Voices without Votes » Venezuela

Venezuela: Thoughts on Election Day

Laura — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:54:05 +0000

After the daily speech about the Empire, the elections, and the possibility that the United States could have what some call “their own Chavez,” a lot of blogs dedicated some space on the expectation that many parts of the world share today's excitement with the States. Bloggers are expressing online what they feel about both candidates, while some others see Obama as a big possibility for change inside and outside the country. The dark, humorous tone, so characteristically Venezuelan, never ceased to be contained inside the posts…

Buscar de todo says:

América Latina se mantiene atenta a las elecciones de Estados Unidos, a calificar al menos por sus gobiernos y medios de comunicación, país con el cual la región no sólo mantiene más comercio, sino porque además vive un proceso político sin precedentes.

Independientemente de quien gane las elecciones presidenciales del martes, el senador demócrata Barack Obama o su contrincante republicano John McCain, será la primera vez que un hombre de color llegue a la Casa Blanca o bien que lo haga el hombre de más edad. McCain tiene 72 años.

La contienda electoral, a la vez, ha estado llena de sorpresas y en medio de ella detonó una crisis financiera en Estados Unidos que puso a vibrar a medio mundo.

Latin America follows attentively the elections in USA, which is seen in their governments' attitudes and also through the media, since they maintain a lot of commercial attachments with the United States and they feel this country is passing through a historical movement.

No matter who wins the elections, in any case they will be historical: it will be the first time in history that an African American or a man over 70 gets into the White House.

Also, these elections have been full of surprises, and in the middle, a financial crisis exploded in the country and that shook everybody

Also, inside a very irreverent post, Hay que ser irresponsable said:

Obama es el Malcolm X que un catire puede aceptar, el Gandhi rockandrollero, el soñador que parece peligroso para el sistema pero bueno para los ciudadanos. Alguien que Jhon Lennon apoyaría. Un tipo que hasta el Presidente venezolano ha dicho: “me sentaría a hablar con él” y “nace una luz de esperanza” (…) y hasta el canciller cubano, Pérez Roque, le ha brindado la mano. Este es mi presidente, casi podemos escuchar en español, porque en Europa ya se dice en varios idiomas.

Obama is the Malcolm X that a white man (in Venezuela) can accept, a rock-and-roll Gandhi that looks dangerous to the System but good to the citizens. Someone whom John Lennon would support. A guy that the Venezuelan President see as a “new light of hope” with which he would sit and talk to, according to his own words and that even the Cuban chancellor, Pérez Roque, has given his hand to. ‘This is my President' we can almost hear in Spanish, since in Europe this is said in many languages

Resistencia Caracas and Noticias 24
follow the election from close.

Nevertheless, in Noticias 24's comments, an opinion takes place in the form of a very dark song:

Obama no va a ganar
Y si gana no termina,
Esa oscura medicina
Es difícil de tragar.

Se los puedo asegurar
Por convicción y por fe,
Me atrevo apostarles que:
Obama no va a ganar.

Presi negro no camina
Y menos hijo de Ala,
Le juro no llegará
Y si gana no termina.

A Bush le tienen inquina
Y al suyo lo va a afectar,
Pero no es para aceptar
Esa oscura medicina.

A pesar del malestar
A la hora del proceso,
Van a decidir que eso
Es difícil de tragar.

Obama won't win
And if he does, he won't finish up
That dark medicin is very difficult to take

I can assure you
By my conviction and faith
I dear to bet, Obama will win not

A black Pres won't fly
Even less if he's a son of Allah
I swear he'll win not, and if he does he'll finish not

In the time of the discomfort
In the time of the process
They're going to say, it is too difficult to take.

Will Cuba's New Oil Find Make It More of a U.S. Enemy?

Aggregated from: VivirLatino — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:27:02 +0000

Oil is gold these days, as a hot topic on the presidential campaign trail, and as a commodity that fuels more than homes, but also wars and diplomatic relations. Take the U.S. relationship with Venezuela for example. One of the biggest threats that President Chavez has made is that he will cut off U.S. access to Venezuela's oil. Now there is a new potential threat. Well not new, pero a new spin on an old threat. Cuba announced that there may be more than 20bn barrels of recoverable oil in offshore fields in Cuba's share of the Gulf of Mexico, more than twice the previous estimate.

What does this mean if it is indeed true?

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Debate Drinking Game: Latino Version

Aggregated from: Adventures of the Coconut Caucus — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:13:40 +0000

So here are some of the rules of your average gringo debate drinking game, AND now, as is our tradition, a revised version of the same game with the Latino twist…(Please add your own suggestions)

One drink:
- If both candidates show up
- Every time McCain says “my friends” (If he says amigos, change the channel you are watching Telemundo)
- Every time Obama says “change” (switch drinks with your neighbor)
-Every time McCain says “change” (drink more of the same)
- Any time the word “maverick” is heard (So how do you say that in Spanish anyway?)

Two drinks:
- If McCain pretends to have a heart attack on stage
- If Obama lights up a cigarette on stage
- If McCain says something in Spanish (or if he says he wishes Kennedy well in his recovery)
- If Obama says something in Indonesian (Like you would know)
- If Obama answers “present” to a yes-or-no question
- If either candidate mentions “Mahmoud Ahmadinejad” and “Mikheil Saakashvili” in the same sentence
- If either candidate mentions “Main Street” and “Wall Street” in the same sentence
- If Obama wears a flag pin
- If McCain wears a P.O.W. flag pin
- If the moderator asks the difference between “Sunni” and “Shiite”

Three Drinks:
- If three countries beginning with the letter “I” are mentioned in one answer (If Cuba or Venezuela are mentioned)
- If “tax cuts for the middle class” are promised by anyone, including the moderator
- If either candidate acknowledges the growing ninja menace
- If three countries ending in “-istan” are mentioned in one answer
- If Obama quotes Ronald Reagan
- If McCain quotes John F. Kennedy
- If Obama quotes Jesus

Finish your bottle:
- If Obama claims to be Jesus
- If McCain claims to be Moses
- If McCain threatens to punch the moderator
- If Michelle Obama threatens to punch the moderator

Latino Bonuses!

- If one of the “randomly selected undecided voters” who asks a question is/and/or appears to be Hispanic: A shot of tequila and open a Mexican restaurant in Nashville because his/her whole family will be there in no time.

- If one of the “randomly selected undecided voters” is a white guy who asks what the candidates are going to do about all those illegals: Corona Light

- If one of the “randomly selected undecided voters” has lost their job because it was “shipped overseas” to Mexico: Drink a Bud Light and thank Cindy McCain for selling the company

- If Hugo Chávez and his foreign oil by countries who hate us is mentioned: A shot of guarapo con arepa.

- If McCain mentions the Castro brothers: A shot of rum, in a plastic cup, minus the rum.

- If McCain mentions his Panamanian roots: You are hallucinating and it is not the rum.

- If Obama says “Si se puede”: A glass of overpriced California wine with grapes picked by exploited farmworkers.

- If Bill Richardson shows up: Diet Fanta

- If Obama mentions that he was endorsed by Shakira: A shot of Aguardiente Cristal

-If McCain mentions he was endorsed by Daddy Yankee: Bacardi with Limón.

- If you are pissed off that Telemundo is not showing Doña Bárbara: Good, you can’t vote anyway.

More options here

So I will be liveblogging the debate, but on twitter

MSM: Wake Up & Smell the Misinformation

Aggregated from: The Haitian Blogger — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:45:00 +0000

Chinese President Hu Jintao(R) meets with visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Great Hall
of the People in Beijing, capital of China, on Sept.
24, 2008.(Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

The US mainstream media (MSM) never delves into or outlines the role of the US government in the escalation of tensions in Latin America and in particular in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. The long history of US interventions and destabilizations of Latin American countries and the current "with us or against us" policy of the Bush administration should be cited as a part of any discourse or news that purports to shed light on the events occurring seemingly in a vacuum in this hemisphere, for they explain the fear and suspicion with which the US government is regarded in Latin America and beyond.

Last April the US announced that it was reviving its fourth fleet in the Caribbean, a move that Evo Morales of Bolivia called "the Fourth Fleet of intervention."

Hugo Chavez is continuing to seek bilateral partnerships to safeguard his country's sovereignty in the face of US covert and overt interventions and aggression. This month Venezuela announced joint Naval exercises in the Caribbean with Russia. Also, Mr. Chavez is in China this week to "push China-Venezuela strategic partnership of common development to a higher level."

This month, members of the Venezuelan military were exposed on a tape plotting a coup and citing US tacit approval. Subsequently, Hugo Chavez announced the expulsion of the US Ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy; the ambassador is expelled, Chavez said, in solidarity with the expulsion of the US Ambassador to Bolivia, Philip Goldberg just a day earlier. After handily winning a referendum in Bolivia, President Evo Morales faced violent reprisals from the right-wing opposition. Evidence later emerged that Ambassador Goldberg had met with opposition leaders during the violent upheavals that left eight people dead.

In the middle of this tense scenario, last Thursday in Venezuela, Americas Director José Miguel Vivanco and his colleague Americas Director Daniel Wilkinson of Human Rights Watch (HRW) held a press conference to present their report (not due for five months) harshly criticizing the Chavez government, entitled “A Decade Under Chávez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela.”

The next day, Vivanco and Wilkinson were accused of "meddling illegally" in Venezuelan affairs and unceremoniously escorted to a plane out of the country.

In a press release, the Venezuelan Foreign Relations Ministry said Vivanco and Wilkinson "have done violence to the constitution" and "assaulted the institutions" of Venezuela by "meddling illegally in the internal affairs of our country."

The ministry also said the HRW report is linked to the "unacceptable strategy of aggression" of the United States government. The ministry said the expulsion of Vivanco and Wilkinson was in the interest of "national sovereignty" and "the defense of the people against aggressions by international factors."

James Suggett, writing in Venezuela Analysis points out that:

"HRW has issued reports that are [sic] critical of the Chávez administration in the months leading up to crucial Venezuelan elections in the past, raising suspicion that the reports seek to sway Venezuelan voters against the president."

In the days following the report, the Venezuelan government and its allies have responded to the report and in an article in OpEdNews.com, Elizabeth Ferrari explains the circumstances surrounding the expulsions and infuses some perspective into the situation that dispels some of the propaganda that has characterized coverage of this volatile situation:

"...the American press seems to trust the Bush government and its adjuncts with all things Venezuelan and has once again simply passed on and proliferated the official story. I wish my betters in the press corpse would wake up and smell the disinformation."

If you've read John Perkins' book "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" then you know about the symbiotic relationship between non-governmental agencies (NGOs) and intelligence services. Is it any wonder than that Human Rights Watch and its pronouncements are viewed with justifiable suspicion? Elizabeth Ferrari sums it up in this way:

"And then, there’s the matter of our intelligence services hanging out in NGOs. (I suppose, our overseas operatives can’t all work at the local embassy.) A friend of mine from El Salvador reminds me that during the war, a planeful of “humanitarian workers” was shot down and apparently, somehow it was full of US government operatives instead. It was shot down close to the capital and Rolando believes it was the government, not the guerillas, that shot it down. The government had had enough of the “Peace Corps” meddling with their affairs, allies or not. The few survivors of the crash were executed on the spot, it was later determined. Guerillas didn’t operate that close to San Salvador during the war, so this was a terrible case of a US client state sending back a message to Washington.

More recently, as Amy Goodman has reported, arriving Peace Corps volunteers and young visiting scholars were solicited to spy for our government when they went to be briefed at our embassy in Bolivia. They were there for a welcome to the country and instead, they were told to spy on Venezuelans and on Cubans. It must be very upsetting to believe you are in Bolivia to work on hunger or to write a study on literacy and then to have your own Ambassador direct you to violate the trust of the very people you look forward to working with. These kids hadn’t even unpacked before they were enlisted to violate international law."

New Spanish McCain Attack Ad Links Hugo Chavez and Obama

Aggregated from: VivirLatino — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:23:18 +0000

The above ad, released late last week by the McCain camp, is supposed to appeal to Latinos.

The McCain campaign said Hispanic voters are particularly open to the message because many of them are immigrants who came to the U.S. seeking to escape the sort of political tactics Mr. Chavez employs.

"They come to American for freedom, and yet Senator Obama seems overly willing to deal with a tin-pot dictator," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said.

Post extendido - Leer más 'New Spanish McCain Attack Ad Links Hugo Chavez and Obama'...

Hugo Chavez to Visit NYC Hall

Aggregated from: VivirLatino — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:24:34 +0000

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is going to be in NYC this week for the UN Summit. While we all wait with to see what metaphor for the U.S. empire Chavez will come up with this time, NYC Councilman Charles Barron is extending an invitation for Chavez to stop by City Hall.

Barron has called Chavez:

a shining example of a humanitarian.

This of course has other NYC politicos not too pleased. Peter Vallone Jr.,told the Daily News,

"If he wants to invite despotic dictators, he should invite them to his own house. They don't belong at the home of democracy in New York City."

Former Mayor Ed Koch said:

Barron has a right to invite anybody he wants, and everybody else has a right to moon him.

Ed Koch mooning? There's an image I don't want.

Via / Gothamist

Venezuela Expels Human Rights Activists

Aggregated from: PoliGazette — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:24:35 +0000

Venezuela expelled two human rights activists on Friday, marking a further worsening of the U.S. - Venezuelan relations.

The foreign ministry said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Human Rights Watch Americas director, and his deputy Daniel Wilkinson had committed “serious violations” and were, as a result, told to leave the country immediately.

McCain: ¿Spain?

Aggregated from: PoliGazette — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:15:33 +0000

McCain has managed to strain relations with a European country without even being elected yet.
In an interview with Union Radio in Miami McCain answered a question to whether he would hold meetings with President Zapatero of Spain in such a way that it seems clear that:

He lumps Spain together with Venezuela and Bolivia as non-friendly nations.

He has no idea of anything pertaining to Spain at all.

Neither option, as you can imagine, is causing much pleasure within Spain itself.

Aruba, Venezuela, U.S.A.: Wonderful World?

Aggregated from: Global Voices Online » U.S.A. — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:35:51 +0000

arubagirl blogs about everything from Sarah Palin to Hugo Chavez' expulsion of the US Ambassador to Venezuela.

Cuba, Venezuela, U.S.A.: Empty Dialogue?

Aggregated from: Global Voices Online » U.S.A. — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:57:24 +0000

Cuban bloggers Babalu and Ninety miles away…in another country focus on U.S. Republican senator Arlen Specter's upcoming Latin American trip, during which he hopes to meet with both Raul Castro and Hugo Chavez: “The Cuban government has made clear that the only thing it is interested in is the unilateral lifting of the embargo…as for the overtures some purport to have seen in regime pronouncements, I fear that they are but olive branches of the mind.”

Obama Win Doesn't Mean Better Relationship With Venezuela

Aggregated from: VivirLatino — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:46:57 +0000

According to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, the differences between John McCain and Barack Obama are minimal and that an Obama victory wouldn't mean better relations between Venezuela and the country Chavez lovingly calls "the empire".

Chavez told his supporters not to raise their hopes that relations with the United States would improve if Obama is elected U.S. president, saying there was little difference between him and Republican candidate John McCain.

"The two candidates for the U.S. presidency attack us equally, they attack us defending the interests of the empire," Chavez said at a meeting of his socialist party.

"Let's not kid ourselves, it is the empire and the empire must fall. That's the only solution, that it comes to an end."

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Venezuelan TV Channel Fined for Airing ‘The Simpsons'

Aggregated from: VivirLatino — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:32:47 +0000

Venezuelan television network Televen has been fined by the government for airing episodes of The Simpsons. You might remember that a couple of months back Maegan told us that Televen was told by the Venezuelan TV regulator that they had to air The Simpsons later in the day so that children wouldn't be exposed to it. Now it seems the cartoon is to be pulled all together because it

contains images and sounds that, in common use, are crude, as well as those that refer to the consumption of alcohol, without showing its effects or attempting to help erradicate addictive conduct...as well as images and sounds which show dramatized violence.

The Simpsons would be pretty boring if the characters were doling out messages about the negative effects of alcohol consumption. And what's up with Chavez and alcohol anyway?

Televen's fine comes not in the form of money to pay but air time. The network has to promise to broadcast 30 second cultural and educational spots for 30 consecutive days.

Via / El Universal

Image via Hypeline.com

If Venezuela could vote…

Jillian York — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:22:52 +0000

Link TV's Dear American Voter series allows citizens from countries around the world to share their thoughts on the U.S. elections and how it will affect their native country through video, which will (hopefully) be viewed by American voters.

Francisco Toro, who runs the blog Caracas Chronicles, shared his opinions on how the U.S. elections will affect Venezuela and the rule of Hugo Chavez:

Spaniards Hate Chavez More than Bush?

Aggregated from: VivirLatino — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:05:35 +0000

Wow, that's saying a lot, because the Spanish hate them some Dubya. According to a recent poll:

Spaniards dislike Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez most among world leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush, a poll indicated.

The survey of 2,500 Spaniards in 2007 found the leftist Chavez ranks first among major world leaders the Spanish do not care for, ahead of the U.S. president and Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro.

Bush was the most disliked world leader among Spaniards in the 2006 version of the poll, El Pais reported Friday.

I wonder how those two feel about being in the same category...

Who holds the Spanish people's heart in their hands? Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ranks as one of the most admired leaders for Spaniards.

Via / UPI

Is the U.S. Trying to Provoke War In Latin America?

Aggregated from: VivirLatino — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:30:22 +0000

Apparently learning nothing from Colombia entering Ecuador's territory to go after the FARC, or maybe taking a page from that incident and the diplomatic crisis it sparked, there are allegations that the U.S. violated Venezuela's airspace. US officials admitted a naval plane on a counter-narcotics mission had "navigational problems" that led it to briefly enter Venezuelan airspace.
[Venezuelan Defense Minister] Mr Rangel told a news conference that the US aircraft "practically flew over" La Orchila - where Venezuela has a military base and President Hugo Chavez has a residence - and another island before turning back.
"This is just the latest step in a series of provocations," he said.

So what do you all think? Was this an "accident" or something more sinister?

The plane was a U.S. Navy plane. You'll remember that about a month ago the U.S. Navy reestablished an fleet in the Caribbean.

Via / BBC