Caracas Chronicles

1-Much as I’m drawn to him, and even though he was trying to gently nudge Acción Democrática away from its abstentionist line, this picture of Rausseo getting all buddy-buddy with AD’s (nominal) head honcho Henry Ramos Allup is a hard one to stomach. Whatever happened to triangulation?

2-CNE’s design for December’s tarjetón (ballot paper) tells you all you need to know about its outrageous partiality. Pro-Chávez parties monopolize the highly visible, easy-to-locate upper part of the ballot, while the main opposition parties are consigned to the nether-regions, below a constelation of no-name, 0.0002%-of-the-vote “parties.” Rausseo gets the rawest deal of all – just about in the middle, a spot only a forensic investigator could find easily. Yuck.

3-And, just for good measure, chavista tax inspectors have suddenly discovered that Rausseo’s theme park is up to no good, and ordered it closed, tossing out the 2,000 vacation makers who were enjoying a day out.