Pastor Maldonado has just won the Spanish Grand Prix held at the Circuit de Catalunya. Maldonado is the first Venezuelan in history to achieve a victory in Formula 1. If Maldonado’s arrival at the Williams Formula 1 team had been based on his merit as a driver, today’s victory would surely be a cause for celebration among all Venezuelans. But that is not the case, as Maldonado did not join Williams F1 in the same way Nico Rosberg previously did with the same team, or Paul Di Resta with Force India, or Roman Grosjean with Lotus, or other examples of young drivers from the lower formula GP2 who have earned opportunities in Formula 1 through sheer talent. No, Maldonado arrived with a heap of cash that, firstly, belongs to all Venezuelans; and secondly, was illegally sanctioned by the regime of the dying dictator. Therein lies the crux of the matter.
It’s clear that for the Venezuelan political class, both chavista and opposition, Maldonado’s victory is a reason for joy, an excellent justification to flaunt national pride and absurd jingoistic sentiments.
The opposition leader and presidential hopeful in Venezuela poses a question: what message are opposition leaders sending to the nation, considering the millions of dollars that PDVSA has spent sponsoring Maldonado? The message is clear, in my view: the theft of public funds from the Venezuelan treasury does not phase Venezuelan politicians in the slightest. On the contrary, achievements gained through the improper appropriation of state resources are a source of pride and worthy of celebration.
Not long ago, I published a supposed invoice that Williams F1 allegedly sent to PDVSA. For the year 2012, the sponsorship amount is 29.4 million pounds sterling. In Venezuela, a country with a practically destroyed infrastructure network and alarming levels of poverty and lack of education, that amount could have been utilized for projects that would solve issues for thousands of Venezuelans. But no. The money was squandered on futile ventures. In a country that claims to be governed by an exemplary socialist regime, we see millions of dollars wasted on sponsoring Formula 1 drivers and teams, the least socialist sport of all, which contributes not a single dollar of return to PDVSA.
But the most exasperating aspect is the utter immorality of the so-called opposition leaders, who express their heartfelt wishes to an athlete who owes his success to mismanagement, rampant corruption, and the unilateral decisions of a leader that no one dares to question, despite violations of all relevant laws. That’s the country, those are the leaders of the future, those are the athletes… What a disgusting collection of people, and what a shame it is to belong to this nationality. Each people gets the government it deserves. This has never been truer than in the case of Venezuela.