Political opposition in shambles in Venezuela as Chavez consolidates power

[Minstrel Boy]

Political opposition in shambles in Venezuela as Chavez consolidates power

Andrew Selsky
Nov 21

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Mass demonstrations that paralysed the capital are no more. A once-troubled economy is again robust and shoppers crowd malls in marked contrast with two years ago when stores were padlocked during a national strike aimed at toppling President Hugo Chavez. But underneath the veneer of normalcy in this oil-rich country is deep frustration felt by Chavez's opponents after three efforts to unseat him failed: a coup, the national strike and a referendum.

As Chavez moves to further centralize power and advance what he calls his revolution for the poor, the risk that extremists will turn to violence was underscored by the assassination Thursday of a state attorney who was intending to prosecute supporters of the failed 2002 coup.

...

In October, pro-Chavez candidates swept all but two of Venezuela's 23 governorships in regional elections. He is next set to strengthen his sway over parliament in congressional elections in July. With Chavez vowing to win presidential elections scheduled for 2006 and govern until 2013, the opposition sees itself in deep trouble.

Many of the 3.6 million Venezuelans who voted for ousting Chavez in the referendum feel there is nothing more they can do. They criticize Chavez for polarizing the South American country by vilifying the rich while pumping the country's oil wealth into food, health and education programs for the majority poor.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2004/11/21/724958-ap.html


Thread regarding the assassination of prosecutor Danilo Anderson:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1004686&mesg_id=1004686

[brainshrub]

1. Chavez is one of the few survivors of American foreign policy.

He refused to allow Venezuela to become a client-state for American corporate interests, and lived to talk about it.

My prediction: Forget Iran, we are going to do a full-scale invasion in Venezuela within the next few years. (Either that or Columbia will do it on our behest.)

[toska]

4. Don't know if Columbia will help

Saw an article recently that Venezula and Columbia were talking about a pipeline project that would transport oil to a terminal on the pacific ocean. That way China's oil tankers wouldn't have to go through the Panama canal.

[brainshrub]

8. In that case:

Watch Columbia get invaded first. There is no way in hell Washington will let China get a reliable source of cheap oil.

[burrowowl]

16. Colombia

has already been invaded.
And invaded again by Bu$h himself.

[AP]

10. Yeah. Venezuela has more wealth to offer Columbia than American.

That probably got Columbia thinking.

[veggiemama]

30. Chavez just inked a deal with Paraguay to supply its oil . . .

(sorry, I don't have a link for that since I heard it on EuroNews), and he's visiting Russia, Iran, and Libya in the coming days. Maybe he's going to quiz other OPEC members about switching to the Euro. That would certainly create a crisis for the Chimperor!

[Imperialism Inc.]

7. I hope not but it is hard to tell.

As toska noted, they seem to have made friends with Columbia so maybe the thugs have realized they are going to have to play ball with Chavez.
On the other hand, even after Chavez easily won his recall referendum , the Bush administration almost immediately imposed some kind of sanctions due to supposed "human trafficking". Not that the Venezuela gov't was involved but they claimed they aren't doing enough to stop it or some such thing.

[alittlelark]

2. He is in the * admin's cross-hairs

I wish him well, and hope he has GREAT security forces surrounding him.

[TankLV]

3. spending for food, health and education programs for the majority poor

What a horrible man this "dictator" must be!

Plus, fighting against the rich!

Ohmygod!

What's next? Charity? Peace? Tolerance?

Just what is that country coming to?!?!

[loritooker]

5. And, he called Bush an asshole!

[God of Emptiness]

18. Actually, he called him...

a "pendejo", which means dumbass. While I agree that Bush is a clueless moron that can't tell his ass from his elbow, calling him a dumbass is hardly "presidential". But then again, anyone who's actually watched Chavez speaking knows he's hardly presidential.

[Spazito]

19. If you use bush as the model of "presidential", I agree...

Chavez is working for the poor, bush is working for the rich. Hmmmm, presidential hardly covers it.

[God of Emptiness]

20. He's thrown some crumbs to the poor...

...while helping himself to who knows how many millions of dollars. There's more poverty today than when he took over almost 6 years ago.

[Bridget Burke]

21. Prove it....

Please supply some links to reputable sites.

[God of Emptiness]

22. Here you go...

http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2001/countryratings/venezuela.htm (scroll down)

http://www.analitica.com/va/ttim/international/7317929.asp

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_6_55/ai_98954243

http://www.fightthebias.com/Resources/Rec_Read/Dictator_In_The_Making.htm

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110005586

http://www.militaresdemocraticos.com/en/archivo.html

www.vcrisis.com

[Minstrel Boy]

23. nice reputable sites you have there

Chavez's social policy is hardly about throwing "crumbs to the poor." If it was, you wouldn't be here, would you?

It's a revolution of the poor.

And that's why you're here, isn't it, O aptly named "God of Emptiness"?

[God of Emptiness]

27. Well, first of all...

...it's what I found on Google. Second, I'm working, so it's not like I can spend all day surfing the web. Third, I'm Venezuelan and I know what's going on my country because I've seen it with my own eyes and because most of my family is still there and they're suffering under Chavez's regime. Believe it or not, a lot of these "fascists" opponents to Chavez's regime aren't exactly millionaires. Many of my relatives are struggling to make ends meet.

As for my screen name, it's just that--a screen name. If you must know, I got it from a Morbid Angel song.

[Spazito]

29. So, if many of your relatives are struggling, you must support

Chavez's raising the fees of US oil companies so that Venezuela receives more back for the sale of their resources. It only seems right, right?

[God of Emptiness]

34. Well...

I have an uncle who's worked for the government as a contractor for years (re-paving streets, building sidewalks, that sort of thing), but he hasn't gotten paid in about 2 years. Basically, they would give him projects, but he'd end up financing them himself (and going heavily into debt) because they never paid him (or at all). Finally he realized it was hopeless and decided to go into another type of business. Not sure what he's doing these days, though.

I have another uncle who worked for Edelca (Electricidad del Caroni--they operate the Guri hydro-electric plant) for many years. He retired a couple years ago, but never got his benefits/retirement plan. They basically told him he'll never get it since he "signed" (the petition for the referendum).

It ain't for lack of money, trust me.

[bin.dare]

43. G of E reminds of a teacher i had ...

whenever he wanted to make a point he would always begin "I have a friend ...", it seems the teacher training school he went to must have taught him to personalize the lessons. you also get this from the jesus freaks that accost you. and from the fakes like G of E, i think engaging on these boards is part of his training.

Minstrel Boy, do you remember a story a few months ago (maybe mid summer) about 800 new CIA agents for Argentina?

[Laughing Mirror]

32. In which link does it say Venezuela is poorer today than 6 years ago?

Despite all the nice things these articles have to say about Chavez, I have checked through them all and haven't been able to locate anything that says what you say. Can you be more specific? Except for a mention that when Chavez was elected some rich people pulled several billion dollars out of the country, all I could find in your links, God of Emptiness, was emptiness.

I was under the impression that Venezuela, mostly an oil economy, was actually currently flush with dollars from the jump in oil prices over the past year, now almost double what they were.

[God of Emptiness]

36. Sure, there's tons of dollars...

...but with the unnecessary exchange control the government imposed a couple years ago, they're damn near impossible to get. Of course, it's Chavez's way of "sticking it to the oligarchy". Funny thing is, Chavez and Co. have become the oligarchy.

[Carl Brennan]

37. Empty, if you don't mind me shortening your name,

can you point to the drift toward oligarchy with some half-way credible sources? Muchos Gracias.

[Laughing Mirror]

38. Damn near impossible to get for whom?

Who's trying to get their greedy paws on Venezuela's money? The former oligarchy? You?

[Spazito]

24. ROFL!

I suggest you look to more reputable sources for your information, you sound eerily like someone who would also defend bush for his championing of the rich.

[TankLV]

40. Didn't you used to post under a different name?

Just wondering.

Seem like we've all heard the crap you're spewing before - and those former posters didn't last long.

"enjoy" your stay while you can, I guess!

[Minstrel Boy]

26. "hardly presidential"

I know how hard it must be for some, to see a rough-hewn man of African and indigenous heritage, hold the office they believe to be theirs by privilege. And not only hold it, but grow in stature and popularity in the process.

It must be so frustrating.

[God of Emptiness]

28. FYI...

This whole "racism" in Venezuela is just a figment of Chavez's imagination. It's just laughable. My grandparents were an interracial couple (he was black, she was white) and no one ever said anything about it. There's a whole lot you don't know about Venezuela.

[SomthingsGotaGive]

31. Sure

lol

Figment of Chavez's imagination?

So your saying he actually believes there is institutional racism but that belief is only based on his imagination?

If so, it's amazing that Chavez was able to convince millions of people to also believe this fantasy he created.

One would think that only the truly delusional would accept such fantasy without a shred of evidence to back it up.

Much like those in the USA that believe Bush is a courageous leader.

Having interracial grandparents means you must be of mixed race. How have your experiences compared to Chavez's fantasy?

[God of Emptiness]

35. I never once experienced...

...racism of any kind. And neither did my grandparents as far as I know. I remember that in grade school they taught us about "mestizaje"--the mixing of all the races during colonial times. I had a black friend and a red-headed girlfriend of Italian descent. No one ever paid to attention to anyone's race--it was never an issue.

[AllyCat]

6. Hey, if foreigners can run for POTUS here next time,

maybe we can get Chavez to run in the US. Sounds like the liberal we might be looking for.

[AP]

9. They're in shambles because the CIA has pulled their funding.

I'm reading a book right now on the CIA, and this is their pattern. They finance political opposition. But if it doesn't work, they pull out the funding and try something else. With that recent bombing, I think it's obvious what they something else might be.

So, it's not that Chávez is centralizing power. He's being a good politician and doing his job and without money from America trying to fuck him over, he's temporarily experiencing what any good political leader should enjoy: and opposition without anything to run on, and therefore, disorganized.

Saying that he's centralizing power makes it's sound like he's doing something bad.

And the funny thing is, he's actually decentralizing power, and that's one of the reasons the opposition is in disarray. Chávez is doing good thing an they don't have better ideas.

[rockedthevoteinMA]

14. I just finished an article in Mother Jones today that mentioned

Our govt's involvement in things like that.

http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2004/11/11_401.html

"Several leaders of the demonstrations -- some of whom also had links to the armed rebels -- had been getting organizational help and training from a U.S. government-financed organization. The group, the International Republican Institute (IRI), is supposed to focus on nonpartisan, grassroots democratization efforts overseas. But in Haiti and other countries, such as Venezuela and Cambodia, the institute -- which, though not formally affiliated with the GOP, is run by prominent Republicans and staffed by party insiders -- has increasingly sided with groups seeking the overthrow of elected but flawed leaders who are disliked in Washington."

[daleo]

11. Feeding the poor, healing the sick, educating the ignorant

He sounds like history's greatest monster.

Time to fire up the propaganda machine and fuel up the bombers.

[Carl Brennan]

15. Sounds like something Jesus would say.

:evilgrin:

[TankLV]

41. Or find an "empty" poster to spew crap!

I think they're all crawling back outta the woodwork again!

They're baaaack!

[OutsourceBush]

12. Chavez won by the same computer voting machines Bush won by

so Bush can't really say too much.

[AP]

13. Actually, Chávez got rid of the ES&S machines and used machines

that created a paper trail. Basically they were electronci counters that printed up rcpts that dropped into a plexiglass box once they were reviewed and OK'd by the voter.

Americans would be LUCKY to have machines like that.

[loudsue]

17. I hope he finds a good prosecutor to replace Danilo Anderson...SOON

He needs to trace those right wing extremists' financing back to the neocons in America.....that is who financed them and supported them.

The bush neocons are HORRIFIED that some politician in this world actually supports the PEOPLE, over the rights of the corporations.

:kick::kick:

[Minstrel Boy]

25. the "Venezuelan tip of the global revolutionary iceburg"

From Franz JT Lee:

Before arming ourselves (like in Cuba) with all weapons that are necessary against a fascist mongrel, should we first wait "democratically" till "Big Brother" Bush has fetched all of us, one by one? Already over 20 massacred peasant leaders, Pulitti, Anderson, and many others, had to believe in it. Now, who knows who is next, Chávez or Baduel? In the end, should we wait for Washington to come and bomb our small towns to rubble and dust like in Fallujah?

...


Since the days of Simon Bolivar, never ever was an individual so socialized ... and never was Venezuelan society so individualized, never was a revolution ... the first one ever to occur in Venezuelan history, so 'transcendentalized,' so near to an emancipatory exodus, out of the closed capitalist system.

Precisely these facts make us nearly invincible, but also exceedingly vulnerable. After Fallujah, and other fascist genocides, by now, we should realize that "this planet has become a dangerous place to live on.... Yes, Chavez' friendly, international relations with Cuba, Libya, Iran, India and China, with the future "Eurasia," the coming arch-enemy of North American corporate imperialism, are driving Bush and the huge corporations that he represents to genocidal megalomania.

...

At the eleventh hour, this Venezuelan tip of the global revolutionary iceberg, is that what fascinates the world that still daydreams about human happiness, humanism, beauty, truth, love, solidarity and the future. Supporting anything else that comes from Washington is tantamount to reckless hara-kiri, to coward capitulation vis-a-vis World Fascism.

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=23626

[RedCloud]

33. Poder a los pobres

This is for the ex-patriot who feels Chavez is discriminating against his family. Chavez, in effect, smashed two powerful and decades old political parties (Social democrats and Christian Democrats) who had fallen out of touch with the needs of the majority of the people and used politics as a way to enrich themselves.

Perez (CAP) faked a nationalization of oil. The same US oil workers stayed on. It was a change in name only,

As far as race being an issue, it is not spoken about much. When it comes to worshiping non-Caucasian people, notice their sparsity in the media, the Miss Venezuela, etc. Just which race is being pumped by the media? Those criollos, while plentiful, are no where near their 90% constituency in the media, nor anywhere of power and influence.

While I spent a good number of years in Venezuela, I can say that the leftists had ideals and vision whereas the centrists just foamed at the mouth at how easy the oil money was...

[franmarz]

39. Go Chavez !

vilifying the rich while pumping the country's oil wealth into food, health and education programs for the majority poor.

That is EXACTLY what we need to do here.

[ellie]

42. Rock on Hugo!

How do you argue with people who feel this way: "They criticize Chavez for polarizing the South American country by vilifying the rich while pumping the country's oil wealth into food, health and education programs for the majority poor."

You don't and you can't!

[struggle4progress]

44. kick

:kick: