A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days

Having failed in his recent effort to push through a referendum that would allow him to be President-for-Life of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez is now going back to basics:

With his popularity being eroded by food shortages, soaring inflation and endemic crime, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is beating a tactical retreat from his broader socialist agenda to concentrate on fixing policy bungles. But the retreat may only be temporary.

Mr. Chávez, 53, unveiled a major cabinet reshuffle Thursday that appeared designed to elevate quiet problem-solvers into positions heretofore held by ideological stalwarts. For example, Mr. Chávez swapped a vice president given to rousing rhetorical flourishes for a mild-mannered housing minister, one of 13 changes.

The cabinet reorganization was the latest in a series of moves by the leader of this oil-rich nation that signals a retrenchment after his electoral defeat last month, when voters rejected a constitutional referendum to expand the president's powers and allow him to be re-elected indefinitely. Mr. Chávez recently granted amnesty to jailed political opponents and signaled he will ease price controls that are creating food shortages.

The moves reflect a recognition that the populist's policies have created nagging economic and social problems.

To say the least. Of course, as the Wall Street Journal article makes clear, all of this is merely a tactical retreat instead of a fundamental change in Chavez's governing style and it represents the political need to respond to the demands of the poor; Chavez's constituency. Chavez has engaged in the politics of self-aggrandizement for so long that the poor have become disillusioned with his leadership and if Chavez loses their backing, his government may fall. Once he feels that he has re-consolidated his standing with his natural constituency, Chavez will go back to his self-glorification project and his campaign to force socialism down Venezuela's throat--the disastrous economic and social consequences of such a move be damned.

And it should be mentioned that despite this temporary return to semi-normalcy in Venezuela, the country still experiences a sufficient bout of the crazy:

. . . In a bid this month to cool down inflation and bolster the currency, Mr. Chávez renamed the currency the "Strong Bolivar" and chopped three zeros off the notes. He also threatened to fine media outlets that mention the black-market rate for the dollar. Some outlets are dodging the threat by calling it the "unmentionable" rate.

Other moves may not be so popular. Mr. Chávez has reduced the dollar amount of purchases over the Internet that Venezuelans can make to $400 per year from $4,000. Many Venezuelans were using the Internet purchases to arbitrage Venezuela's official and black-market exchange rates. But the limitation will certainly inflame opposition among the middle class.

Living in Venezuela increasingly resembles a long and bad acid trip, doesn't it?