Hugo Chávez, often heard throwing punches at other countries is throwing them now at his own countrymen. One term has been uttered, according to AFP, “an average of ten times per speech” in his latest appearances: Pitinyanqui.

Pitinyanqui is a Venezuelanism meant to qualify those who look up to the United States too much or imitates Americans. Chávez is making the term his own to call out sell-outs and what he considers “a new enemy for Venezuela”: “vendepatria”, “arrastrado”, “oligarca” “lleno de amargura”, sinvergüenza y anti-revolucionario.

“The pitiyanquis should give thanks to God because this revolution is peaceful. Because there are many of us and if it was violent there wouldn’t be even one trace of pitiyanqui in this country,” the Venezuelan leader recently said.

Pitiyanqui, a word that should be pronounced with disgust to be believable, has become a recurring theme in the pre-campaign for the regional elections in November, in which Chávez risks more than just a handful of states.

I know sellouts exist but it seems this rhetoric of division might backfire in Chávez’s face. Venezuelans might believe that the U.S. or Colombia is an enemy — there is good reason to think so — but their own countrymen might be a harder sell.

Via / AFP