Dangerous tourism

So, what exactly was a group of Brazilian senators, led by Aécio Neves, doing in Venezuela? Option A – They went to free political prisoners; Option B – They went to oust Maduro and install Aécio as President of the Republic; Option C – They went on a tourist trip, paid for with public funds, to make international news. However, a demonstration by a few Venezuelan nationalists during a traffic jam was enough for them to run back to Brazil with their tails between their legs. And here they resumed crowing, making threats against the Brazilian government which, according to them, should declare war on Venezuela because of the embarrassment.

In reality, it was all a big farce, with a script worthy of the Three Stooges movies, as writer Fernando Morais pointed out. Did Aécio and his acolytes think they would be received in Caracas as saviors of the nation, with a marching band and everything? What people like foreigners interfering in their internal affairs? Don't these senators have anything better to do in Brazil? With so many problems here, what were they doing in Venezuela? They constantly criticize the government for its spending, and yet they took a trip paid for with public money. How much did this charade cost the public coffers?

The "brave" Aécio, who abandoned his liberation mission in the face of a small group of protesters, stated upon his return that "we will demand a strong stance from the Brazilian government." And he threatened: "If this doesn't happen, we will retaliate as needed within the National Congress." Funny: they didn't ask President Dilma's opinion regarding the trip, and now they want her to fight with President Maduro because a bunch of Venezuelans chased them away. And they've even gone so far as to threaten to expel Venezuela from Mercosur because of this. Will Congressman Carlos Sampaio, who questioned the President's technical stopover in Lisbon, question the expenses of the trip?

It's not hard to see that Aécio and his cronies invented this trip to create a false narrative, with the ever-valuable support of the mainstream media, which doesn't consider the consequences of its reporting when the goal is to attack the government. They even went so far as to report that the Maduro government had vetoed the senators' landing in Caracas, which was later proven to be a blatant lie. Apparently, the major media outlets in our country, whose founders prized the seriousness and credibility of their reporting, have now lost all shame and scruples, using their power to achieve their political and economic objectives at any cost. It doesn't matter if the news is true or false, as long as it serves their interests.

After this embarrassment, one wonders: what will Aécio and his canine followers invent for a new trip that will guarantee them space in the news? Here are some suggestions: how about a trip to Syria to combat Islamism? Or to Egypt, in support of the president who, although democratically elected, was overthrown and sentenced to death by hanging? Or to Ukraine, to fight the Russians? Or, perhaps, to Israel, to defend the Palestinian state? Maybe it would be easier to go to the United States, to defend not only the acceleration of the rapprochement process with Cuba but also the closure of the Guantanamo military base. Ultimately, it would certainly be much cheaper to go to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro to negotiate a truce between criminal factions to end the conflicts and deaths.

In any case, the failed trip had its positive side: Aécio and his cronies now know they aren't as powerful as they imagine and, therefore, can't interfere in other people's lives. In fact, they were even lucky in the adventure, because the Venezuelan protesters were content only to punch the van. If they had been consumed by the same hatred that plagues some imbecile Brazilians, who advocate for the death of Jô Soares simply for interviewing President Dilma Rousseff, the outcome of the tourist trip could have been tragic. It's a good thing the Venezuelans don't read the Brazilian press...