Immortal Chavez may not be enough for Venezuela

In 1998 I was given one of the most bizarre and memorable assignments I have ever been on: spend a week with Imelda Marcos.

The former First Lady of the Philippines was running – unsuccessfully- to fill the shoes left by her late husband, the ousted dictator Ferdinand. She failed spectacularly but spending time with her -and yes she showed me her post revolutionary collection of shoes (down to a mere 455)- was an unforgettable insight into the delusions of absolute power lost absolutely.

There were many good lines. The best was delivered with moist doe eyes, sitting at her grand piano amongst the left over collection of Picassos and Impressionists of uncertain authorship: “we are dirt poor, you know. We don’t even have enough money for the air conditioning at the mausoleum. Poor Ferdinand is melting.”

That is the thing about the embalm and display business. You need to make sure that someone is paying the air con bills, preferably the government. For now there is no danger of the Venezuelan authorities doing that to their dear recently deceased Comandante. First of all he died a relatively popular re-elected leader. Yes there was intimidation of the opposition over the years and yes, Chavez did not suffer criticism and yes he developed personality cult worthy of a North Korean Kim but he did deliver on his main promise to lower poverty rates, make healthcare and education more widely accessible, provide very low cost housing and at election time even throw in a free Chinese made fridge.

Chavez may have been a populist strong man but he also had a democratic mandate and he used his country’s oil wealth like a Father Christmas. His housing projects are almost as omnipresent in Caracas as the giant posters and murals depicting has moon round smiling face. Hence the astonishing lines. Hence the genuine grief from Venezuela’s poor who had always been the majority but had also always been consigned to the margins of this country by previous Presidents.

Chavez’s anointed successor Vice President Nicolas Madura will be sworn in to the main job today. Then, presumably, there will be fresh elections within one month, as the Constitution dictates. Maduro, by many accounts is a more cautious, pragmatic politician than the boss who trained him. The former uniom boss and bus driver is Reliable enough to preserve the Chavez mantle and keep the Revolution on tap but Not charismatic enough to overshadow the late leader.

Watching the crowds the government must have decided that immortality is the best policy for now. Embalm Chavez and keep him permanently on view like a Catholic saint of old, for the people to worship, see and touch. The idea of Chavez is not immortal enough. It needs to be underpinned with some kind of physical presence. If the new government doesn’t continue to deliver on its promises, if there is too much infighting and if they don’t convert Venzuela’s considerable oil wealth into a sustainable economy with growth rates that much the rest of Latin America then the new government will be very mortal even if Chavez remains immortal in his mausoleum.

And if the opposition were to get into power don’t bet on them keeping the air conditioning switch on.