Hugo's crime spree does not effect election

NY Times:

Walk into an emergency room in many poor parts of this booming, oil-rich nation on a weekend night and you will be overwhelmed — victims of gunshot wounds and drunken clashes line the corridors. Homicides are up 67 percent since 1999, and violent crime is the top concern of Venezuela’s voters as they head to the polls on Sunday.

Yet the man in charge since then, President Hugo Chávez, rarely addresses the problem publicly and is sailing toward an easy election for a third time. Analysts say Mr. Chávez is able to ignore the issue by governing through a system of extensive handouts that eases the purchase of basic goods but does little to ensure public order.

“Chávez has shielded himself from the issue because people see his government as an important arbiter in their daily life,” said Miguel Tinker-Salas, an expert on Venezuelan history at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. “Chávez’s policies have made a difference among the poor, and that’s what is recognized.” He pointed to subsidized groceries, health care and literacy, in particular.

Crime analysts say part of the problem is that the government and its allies have politicized police forces throughout the country, marginalizing officers viewed as disagreeing with Mr. Chávez’s “Bolivarian Revolution,” which uses militaristic and nationalistic rhetoric in an attempt to reconfigure society with vague socialist ideals.

A similar process has taken place in government ministries, the national oil company and the armed forces after the coup that briefly removed Mr. Chávez from the presidency in 2002.

Analysts say police forces have also largely been urged to tread lightly in poor neighborhoods, turning a blind eye to small demonstrations and petty crime like burning tires. Critics say it is part of Mr. Chávez’s efforts to maintain support in poor neighborhoods.

...

The breakdown in the rule of law will reverberate through society. It is a form of corruption and in this case the government is the party doing the bribing by buying votes with money and weak enforcement. Where ever corruption takes hold society ultimately is the victim. Venezuela will fall further behind the rest of the world while Hugo squanders the wealth of the country rather than investing it. He is putting the money into a sink hole of poverty rather investing it in projects that can create wealth and jobs. Investing in the poor has a poor return in the real world and they are the ones who are the worse off because of it.