Then there are the government chavistas - Chávez's cronies. These soi-disant representatives and enforcers of popular power are making millions, even as they rail against the wealthy oligarchy against whom they say they must protect the Venezuelans. Chávez's former Vice-President, José Vicente Rangel, denounces those who live in the prosperous area of Altamira - but he lives in Altamira himself, surrounded by 20 bodyguards. Not for them the state schools, in which they profess so much faith. Their children attend the most prestigious private academies in Caracas, including the German, American and British schools.

A lot of money is also flowing to the opportunistic chavistas. Although not directly in government, these are the contractors, bankers and distributors who profit from the regime. They overcharge the government, or the end client, or both, pocket the difference and give a kickback to the minister in charge. Everyone is happy as the public coffers are emptied into their personal bank accounts and the sale of cars and luxury goods breaks all records. No better than British chavs, they'll buy anything as long as the logo is big enough.

But it is behind the crumbling walls of the Country Club mansions that the most pathetic chavistas are bred - the secret ones. They can no longer afford to keep up appearances since Chávez is nationalising estates of 100,000 acres or more. The Country Club used to name and shame those members remiss in their subscriptions on a wall. Now, the list is so embarrassingly long that the club has stopped. In order to restore their fortunes, some covert chavistas have grovelled to the government. At the same time they masquerade as principled members of the upper class and mock the heathen and gauche chavistas while playing golf or sipping a whiskicito at a drinks party. Yet they fret that the secret source of their restored glory will be discovered and they will be reviled by their old-money friends in the opposition.

After all, conspicuous consumption is no longer an option for non-chavistas, for among them Orwellian paranoia has set in. That
includes the Country Club set, which has retreated into a fortress mentality. The built-up walls surrounding their mansions now have electric wires above the spikes and are surveyed by video cameras and armed guards in fortified cubicles with bulletproof glass. But the guards themselves are often suspected as part of the problem, as probable chavistas. So arming your security guards, as my brother has done at his dairy farm, is no guarantee. He has stayed away in recent months for fear that he may land at the airstrip one day and find his weapons used against him. This fear and class hatred is part of Chávez's design. At the end of his TV speeches, there is a graphic incitement to violence - footage of the poor setting cars on fire, looting and throwing Molotov cocktails. It's no wonder the prices of apartments have skyrocketed while those of houses have remained flat.