What? No Singing in the Shower?

Back in 2006, when Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez gave a UN address shortly after George W. Bush left the podium, he took a quick swipe at the former president, comparing him to the devil, remarking that the lectern "still smells of sulphur."

A few weeks ago during his latest UN speech, in a nod to President Barrack Obama, said that the podium no longer reeked of sulphur. "No, It smells of something else," he said. "It smells of hope."

But it's going to take a lot more than hope, and diplomatic jokes, to solve Venezuela's severe electricity and water shortages, which are hitting crisis levels for South America's largest oil-exporter. Besides the 25 percent increase in energy demand that has gone unmet over the past decade, the main problem is El Niño, which is now causing drought conditions throughout Venezuela, a country highly reliant on hydroelectric power.

Things are so bad, in fact, that last week Venezuela created an all-new Ministry of Electric Energy to deal with the crisis. Among other measures, all public offices will be forced to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent, and imports of high-consumption electronic equipment will now be forbidden. Meanwhile, Chávez scolded average Venezuelans on television for... huh? Singing in the shower?

"No estamos en tiempos de jacuzzi," he told the nation. "This isn't an era for Jacuzzis. There are people who can sing in the shower for a half hour! I have counted, and three minutes is more than sufficient for a shower. I don't come away stinking."

First sulphur. Now body odor. While it's nice to know Señor Presidente's olfactory senses are well up to snuff, it looks like the Venezuelan environment will breathe a nice sigh of relief, compliments of El Niño.

Meanwhile, the critics aren't passing up the opportunity for some down-home tongue-in-cheek humor. Some are calling Chávez's answer to the crisis the "communist three-minute shower," and like Chávez, a guy in the popular forum Meneame also timed his shower, stating he could take one in 45 seconds without stinking.

Regardless, it looks like Venezuelans will be counting the days until they can once again chime out their favorite Los Amigos Invisibles hits while spraying off. Let's hope the crisis doesn't last too long.

Photo courtesy sanberdoo via Flickr Creative Commons.