Caracas Chronicles

Quico says: Imagine you were a ni-ni, or a government employee, weighing whether or not to go out and vote yesterday. The phone rings. Who could it be, bothering you on this lazy Sunday afternoon?

“Compatriota, es Chávez…”

Believe it. According to Descifrado, echoing a story from El País, robocalls made their grand debut in Venezuelan politics yesterday.

In what would be a direct borrowing of a GOP campaign tactic by President Chávez, millions of his supporters picked up their cell phones yesterday to hear that voice reminding them to go and vote for “la Venezuela bonita.”

It’s kind of demeaning, really. Pol Pot never had to call the peasants. Stalin never had to grovel to his comrades like this. But Chavez – he’s on TV, on the radio, and now he’s in your phone, too. He knows where you are.

You just gotta imagine the look on the face of your average government bureaucrat picking up the phone to hear…him! It’s disgusting, but also kind of brilliant. And it highlights the impossible odds we were up against yesterday.

Hat tip: Juan Cristobal.