Venezuela Bars Foreign Funding for NGOs

[steven johnson]

Source: Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A congress dominated by President Hugo Chavez's allies has passed a law that bars foreign funding for nongovernment organizations and political parties, adding to a series of measures that government opponents say are aimed at cracking down on dissent.

The law approved by the National Assembly late Tuesday puts in jeopardy human rights groups and other organizations that receive foreign funding. Organizations that receive money from abroad may be fined up to double the amount of funding received.

It is one of many controversial measures Chavez's government is pushing through in the final weeks of an outgoing congress that had only a token opposition presence. A new legislature with a much larger bloc of opposition deputies takes office on Jan. 5.

Opposition lawmaker Juan Jose Molina said on Twitter that the law "criminalizes and persecutes the democratic opposition" and harms the work of nongovernmental groups that serve a vital function in Venezuelan society.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/12/22/world/americas/AP-LT-Venezuela-Chavez.html?_r=1&ref=news

[leveymg]

1. What a shame. The pool bar at the Caracas Hilton makes a mean Margarita.

Venezuela used to be considered one of the better Agency, er, make that NGO, postings in L.A.

[bitchkitty]

7. LOL n/t

[sam kane]

54. +2 nt.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Are US political party candidates allowed foreign funding ?

.

[tpsbmam]

10. It's illegal....doesn't stop Republicans though.

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/13/chamber-foreign-funded-media/

Last week, ThinkProgress published an exclusive story about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s foreign fundraising operation. We noted the Chamber raises money from foreign-owned businesses for its 501(c)(6) entity, the same account that finances its unprecedented $75 million dollar partisan attack ad campaign. While the Chamber is notoriously secretive, the thrust of our story involved the disclosure of fundraising documents U.S. Chamber staffers had been distributing to solicit foreign (even state-owned) companies to donate directly to the Chamber’s 501(c)(6).

We documented three different ways the Chamber fundraises from foreign corporations:
(more at link)

The Chamber is being deceptive. In addition to multinational members of the Chamber headquartered abroad (like BP, Shell Oil, and Siemens), a new ThinkProgress investigation has identified at least 84 other foreign companies that actively donate to the Chamber’s 501(c)(6). (list at link)


http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S._Chamber_of_Commerce

U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a powerful business lobbying group in the United States that "has become a fully functional part of the partisan Republican machine" since CEO and president Thomas J. Donohue took office in 1997. Prior to Donohue's tenure, the Chamber "used to be a trade association that advocated in a bipartisan manner for narrowly tailored policies to benefit its members." <1> The Chamber's 2010 budget is approximately $200 million, but as a trade organization, its donors can remain anonymous. <2>

http://blogs.reuters.com/frontrow/2010/10/21/pelosi-takes-on-chamber-of-commerce-over-campaign-spending/

Most spending backs Republicans more than 90 percent of the time

(as far as I can tell, it's 100% of the time)

[dipsydoodle]

13. Exactly

so why would anyone want to whine about Hugo ? :shrug:

[Nuclear Unicorn]

20. Apples and oranges. These are NON-government organizations

Not affiliated with a political party.

Many disaster relief organizations with international funding streams are recognized by the UN. Why should Venezuela consider these groups a threat?

[EFerrari]

22. NON government organizations are favorite front groups

for the State Department/CIA in Latin America. Have been for decades.

[AngryAmish]

80. Like GreenPeace, perfect example.

[AngryAmish]

81. Or Wikileaks, another well known CIA run NGO

[AngryAmish]

86. Amnesty International, another CIA front

[AngryAmish]

87. Human Rights Watch, funded by CIA

I might go on for days.

[bemildred]

24. How can you be "non-governmental" when you are funded by a foreign government?

Eh? I mean what does "non-governmental" mean if not independent of governments? Freddy Mac and Fanny Mae are not governments, but they are not non-governmental, and they sure as hell are not independent, and the same applies to any other organization that relies on government funding. These NGO equivalents of astroturf are proliferating like fleas on the hind end of a stray dog.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

30. The OP says nothing about foreign governments only foreign funds, period.

Plenty of solid progressive causes operate through NGOs. It makes no sense to exclude legitmate causes with blanket declarations.

One might as well claim a few welfare scammers invalidates the entire institution of welfare.

[EFerrari]

32. Nope. NGOs are the favored launderers for destabilization $$ in Latin America.

And, btw, Venezuela doesn't need "welfare". If anything, they need tech and they have been working on networking around the US for that.

[bemildred]

34. It mentions a number actually, AID for one, and NED.

You ought to read it. But it is AP, so don't expect too much.

[bemildred]

35. Here, try this one:

US State Department documents declassified under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) evidence more than $4 million USD in funding to journalists and private media in Venezuela during the last three years. This funding is part of the more than $40 million USD international agencies are investing annually in anti-Chavez groups in Venezuela in an attempt to provoke regime change. The funding has been channeled directly by the State Department through three US agencies: Panamerican Development Foundation (PADF), Freedom House, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

In a blatant attempt to hide their activities, the State Department has censored the names of organizations and journalists receiving these multimillion-dollar funds. However, one document dated July 2008 mistakenly left unveiled the names of the principal Venezuelan groups receiving the funds: Espacio Publico (Public Space) and Instituto de Prensa y Sociedad (Institute for Press and Society “IPYS”). Espacio Publico and IPYS are the entities charged with coordinating the distribution of the millions in State Department funds to private media outlets and Venezuelan journalists working to promote US agenda.

---

One of the PADF programs, which received $699,996 USD from the State Department in 2007, “supported the development of independent media in Venezuela” and “journalism via innovative media technologies”. The documents evidence that more than 150 Venezuelan journalists were trained by US agencies and at least 25 web pages were created with US funding.

During the past two years, there has been a proliferation of web pages, blogs, and Twitter, MySpace and Facebook users in Venezuela, the majority of whom use these media outlets to promote anti-Chavez messages and disseminate distorted and false information about the country’s political and economic reality.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x46307

[Nuclear Unicorn]

38. So in other words: pre-emptively ban all NGOs

No adjudication, no finding of facts, just a blanket ban.

If that is what Bush wants than that is what Bush should get because, after all, there are threats and the people need to be protected for their own good and Bush knows how to best save us from the subversive threat of Isla---

Oh, my bad, I was having a flashback.

This is Dear Uncle Hugo, so it's all good.

[EFerrari]

39. Maybe you should read anything about NGOs in Latin America.

If you think this practice is confined to Venezuela, you're very much mistaken.

[bemildred]

41. Nice straw man. nt

[Nuclear Unicorn]

47. Nice non-answer

If there is one constant among the Dear Uncle Hugo set is the ol' "Yes, but look what the USA has done in the past!" as an explanantion as to why all things suspicious/controversial MUST be the USA's fault in the present.

THAT is a strawman.

I've asked if Obama is really a neocon puppet actively, consciously working for evil empires only to be told past is prologue to the present.

Obama?

An emperor (puppet)?

If that is the depth to which the Dear Uncle Hugo set must stoop to justify Dear Uncle Hugo's paranoia and power grabs I could only imagine what would be the excuse if Howard Dean was president (can zombie mind-control rays be far off?).

Please tell me why, after 9/11, the Patriot Act was far too invasive (and it is) but Dear Uncle Hugo is making every effort to stifle people from running charities and printing editorials which grow truer by the day?

And if you say the coup of years ago I will ask why, if Bush was an idiot for listening to "My Pet Goat" after being told of the 2nd plane crash then Dear Uncle Hugo must have waited all these years to hear-out the collected works of Tolstoy.

The fact is, he seizes more and more power so the people reject him and criticize him so his remedy is to seize more and more power.

It is the tell-tale of all dictators to claim they need just one more emergency power and all will be well. Until they need the next emergency power.

If it's good enough for Chavez it's good enough for Bush. Right?

[bemildred]

53. You don't have to answer straw men, they are fake arguments. nt

[Nuclear Unicorn]

60. Nonsense

Just declaring something does not make it so.

Here, let's try it out.

<retort>argumentum ad absurdum

There! You lose!

I don't have to respond to you because your post was too absurd.</retort>

Lost in that was any explanation as to why the impugned statement should be classified as a fallacy let alone a particular fallacy. For all the on-looker knows the charge fallacy was misapplied. Perhaps a different form of fallacious reasoning of the orignal statement would apply but we would never know because the person offering the retort never took the time to explain themselves. They just blurted out their victory speech, stuck their fingers in their ears and cried "La-la-la-la-la!"

But hey, why bother with answering points in a discussion when you can just have your critics declared illegal and taken by police to the nearest jail.

If memory serves you support that as well.

[bemildred]

61. It is you that spout nonsense.

I point out that the issue is government money in "NGOs" and you say I want to ban all NGOs. THAT is nonsense.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

64. And I point out not all NGOs take government money but Dear Uncle Hugo's ban still effects them

Yet, you have supported Dear Uncle Hugo's decree the entire thread without caveat or sense of discrimination.

One might as well support the blanket wire-tapping of ALL mosques after 9/11. After all, SOME people claiming to be Muslim murdered 3,000 innocent people ergo since SOME members of a particular designation have been found to be bad actors necessity dictates we treat ALL members of the designated group as suspicious.

But this isn't even monitoring this is an outright ban. Genuine charities has been greeted by threats of legal sanction because some petulant schoolyard bully suddenly developed a xenophobic streak.

[bemildred]

66. Ah, yes, more straw men. nt

[formercia]

42. The Peace Corps bans former CIA from joining

for good reason. It's been SOP to use NGOs as a cutout for operations. The people of Latin America are finally getting their voice and putting an end to this game.

[bemildred]

43. You know, I've heard that Obama has "decree powers" too, have you ever heard of such a thing?

:hi:

[formercia]

45. Decree Powers

Like telling the girls when to go to bed on school nights.

:hi:

[mudplanet]

57. It's a little like throwing the baby out with the bathwater

but if they picked and chose we'd hear screams of dictator.

Millions of dollars annually are funneled from the US government to NGOs in Venezuela that are front groups for anti-Chavez activity.

[EFerrari]

3. This is great news. Let the right wing pay for its own propaganda. n/t

[Cutatious]

4. Yeah, NGOs like the Red Cross and other humanitarian NGOs

are not needed in Huge Ego's paradise.

[Wilms]

5. My guess is it's the front groups he's after.

Not that the US would be involved in any skulduggery in LA.

:sarcasm:

[hughee99]

8. Well of course he is, but he's casting a very wide net.

but at least this will keep CIA front groups like the Red Cross, Amnesty International, Greenpeace and Médecins Sans Frontières out.

[EFerrari]

12. No, it will keep front groups from influencing elections.

The legitimate groups can apply for waivers to do real work and they'll get them.

Don't forget, Wikileaks proved that our Ambassador in Bolivia really was recruiting Peace Corps volunteers and Fulbright Scholars to spy for us.

[hughee99]

14. I didn't see anything in the article about that,

though admittedly, I didn't actually read the bill. If this is the case, this is a completely reasonable action.

[Tempest]

17. See Judi's post (#6)

That's what he's going after.

[Bacchus39]

18. yes, that is the question. does it ban just "political" activities or everything

if it bans medical aid, food aid, agricultural assistance, humanitarian assisstance, natural resource restoration and preservation, not such a good idea unless Ven simply decides to fund all those activities themselves.

[EFerrari]

23. Since Venezuela needs tech not money, that's moot. n/t

[Bacchus39]

26. oh thats right, Venezuela has achieved perfection in all those areas

you should look into how many NGOs operate in Venezuela and see what types of activities they perform before jumping on the band wagon. No skin off my back though. I loved this quote from Eva's rant though. Looks like facebook is on the target list.

"During the past two years, there has been a proliferation of web pages, blogs, and Twitter, MySpace and Facebook users in Venezuela, the majority of whom use these media outlets to promote anti-Chavez messages and disseminate distorted and false information about the country’s political and economic reality."

as you would say: LOL

[EFerrari]

27. You might trying reading the posts you respond to before hitting "send". n/t

[Bacchus39]

28. and you should consider proof reading before hitting "reply" n/t

s

[EFerrari]

29. I actually have a yearly proof-reading disclaimer.

Sorry, already covred.

[Bacchus39]

36. well it looks like Ven will be funding its own tech advancement

I assume this applies to all foreign sources of money not just from the US. not a big issue for me, just seems a rather short sighted policy. NGOs that can't receive foreign contributions may not be able to function in whatever capacity they specialize in. oh well.

[EFerrari]

11. Venezuela doesn't really need foreign money to take care of

its problems like poor countries do. What's the point?

Boy, you guys really hate it when Latin American countries assert their sovereignty.

[Tempest]

16. See post #6

Those are the groups Chavez is targeting.

[DeSwiss]

73. Actually.....

...with the way things are going we could use them here.

- You know, like minding our own damned business for a change???

[Judi Lynn]

6. Buying the Press. Documents reveal multimillion-dollar funding to journalists and media in Venezuela

Buying the Press. Documents reveal multimillion-dollar funding to journalists and media in Venezuela
July 27, 2010

US State Department documents declassified under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) evidence more than $4 million USD in funding to journalists and private media in Venezuela during the last three years. This funding is part of the more than $40 million USD international agencies are investing annually in anti-Chavez groups in Venezuela in an attempt to provoke regime change. The funding has been channeled directly by the State Department through three US agencies: Panamerican Development Foundation (PADF), Freedom House, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

In a blatant attempt to hide their activities, the State Department has censored the names of organizations and journalists receiving these multimillion-dollar funds. However, one document dated July 2008 mistakenly left unveiled the names of the principal Venezuelan groups receiving the funds: Espacio Publico (Public Space) and Instituto de Prensa y Sociedad (Institute for Press and Society “IPYS”). Espacio Publico and IPYS are the entities charged with coordinating the distribution of the millions in State Department funds to private media outlets and Venezuelan journalists working to promote US agenda.

~snip~
FUNDING FOR ANTI-CHAVEZ WEB PAGES

One of the PADF programs, which received $699,996 USD from the State Department in 2007, “supported the development of independent media in Venezuela” and “journalism via innovative media technologies”. The documents evidence that more than 150 Venezuelan journalists were trained by US agencies and at least 25 web pages were created with US funding.

During the past two years, there has been a proliferation of web pages, blogs, and Twitter, MySpace and Facebook users in Venezuela, the majority of whom use these media outlets to promote anti-Chavez messages and disseminate distorted and false information about the country’s political and economic reality.

More:
http://www.mediamatters.com.ng/?p=115

[Bacchus39]

19. written by Eva Golinger, a Chavez shill the accuracy is very much in question

however, I did enjoy this:

During the past two years, there has been a proliferation of web pages, blogs, and Twitter, MySpace and Facebook users in Venezuela, the majority of whom use these media outlets to promote anti-Chavez messages and disseminate distorted and false information about the country’s political and economic reality.

hahhahhaha

[EFerrari]

25. From CEPR yesterday:

Television in Venezuela: Who Dominates the Media?
AddThis
December 2010, Mark Weisbrot and Tara Ruttenberg

It is commonly reported in the international press, and widely believed, that the government of President Hugo Chávez controls the media in Venezuela. For example, writing about Venezuela’s September elections for the National Assembly, the Washington Post’s deputy editorial page editor and columnist, Jackson Diehl, referred to the Chávez “regime’s domination of the media...” In an interview on CNN, Lucy Morillon of Reporters Without Borders stated, “President Chávez controls most of the TV stations.” And on PBS in November 2010, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega stated that the Venezuelan media is “virtually under the control of Chávez.” Such statements are made regularly in the major media and almost never challenged. However, it is clear from the data in this issue brief, based on household surveys over a 10-year period, that statements about the Venezuelan government “controlling” or “dominating” the media are not only exaggerated, but simply false.

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/who-dominates-the-media-in-venezuela

[Nuclear Unicorn]

31. The mullahs in Iran say the same thing. Good thing Chavez and Iran aren't...

...oh, wait.

[EFerrari]

33. Last I heard, the Heritage Foundation is still flogging the story

that Chavez sends yellow cake to Iran on daily flights. Of course, there are no uranium mines in Venezuela but they don't seem to care about that little detail.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

37. And?

Iran and Chavez are chummy with each other, yellow cake or no.

[EFerrari]

40. You bet. And it drives the State Department nuts.

:)

[MrBig]

46. It doesn't drive you nuts?

I mean, an alleged left-wing socialist country in Venezuela is chummy with a far right-wing theocracy with a history of human rights abuses. Shouldn't the left-wing socialist country be against what the right-wing theocracy stands for?

Or as long as both are anti-US, we can forget that little detail...right?

[EFerrari]

49. Our human rights abuses drive me nuts.

Maybe we should fix those before we worry about Iran's.

[MrBig]

50. So...

are you saying that US citizens are more important or more deserving of support than people in Iran or Venezuela? Otherwise, why would you dismiss human rights abuses in Iran or Venezuela by simply saying "well, the US has human rights abuses also." I don't know about you, but I think all people are created equal.

Plus, you didn't address the actual point of the comment. Does it bother you that Venezuela is chummy with a right-wing theocracy? If it doesn't bother you, why not?

[EFerrari]

51. No, I'm saying that as a citizen of the United States, my first concern

should be the human rights abuses perpetrated by my own government because as a citizen that is my responsibility.

There is nothing in that statement that dismisses human rights abuses wherever they occur.

And no, I'm not bothered in the least that Venezuela has a relationship with Iran. The non-aligned countries have to band together against the abuses of our government. Plus, why should it bother me more or less than our relationship with China, Indonesia, the Saudis, Israel or Colombia? Iran doesn't even make the top ten most abusive governments. Let alone, lol, Venezuela.

[mudplanet]

58. Yea, Iran. Another democracy that was overthrown by the US who then

installed and supported a brutal dictator. It reminds one of, what, your typical Latin American country.



Can't they see we're their friends? Pay no attention to what we've done in every Latin American country in which we've interfered - we want you to have the blessings of democracy and freedom(and if we have to ram a brutal military dictatorship down your throat to prove it to you we will).

[formercia]

44. "little details"

Like the truth.

Their propaganda is almost comical if you understand the agenda.

[DeSwiss]

74. Shill? Proof? None?

Thought so.

[Judi Lynn]

76. She is citing information taken from declassified documents of the U.S. Government,

obtained through the F.O.I.A. like the following:

FUNDING TO UNIVERSITIES

The declassified State Department documents also reveal more than $716,346 USD in funding via Freedom House in 2008, for an 18-month project seeking to “strengthen independent media in Venezuela”. This project also funded the creation of a “resource center for journalists” in an unnamed Venezuelan university. “The center will develop a community radio, website and training workshops”, all funded by the State Department.

Another $706,998 USD was channeled through PADF to “promote freedom of expression in Venezuela” through a two-year project focusing on “new media technologies and investigative journalism”. “Specifically, PADF and its local partner will provide training and follow-up support in innovative media technologies and formats in several regions throughout Venezuela…This training will be compiled and developed into a university-level curriculum”.

Another document evidences three Venezuelan universities, Universidad Central de Venezuela (Central University of Venezuela “UCV”), Universidad Metropolitana (Metropolitan University) and Universidad Santa Maria (St. Mary’s University), which incorporated courses on media studies into their curriculums, designed and funded by the State Department. These three universities have been the principal launching pad for the anti-Chavez student movements during the past three years.

PADF also received $545,804 USD for a program titled “Venezuela: The Voices of the Future”. This project, which allegedly lasted one year, was devoted to “developing a new generation of independent journalists through a focus on new media technologies”. PADF also funded various blogs, newspapers, radio stations and television stations in regions throughout Venezuela, to ensure the “publication” of reports and articles by the “participants” in the program.

It's a pathetic lament to claim she's a shill when she is using REAL information taken from REAL sources.

Media Matters, the organization which printed U.S. citizen Eva Golinger's article has an excellent reputation. Nice try.

[T Wolf]

9. I would say Venezuela is taking extreme action to protect itself against undercover invasion by

reich-wing forces aligned with the US.

If the US did not use these groups to undermine a democratically-elected government, there would be no need for this action. But since it does, their response is understandable and justified.

Sometimes there are consequences. Not often for the righists, but sometimes.

[Tempest]

15. You really can't say it's extreme

It's their sovereignty we're talking about here.

[T Wolf]

21. I stand corrected. I do firmly believe in the Prime Directive. Their actions only seem

"extreme" to Americans who (falsely) believe that we have freedoms here.

I totally agree with actions taken to lessen the interference that the US perpetrates in foreign countries. These moves do that and I support them.

Sorry for the sloppy language and thanks for clarifying what I was trying to say. :thumbsup:

[Creative]

48. Every time I look around, Venezuela (chavez) is banning something else.

By the time the 2012 elections occur, voting will probably be banned.

[boppers]

52. No, voting won't be banned. The state, however, will take care of doing it for the people.

That way, the evil "Yanqui" menace won't prevent the Venezuela people from getting what they've been told they want.

[Posteritatis]

56. And way too many people here will stand up and cheer when that happens. (nt)

[Tempest]

68. Of course that's what you see

It's what the MSM wants you to see.

Unless you search for your news outside of the MSM (international sources), that's all you'll ever see.

[boppers]

72. If you did not read PRAVDA, all you heard about the USSR was pretty bad.

Funny how that works.

I hear that Kim Jong Il is a pretty amazing golfer, according to North Korean press.

[dipsydoodle]

55. K & R

:hi:

[cali]

59. taken by itself, this doesn't seem terribly

onerous. Combined with other recent measures such as the law proposed forcing legislators to vote with their party and the rather draconian internet restrictions, it paints a slightly different picture.

[davidinalameda]

62. the political parties funding ban I support

but NGOs

no

[Zorro]

63. So will Chavez likewise stop sending money to influence foreign elections?

It's not been that long ago since Venezuelan agents confessed and were convicted for attempting to funnel $400K to influence the Argentine presidential election.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

65. I wonder if this should include VZ fuel oil shipments to the US

just sayin'

[David__77]

67. You think any country is diligently consistent in that manner?

That would is unheard of mainly because it would be foolish.

[Tempest]

69. Do you have a cite for that?

Venezuelan agents confessed and were convicted for attempting to funnel $400K to influence the Argentine presidential election.

I can't find any cite for that statement. All I can find are U.S. accusations.

[Zorro]

70. Sure

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/23/AR2008102303364.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/03/AR2008110303235.html

Looks like it was actually $800k. My bad.

[Tempest]

82. Thanks! n/t

[boppers]

71. Uhm, Honduras, too.

A foreign country printed up the ballots for an illegal (according to the government) election vote.

Not just funneling money, actually printing the ballots.

[Judi Lynn]

75. The ballots were printed by a BUSINESS in Venezuela, not by the Venezuelan government.

It's a distinction most DU'ers noted at the time it was discussed here.

It was a fact rightists lept upon and worked as hard as they could, but the fact kept coming back the business which printed the ballots was NOT connected to the Venezuelan government.

[boppers]

77. Link please? Maybe an old archive?

This is something I hadn't been aware of, I thought the Venezuelan government was involved.

[Judi Lynn]

78. Here's one reference from D.U., among many:

The ballots were printed in Venezuela, but were not shipped by the Venezuelan government.

From subsuelo (1000+ posts) Mon Jul-27-09 12:43 PM
Original message
Facts that should be known about the military coup in Honduras

http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x20073

~~~
There are others, but this is the one I'll post since I'm attempting to be present in my life tonight. You are welcome to look for more yourself.

This is only one of the threads on which this subject was discussed.

[boppers]

79. "Were not shipped" is a matter of their movement, not their printing.

I'm looking around for more.

[Tempest]

83. A distinction which very much needs to be cleared up.

Good catch.

[Judi Lynn]

84. Here's a useful article, for general enlightenment:

Hondurans Resist Coup, Will Need Help From Other Countries
Mark Weisbrot
The Guardian Unlimited , July 8, 2009

~snip~
Meanwhile, on the far right, there has been a pushback against the worldwide support for Zelaya and an attempt to paint him has the aggressor in Honduras, or at least equally bad as the people who carried out the coup. Unfortunately much of the major media’s reporting has aided this effort by reporting such statements as “Critics feared he intended to extend his rule past January, when he would have been required to step down.”

In fact, there was no way for Zelaya to “extend his rule” even if the referendum had been held and passed, and even if he had then gone on to win a binding referendum on the November ballot. The June 28 referendum was nothing more than a non-binding poll of the electorate, asking whether the voters wanted to place a binding referendum on the November ballot to approve a redrafting of the country’s constitution. If it had passed, and if the November referendum had been held (which was not very likely) and also passed, the same ballot would have elected a new president and Zelaya would have stepped down in January. So, the belief that Zelaya was fighting to extend his term in office has no factual basis – although most people who follow this story in the press seem to believe it. The most that could be said is that if a new constitution were eventually approved, Zelaya might have been able to run for a second term at some future date.

Another major right-wing theme that has spilled over into the media and public perception of the Honduran situation is that this is a battle against President Chávez of Venezuela (and some collection of “anti-U.S.” leftist allies, e.g. Nicaragua, Cuba – take your pick). This is a common subterfuge that has surfaced in most of the Latin American elections of the last few years. In Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, for example, the conservative candidates all pretended as if they were running against Chávez – the first two with success, and the second pair losing.

It is true that under Zelaya Honduras joined the ALBA, a grouping of countries that was started by Venezuela as an alternative to “free trade” agreements with the United States. But Zelaya is nowhere near as close to Chávez as any number of other Latin American presidents, including those of Brazil and Argentina. So it is not clear why this is relevant, unless the argument is that only bigger countries or those located further south have the right to have a co-operative relationship with Venezuela.

More:
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds-&-columns/op-eds-&-columns/hondurans-resist-coup-will-need-help-from-other-countries

[boppers]

85. How is that relevant?

Where did the ballots come from, and who printed them?

That seems like a simple pair of questions.

WRT your points, the congress itself could amend the constitution, without a national vote, aside from a few, key, measures. If it's not term limits, then what?

When Zeleya indicated that term limits were the reason he wanted the convention, are we to believe he was lying?