This week news reached us in The Bunker that The World and His Wife (by which we of course mean The World and His/Her Significant Other) had decided that what is happening in Venezuela is their business and that Venezuelans should damn well sit up and take notice of the pontifications of all non-Venezuelans everywhere. Donny John and the rootin’, tootin’ US of A demanded that Juan Marquez of The Voluntad Popular Party (“Popular Will” to us Bunker residents) be recognised as the President (supported in this view by notable ‘nice guy’ Jair Bolsanaro of Brazil but also, bizarrely, by Canada). Also that bastion of democracy The European Union has demanded elections within eight days. Lots of people seem to be on board in ‘demanding’ stuff from Venezuela.
Now, to be fair, Voluntad Popular are described as ‘Centrist’ and indeed are recognised by Socialist International (you’ll have to Google that because I have a word count to keep to here). Two things occur to us: (a)‘Centrist’, we have come to understand, means right-wing but not so right-wing as to be unpalatable to the average Joe/Josephine in the Street and (b) Nicolas Maduro, the incumbent, is not in any way, shape or form a Hugo Chavez figure (Chavez being a decent enough, if flawed, cove in our view) so should probably do one – but that will be for his country-folk to decide. Here in The Bunker we don’t decide stuff – that’s the point in having a Bunker from which we can lob brick-bats – we merely offer opinions. Let me leave you with this thought: Venezuela has something in the region of 300 billion barrels of oil in its reserves. By contrast Saudi Arabia has something in the region of 200 million barrels. Could that, possibly, be the reason for The World’s interest? Stay tuned….
