Monday, January 07, 2008

Animal Farm goes Venuzuelan

I loved the book Animal Farm. Although I knew at the time that the story referred to Soviet totalitarianism, the older I get the more I realize that it's pretty much allegorical of modern "do as I say, not as I do" politics that even the US must suffer.

This story of the capitalism-hating-but Gucci-and-Louis Vuitton-loving Venuzuelan Minster of Interior gave me a chuckle, because it was so blatantly hypocritical:

Pedro Carreño: The only way to justice is socialism, not capitalism. It's not that cannibalism that is in place in the United States . . .
Female Reporter (interrupting): And isn't it contradictory to speak of capitalism when you have a tie from Louis-Vuitton and shoes from [Gucci]?
Pedro Carreño (stumbling): I don't know, I . . . Of course, yes . . . It's not contradictory, because I would like for Venezuela to produce all of that.(...)

Love it! For those who can understand Spanish, there is a YouTube clip linked at that posting.