed freedom of expression. Those Cubans unhappy with the lack of liberties exiled themselves. Venezuela has gone through extreme economic cycles and there are many more in the future, considering the dependence on the State and oil, and the regime of President Chavéz has survived the economic highs and lows, because the system has used two primary colors: freedom of expression (open to more than 50% of the population and closed to the vocal opposition) and connectivity. It has not given its citizens constructive recognition and feedback. To the contrary, it entices its citizens to behave destructively, critical of one another and loaded with mistrust in all. The Soviet Union fell because it stopped painting with any of the three colors. It survived for many years, just like Cuba, thanks to connectivity and constructive recognition and feedback, but those two colors were lost when the leaders aged and stopped expressing empathy and constructive recognition to their citizens. If freedom of expression disappears in Venezuela and is not replaced by constructive recognition, the only way of maintaining the regime will be through military repression, particularly in the face of an economic crisis.

In order to organize the political systems of countries it is more important to recognize and utilize the primary colors than political and economic memos.

God is a Dilettante

2009-06-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

As all youngsters exposed to religious teachings, I was profoundly impressed by divine powers. God has infinite abilities. By comparison, we are limited but aspire to attain the reach of Gods. Yesterday, while having breakfast with a good friend, we discussed the problems facing the Obama administration, his successes in national and international relations, and the challenges of aggrandizing the tentacles of government, which begin with virtuous promises and end up strangling growth.
While analyzing strategies to improve public health systems and the difficulty in maintaining high rates of innovation vis-à-vis corporate growth and stability, my friend and I discovered something very simple and revealingly tragic. God Almighty is a dilettante, as are many other public and corporate leaders. That is why the world faces such surprising and destructive events. If God had chosen to specialize, humans, especially those that aspire to be gods, would have also chosen to specialize and everything would work much better!

Governments should specialize in covering epidemic risks, defending their tribes from unexpected attacks by destructive troops, and making sure laws are obeyed. Governments do not know how to manage companies, save banks, produce steel or electricity, let alone develop high-tech companies. I won’t even get into whether governments should handle education, since that is a lost battle even in the most advanced countries; but wonder why education is the industry with the lowest growth in productivity in the last one hundred years?

Our breakfast discussion focused on the mounting costs of health care in the U.S., and probably everywhere. Medicine and the efficient administration of public health, also lend themselves to the benefits of specialization. Doctors should not pretend to be more than high level supervisors of pharmacological or surgical intervention processes. Surgeries and the greater share of health care delivery should be, metaphorically, in the hands of midwives. In Venezuela health care worked better when pharmacists recommended prescriptions, even if restricted, in order to cure well known diseases. Technical experts that specialize in repeated surgeries and cures do a better job than great doctors whose responsibilities are split between handling patients, keeping up with advances and managing their practices. Most medicine, except for rare diseases which require creative cures, should be left to the carpenters, electricians and plumbers of medicine. Literally, technicians without a medical degree that focus on routine operations and cures, and do it well, are better than doctors that are not equally specialized and are more interested in becoming Gods or even bullfighters. Countries, such as Cuba, China, Russia, Canada and others in Europe, that have separated routine surgeries from more sophisticated, imaginative, scientific and creative processes, show high success rates in routine treatments and lower mortality rates in basic surgeries, carried out by technicians without a Doctor’s degree (maybe a health technician accreditation). That is why it is better to not have generals acting as police officers or running countries.

Those who believe they can do it all because they count on divine or mythological powers, end up doing it all poorly. If God was not a dilettante he would have eliminated telluric phenomena. But since God wants to be in the business of getting boyfriends, winning lotteries or finding lost keys, s/he does not have time to specialize in the more important problems that humans can’t really solve. The key to a better world is pushed-down, widespread specialization and not dilettantism. Dilettantes should be circumscribed to aimless children of the rich that scatter their wealth as quickly as possible. Even the most creative and capable need to learn how to specialize. Creative people must not try to control all that surrounds them, they should leave that task to specialized managers. It is no accident that the Catholic Church has promoted so many saints. I am sure that the Church’s intention is to help God focus on the more important aspects of human destiny and let the saints take care of everyday miracles.

As you can tell these notes are not about the dilemma of the existence of God or the usefulness of saints, which is indubitable. These notes are about the importance of developing technical training schools, not only for carpenters, plumbers, electricians and beauticians, but for medicine, construction engineering, education, public service and many more, to increase the productivity and integrity of these services. If our public servants obtained diplomas certifying their technical knowledge and ethics, it would be more difficult for them to become opportunistic and corrupt for they would risk losing their professional accreditation and, more importantly, the pride of being a specialist in the field. Professional pride and specialization go hand in hand. Dilettantism is psychological consumerism with low social productivity.

The Liturgy of Life

2009-05-12T07:34:00.001-07:00

In a month I am to give a speech in honor of Philip Glass. Philip Glass is a contemporary composer famous for many reasons. A great pianist trained in Julliard and by Nadia Boulanger, the extraordinary goddess of the keys; a brilliant and unforgettable composer who will go on to posterity as an everyday Mozart or Beethoven; sweeper of concessionary garbage in the composition of feature films such as Kundun, the Illusionist and the Hours, and the artist behind operas such as Einstein on the Beach and Monsters of Grace.

Because I want to praise his work in a way that does justice to his creativity, talent, and humanity, I have entered the world of his music and his life as a joyful Voyeur. Philip Glass does not like experiences or life to begin and end. He wants to live and create eternally. Like Gregorian chants, his perception of life is a form of mundane liturgy. The mundane and the divine are combined in the alienating, hallucinating and precocious repetition of what remains and acquires the meaning we give it. Living life liturgically is the most elegant, generous and engaged way of living it.

Like a tree that extends from the sky to the earth possessed with light and oxygen, and full of infinite seeds, his work, like his life, is full of light, shadow, wind, profound anguish, discoveries and surprises. Storms and calms are the same if we allow ourselves to see their beauty and cruelty. There are no lessons in life or in his work, but there is a shared experience with those we touch and those who touch us. There is extraordinary discipline, noble work as a way of creating a fleeting and lasting connection with time, space and the love that transcends space and time. What a pleasure to share life with his sound, his honesty and his vitality, his sense of humor and his energy. I am charged with hope, even for Venezuela, that distresses me when I do not inhabit Philip Glass’ world.

The liturgy of life in Venezuela does not go on like a Gregorian chant. It goes on more as a mix of Rap, Hip-hop, bolero, and out of tune rumba. What is more, life in Venezuela in no way resembles a liturgy. Nothing is predictable except for the chaos, and because of this chaotic days surprise us with miracles. The liturgy in Venezuela is not baroque or renaissance, but it has miraculous moments of order, virtue and excellence, that appear unexpectedly and give us hope. The country of miracles develops from fright to fright, from bankruptcy to bankruptcy. Mills, dams and factories are built and in time they turn into tin. Highways and bridges are rebuilt centuries after hope has been lost. We are lucky we are not an African desert, but instead a biological and ecological diversity alive with contrasts. If we had been an African desert, we would have been burnt by the sun and our ashes carried away by the wind a long time ago. How lucky we are! We have the luck of lottery winners: rich from one day to another, then poor for the rest of our lives.

The liturgy of our lives is certainly not Gregorian and Philip Glass would have lost his monotonous and adventurous rhythm in the compact and never ending traffic of Caracas.

Indifference

2009-04-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

Love is not the opposite of hate. Both feelings emerge from the same yearning: the ambition of sharing. In love’s case there is the hope of reciprocity. With hate, hope is lost in the perception of rejection. The opposite of love and hate is indifference. Indifference is the forced and successful separation from that which threatens us. Indifference is a powerful and destructive weapon. We grow when we lay bridges that connect us. When we lift these bridges in an effort to protect psychological borders we run the risk of alienation. A temporary alienation is desirable in situations when we need to protect ourselves psychologically from outside attacks. In those cases, lifting the bridges, as in a medieval castle, allows us to temporarily survive the attack. Moments of introspection allow us to anchor ourselves in creative and noble idiosyncrasies. Permanent alienation turns us inhuman. Leaders and criminals assault their communities and fellow people motivated by continuous waves of alienation. Alone and without any type of lasting emotional connections, many of us survive through opportunism and abuse. But alienation ends up killing our souls. People without souls end up cannibalizing their most enduring values and shorten their physical, economic and spiritual life expectancies.

All of this looks like a flood of vagabond words, but it is more than that. In countries where opportunism and abuse reign supreme, human beings search for the lair of indifference in a bid to survive. In countries where respect and rule of law reign, people can open up to the idea of depending more on self- and group-improvement. People with souls create networks that allow for personal and collective improvement because they have protective nets for qualities that transcend the cruelties of the moment.

It is hard to understand how in Hitler’s Germany a couple of guards could abuse hundreds or thousands of unarmed Jews. The victims of Nazi repression had lost the capacity of emotionally responding to the abuse. What happened in ‘30s and ‘40s Germany has also occurred in many other countries, and is increasingly occurring in Latin America, with the rise in governments with dictatorial tendencies that abuse economic, security and political power. The cost for these nations and the continent is high. There will be lost generations that have lived their only life in indifference as an instrument of survival.

But how does one overcome indifference when it has become the most immediate tool for survival? The answer does not lie in miraculous spontaneities. The only way to overcome states of indifference is with “deference.” Deference is the process by which we appreciate our rights, and we carry out the duties of respecting and developing our own personal qualities. We differentiate between good and evil without excessive shows of emotions. We adopt correct ways of acting and reject those deemed improper. We don’t play dumb when it is convenient and accept moral inaction when it is not convenient or when we do not feel like fighting harsh remarks. Deference occurs when we support those that make an ideal effort to rectify mistakes and we respect the rights of everyone, including those we do not personally admire.

Difference and indifference have something in common. Both states subtract emotionality as an instrument for survival. But in “deferent” states emotionality is subtracted in order to respect the rights of others. In “indifferent” states emotionality is subtracted in order to allow the abuse of someone else’s rights. Deference allows us to grow spiritually. Indifference leads to the death of the spirit and profound social violence.

Resurrection of Libya or Diversions of a Despot

2009-04-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

One of the most interesting and chameleonic leaders of contemporary politics is Muammar al-Gaddafi, revolutionary leader of Libya for the last 40 years. I am not, nor do I think of myself as, an expert on Gaddafi. I would rather develop other abilities. I observe Gaddafi from time to time, because he is great at reinventing himself and surprising us. He gives hope to those of us that are forced to withstand, at some point in time, the abuses of a tyrant.

Gaddafi was the leader of the first of OPEC’s arrogant challenges in the ‘70s, he protected terrorists over the years, trained revolutionaries, and threatened the world as much as he could from his poor but petro-powerful country. Gaddafi was a threat to world peace, until one day foreign planes bombarded his military bases and among the victims was one of his daughters and several of his colleagues. He was spared in the bombardment and I thought he would emerge from the experience even more bitter and resentful. It was not the case. Gaddafi disappeared from the public eye for a long time. Sometimes photos of him, looking tired and weary, would appear (I would have felt the same way, but dictators rebound from the punches like magic balls). However, he remained in power. A couple of years ago he put together a series of policies that seemed laudable, albeit a bit carried away by the imagination and dreams of economic grandeur. Libya would become a leader in technological education and would increase its industrial productivity. It sounded promising but a bit unrealistic given Libya’s history. But recently Gaddafi made a surprise announcement. He fired all members of his executive (I don’t think there is a Judicial or Legislative branch, per say, in Libya) for being corrupt. He has also stated that all oil revenues the country produces will be distributed directly to the people, since they are the real owners of the oil, which is true. It is an extreme and extremely sensible measure, assuming it is legitimate in its objective and not just a parody of power.

At a time when politicians around the world are lobbying for more intervention in the economy, justified by the failure of the global banking system and the possibility of a global economic recession, Gaddafi announces he is going in the opposite direction. He is going to leave the economic vote in the hands of the Libyan people. I’ll have to see it to believe it, but it is a valid idea. Increasing aggregate demand to bypass prospects of a global depression is quite sensitive if coupled with rule of law and other growth policies.

Maybe he won’t do anything and this is just his way of diverting the country’s attention, fighting political enemies and experimenting with other ways to communicate with his people. Who knows what problems Gaddafi and Libya face? In any case, the announcement gives some hope to the belief that good ideas can emerge from corrupt and incompetent systems. It give us hope that humanity and leaders that seem stuck from so many vantage points, sometimes, when they hit rock bottom, can come up with redeeming ideas.

History takes many unexpected turns, and that is why we should and should not believe in miracles. The only sustainable miracle is that of being alive and being able to contribute to the economic, spiritual and emotional growth of humanity. If we all pitch in, day in and day out, with work and morality, bravery and sensibility, put a stop to greed and our own pillaging, and signal a better path to our friends, little by little we will gain in economic and political democracy. That is the best and most lasting type of active resistance. Who knows what lies ahead for Gaddafi, but we can learn to respond to the daily and common attacks against our own dignity and responsibility with seriousness, dedication and determination to achieve the moral triumph of the community. If other leaders follow Gaddafi’s example and decide, without the help of vagabond intermediaries, to distribute the public purse, we should then be ready to take full advantage of those resources and invest in our future.

Where are the crickets?

2009-03-31T11:36:00.001-07:00

As I recall, the cricket from Pinocchio, Jiminy, is one of the most meaningful fairy tale characters. I’ll remind you that the fairy godmother sprinkles the marionette with some magic powders that allow him to start moving on his own, if haltingly, and become almost human. One of the aspects of his “humanity” is the ability to tell lies, some gratuitous and dumb, others politically or economically opportunistic. Jiminy Cricket, who plays the part of inmature Pinocchio’s “conscience”, cannot keep up with the responsibility and work generated by his pupil’s fickleness. But Jiminy stays alert, active and innovative in his message. In the end Pinocchio is sorry for his actions and is rewarded by his Godmother, who turns him into a real human (God help us! – but the story has a happy ending). Pinocchio, the human being, promises to be good, brave and generous.

Many of us have a cricket in our own consciences, but many of us gag or put ours to sleep in the purgatory of the millions of forgotten crickets. “When in Rome, do as the Romans” and that is how the decadence of the empire, the people, the family and the individual begins. The crickets of conscience are the most endangered species in societies that lose the sense of respect, the rhythm of intellectual nobility and the tenor of the state of grace. Societies flourish ecologically and economically when crickets are free to sing, sigh, and reproduce, proud of their work and success.

Happy endings never last, but they do permit a return to the right path with determination and a sense of achievable and reasonable goals. The world economic recession is a good juncture to save crickets that are either dormant or annihilated by the goddess of success. Yearnings for fortitude, integrity, work and generosity are lasting yearnings that are refreshed and regenerate themselves through the challenge of their own maintenance.

Let us wake up our internal crickets and begin a campaign to recruit external crickets. I have, among my good friends, three first class crickets. If I have doubts and am not willing to listen to my internal cricket, I can simply call up the three external crickets and listen to the quartet (because mine begins to sing clearly and instantly).

Where are the crickets? They are everywhere. Consciences are dormant, but they are never dead. We can start by waking our own. It is important to do so amidst so much confusion and appreciation for what we have lost. What we have lost in the revelry of liquidity and turbo-consumerism of recent years is not as important as what we can gain with calm, will and the help of Jiminy Cricket. Pinocchio is barely starting his life at the end of the story. He can’t imagine how hard life is, especially when we decide to ignore our conscience. Crickets blow the whistle and don’t sing when we ignore them. If we pay attention to Jiminy Cricket, his sounds are calming and far away songs. They remind us of the calm night in the Llanos, or walks through dark but fragrant gardens. They remind us of the infamy of childhood pastimes of trapping crickets in order to feel brave, without realizing that we are capturing something essential in our history: the ability to listen to the sounds of nature as whispers of a conscience at peace.

Unemployment

2009-03-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

In the last 20 years most of the world has enjoyed full employment. Both men and women; and in many places even the children had more than enough work. If one’s salary was not enough to cover the expenses of uncontrolled consumption, you took two jobs. If pay wasn’t good, one could switch countries, legally or illegally, in search of better economic opportunities.

In the last 20 years more than 20 million people entered the United States in search of better living conditions. Europe also saw its populations, decimated by old age and low birth rates, grow. Even in Latin America we witnessed work related population movements from one country to another like never before in history. For reasons more political than economic, but certainly motivated by the prospect of greater earnings, Venezuela imported 20% of its population in the last 10 years from countries like Cuba, Colombia, China and others. Al of this has ended for several years. Many of the immigrants are back in their native countries. It is preferable to be unemployed in one’s own country, surrounded by loved ones that can lend a helping hand, than in a place were you do not have many friends or family.

Work is something noble and strange. We work more out of duty than out of desire. But if we didn’t need it we would do it anyways. Need and wants are tightly intertwined when it come to work. We hate Mondays and love Fridays (unless we live in Islamic countries where the work week begins on Sunday). I still remember my first day at work. I was so proud of finding a good job as an economist. I arrived at work on the Monday right after the ’67 earthquake in Caracas. I wasn’t sure there would be any work, even though I had walked by the building of Luz Eléctrica de Venezuela on Sunday, to make sure it was still standing. There it was, safe and sound on Avenida Urdaneta. And I arrived punctually on Monday at 8:00 a.m. They gave me a flamboyant grey metal desk, a pile of accounts to work on and a training manual. Everybody was nice and sensible. I was proud and comfortable. In spite of this, I found myself looking at the clock in horror. It was ten in the morning and I still had eight hours before the end of the work day (from 8 to 12 and 2 to 6). I felt overwhelmed and surprised by the cruelty that 50 or more years of my life working in an office implied. I would never again have the freedom of riding my bicycle through the neighborhood or seeing and speaking to my friends between classes at the university. There was no longer time to dream of becoming a trapeze artist or a famous singer. Or of being a writer, poet or actress. My destiny now was to clear up accounts as an economist, even when I didn’t fully understand the need for all the bookkeeping. I was employed and have been lucky to remain that way for more than 40 years. Being employed adds value to weekends and vacations. It domesticates us. It connects us with other humans. Those we like and those we don’t. Most importantly, being employed gives us a salary and a measure of what we contribute to the country’s production, and allows us to maintain a family and dream of a better life. Employment makes us feel useful. Unemployment is corrosive. It makes us feel worthless, disposable. We lose the normal connections that guide our decisions. One can’t decide in a void, one can only make decisions between contrasts and preferences. To be content we have to have restrictions and the ability to overcome them. Employment gives us those restrictions and the tools to overcome them.

Work and family are the two motors that give us identity and impulse in our lives. Unemployment is like a divorce, a destructive and at the same time liberating turn in our lives. But unemployment is worse than a divorce. Once you have gotten over the loss of your life partner, one can begin a new life in search of new friends and partners. Unemployment leaves us without income, insecure, and increases the chance of destroying the family as well. This is a nail that does not take out another nail, instead it crucifies us. Despite how painful and destructive a period of unemployment can be, it can always lead to a reencounter and rediscovery of our real goals. We can do a lot and reinvent ourselves many times in our lifetime. To reinvent ourselves we need to undertake, with valor and tenacity, a period of reeducation, rehabilitation and rebalance of our faculties. The important thing is to stay active and concentrated. Employed or unemployed, tenacity, education and the ability to serve others makes us better. One of the most useful expressions I’ve heard is that if the glass is half empty or half full depends on whether you are filling the glass or drinking its content. If we keep “filling the glass”, there is real hope that we can reconnect, actively and effectively, with the world. If we only drink from the glass, sooner or later we will find it empty. Community services are always an opportunity for employment if we can’t think of or come up with another job. John Stuart Mills, the famous economist, said: “Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness; on the happiness of others or the improvement of mankind, even on some art or pursuit, followed no as a means, but as itself an ideal end. Aiming thus at something else, they find happiness by the way.” Serving others is the most satisfactory mode of self employment, and there is little chance of being unemployed in that occupation.

Witch-Hunt: Battle at Kruger

2009-03-04T06:24:00.000-08:00

One of intelligent animals’ great abilities is that of organizing in order to benefit the group. Among the most watched videos on You Tube is an 8 minute clip called “Battle at Kruger.” The video shows a herd of water buffalos being attacked by a pride of lions, one of which manages to sink its teeth into a calf. When the calf’s life seems lost for sure in the jaws of the lion, a crocodile jumps out of the water and tries to wrestle the calf away from the lion. Poor calf! Surely it is doomed now, stuck between lions and crocodiles. Unexpectedly, the buffalo herd returns ready to claim the calf back. I will not tell you how it ends, so you will watch the video and learn an important human and civic lesson: Strength is in unity in the defense of freedom. Even though we have to fight lions and crocodiles, and the battle looks lost in the jaws of one or another, if the herd sticks together and support defensive tactics, freedom can be won strategically. But just like there are constructive and intelligent collective actions, there are also destructive collective acts. There are abundant examples throughout history of minorities entrenched in power exploiting the majority, or a comparatively advantaged majority exploiting a debilitated minority.

The so-called witch-hunts are one of the destructive results of the human race’s ability to organize itself in order to destroy a perceived common threat. The problem is that there are evil witches that like the lions in the video, deserve to be defied and exterminated, but there are also good witches, agents of change and innovation, that deserve none of that. Extermination groups can be used for good or evil. They are concentrations of the power of many to respond to the excessive power of a minority, or the grouping of few seeking to recover their voice. One thing we learn from the buffalos is that they are not dumb animals. They have an undoubtedly creative capacity to strategize and organize themselves. Interestingly, once they achieve their objective, they do not have criminal minds. Once they scare off the lions, they let them go, even though they could have exterminated them.

So many people are under the attack of hungry lions, and like the calf in the video, have few defenses outside the power of the herd. Unfortunately, the human herd does not always respond consistently to rescue a calf from the claws of a lion. Other times, it is the pride of lions that abuses the minority and gets away with it.

Either way, sooner or later, humans and animals arm themselves to hunt witches, good or evil. Unlike the noble buffalos, when we get together to hunt we usually end up destroying more than what we build, and in the process innocents end up paying for the sins of others. Some people have been, and continue to be, abused by shameless and powerful minorities. The moment will come when crocodiles or buffalos step up and defend the calves. We hope that in the process of witch hunting we do not destroy morality and nobility both at the individual and collective level. Chile achieved this; Argentina did for a while but later ended up losing it. Colombia has rebuilt, little by little and with persistence, all the losses accumulated over years of civil battles. That is something political leaders can achieve. The fundamental role of political leadership is motivating a society to achieve personal and collective success, rescue calves from lions, but without causing disaster and the destruction of institutions and lives. It is a task that requires intelligence, subtlety, humility, and determination. It is not a task for despots. Tyranny is not a useful form of leadership. Tyranny oppresses and destroys. The Battle at Kruger is the most simple and inspiring metaphor I have seen in a long time. Buffalos can teach us more than we could have ever imagined.

Echoes of Valentine’s Day: The Abused Woman Syndrome

2009-02-17T07:23:00.000-08:00

It seems like yesterday when we were celebrating Valentine’s Day 2008, and now it is around the corner again.

Valentine’s Day is a day to eat chocolates, think about future or past romances, and prepare for the lush spring in Northern countries. It is a day of long excitement and short joy. But it is also a day that leads us to think about all the friendships we should have undertook with more determination and all of those failed romances. Romances that began as many others: full of passion, dreams of accomplishments, and infinite possibilities through emotional leveraging and enabling. Romance is one of the great capabilities and examples of human creativity and imagination. We invent possible romances as creatively as we invent Gods. And those possibilities fill us with motivation towards excellence.

But what happens when the object of our imagination and love decides to take advantage of the sad dependency so commonly created, when instead of offering us support and encouragement, we confront deception and abuse? The abused woman syndrome, which impedes her from breaking free from the emotional hold of a destructive relationship, is not only shared by those women afraid of the alternative loneliness, if they dare to escape their torturer. Many countries and their inhabitants experience this syndrome. Many men also experience this syndrome.

In the last 100 years, countries like Germany, Iraq, the Soviet Union, China, Iran, Venezuela, Italy, Zimbabwe and Cuba have been clear cases of the abused woman syndrome. The narcissistic and abusive leader submits the community to all kinds of emotional, physical, economic and judicial tyranny. When he crosses the line and the community responds, the leader asks for forgiveness or tells them he loves them, and the community believes that if he does love them he will behave better and he must not be as evil, since he appears so devoted to the community’s future, and so full of passionate revolutionary promises. And even when we don’t believe his apologies, we still don’t believe that we deserve or can achieve a better captivity arrangement. Or even better yet, a live free of destructive deceptions and manipulations.

In all of these cases of abused women, men and communities, a situation of toxic co-dependency is created. The victim stops growing emotionally and intellectually, looses the capacity to differentiate between constructive alternatives and the freedom to act. Dreams of self-improvement are clouded by the permissive and abusive hand of the tyrant. In the end, either the victim dies, figuratively or in reality, or he rebels against the abuser. For individual, there are more possibilities of a real escape if the emotional captivity can be overcome. For communities, the probability of a collective escape is slim but possible, and requires a strong and decisive social will in order to resist the abuses and eventually break free from the tyranny.

To those abused women and communities that deserve a liberating Valentine’s Day, we should remember that destructive relationships do not improve with time. Quite the contrary. The abuser continues with the abuse and the victim becomes weaker everyday, unless the victim rebels and reclaims its honor and right to self-determination. In the community and one’s own personal integrity is where you can find the strongest support system and the real redeeming and liberating power of love. Let us celebrate this plethora of love and possibilities this Valentine’s Day!

Sweat and Modesty

2009-02-02T15:28:00.001-08:00

It could seem that our lives go by between a sweet and arduous monotony, except when passions increase our productivity and when the possible excesses force us into a modest retreat.

We go from being fierceful actors to modest audiences depending of the circumstances that hound us and the opportunities that present themselves. In politics, as in our professional and private lives, it is important to strike a balance between sweat and modesty. Hyperactive cultures, such as the Huns or Romans, end up getting into trouble. The excessively sweaty alpha males always end up in trouble. Extremely fiery love lives are unsustainable. Like fine cars, spirited passions, cause too much overheating and melted motors, because when we are in more of a hurry than other people, traffic jams and bottlenecks, end up debilitating us undeservingly.

On the other hand, if modesty is a virtue for fifteen year olds and old maids trying to create a sense of scarcity and promote the burning desires of he who cannot posses us, too much modesty causes dangerous problems like excess passion and sweat. As is the case in managing personal impulses, countries, and the people that inhabit them, need to develop personal conscience and institutional mechanisms in order to balance the two opposing and frictional forces.

Northern hemisphere countries, with more survival experience than those in the South, have understood the importance of balancing expansion and mediation forces. Many have adopted constitutions and political systems with division of powers. Companies, in spite of the abuses observed amongst many abusive and narcissistic managers, have directors and shareholders that eventually can take control and call for modesty in an effort to control excesses. Advanced political systems and mature institutions are by no means perfect, in part because the only way to evolve is by finding and correcting new abuses. Errors and correction allow us to improve our processes over time and fortify our rationality and competence.

In the South we tend to be a little more exaggerated in everything: hyperactive or hyperpasive. Either we sweat too much or we are too demure and modest. The Satiro or the Virgen are mistakenly idealized images of human behavior. Witches and saints are still entrenched in the fabric of society. To reconcile both tendencies, we believe in miracles.

If we observe ideal routines for personal and institutional longevity, an hour and a half a day of sweating is enough. The same goes for modesty, an hour and a half should be enough. Sweating includes exercise, acts of leadership and creativity, and vigorously loving activities. Modesty should include some 90 minutes of humility, generosity, meditation and empathy…if we add to that 8 hours of sleep, three for eating and one for transitions, that leaves us five hours of peaceful, dedicated and responsible work, without sweat or modesty.

Division of Power

2009-01-20T12:08:00.001-08:00

There is no leader in the world that does not leave something to be desired. It is fundamental that governments have a division of powers because of the fallibilities and vulnerabilities in the character of leaders and mere mortals. The Gods make even greater mistakes!

There are few situations where the concentration of power does not lead to the abuse of power. In the United States, where the division of power amongst the executive, the judicial and the legislative is reasonably balanced, there isn’t a president, congressman or judge that can rise with limitless power for too long without being denounced and brought down in the process. That is not the case in many Latin American and African countries. The presidents, congressmen and judges in our countries get rich, exact revenge on whomever they please and abuse their positions without being punished or limited by counterbalancing institutions.

Today, left or right wing political regimes no longer exist. What exists today are political regimes where there is a balance of power and regimes were the concentration of power in some individuals is out of control.

Jung, the great XX century thinker and psychiatrist describes in Psychoanalysis of History, how humans tend to abandon the responsibility of deciding their own destiny in exchange for getting closer to any leader that offers to ease their lives. That is why totalitarian leaders like Hitler and Mussolini emerge. In behavioral economics the phenomenon is known as the insider gain vs. the outsider loss. We tend to sell our soul to the devil, to be insiders. We are born with more fear for life than love for liberty. Love for liberty is acquired and strengthened through the individual’s training and his taking responsibility over his individual decisions. It is natural to get close to those that offer us protection. But character, like muscles, grows weak when stop carrying the weight of our responsibilities. Fear is a powerful deterrent for initiative and the greatest obstacle to personal and community fulfillment.

Countries without institutional controls, where anyone that holds public office can do what they please without division of powers to limit them, are destined for failure. Failure for a country is a future in which the citizens grow poorer both economically and spiritually, lose liberties and lose the possibility of carrying out their lives in equality and mutual respect with other members of the human collective. By losing international respect and debilitating as an ideal continent, one falls in the hands of opportunistic and incompetent groups. These opportunistic groups only look out for their short-term gains.

There is no greater crime in the history of humanity than that of a ruler that destroys society’s balance of powers, because the destruction of this balance destroys the motivation for personal improvement and taking responsibility for our actions, and it destroys the political infrastructure and the souls of our people. Without a division of power we end up poor, weak and divided, like a body without an immunological system, vulnerable to any invading infection.

Happy New Year

2009-01-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

This year surprised the world because of the fall in assets all over the world, and a dark outlook for the economy in 2009. Halfway through the year we feared accelerated inflation and nuclear experiments in Iran. Today we have a world recession. The sharp fall in the price of oil, instead of benefiting importing consumers, created a liquidity crisis by stopping the recycling of rich and oil and resource exporting countries’ surpluses towards the financial markets.

That is the nature of surprises. By definition they come unexpectedly. While peaking at 2009, it is worth thinking about what can happen, good and bad, in order to be prepared and be able to handle what happens gracefully.

There are great opportunities. There are financial bargains everywhere. Those with liquidity will be able to invest their savings little by little in a well diversified portfolio, to provide for the needs in their future. But those that invest will have to be able to handle great economic, political, and financial volatility, and maintain their discipline no matter what happens.

In the United States, politically there is change in the air. President elect Obama has chosen an intelligent, well trained and experienced cabinet, with an open mind towards dialogue and a variety of opinions. But there is no doubt that with the rise in importance of the executive power in the economy, a fall in productivity will be felt over the long term, unless fiscal intervention is limited and austere, and it does not take indefinite hold over the budget. Unfortunately fiscal policy is less agile and more sensitive to political contradictions than monetary policies. A strong and determined cabinet will also create controversy and confusion sooner or later, both internally and internationally. We all hope that the wise and well tempered Obama can orchestrate his cabinet towards policies both daring and sensible.

In Venezuela they are getting ready to discus and vote on a constitutional amendment that will allow for the indefinite election of the head of state. That does not seem very democratic, independently of how many people vote for it. It seems ironic that voting for a kind of monarchy without any balance of power would be considered a democratic process of regime. In any case, the economic and political outlook for Venezuela is bleak for 2009, except for those that manage to get rich even though the country grows poorer. People adapt to a lot of what is happening, hoping that with patience and dedication they can lift themselves.

The end of a year is a good time to make healthy resolutions for the coming year. It is important to make everyday and all of our actions relevant. I send all my readers my heartfelt wishes that they maintain their sense of humor despite any political or economic tragedy they have to go through. I wish you can keep your spirits whole in order to encourage your loved ones to keep their personal integrity when so many others are losing theirs. Finally, I wish you the capacity to live life with imagination, grace, creativity and relative peace. Enjoy the music, good books, the lunch and talks with friends, some good hallacas, pan de jamón, ponche crema and wine. I will do the same and ask the Gods who may listen for a Happy 2009 for all.

Managing Moral Risks: Private vs. Public

2008-12-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

The world liquidity crisis has renewed the discussion over the public sectors intervention in the economy and the rise of moral risks associated with said intervention. The simplified and liberally against government intervention in the economy argument, says that it is preferable for financial institutions that abused the leverage boom and made bad investments to go bankrupt, rather than having the government come in and save them. They believe that the only form to teach us all the lesson about being moderate in what we do with credit, investment, and consumption, is taken us into bankruptcy if we haven’t been careful with our use of credit and selection of risk. If the kid wants to put his finger in the flame, let him, that way he’ll learn that the flame burns and he will never do it again.

The argument if favor of government intervention, to avoid a massive bankruptcy by abusers of the system, is that this bankruptcy would make just people pay for sinners. The way the just would pay would be through a global depression with job losses and massive impoverishment, which sadly, would hit the most vulnerable, that are not necessarily those that abused free enterprise.

Truth, as in many other of life’s arguments, is hidden a bit by all sides. I believe in the system of free enterprise. It is the one that encourages the most creativity of the argument and greater productivity and personal and collective satisfaction in the human community. What makes the human species so special is its capacity to innovate, and free enterprise promotes creativity and innovation. On the other hand, it is undoubtable that there are benefits to be found in diversifying collective risk through systems of domestic and international diversification. If we have to live in an island we die lonelier and quicker than if we depend on one another.

How much to depend on one another is a fundamental question. Children depend on their parents till they are 18 or 21 years olds (some more, others less). Parents depend on their children (some more than others) and it has been impossible to eliminate relative poverty, even though relative poverty has been greatly reduced in the last 10 years of a free and global economy. To let the banks fail in an economy is catastrophic because banks administer the payment system. Because of this, governments are forced to intervene when confidence in banks falls to a level where the credit and payments systems stop working. That is where we are today.

The government can and should intervene in order to reduce and diversify the risk in the system when the cost becomes high. Cost becomes infinite when all credit dries up. But when the cost of risk comes back to relatively normal levels, it is no longer necessary to distribute risk between the private and public sectors. Police protection and national defense are basic and permanent community risk reduction functions of the government. Most other risks shaving functions should be counter cyclical and on an exceptions basis. It is unforgivable when the public sector decides to increase social risk and its economic cost by intervening in the economy, when such an intervention is not necessary.

The Argentinean government has just announced plans to nationalize the private savings system, even though it is not in crisis and has allowed Argentineans to save for old age. That type of intervention is criminal and destructive because it does not reduce, but rather raises the risk exposure of all the country’s inhabitants. The risks of the Argentinean State are better diversified internationally and not confiscating Argentinean’s private savings.

Government intervention in the economy is only justified as an emergency mechanism to reduce short and long-term economic risks, but only as a temporary action and aimed at the return and regularization of supply and demand. Most government interventions in private banking is done to restore payments, credit and liquidity and is transitory and subject to disappear once markets stabilize.

The crisis also signals that the IMF’s capital must be increased many times and its governance and quota distribution modified to include more surplus countries, in order to help diversify global risk more efficiently than what each country can do individually. It is equally necessary to make sure that no financial intermediaries of significant size (“too big to fail”) can dip below banking standard capital adequacy ratios of 8-10%. It is time to establish more permanent mechanisms for the reduction of global risks.

Anatomy of the Financial Crisis: a Drama in 9 acts and one intermission.

2008-12-08T08:52:00.001-08:00

Like all crisis, in hindsight, it is easy to analyze its causes, although impossible to ever know the instant they are going to unfold, just like death. The global banking crisis stems from an insufficient capitalization, in the presence o volatile financial assets, that because of this volatility tend to be over-valued from time to time. The banking crisis – that threatens with creating an economic crisis, because of its possible impact on companies and the ability of individuals to finance investing and consumption – can be described in nine acts and one intermission of the tragicomedy of the global economy’s life:

1st Act: Global economic growth.

2nd Act: Increase in liquidity and securitization.

3rd Act: Reduction in the volatility and perception of risk and a rise in the prices of real and financial assets.

4th Act: Increase in financial leverage to maintain or increase the yield of appreciated assets.

5th Act: Increase in the price of raw materials – reaching speculative levels because of the price inelasticity of offer and demand.

6th Act: Real estate prices begin to decline because of excess construction and an increase in interest rates.

7th Act: Financial assets based on real estate prices warn about losses and affect the capitalization of the most leveraged and vulnerable financial intermediaries. Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, WAMU, AIG, etc; the investment banks and insurance companies specializing in insuring financial risk.

8th Act: Vicious circle and collapse. Marking-to-market: In the measure that accounting rules force us to mark-to-market, the falling price of assets begins to affect the capitalization of all Banks (105 of total assets), accompanied by uncertainty about the value and nature of all banking assets.

9th Act: Intensive Care Unit. The role of China and others when faced by the possible collapse of global consumption and its impact on the domestic growth rate. China has two alternatives and infinite combinations of those two alternatives. Sell their inventory of raw materials and products at a discounted price or sell their financial paper and invest in domestic infrastructure. Either of these two scenarios in extreme, like anything in extreme, have bad endings. If China liquidates its inventories in order to maintain revenue and jobs, we have a massive liquidation of inventories in the world, deflation and depression. If China goes in the opposite direction and liquidates its assets for internal investment or recapitalization, this can create inflationary pressures, increases in government bond interest rates and a negative impact in the global economic growth rate. Extremes are always bad. The most probable scenario is one in which a little bit of both measures is taken, leaning towards the inflationary side.

Intermission: What’s more desirable and probable, is that the global economic growth rate will come down about half of were it has stood over the last 5 years, unemployment will rise by 25% (from 6% to 7.5% in the U.S.), China will sell 10-20% of its international assets, and all sellers of consumer products in China and the rest of the world will lower their prices (realization in 75% of the year instead of 50% of the year). A paused equilibrium between savers and consumers, will serve as an intermission in this economic drama.

Extremist governments and politicians are no good anywhere in the world. You need cooperation among countries, the private sector and the public sector. You need constructive dialog instead of lynchings. We need to keep maturing and growing as a species and learning how to solve, with good intentions, knowledge, sensible analysis and maturity, the crises that will inevitably pop-up.

Crisis

2008-11-17T10:36:00.000-08:00

Surprises and traumatic events occur between 5% and 20% of the time. They are as anticipated as a cold and a storm. They arrive tempestuously and unexpectedly, like meteorological phenomenon. Economic surprises are manageable but not avoidable. Washing one’s hands frequently, reduces bacterial contagion, but it also reduces our natural resistance to bacteria. Not everything is lost in societies that appear to have been destroyed by their leaders’ (both public and private) unmeasured greed. Money and power have the capacity of unleashing human impulses and taking them to unstable and transformative situations. Crises also define a society’s capacity to come together and address the problems of the moment and better its perspective of the future.

The current global crisis is not a solvency crisis, except for some banks whose capitalization is not enough to cover their losses. The crisis the world is facing is not a liquidity crisis, even though that was the diagnosis. There is great liquidity throughout the world. Exporting nations, big companies, governments, pension funds, multilateral institutions, all – except for American consumers that bought houses they could not afford – have excess liquidity.

The crisis is simply a crisis of confidence. Banks are suspect of their balances and those of others, and are not lending money amongst themselves. The “monetary multiplier,” that magic table that makes economies work, with communicator vessels that like human arteries pump the rhythm of the economic heart, have become obstructed in a couple of large arteries.

That is a temporary problem. In one or two years we will remember this period as a complex lesson that we do not entirely comprehend, but that has left us more alert. The risk of a crisis is not the crisis itself, but rather the reaction to the crisis; the unhealthy laws, regulations and dependencies that can be generated in the process of solving our uncertainties.

But if society comes together, convinced of the importance of working as one honest, hard working and balanced society, the economy recovers and we move on. But there are longer lasting and more destructive crises that can put an end to the hopes and lives of generations. Those crises occur in societies that have no division and balance of powers, where the corruption of few – or many – is strife, and where individual and collective merit is punished with mockery and disincentives. Those crises are not overcome in a year or two, though the financial crises are temporary.

Windows without Bars

2008-11-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago I had the chance to meet a talented, educated, intelligent and upright Venezuelan actor. It was on the occasion of the Los Angeles film festival, where the Venezuelan movie, El Pasajero, was being screened and where he was honored for his starring role. Speaking long distance to his wife, he observed surprised, how he was in a second floor apartment, taking in the beautiful views of Los Angeles. The sunset view reminded him of Caracas, with some palm trees and hills in the horizon and the combination of Spanish style homes among skyscrapers. Then he added astonished that there were no bars on the windows. Venezuelans have forgotten that in most other countries people live without bars on their windows. Only in countries were crime and anarchy are strife do citizen have to resort to locking themselves in their homes, apartments and neighborhoods in order to protect themselves from the violence that oppresses those that live in it. The ghettofication of the country where I was born angers me more than I could have ever predicted, when I left many year ago in search of a more intellectual and peaceful life.

In fact, there is a whole generation of Venezuelans that only know to lock themselves behind bars every night in order to avoid being robed or killed. The human capacity to adapt and tolerate such a degree of insecurity and lack of basic liberties continues to amaze me. If we were being held against our will, we could probably rouse the citizenry into destroying those bars that separate us from everyone else, and create a sense of infinite distrust in our surroundings. But what does one do when citizens lock themselves up voluntarily? What does one due when murderers and thieves freely roam the streets and honest, hardworking people are prisoners behind their own bars?

Till when will my compatriots put up with this situation that has deprived them of their basic human liberties? Windows without bars is the destiny and reality of most of the world’s inhabitants, but not that of Venezuelans.

Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin

2008-10-07T12:56:00.001-07:00

US politics long ago became the tussle of two fundamental themes: government’s intervention in the economy and government’s intervention into its citizens’ moral liberties. The dichotomy is surprising, because one party believes in individual liberties and the other in economic liberties. Democrats support individual liberties such as a women’s right to choose or terminate a pregnancy and the right of anyone to choose sexual partners including same sex marriage, but they want the government to play a bigger role in the economy and the distribution of wealth between rich and poor. Republicans are disgusted by individual liberties. They want the government to intervene in deciding what is moral and acceptable and what is not. But they don’t like the government intervening in the economy. They want to leave that job to the markets in order to increase productivity and economic growth. However, it was Abraham Lincoln, a republican, who fought for freeing the slaves. It is difficult to reconcile these political ideologies, except if you consider slaves as a production factor, and, from the free market point of view, we justify this kind of individual freedom. It would be preferable to have a party that likes free markets and individual liberties and another party that likes government direction and regulation. But since economic and moral values are so intertwined, annoyed and confused voters lean towards fear as the selection criteria. It shouldn’t surprise us that contradictory coalitions lead us to a 50/50 vote, except in circumstances of severe fear. That isn’t necessarily bad because it contributes to the diversification of power.

After such a long and controversial war like the one in Iraq, and the market difficulties of the past 12 months, President Bush’s approval rating is lower than that of a tyrant with no control over votes. Obama, the democratic candidate, is a first class orator. McCain, the republican, Vietnam hero, promises to reform government’s abuses and straighten congress’ and administration’s manipulation by lobbyists. He promises to better educate children, and rehire adults that have lost their jobs, because the Hindi, Chinese and Brazilians are more productive and complain less than the North American labor unions. At present, McCain more than Obama opposes the bail out of the financial actors that have abused cheap and abundant credit and grown recklessly.

The democrats protect the privileges of the teacher and worker unions, and don’t want education reform or international competition. A democratic victory would present a more human and universal façade in the hands of the inspiring and charming Obama, but could be condemned to restrict trade with Latin America. The promised spike in taxes to cover the fiscal deficit would lead to a loss of competitiveness, production and jobs, and probably more restriction on Latin American immigration. A republican victory, in the hands of McCain the reformer, would maintain North America’s military supremacy, with everything the rest of the world hates about that supremacy; he would have some hope of reducing the size of the government, but less hope in reducing the fiscal deficit unless there is a major reduction in public spending. Reductions in public spending are harder to carry out than successful, lasting diets, particularly when the country is facing a real recession!

None of the candidates want to increase long term personal savings. None is offering what they should offer, which is a long term tax exemption for saving and investing. So, North Americans will continue to consume more than they get paid, until they start dying off of old age in the next 10 years. Long term needs have become the enemy of short term wants and vice-versa.

I want to see a candidate that promotes savings, morality as a personal choice, pay for merit and free trade. I am going to have to vote for the Colombian and Chilean candidates, if they let me. It is unfortunate that people in democracies have to vote for people. Better to vote for a selected list of ideas, and the candidates put the ideas to work or they are fired. It must be that experience also teaches us that ideas have less credibility than candidates.

Corruption and Politics: Rule of Law vs. Law of the Jungle

2008-10-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

Corruption and politics are perceived to have a lot in common. Both words denote that a direct or indirect favor can be bartered in exchange for a (not always) hidden monetary payment. He who grants it is willing to ignore ethics, good judgment and the common good in order to clear the way for his “client.” The communion between in-kind or in-cash corruption and politics is not automatic. Fraud, corruption and favoritism develop like any other animal, little by little, and it feeds and becomes stronger with practice and time.

It takes some time or very little-depending on how we look at it, for a person or country to corrupt itself completely- Maybe 10-20 years? Corruption and political cynicism lead to a destructive anarchy that generally ends badly. Destructive anarchies are like hurricanes. They level everything in their paths and leave a distressing devastation behind them. At the end, those left alive who know how to rebuild can restore progress or move elsewhere, away from hurricane paths.

If we observe countries, companies, families and people, we can see if corruption and politics are on the rise or, on the contrary, if they are in the process of re-building and evolving. In the Americas, despite the obstacles they face, there are a good number of countries in permanent re-construction: Canada, U.S.A, Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay and Chile (to name a few). In those countries, the governments, communities and people are making daily efforts to do the right thing, promote merit, build institutions, create balance of power, strengthen individual liberties, punish crime, promote authority, responsibility, and disarm authoritarianism and runaway corruption.

In corrupt and authoritarian regimes, few live off their salaries. In Cuba, for example, the universal salary is $19 a month. No one can survive on that. Those that want to prosper in such an environment have to sell themselves in the black market. Prostitution is universal; people live off tips or the payment for services they do not want to provide. Individuals unfold in multiple lives. Mind, body, emotions and soul are forced to live parallel lives. Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua are all on that painful path of human fragmentation that has been observed in Cuba for 50 years. There is only one life and it is worth living as one in which body, soul, mind and emotions support each other in the achievement of greater development. That way we leave a legacy and platform on which our children can build further growth. Fragmented lives leave behind weak and porous platforms that fall before any individual and collective confrontation. That is a sad destiny we must resist with all the strength and conviction that our past and present intellectual and moral heroes have left us. Where they appear and manifest themselves, integrity and the will to do good are the only path to individual and collective redemption and vindication.

If the world is divided today, it is not between socialism and free markets or authoritarianism and democracy. The world is divided among countries were corruption rules, which are destined for failure, and countries were there is a determined fight for law, order, honesty and ethics, which are destined for development. It is no longer a choice between capitalism and communism, but between the rule of law and the law of the jungle.

Masculine and “lessculine”

2008-09-09T09:17:00.001-07:00

Tastes are as varied as nature. They don’t only vary from one person to the other, but overtime they change direction like boats without a course.

Beautiful boys and girls become big-nosed and big-eared in our eyes even though they continue to be pretty in their love ones’ eyes. Those boyfriends and girlfriends that at 13 turned heads with their flirty walking and disinterest, turn into the target of muggings for street criminals the minute they lose their strut. Fashion magazines and old films are excellent testimonies to the infidelity of mortals. If Rudolph Valentino came to life again, he wouldn’t be more than a street Casanova in Recoleta. Even Clark Gable wouldn’t attract more than scientific stares surprised about him coming to life after so much time had passed.

Famous and powerful characters come and go. They do a lot of damage when they feel like it, mostly because we let them hurt us. As time passes they become human parodies, irrelevant except for the fact that students are forced to remember their names and mischief because of some obscure reasoning forced upon them by the education system.

Masculinity has been synonymous with power, even when real power is hidden in the subtle weapons of persuasion and resilience of some exceptional men and women. The power of persuasion is longer lasting than authoritarianism, except persuasion is easier to elude when the persuader is confronted with common sense, because we are genetically cowards. We are afraid, terrified, of fighting for the truth, excellence, integrity, competence and challenges to intelligence. Resilience does allow us to put in place an effective if somewhat cowardly fight. Resilience is the weaponry of the meek but determined.

Masculine traits are many times “lessculine”. The most voluptuous women are often the most shy and inhibited. Those that choose to fall in love with another human being, whatever their genetic configuration might be, outside societal norms baffle those that think in buckets because it is easier and more comfortable for everyone to look at the world in simplistic silos. Masculine and “lessculine” is that situation in which we often find ourselves. We don’t like where we are, we don’t confront our reality, but we don’t do anything to change the situation. The “lessculines” stand still when they see some that can do something good, decent and lasting, be powerless when confronted by abuse and violence. And as masculine and “lessculine” we voice certain and proud opinions, even though we have no right to do so given our lack of courage, strength and independence of thought. We speak up or remain silent without the communal courage to confront the arbitrary forces of the powerful. All because we prefer to live one more day in peace rather than many days fighting, even though that battle is the only source of liberty. Opportunism and comfort turn us into “lessculines”.

Excellence is not a Luxury

2008-08-25T07:31:00.001-07:00

Excellence is a necessity, not a luxury, not only for the individual and his community, but even more so for its leaders. In many Latin American countries we are always willing to help the hungry and the sick, but we do not feel the same obligation to support the gifted, who excel in some profession or vocation. If we see good students, bright kids, pianists, mechanics, or soccer players that stand out between childhood and teenage years, we abandon them to their precocious destiny, as though those youngsters endowed with excellence do not need our support! We tell ourselves, they don’t need our help because they were already born gifted.

In contrast, those countries that have stood out because of their high rates of economic and institutional growth behave very differently with respect to their most valuable assets. Brazilians stand out in soccer, because the minute their children stop crawling and learn to kick a ball they begin the selection and training process to see who will be the next Pelé. The Chinese, North Americans, and Singaporeans identify their geniuses at an early age and nurture and help them like the national treasures that they are. But so many in Latin America distrust excellence as though it was a bad habit of banal and decadent elites. What confusion! And what a waste.

Excellence does not respect social classes (thank God). Excellence appears like a genetic miracle among all social classes and enterprises, but if we don’t support it, it gets distracted and lost. Our intellectual, political and industrial leaders leave so much to be desired, because we don’t even pay attention to whether their conduct and goals fit into the concept of excellence or if they are merely mediocre salesmen peddling false promises. Excellence is not a luxury; it is one of the least satisfied necessities in the Latin American continent. Access to excellence should be a universal right for all of those that search for it. Recognizing excellence is quite easy. Excellence is noticeable in a child that respects sensible instructions, wants to do good things, in parents that make sure they improve their children’s education, in bosses who nurture the professional and personal development of their employees, and in politicians that do not make wild promises or lie with brazen cynicism, like a frivolous guffaw in an expensive restaurant. You can see it in the respect with which we treat our family members and our fellow countrymen. You can see it in the time we take to learn and do our jobs well instead of trying to see what dirty little business we can concoct with the politician in office. Excellence can be observed in how balanced our actions and ambitions are. Excellence is restrained and it does not brag about its greatness, because it is always demanding and leaves us short and humbled.

Recognizing and supporting excellence does not require great resources. It requires a will and appreciation for the extraordinary contribution that excellence makes towards our social and economic evolution. Prizes for excellence are one way of imparting the message of its importance and motivate us to follow its purpose both individually and collectively. Excellence is rewarded in triumphant societies with good grades, admiration for good deeds, public recognition, respect and appropriate compensation for responsible work, and free and conscientious votes during electoral processes. Mediocrity is reprehensible and corrosive because it destroys the individual and the collective that condones and rewards it. Respect towards excellence should be one of the most important human rights and should even be guaranteed in our constitution. Mediocrity, at a minimum, should be punished with votes against our leaders each time we can elect those that govern us. Societies that elect corrupt and mediocre regimes are just as mediocre and corrupt as their leaders. It is hard to escape the grasp of mediocrity once it exercises its stronghold on our surroundings, but it is possible. The search for excellence is the gate to freedom and sustainable growth.

When the river sounds…

2008-08-13T09:48:00.001-07:00

Rivers and democracies are very much alike. An old Latin American saying goes that “when the river sounds, it carries stones.” I don’t know if that proverbis still in use, but I remember my father, with his threatening and suspenseful tone, saying: “when the river sounds!...” and the threat of the final judgment in his voice. Without even finishing the sentence, those four words put an end to the discussion and whoever embodied the river was annihilated for life, with their reputation in shambles and an uncertain social life. What injustice!. When the river sounds it is because it carries water in addition to stones; it is flowing forcefully and setting new courses for its bed, making and correcting mistakes as all rivers do and opening new paths, leaving behind stones at its banks for future bathers. Totalitarian systems appear to be silent, calm rivers. Sometimes such systems invite one to embark on such peaceful course if only for a short trip, especially if someone offers a free boat or a luxurious yacht. Democracies on the other hand, are strong, unruly, noisy and large rivers that carry rocks and many other surprises, and make so much racket that one feels compelled to jump ship before the boat sinks. Sometimes the seasickness is so strong that many do jump ship disenchanted with the ravages and uncertainties. Democracies are daring and determined rivers, with stones in all sizes and even piranhas, but also beautiful trout and salmon. On the banks of this powerful river you can find monkeys and serpents as well as Tarzan and his concubines.

The jungles by these free rivers grow shaggy like hairs on adolescent legs, ashamed of their Amazonic abundance, but fed to gluttony by the largesse of their waters. Those rivers are scary, but we shouldn’t fear them. There is a lot of life in them and you can find strong and healthy plants and animals by their shores. They are rivers like the Orinoco or the Amazon, with big and beautiful deltas all over the place, and open to any ship, small and large. The sediment is so rich that in time it becomes oil, if the gods so bless the river. But it is the great ships that we build to navigate these rivers that give us just pride and develop industries: tourism, shipyards, hotels, bikini factories, fishmongers and ports.

The Guaire, on the other hand, that forgotten anorexic river that traverses with lame sadness the length of Caracas, is a quite river because it has no water anymore. I have been told that in a more innocent past for Caracas, boats and canoes crossed it and gathered speed near El Paraiso until they reached La Vega. Children and “quinceañeros” dreamt of their fates as captains inspired by far lands and riches. During Carnival feasts, flower carts with long straws would slurp and spread the Guaire’s holy water amongst those celebrating ghosts of rituals past. What fun to have a loud Guaire, even if it had stones and caused other problems for drunks lost in the night and trapped in its current. If I was queen of Venezuela, my first decree would be to make all the rivers audible with water and stones, and I would begin with the Guaire. Then we would have free elections to elect the next queen and we would celebrate with a boat parade from Petare to La Vega!

Disalmed Forces in the Americas

2008-08-05T10:32:00.001-07:00

I am not Chinese or Puerto Rican, nor do I make too many spelling mistakes. That is in case you think the L in the title is really an R. But the mere thought of disarmament reminds me that more than 50 years ago Costa Rica disbanded its army and sold, perhaps to a third world guerilla or criminal organization, all of the canons and rifles it had stockpiled over the years. They wisely decided that what they spent on bayonets and grenades, would go further invested in educating their children and improving the health of beggars and disenfranchised. Since, Costa Ricans have become among the most consistently developed people in the Americas. They eat like Caribbeans: tres leches, arepas, rice and beans, and sweet suckling pigs, but they live differently. They have more youth orchestras, food, health services and good teachers per capita than anyone else in the New World. A couple of years ago they incarcerated an ex President that had been appointed Secretary General of the OAS, for allegedly accepting a $250,000 dollar bribe! That sum, which in some countries is barely enough to buy a nice Mercedes, ended the international career of one of their outstanding leaders.

Costa Rica maintains its progress because of the strength of its souls, their “almas”, the seriousness and respect towards the humanity of others, loyalty, capacity to work, creativity, and their insistence on improving their lot and the pursuit of excellence. That is food for the soul and food for “almed”, soulful forces. Costa Rica is not perfect but it is quite extraordinary as a country. In contrast, other societies that think they know a lot, while children and elders perish due to communal abandonment, spend millions on weapons without any serious threat to justify the spending.

As though we had the souls of dictators, we love planes, helicopters and threatening tanks in tacky parades and macabre displays of power. Remember Hitler’s, Stalin’s, Khrushchev’s, Franco’s and Fidel’s parades, with thousands of people marching and turning their heads while extending their hands towards the dictator of the moment? We were hypnotized by those parades despite the soullessness of the actors. Where is the compass, the north that shows us sensible and respectful roads for all of those with whom we share the walk of life? Where are the forces full of souls that seek to elevate our compatriots and open the way for better countries? Where is the soul that tames alienated leaders, with the force of morality and institutional strength more lasting than that of the military? Where are they when we cannot hear their message, to lead us to higher achievements?

Renewed thought leaders need to emerge in countries to curtail the corruption and foolishness of so many opportunists! May the force of respect arm itself and may the abuses be disarmed! If countries have armies, they should be used for the legitimate defense of their territory and people, against illegitimate aggressors and in defense of the constitution and the citizens’ identities. Such is the case with Colombia, a sister country with which we share borders, and which we mistreat without provocation when we have nothing better to do.

Never should armies be used to defend the personal objectives of any individual. A soldier’s life is just as valuable as that of any other citizen and should not be jeopardized in vane. The soul of an armed force ennobles the destiny of the citizens it protects. Never should an armed force be able to destroy the citizens’ soul.

Long Live the Hummer!

2008-07-16T15:05:00.001-07:00

It is really mesmerizing the different kinds of cars that exist today. And encouraging, we should add. Many of us have gone through the unique experience of purchasing a new car. After we reconcile our transportation needs with our mechanical passions, after we eliminate a shiny and impractical convertible and any other captivating but intolerable model, some of us, full of restraint, intelligence and modesty, will choose the best and most virtuous of the models. It goes from 0 to 60 mph in 6 seconds, it never overheats, in an accident it protects us as though we were made of Baccarat crystal, it smells like new and fine purse, and all at the perfect price. After making the careful and calculated choice, we are convinced that there is no other in the world that could compare. We do not understand how anyone could buy a different car. But once we reach the street, the world confuses us with the amount of bad and incomprehensible cars out there, cars that someone liked and fit them like first communion suits. Amongst the most conspicuous of these machines is the Hummer. An expensive, inefficient, overheating vehicle, that is unusable even in the wars for which it was invented. Superimposed to human confines, it must comfort us to know that bad taste is infinite and that others’ poor decisions allow us to triumph over flashy and powerful contenders.

Furthermore, it is because of others’ poor taste and arbitrariness that we all end up finding couples, friends, shortcuts and businesses that validate our existence and good sense. This all came to my mind when a dear colleague of mine published an arrogant book, full of incomprehensible words, with an ostentatious and promising title but pages devoid of any wisdom; full of famous names and bland statements. “This book is a Hummer!” I said surprised. It will sell a few copies here and there, since the title attributes knowledge of far away places and circumstances to the reader. The Hummers number in the thousands, thank God. If there weren’t that many Hummers, we would have to compete with people that are wiser, harder working, more modest. We might even end up without a job. That said, I think the world would be a better place if Hummers and those people that are their soul mates lived long and intense lives, but always outside our circle of influence, and even better if that place is one where they cannot ruin our natural and intellectual habitats.

Coherent Arbitrariness

2008-07-16T15:04:00.001-07:00

The science of economics has taken giant steps in its development over the last 50 years. It has evolved from the socio-philosophical dreams of Rousseau and Marx, which could have been interpreted and improved upon by Freud, to Keynes’ interventionist methods. After Keynes’ discovery of how governments, by means of taxes, inflations, contractions, nationalizations and privatizations, could take from some to give to others, we stumbled upon “monetarists” like Milton Friedman who revived the countervailing wisdom of economic libertarians like von Hayek and Smith. Monetarists, who are rightly confident of the ability of any powerful group to get it all wrong, proved that governments should try to limit themselves to doing right. Doing right entails intervening as little as possible and letting competitors fight it out from time to time, letting the strongest prevail, until they are beaten by their own hubris or someone else. A process akin to having daily elections by consumers, with winners and losers sorting it out in the marketplace.

Today, the science of Economics has discovered that consumers act impulsively, and that their impulses follow a series of rules that are implanted, like tattoos on the arms of sailors, in the most hidden corridors of the brain. We are more “impulsive” than “rational,” and rationality only reaches us by means of punches and beatings. Despite all punishment, some people never grasp any form of rationality. First they develop the taste for punishment than the taste for wisdom and restrain.

One of the greatest discoveries of Behavioral Economics (the name given to this new economic revolution), is that the impulse to stand in line for anything that is free, a freebie, leads us to pay heavily for giveaways. Can you imagine Economists have just discovered what has been discovered by politicians since the first thirst for power appeared in human consciousness? “Please give me promises, not realities,” is a chant most politicians heed to. There is no country in the world in which a politician does not offer something for free, since they know that humans cannot resist freebies. The tragedy is that these freebies end up costing us more than caviar.

When something is missing in an economy it is because someone wants it for free and someone believes they can give it away. The only thing we can give away without any bad consequences is excellence in what we do. Giving away excellence ends up creating durable miracles among societies and human relations.

Anything they offer you for free in exchange for your vote has a cost for everyone that goes beyond what is predictable. Anything for free comes with a costly and deadly trap, and we almost always fall for it because we suffer from “coherent arbitrariness,” which always leads us to accept arbitrary situations and heroes because, those narcissistic, power hungry heroes know how to toss us a freebie.

Super Dads, Godfathers, and Sugar Daddies

2008-06-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

There is only one mother, but fathers come in many different flavors. First we have the super dads. My father was a super dad. They take care of us since we are born. They teach us lessons in morality and integrity, and they turn our intellectual and room lights on and off when we have dosed off after a lot of studying or a lot of partying. They reprimand us constructively and point us in the right direction with patience and wisdom, even though it might not be the easiest thing to do. There is no doubt, that young leaders like Yon Goicoechea, winner of this year’s Milton Friedman Liberty Prize, have a great father who gives them direction from time to time, and to that great father I send my respects and admiration on this day. He must be very proud of his son’s bravery and morality in the face of temptations that the world throws at us at every corner. I understand that this father is in jail in Venezuela and it makes me extremely sad that he will not be able to be at home with his family to celebrate this special day. He should be freed generously and humanely. No one with a son that good can be so bad as to deserve to be incarcerated, especially in a country where so much crime goes unpunished. Super dads like this one deserve all types of tributes, because they turn their sons into universal leaders and models of conduct. It is not easy to be a super dad. It takes a great amount of sacrifice. They have to say no and restrain the children they love, because the moral highroad is not always the easiest or the most flattering.

Then we have the godfathers. There are a lot more godfathers than there are super dads. It must be because the label does not carry as much responsibility, or because there are plenty of men who are not chosen as godfathers and others who have more than one godson (super dads choose themselves with joy and a vocation, like saints in search of fulfillment and indulgence). Godfathers serve a very important function in the lives of children. They buy us bicycles when our parents can’t afford them. Mine gave me a sparkling black Raleigh, which opened the door to a neighborhood full of defiant and liberating adventures. They give us their blessing every time we see them, making us feel safe from malevolent curses and hexes. When we are all grown up, godfathers emerge, sometimes miraculously for no special reason, most times when they want us to owe them a favor for which they charge interest. We must be careful of those godfathers. They charge usury rates for the favors you owe them. Unselfish godfathers take care of us because they look after those that deserve it. Those godfathers are good people. They are mentors who fertilize life with their kindness and love for others, and water their plants and those of their neighbors. We wish them a happy Father’s day.

Finally, we have sugar daddies. Those generous and loving men with the ability to seduce damsels as though they where flute touting fakirs. They give away jewels and perfumes in exchange for young and not-so-young women’s siren songs. The bad thing about sugar daddies is that they are usually married to someone else and they are immoral and treacherous players. They stop being sweet when the chanting ends and their imagination goes to sleep. They ask for praises that lead to slavery and they develop confusing bad moods considering how tender they are when they are pursuing their slippery objectives. They should not get presents on Father’s Day, because they are scoundrels in search of loyalties they do not deserve. If they haven’t read this column they are capable of remaining lost in thought in the presence of some flirty little gift from the ladies that take advantage of their existential weaknesses. There is a lot to learn from sugar daddies and little to emulate or celebrate on this day. I wouldn’t even give them breakfast in bed.

This Sunday is a beautiful day in which we celebrate the procreation of the species and the fundamental role that men play in focusing responsibility and solidarity towards lifting the loads that come with having a family. There is only one mother, but we can use as many father figures as we can get in an effort to improve the safety net of our troubled communities. For all of those that deserve it, on earth and in heaven, and even some of those that don’t deserve it but try: Happy Father’s Day!

The Canary in the Mine

2008-06-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

Mother’s Day came and went. I felt bad for not having written anything to celebrate it and I apologized to all my mothers. They told me not to worry; I still had time to do it. Now, I am sending this message out to all mothers and their progeny. No one in the world should be excluded.

Miners, when entering the bowels of Earth to excavate its riches, take canaries with them, not just because they like their company, but because when the canary stops whistling it’s time to come up and get some fresh air. The lack of oxygen in the mine affects the canary before it does the miners, because canaries have smaller lungs and large whistles. When societies and associations inhibit equality and silence their women, the oxygen in those mines is also running out. I have no doubt that the ability to solve problems is equally distributed among the sexes. Not so the ability to create them. Impatient and testosterone charged beings create more problems than those who are understanding and maternal. Brilliant, hardworking, and creative women can tolerate some abuse, as long as it is for no more than a few hours a day. That is why they tolerate stifling husbands, as long as they provide support for the family. But those same women cannot tolerate abuse at work that goes on for ten to twelve hours. A lot less of their identity depends on climbing the corporate ladder or getting a raise; it relies more on doing a good job for loved ones, whose happiness and reciprocity is closely related to the love they give. That is why women are so often referred to as having a healing, civilizing influence over societies. They do

Societies, like some arrogant states, where an active participation by women is lacking in all facets of public life, end up self-destructing. Mothers want their sons to get married, so that other women can carry on with their domestication once mothers have done all that they can. Similarly, companies and governments in which women are not present tend to show a lack of creativity, an inability to cope with new demands and other inefficiencies. Even though fathers have always been better fishermen and hunters, mothers have managed the crops of all developed societies. A good share, if not all, of the increase in general productivity and the service sector in the United States over the last thirty years has been due to the influx of a large number of university graduate women and mothers to the work force. Between 1970 and 1990, 10% more women joined the job force than did their male counterparts. This led to a reduction in financial risk among middle-class families, an increase in productivity and consumption, and a reduction in the need to save, since the family unit was less vulnerable to financial distress.

I worry when our societies take two steps forward and one step back and experience a reduction in the increase of women’s high level participation in public and corporate life. I am afraid these societies and companies may end up like mines without oxygen. It is worrisome that after significant progress made in the 80’s and 90’s, women’s gains in the US economy stopped 15 years ago and are declining. At many high level conferences I attend, women’s attendance leveled at about 15% and to the naked eye it is less than 10% in the last couple of years.

We can observe an increase in women entrepreneurs where they have the power to efficiently decide what direction they want to take. I know that women are great entrepreneurs. It might be their natural destiny. But it would be better to create work environments that inspire more rather than fewer women to rise to corporate and public life challenges.

Long live selfless mothers, hard working and entrepreneurial women. They make our countries noble and resistant to the abuse of testosterone. Sons, take care of those beautiful and musical canaries that let us know when we must abandon the mine before we asphyxiate from lack of oxygen.

Next Sunday I will write something for Father’s Day, so fathers will feel happy, take a deep breath and enjoy the whistling of the canaries that attest to the oxygen in their lives.

The Flight of the Butterflies

2008-05-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

Butterflies are very special insects. They could be birds, they do lay eggs, but when they hatch they look more like lazy worms than migratory avians. They turn into brown vermin and move on to become happy crystallized tears from which divine, dynamic, and beautiful butterflies emerge. As if by magic their miraculous wings fan out. They learn to fly to feed off the nectar of flowers. In exchange for that sweet honey they go from bud to bud pollinating, without the flower knowing about all this promiscuity. In time any worm can turn into a butterfly! But we need to let them grow, feed them, love them and care for them. Quite efficiently butterflies eventually learn to take care of themselves.

Butterflies fly a lot and live short lives. But in the short time they are alive they leave plenty to talk about and smiles on the lips of the playful children that try to catch them. It is not good to catch all butterflies. The colorful dust on their wings comes off upon our touch, as though it does not mind moving from the clean wing of the butterfly to our striated, rough, and almost violent fingertips. Just like human beings. We live short lives, barely 70 or 80 years, and many even less. That is nothing. However, during the few years we live we treat much of what surrounds us with possessive disdain, as though we needed to hog and discard it all in order to live eternally. Frequently the crystals on our wings are lost in the ruthless hands of our minders or in our own hands.

We could conclude that butterflies care about nothing more than going from flower to flower, fathering metamorphic worms, like many a flirty man or woman, picking up admirers and possessed by their ability to motivate obsessions. Quite the opposite. Butterflies just need witnesses to their flight and their freedom. Their flight would not be as important if others would not know how enchanting they are flying about doing pirouettes and spins like trapeze artists.

That is the essence of freedom. The power to enchant. To be able to flaunt our colors. To be able to fly along the furrows of the winds as though they were invisible hills, to be able to pause and taste the nectar we get from flowers, and why not, be able to seduce the observer that watches our flight in delight. The world becomes a happier and more productive place if we let the vermin evolve, the cocoons open, the flight of the butterflies happen, and we learn to fly with them. To observe with delight and respect the artistic survival taking place during the process is what is most exiting about the trapeze artist’s free jump. Freedom. Enchanting freedom.

Adeste Fideles

2008-05-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I attended Pope Benedict XVI’s mass in a baseball stadium transformed into a major league cathedral. The great mass came with epistle, gospel, and heart felt words of atonement for the sins committed by impulsive priests with diminished Christian values. The Papal message was charged with hopeful openings to the spirit of civility, piety, sanctity and universality. They were really unforgettable moments, even for the hard-line atheists in the crowd. The magnitude of the spectacle, including the Panis Angelicus sung by Tenor Plácido Domingo, and Pope Benedict’s holiness, transcended suspicions that the intellectual backwardness and intransigence of such a traditional and orthodox figure would put off parishioners. The apparent apathy of the catholic authorities towards women’s right to being ordained as priests, or towards the anachronism of celibacy and other evils, in a time in which we live so long and the balance provided by a real family when making decisions is so important, would have led me to believe that the Pope’s trip would not be so successful. I was wrong. The Pope’s visit to the U.S. strengthened the bonds with the Latino population, helped with reducing sexual abuse and pedophilia cases amongst the priesthood, and promoted spirituality and humanity as some of the healthiest and longer lasting principles of Christianity.

Watching the Pope made me remember a conversation I had with Fidel Castro, some 11 years ago. It happened a year or two before Pope John Paul’s successful visit to La Habana. But way before that, I was a suggestible youth when Commander Fidel Castro descended from the mountains to take over Cuba’s reign. As for any other impressionable youth, the image of a guerilla fighter offered the same appeal as the pages of Playboy to readers anesthetized by life’s routines.

Luckily, my infatuation with guerilla soldiers ended when I had to make an honest living. In time, many of the guerilla warriors died in haphazard and destructive battles, or simply became disenchanted with the guerrilla life. Totalitarian political systems also perished along the way, overwhelmed by the competition and creativity of hard working, functional citizens from the free world who were open to the benefits of global trade. That is why, when I was able to sit down with Fidel in La Habana – a conversation that would last three hours – I was legitimately curious about some aspects of his life: did he still like his job; did he have an exit strategy; did he understand how similar his regime was to that of the Vatican; and when was the last time he had signed a check.

Fidel disarmed me with his answers. Yes, he was pretty tired of his job. It had become repetitive and a bit inconsequential. Despite being isolated and uninformed of the opportunities democratic life gives us to reinvent ourselves, or maybe because of his own isolation, he had not thought of an exit strategy. I suggested that the Vatican might be an ideal place to retire: good food, beautiful Italians, and surrounded by a highly dictatorial and lifelong political system; he would feel he had found his soul mate. Fidel laughed. He has a good sense of humor despite his political short-sightedness and occasional trip up. He admitted he had never thought of the parallel between his government and the political system in the Vatican. He said he though the church’s punishments were unusually barbaric. Eternal damnation for adultery seemed a bit harsh. I agreed. Purgatory was enough for adultery. In fact, that is where adulterers reside while still living, I told him. They must like it. Heaven can be a bit monotonous and treacherous. It can make us feel too safe. Our exchange was so meaningful that I was able to convince him of the importance of allowing the Pope to visit La Habana, without sabotaging the visit with any of his impulsively harsh remarks, and without Raúl giving drunken orders to shoot down pamphlet dropping pilots.

A year or more after our conversation, the Pope arrived in La Habana and Fidel received him with open arms. I watched him on television proud of the unexpected and even unusual brotherhood, and immodestly and daringly I thought that maybe, just like Forest Gump, I had had something to do with the passionate reception the Pope received from Fidel. Both were lifelong leaders of totalitarian systems. But before some of my readers become enraged – I beg for your patience – that is as far as I would take current similarities.

Neither the church nor the Vatican have armies. They lost their military power, thank God or modern constitutions, several centuries back, after having abused it wholeheartedly. They lost it after the horrifying and criminal crusades. Nowadays, the church can no longer burn someone at the stake or end the literary career of great thinkers. They also abused this power in the Middle Age. The Inquisition was abolished only in the 19th Century. Jerónimo Castillón y Salas was the last of the inquisitors. Other totalitarian governments continue to have military power and the ability to destroy the physical, spiritual, and emotional integrity of anyone that crosses their paths. Fidel’s Cuba is one of these. Sadly there are many more in that category.

I would love to conclude from observing human behavior through history, that we must take away the weapons or cut short the mandate of any organization or person of a totalitarian nature. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Neither the Pope nor Fidel are an exception to the rule. And neither are any of the other incompetent and abusive leaders that take hold of power from time to time.

P.S. On the matter of the check, Fidel told me the last one he had signed was when he was still a lawyer, before taking to the mountains. In order for him to feel the pleasure of signing a check, I gave him a piece of paper and suggested that he sign it for 100 billion dollars in order to pay for the debt incurred because of the Helms-Burton decree. He happily signed the check. I keep it in my office to remind me that Fidel is faithful to his beliefs because it has always suited him. He has no idea what he missed out on by not moving to the Vatican, but then again La Habana has a better climate and Cuban women are also beautiful.

Fidel’s Last Check

“Check for US$100 billion to pay for the obligations under Helms-Burton, which is what we need” –Fidel Castro, April 19, 1997.

Pre-Paid Punishments

2008-04-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

My friend Jimena was probably 8 years old when Miss Rosita punished her for the first time. Jimena was to remain in the classroom after class writing 200 lines of the accusatory sentence: “I must not speak in class.” The school bus came and picked us up at four in the afternoon and we all went home except for Jimena. The next day I found Jimena filling more pages and she continued to do so for several recesses there after. Jimena was accumulating pages in order to have them ready for the next time she was punished. As a cautious and astute young girl, Jimena had prepared pages for all kinds of likely misbehavior:

-I must not speak in class.

-I must not leave my slips on the floor.

-I must not let the dog eat my homework.

-I will never throw up my lunch.

-I will not forget my books at the corner shop.

-I will not pull on Lupita’s pony tails.

-I will not wink at professor Cervantes.

Jimena was so busy writing pre-paid punishments that she no longer had time to misbehave. She was completely absorbed by the saving up of punishments.

To pre-pay for future misbehaviors has its advantages. To have a reserve of pre-paid punishments allows us to misbehave in abundance and not face immediate consequences. What’s more, pre-paid punishments make us righteous. Jimena grew so much in stature, since she no longer had time to misbehave and instead spent all her time filling pages and studying, that she became valedictorian of the high school class of ’62.

It occurs to me that life sometimes punishes us cruelly and we find ourselves without lines to turn in, in order to escape the punishment quickly. There are days where nothing goes right: there is a traffic jam, our husband leaves us, we get mugged at the supermarket without having found eggs to buy, we get infected with a bout of malaria that does not respond to compresses of merthiolate or sprinkles of holy water.

Is this the reason governments go from bad to worse? Is it that governments represent pre-paid punishments and that in the future we will be free of the tyranny of incompetence, waste and abuse? Are we pre-paying for the great leaders set to appear in the future, when honest, serious and dedicated students take on the task of governing with intelligence, respect, and skill?

Last Tuesday I ran into Jimena and I asked her if she still had any pre-paid punishments. She laughed and told me, serious and resigned: “I have a thousand pages that state that I will never vote for a candidate that promises to give me anything for free”. And why haven’t you used them Jimena, since we are all involved in this punishment? Jimena answered me: “Oh friend, I haven’t been able to use them because no one, not even Miss Rosita has asked me for them.” “By God Jimena, give me the pages and feel free to vote for whomever you think is serious and willing. Give me five hundred and go in peace.” I have papered the bathroom wall with Jimena’s pages so that I never forget that pre-paid punishments give flight to the imagination of the innocent and turn them into drawers sinners, who are the bravest and go the farthest in their restraint, because closet sinners come out of the closet from time to time and run for political office.

Evolutions and Revolutions

2008-04-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

Nature is always in a state of evolution and adaptation, but once in a while this state suffers violent structural changes that produce dangerous discontinuities. These physical phenomenons: earthquakes, swells, killer storms, and human beings that are born with pig’s tails or devil’s horns are some examples of nature’s revolutions. Even though revolutions are very costly because of their violence, destruction, and the effect they have over insurance premiums and price fluctuations that worry so many people, revolutions are as unavoidable as volcano explosions. But some revolutions are not natural and these are the ones that can and should be avoided. Why worry and panic innocent children, when you can sing them lullabies to get them to sleep and assure they are productive at school the next day? This is the main responsibility of good and dignified parents. Why create problems in the economy and human relations if they are not going to lead to a more productive and coherent society?

What we’ve seen in countries such as Venezuela and others in which revolutionary governments appear from time to time like childhood pandemics, is that people get excited about the possibility of a “revolutionary” miracle, but end up left holding an empty bag.

Those wonderful “missions” that entered the Venezuelan ghettos and built our hopes up with the prospect of bringing basic medical services to those that most needed it, have mostly failed, except for that one we keep in a glass case for naive revolutionary buyers coming from abroad as revolutionary tourists. They tell me there are more than 1,800 Cuban medics that have fled their missionary jobs. And some of these opportunistic traitors are now trying their luck in Miami and Santo Domingo, where things work better than in the Venezuelan ghettos.

The sad thing is that we have destroyed, in our pursuit to become revolutionaries, what little capacity we had of providing decent medical services through the Ministry of Health. Because the revolution has truncated the evolution and functionality of our former institutions, we are no longer able to provide vaccinations or treatments for dysentery and dehydration in children, all basic medical practices which, if applied in time, can save lives. The old institutions might have been bad or at best mediocre, but they provided basic services. At least we weren’t being attacked by bubonic plagues and we had eradicated malaria and polio.

Nowadays we are vulnerable to any plague or epidemic known to man because we do not even have mercurochrome. The scarcity of medicines and Venezuelan medics is so great that medical treatment and prevention for both rich and poor has collapsed.

Give me evolutions and not revolutions. We’ll give the revolutions to the French, who have made a myth out of them, but have been content with the myth for 200 years. Once and never again! They now just sing to the tune of the Marseillaise, especially after the French Revolution killed more people than the medieval plagues. That revolution brought upon them the Napoleonic wars, which transformed a brave and capable soldier into an insufferable emperor, that ended up defeated and vanished to Saint Helena. It would have been better if Napoleon, the warrior, had limited himself to writing the Napoleonic Code. But no one is perfect. That is precisely why gradual evolutions are always better than arrogant, confusing, and destructive revolutions.

My Friend the Cork

2008-03-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends was never a stand out at school, at college, or in the business world, but he always faired well in life. He never worked too much and he enjoyed long lunches, supposedly work related, that ended in calm naps in hidden places with uncertain company. Always charismatic, the Cork was not bothered by waves or tides. The Cork floated comfortably. From time to time he would get stuck in the sand until a wave would come and rescue him from his abandonment and return him to sea. The Cork was not a Broken Tooth either. Broken Tooth did not speak, he would just observe while he filed his sharp and irregular tooth with his tongue. The Cork always spoke eloquently and well. He was always well informed. He could have been a successful television presenter. His great talent was to be in favor with God, the devil and the current government. The Cork floated wherever you put him, no matter how big the waves were or how powerful the undercurrent was.

He was the President of several companies, cabinet secretary, and almost a candidate to the country’s presidency, but he left the campaign trail since being a presidential candidate is harder work than being a miner in South Africa. The Cork was neither bad nor good, and he was invited everywhere. Women wanted him chastely and passionately. From time to time young damsels, as well as society women, modest but adventurous, would accompany him during his naps. The Cork floated elegantly without doing anything and every now and then someone would rescue him to plug a hole. They would use him to fill in an important position where he would never cause anyone any problems.

My friend The Cork, now bald, potbellied, and in his sixties, is till floating and flirting around, and he can still pick up loose and virtuous women who are attracted by his aloofness and bon-vivant style. But he also picks up executive men and women, and even presidents of countries such as Argentina and Germany that need someone to cover institutional vacancies assuring them and all he will not make any waves but will ride them instead. Always elegant. One of these days there will be a quick political change in some anarchic country and he will end up as President in the transitional government. There, calmly, with out much of an effort, and he will then relinquish power without any trouble and will continue floating until he turns into an angel and people pray to him for heavens graces.. My friend The Cork is a man to be admired for his irrelevance and harmlessness, as well as for the fact that he is nothing like a tyrant.

Many of us would choose The Cork’s career if we were reborn. To be a Cork is so admirable as it would have appeared unconceivable in each juncture of the hard-working yet hectic life we have chosen. The Cork’s career would have given us plenty of satisfactions and eliminated all kind of angst. The Cork is well off and happy, despite the problems that affect those around him. I am sure that everyone that is reading these lines is a friend of The Cork and even has some love for him. Even in violent times life is compassionate with Corks, no matter if that compassion is too large for the smallness of their achievements.

The Art of Lying

2008-03-06T18:02:00.000-08:00

There is no greater art than that of telling lies. It is wonderful myth inspiring lies that motivate us to achieve great things. The Greek and Roman gods have been in our minds for thousands of years and have urged us to embark on great adventures and achievements we would have never thought of, were it not for so many imaginary tales. Myths give flight to the imagination and make us transcend obstacles with grace and determination. Everything is possible in the realm of myths. But it takes a great artist to transform a lie into a myth, and in the difference between lies and myths in the contrast between mediocrity and greatness in individuals and communities. Both the liar and the mythmaker must be ready to manage shortages with a criterion of abundance, which is harder to do than the other way around. As my friend Susi mentioned, a myth is noble, a lie is not. The mythmaker convinces himself of the lie even more than those listening to him; while the liar tries, he knows what he says is a lie and tries to trick others for his own benefit, a conduct even less respectful than that of disreputable bacteria.

Like everyone in Venezuela, the first lie I ever heard in my life was that we were rich. I believed it wholeheartedly and didn’t understand why they wouldn’t take me to the beach or why we didn’t have a pool at home, when so many others had water around them. One summer my grandparents rented a modest house in Puerto Viejo, which had a marvelous cement water tank in the backyard. This water tank became an Olympic pool for me, and I remember that summer with my grandmother Mamanina as one of the best in my life. I no longer doubted that we Venezuelans were rich. A myth so wonderful that makes us think we are almighty when we can’t even produce skateboards for export! The second lie I heard later. I heard we were a democracy. A democracy was a system in which we could all aspire to a better life through work and merit; we all had freedoms, and individual and collective rights that do not exist in totalitarian regimes.

In the meantime, as time passed, instead of producing nearly a barrel of oil per Venezuelan a day, we produced ¾ of a barrel per 10 Venezuelans, and we have added two million Cuban, Colombian, Chinese, Arab and Martian brothers to our list of Venezuelans over the past six years. Like Brad and Angelina, we added to the brood because we were rich. That means between two and six dollars a day for each compatriot. That’s not even enough to go to Puerto Viejo on vacation. But we continue to hear that we are rich, and since we are ashamed of being called rich, we go around giving away billions so that our neighbors won’t throw stones at us or rob us. The same happened to the noble Russians that migrated to France, since they felt rich until they had nothing left but a few things to sell in order not to starve to death. In Venezuela the only ones that are rich are the government and a group of crooks that are close to the Commander-in-chief, because all the oil revenues go to one person, the current President, who spends it how he pleases. Not even the Saudi Sheiks or the Queen of England have this much power.

Venezuela is neither rich nor a participatory democracy, but both of these lies turned into myths keep us inspired. Rich countries are those that produce goods and services at a higher rate than that of their reproductive growth. Venezuelan production per inhabitant is pitiful and in decline. A democracy is a country in which the government does not take advantage of its citizens and citizens are active participants in the government’s decisions. The Venezuelan government’s abuses are big and small. The small abuses are the long lines to buy chickens or milk and the shameful tips one must give to get a driver’s license. The big abuse is that haughty politicians have the power to control the oil revenue and spend it as they please. They are accountable to no one, and they allow wide-spread corruption. The oil, the small amount we now produce per inhabitant, belongs to each of those inhabitants and should be distributed in this manner, just like in Alaska and Norway. If each inhabitant receives each day the benefits of having been born on this soil, each inhabitant could vote with his/her money as he/she pleases. It would be miraculous and moving to see the amount of boutiques, gyms, bakeries, schools, clothing factories, electronics stores, consumer goods, production goods, and boxes that would appear, if Venezuelans could vote freely and daily with their money without having to brown nose and tolerate their rulers.

It seems absurd, but Venezuelans are so caught up in their own myths, that even to the most democratic amongst us, the idea of giving oil revenues directly to Venezuelans, with out going through demagogic intermediaries, seems like a naive idea. Governments are good when rulers have to earn their keep carrying out their term, even if it only amounts to mediocrity. Governments are bad when they receive their keep like a rich boy and gain support by handing out alms. The art of lying transformed into a noble myth inspires us to dream and better ourselves, but in the long run they are generally abused by lying leaders.

The art of truth is so fundamental and supreme that it inspires true greatness. The Venezuelan truth is that oil revenues are not as large as they used to be, and that if we do not begin to divide them up effectively and equally, Venezuelans will never learn to be free and responsible with their riches, be them small or large. The art of truth can even break the marble that covers the true beauty of the country and allow, as Leonardo would say, the work of art of our genuine and noble destiny to come to light.

The art of truth and the true democracy would make us courageous, productive and rich. Truth and excellence are the greatest myths we can aspire to. To protect borders against drug dealers and terrorists is a noble and constitutional endeavor. To protect borders in order to manipulate lies and turn them into myths is a shameful act and an assault on the memory of our liberators, those that have inspired historical myths and motivated so many to become better people.

Contracts and Mistreatments

2008-02-24T18:01:00.000-08:00

Marriage has to be one of the oldest contracts in the world. And one wonders: Why sign a paper if we love each other so much and plan to be together for the rest of our lives? In France, nowadays, where life is so long and temptations widespread, there are five different types of marital contracts. We don’t know which one Sarkozy signed. People buy and sell, fall in love and fall out of love by signing contracts. Children sign contracts at school where they promise to do their homework or else. Contracts prevent and correct mistreatments. If a wife beats her husband, kicks him and humiliates him in public, the husband, scared by all of this unexpected anger, can revise the wording on his marriage contract and ask our civilized society to protect him against this undeserved rage.

Companies and governments sign contracts all the time, in an effort to civilize their interactions. They exchange just and clear promises in exchange for investments, work, and a dedication to productivity. The contract protects both parties from arrogant abuse, adversaries and all those other stupid things humans come up with when they wake up angry, conceited, or feeling alienated. Rulers that let power go to their heads or lose their soul, have to be reminded that there are contracts, that are nothing more than coherent promises that there are not going to be any injustices. Governments have guns, rifles, machineguns and even atomic bombs, so these important papers we call contracts are the only thing unarmed people have to avoid or reduce the abuse. Behind modern companies there are thousands and millions of poor people, rich people, wise people and ignorant people, that trusted contracts to put a little or a lot of money away and save to be able to buy medicines, food, cars, and even be able to pay for the other contracts they sign during their lives. Even the poor woman, who couldn’t contain her anger, has to withdraw part of her savings or those of her husband to pay for the divorce that will end the damaged marriage. You can imagine where we’re going. We will see what happens with the lawsuit put forth by an oil company that feels it has been mistreated by Venezuelans after it signed a bunch of contracts. The cost for everyone will be high. Mistreatments always cost a lot and leave wounds that take a long time to heal. As a good dog that licks its wounds with a long face, we will have to lick the wound left behind by an abuse and indifference towards contracts. If a contract prevents mistreatment then mistreatment breaks contracts.

Love at first sight

2008-02-14T17:59:00.000-08:00

Scientific realism assures us that chemistry is no invention when it comes to love. It seems that that immediate attraction that one feels is not only in our imagination; rather it is engrained in the most remote cellular structures of the brain. When we don’t like how our neighbor smells it is because the children that would result from this union would have a turtle’s tail rather than the curly hair of a cherub. That doesn’t mean that we have to marry everyone that smells good, on the contrary. All love at first sight does is create existential problems within the framework of what could be an acceptable genetic evolution. One thing is to pinch your nose to survive the repulsion that may overcome us when smelling the sulfuric traces left behind by some diabolical character, and another is the moment of infatuation when we believe we have found the love of our lives because some rich man put on Vetivér cologne or some poor lady bathed with Camay soap or sprayed on some Pachulí. However, it is surprising the amount of people that fall in the trap of these late-night romances. That is why now that so many romances begin with internet friendships, I am confident the divorce rate will go down around the world. Now suitors have to apply for dates with there resume in hand or on match.com to be more precise. No more love at first sight. On the other hand, politicians and actors continue to seduce us with their feline smiles and even with their heartbreaks. That’s why disenchantment with regimes and movies is so great! Boyfriends and politicians should fill out strict employment forms, to make sure they are qualified for the job. Once a panel of judges names the finalists, voters and fiancés may live together for a while (how about a year?). If they behave and don’t steal the household budget to go get drunk or have an international fling, we still love them and they even smell nice, then we can marry them (in the politicians’ case for no more than 5 to 6 years). How many times do cute girls end up with some vagabonds and countries with others? All because they got carried away by the impulse of a short romance. Voting and marriage have to be more carefully thought through. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Group Therapy in Davos

2008-02-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

I have just returned from the World Economic Forum. It was there were 16 years back a group of Venezuelans would wake up February 4, 1992 to the news that there had been a military coup in Venezuela. That year the world’s anxieties, frozen by the alpine winds, were focused on the integration of the former Soviet Union to the rest of the world and the possible “dividend of peace”. Venezuelans’ anxieties were filled with years of low gas prices and economic contraction, which made neither rich nor poor happy. The world’s anxieties in 2008 have to do with a possible recession in the Western Hemisphere that could infect the rest of the world, since so many people bought homes without money and now have to pay back with mortgages. The rich don’t feel so rich anymore and the poor look healthier and happier. The Chinese, Brazilians, and Hindus are well dressed and all smiles in Davos. The Russians feel so comfortable they no longer even use Ushankas. In Venezuela, despite the millions of dollars and euros that have entered the economy in recent years, the existential anguish has accelerated, especially since Nigeria, a country that shared our political and economical anxieties, has shot up like an economic rocket and does not accept, nor has she a reason too, being compared to Venezuela.

Why are we poorer than we were six years ago, if we are richer than ever? Why does Nigeria look and feel better than us? Venezuelans ask themselves. Sigh of relief. It seems Venezuela has finally learned to manage being rich as though it was poor, saying there is no money to purchase milk, chickens, or toilette paper. As Queen Marie Antoinette said before being beheaded: “let them eat cake”. We will eat yogurt, jawbreakers, and well…Kleenex tissue paper has to work for something else. Because of the lack of Venezuelans, the conference on chickens and milk, in which President Uribe was going to speak, was cancelled. The Chinese, Brazilians, Hindis, Russians, Arabs and Africans are all eating and drinking more chicken and milk than ever before. They even have money left over to buy American banks on the cheap. Is it because of this lack of chickens and milk that Venezuela has money left over to buy rifles and helicopters? These investments are productive if they are used to invade countries or far away planets, but they don’t produce much if the invasion gets complicated like in Iraq or the Falkland Islands.

There aren’t very many Venezuelans in Davos this year. I counted three. Maybe it is because we are solving our internal problems without talking to anyone else and we are going to be one of the few countries that is going to grow big time this year, thanks to the blessings of the Virgin of Coromoto, that looks after us even when we misbehave.

The world seems to agree that water and not oil is what’s going to be scarce during this century. I think that is good news, since we in Venezuela know a little bit about water scarcity, even though we have the Guri and the Cordonazos de San Francisco which cause massive mud slides. We are experts. Maybe we can finally brag about real commercial leadership and we can contribute to easing the shared anxiety in this davosian group therapy by exporting the innumerable gallons of water that fill our roofs and hallways. Problem solved: a water tank in each New York skyscraper.

The group in Davos felt a little more relaxed when it concluded that it doesn’t matter how high oil prices are, since there are so many southern countries that manage there economies well that the actions of rotten and rock throwing children, no matter where they are or where they come from, or what kind of a recession they produce due to their incompetence and bad-manners, can be controlled and coped with. All the spiritual leaders said with conviction and audacity: “may God bless them”, and they all went home happy and inspired.

Gran Rolomolo Contest 2008

2008-01-27T17:56:00.000-08:00

Truth be told, Venezuelans have the soul of a stubborn winner. That is why horse tracks, dog tracks, lotteries and bingo are such good businesses.

It doesn’t matter who runs the business, all betting businesses make money and even those that lose, win. A couple of weeks ago I called upon everyone to try to find rolomolos, and now my office is filled with candidates and data. The list is as long and diverse as the sunsets in Los Llanos or the moons at Magarita. Many have sent me Maria Liosa and other goddesses, presidential candidates and misses, beautiful and ugly people, mischievous and serious people. Everyone on the list embodies a little bit of a rolomo, but enough to hang their picture in the childrens’ bedroom and say: “This person is not Dorian Gray, this person is a great rolomolo! Copy him and not John or Jane Doe that embody nothing of a rolomolo”.

To call someone a rolomolo is a great responsibility for the qualifying jury and for the person selected. Defining what a rolomolo is has something in common with defining what pornography is, even though they couldn’t be more different. As famous person once said, you can’t define pornography but you know what it is when it is in front of you. The same happens with good rolomolos.

However, its is important to mention that the election criterion has to be as severe and fair just like the one used to judge Miss Venezuela, because if you don’t know what you are looking for, you don’t know what you find and what you find gets lost amidst the discussion and infighting.

It is not that I know a lot, but I am going to suggest three cardinal virtues: Integrity, courage and wisdom. Integrity is essential in a country full of contractions, in which what is good is bad and what is bad is good depending on how the rulers and the price of oil woke up.

A respectable rolomolo must be able to think independently and not be influenced by boyfriends, girlfriends or bossy in-laws. Courage is the strong flavor of a hero. How can we expect rolomolos to be heroic, emblematic and inspiring, in a country where anyone will knock you out to get you out of their way, the great rolomo has to be a bit unwary and daring in order to confront the political and economic hostilities of the moment.

He doesn’t have to take to the street yelling, but he must at least face the music when his longtime friend tells him to stay out of something silly, to not meddle in something and in addition offers him a couple of millions. We are not going to ask someone to remain faithful in their marriage when there are so many great temptations of the flesh, that are even stronger in the tropics, but that they at least keep these infidelities random and in foreign ports, since these are forgiven in the old testament and the rabbinic tradition.

Wisdom. Who even thinks you could take a dumb or insolent rolomolo seriously! Of course we want rolomolos that know what they are talking about. That are well read so that they don’t make up stupidities, and that respects what human beings have painfully learned over the centuries and through studying,

Keep sending names, but please focus on the three fundamental values: Integrity, Courage and Wisdom, and give us examples and reasons of those and other values. The Great Rolomolo 2008 will be selected here on December 2^nd, 2008.

We Want Rolomolos

2008-01-16T17:54:00.000-08:00

As many before me, I have always been intrigued by the adaptations that tongues have to traverse to meet the needs of the moment. There is nothing that has not been invented before, and the best inventions lean on the backs of tired old paradigms. But once in awhile, it is important to invent new words even if it is to inspire progress. Twenty First Century Socialism sounds too old to me to inspire progress, plus many would say that there is no one to invent this 21^st Century Socialism for lack of good rolomolos.

I propose that instead of complaining, we try to better understand what a rolomolo is, to see if we can secure the load or construct more highways that will lead us to progress. If we want good rolomolos enough with the buddies, watchmen and material things that only muddy the surroundings of the Venezuelan spirit. That spirit that floats in search of a dignified anchor.

If we want to triumph in the global competition of the 21st century, we need good rolomolos, not buddies. Buddies are only useful for

late-night parties and debauchery. If we want to "plant the oil" in lasting competitiveness, buddies don't sow but bad weeds.

Up North, rolomolos are called Role Models. Up North, Ophra Winfrey is a solid rolomolo, Britney Spears is not.

Modestly, President Leoni was a great rolomolo for an entire generation because of his dedication and honesty. Caldera with all and his santeria, was not a rolomolo, because of his lack of integrity, and for not facilitating an intergenerational when he could have. But this list threatens to become distasteful, unless we turn to some good rolomolos from the past like Andres Bello, Simon Rodriguez, Doña Bárbara y Teresa de la Parra. If we want good rolomolos, we need to coin the word so that they appear. Love without a script is gone with the wind.

Now that 2008 starts, send in a list of good rolomolos and at the end of the year, we will name the winner “Rolomolo of 2008”. We will be discussing the first prize, but "Great Rolomolo" should be enough for a rolomolo of genuine lineage.