Capriles mocks "skin-deep" socialists before Venezuela vote
Source: Reuters
CARACAS - Venezuela's opposition presidential candidate tore into government leaders on Wednesday as false revolutionaries lining their pockets while professing faith to the late Hugo Chavez's radical socialism.
Trailing in opinion polls ahead of the April 14 vote, Henrique Capriles is attacking acting President Nicolas Maduro and other senior officials as a corrupt and incompetent coterie unable to solve Venezuelans' basic problems.
"They talk of socialism, but it's on the surface only. Look how those well-connected ones live, what they wear, what cars they go round in, how many bodyguards they have," Capriles said.
"They are skin-deep socialists only. Their behavior, I'd say, is savage capitalism. They love traveling. During Easter, they were all off to La Orchila," he added, referring to a military-run island in the Caribbean off Venezuela.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/03/us-venezuela-election-idUSBRE93211120130403
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denverbill
(11,489 posts)I'm sure it won't be long before I see my first 'Maduro is a dictator' post, because he wins the election handily.
Pretty funny how Capriles last resort is to call Maduro insufficiently socialist, when Capriles is actively anti-socialist.
Perseus
(4,341 posts)Ok Bill, not sure how much you know about Venezuela, but you are missing the point of the post...
The difference is that Capriles has never claimed to be a socialist, and he doesn't want to be either, but Chavez and his gang do, but they live like kings...they are oligarchs disguised in socialist suits...why don't you do some research and learn about the wealth of the Chavez family today, which was accumulated during Chavez reign...rags to riches? yes, but how?
Not sure if you have ever lived in Venezuela, but if you don't then I suggest that before you criticize Capriles and show so much support for Maduro that you learn more about the realities of the mess that Chavez left in that country, or simply make a visit.
I will not deny that Chavez had some very good ideas, but ideas are nothing when you surround yourself with incompetent people who are only interested in robbing the country, and that is what Maduro, Deosdado Cabellos, the Chavez family, etc. have done and want to continue doing.
SkyDaddy7
(6,045 posts)Thanks! It is nice to see not everyone worships Chavez here on DU. The man does some things for the poor & publicly attacks George Bush & this is enough for many here on DU to overlook his treatment of the Jews, the media, etc., Anyone who brings up many of Chavez's faults here on DU is usually met with anger & disdain.
Seriously, i would NEVER EVER want to live in a country run by a Chavez like person...If you are not poor then you are threat to him & must be very careful what you do or say or you could lose all your property & be put in jail like so many others have under his & similar regimes.
Hell, Chavez run half the Jewish population out of Venezuela!! SAD!!
Taverner
(55,476 posts)And when he shared the oil wealth with them, my god that was horrible!
Peace Patriot
(24,010 posts)... in support of the election of Henrique Capriles: Venezuelan elections are unfair and rigged.
Jimmy Carter took care of that one, with his recent statement that Venezuela has "the best election system in the world." So they're on to No. 2.
2nd RW/Corporate "talking point" in support of the election of Henrique Capriles: The Chavez government is corrupt, its members are into greed and it is not socialist.
The Venezuelan people--who are in the best position to know--will take care of this one on election day. Nicholas Maduro is going to be elected president, possibly by an even bigger margin than Chavez in the November election last year.
We've seen the first "talking point" time and again, in the Corporate Media and by RW posters here at DU, recently--using the "Big Lie" technique that Josef Stalin was famous for (repetition of a lie until it gains an aura of truth because that's all anybody ever hears). And we're likely to see this other one--corrupt, not socialist--trumpeted throughout the world in support of the election of Henrique Capriles, and for another reason, since Corporate Media support does Capriles no good with Venezuelan voters. This is a losing Corporate Media campaign--as was every Corporate Media campaign against Chavez.
The other reason? To fuddle the minds of Rotters', the Associated Pukes' and other corporate news consumers in the "developed world" so that they will never guess that there is an alternative to "austerity" for the poor while the rich get richer.
That is really the primary purpose of this Corporate Media campaign--to disinform the people in the countries that the Corporate Rulers are now looting--the U.S., England and Europe. They looted Latin America for many decades, inducing widespread poverty, loss of government services and government bankruptcies--but the Latin Americans fought back, first of all by creating honest, transparent election systems, and also by awesome grass roots organizing--and the countries with Leftist governments (Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay and others) are now reaping the benefits of government "of, by and for" the people, among other things, by the creation of booming economies. (Basic Keynesianism--or "New Deal" economics: put money in the hands of the poor majority and provide opportunity--education, health care, jobs, subsidies where necessary--and THEY will build a healthy economy; also, REGULATE the banksters and speculators!)
We've also heard--in addition to slandering of the election system and the Chavez government--that Nicolas Maduro is a stupid buffoon, a fool, subject to paranoid delusions and so forth (most of this because he kicked several USAF intelligence agents, parading as 'diplomats,' out of the country, for colluding on a coup--and the Corporatists are still mad about the foiling of that one). They also want us to think that Venezuelan voters are stupid fools and uneducated peasants to keep voting for leaders who cut poverty by 50% and extreme poverty by over 75%, who doubled college enrollment (free to the poor), and have provided health care to the poor--for many, the first time in their lives they've seen a doctor--and who have created high employment, good wages and benefits and startling growth in the PRIVATE sector, and who kicked Exxon Mobil and their ilk out of the Venezuela, and re-negotiated the oil contracts to give Venezuelans a better deal.
Stupid peasants? Yeah, right. These are very smart voters, as they have proven time and again. They have excellent reasons for supporting Maduro, as they had excellent reasons, time and again, for supporting Chavez. Are some people getting rich? Maybe so. That's a flaw. It's not a perfect society, by any means. But Venezuelan voters DON'T CARE what problems may still remain BECAUSE the Chavez government has SOLVED SO MANY SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS and they quite justifiably trust that it will continue to do so, with Maduro as President.
Venezuelan voters also, by the way--just after they re-elected Chavez last fall--threw out most of the rightwing governors in favor of chavistas! No fools they! They want to SECURE their "New Deal." And it is THAT "New Deal" that the Corporate Rulers DON'T WANT US TO KNOW ABOUT, and want us to believe is a failure or a dictatorship or 'the ruination of Venezuela.' This couldn't be further from the truth. Venezuelan is, in fact, a REAL democracy--unlike our own.
Judi Lynn
(160,622 posts)the moment they realized Hugo Chavez was dying, ripping, tearing away at him like a pack of wild tumors.
Tumors with teeth, or keyboards.
Their openings directed the world to behold the "record" the man had, the "record" of having driven a bus as a young man. Maduro became "former bus driver" Maduro.
When they stood back to start reaping the scorn, the sneers, the snotty stink-eyes they anticipated from the people, they started noting with horror, apparently, the fact the workers of the world probably didn't find that payload they delivered any too mock-worthy. People don't find it worth shrieking and rending their hair that Maduro actually worked, god forbid, before he entered politics.
No one came forward to spit the first "lugie" over it. In their haste, they failed to realize the working people of the world don't share their horror, their disdain for working people.
What went wrong, corporate toads?
So now, as we wait, they retire to their circle jerks to try to huddle and start pulling their next insults out of their unwell cavities. And since they control the "news" we gotta make small talk amongst ourselves, or try to read a good book, and wait until they come up with their next filthy stunt. What we've seen so far has been a real education in how low human beings can fall if they have no ambition to be decent.
