Venezuelan leader's insult sparks war of words in S. Florida

[Judi Lynn]

Venezuelan leader's insult sparks war of words in S. Florida

By Sandra Hernandez
Staff Writer
Posted March 30 2004

When Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez recently called President Bush a "jerk" during his weekly radio program, it angered many Hispanics in South Florida who believed the embattled leader's remarks were further proof of his unpresidential behavior.

But for Guillermo Descalzi, a local veteran Spanish-language television journalist, Chávez's use of the word "pendejo" was the last straw.
(snip)

Descalzi's comments -- particularly his repeated use of words like gorilla and monkey to describe Chávez -- may seem silly to some, but among Venezuelans in South Florida they are the latest shots fired in a bitter political fight.

"This is too much," said Chávez supporter Alvaro Sanchez of Miramar. "He may not like President Chávez and he is entitled to that view, but what upset me are his comments. His comments are racial slurs. These are insults against President Chávez, who is darker skinned."
(snip/...)

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-cchavez30mar30,0,3089744.story?coll=sfla-news-sfla

[IndianaGreen]

1. But Bush is a pendejo

and the Venezuelan oligarchs are white and very proud of their European blood. Part of the reason they hate Chavez is because Hugo is of mixed race, like the vast majority of Venezuelans.

It is sad that the presumptive Democratic nominee has sided with the Venezuelan upper class:

Published on Friday, March 26, 2004 by CommonDreams.org
Why John Kerry Must Retract his Position on Venezuela
by VenezuelAnalysis.com

The Democratic candidate for President of the United States, John Kerry, published a statement on his web site this past March 19, setting forth his position on the political situation in Venezuela. In this declaration, Kerry relies on inaccurate information and repeats views identical to those of the Venezuelan opposition to democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez.

We examine below Kerry's statement in more detail:

Referendum

Kerry urges President Chavez to allow the recall referendum against his mandate to occur. The reality is that the President has no legal means, to either impede or permit a recall referendum. It can only be achieved if those requesting the referendum collect the number of valid signatures required by the regulations.

The Senator states that, "the international community cannot permit President Chávez to subvert this process, as he has tried to do up until now." Nevertheless, Kerry does not specify how the President has tried to subvert this process. Kerry conveniently omits the fact that it was President Chávez who proposed to include the possibility of these referenda in the new Constitution that was drafted by a Constitutional Assembly elected by popular vote. Chávez has called for a review of signatures collected by the opposition because, as per numerous credible reports, there appears to have been substantial fraud committed during the signature drive. What is so terrible about denouncing fraud and calling for an investigation of hundreds of thousands of petitions filled out by the same handwriting? Kerry surely would expect the same type of investigation to occur if there were evidence of fraud in any electoral process he was a part of.

As it stands, those whose signatures appear on petitions that were filled out by the same handwriting will soon have the chance to confirm their identity and intention to sign the petition requesting a recall referendum. It is the opposition that has opposed this process. Chávez has repeatedly stated that he will respect whatever decision is made by the nation's electoral authorities regarding a referendum.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0326-01.htm

A Rebuttal to Senator Kerry’s Statement on Venezuela
Monday, Mar 22, 2004

By: Gregory Wilpert - Venezuelanalysis.com

Senator Kerry’s press statement was issued on March 19, 2004.

Italic text is Senator Kerry’s statement. Plain text is Gregory Wilpert’s rebuttal.

With the future of the democratic process at a critical juncture in Venezuela, we should work to bring all possible international pressure to bear on President Chavez to allow the referendum to proceed.

It is not up to President Chavez whether there is a referendum. Venezuela’s constitution clearly establishes rules that must be followed for a referendum to be called. The president has nothing to do with this procedure. If Kerry has any evidence that Chavez is preventing the referendum process from proceeding, then he should spell out what it is that he has done.

The (Bush) Administration should demonstrate its true commitment to democracy in Latin America by showing determined leadership now, while a peaceful resolution can still be achieved.

U.S. interference in Venezuela’s referendum process will distort and damage Venezuela’s democracy more than help it. If there is outside interference, it is more likely that the results of the process will not be recognized as legitimate by one of the sides in the conflict and this would probably lead to violence, not to “a peaceful resolution.”

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1136

[DavidFL]

2. I thought Chavez's use of 'pendejo' in this instance...

...translated to "a**hole", not fool, which, to me, is more appropriate in describing Bush.

"Several political opponents now call Broward County home. And Chávez foes routinely visit, attending marches or holding press briefings."

Someone should look into this because Jeb's state is hosting a hell of a lot of members of opposition groups, I would presume with his, or the White House's blessing. The new Hatian "justice minister", I think that's who it was, was living in Boca Raton until the coup.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Yep, there IS a pattern!

(snip)
When massive political protests forced Bolivia's president to resign last week, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada fled to a place where he knew he would find a sympathetic ear. "I'm here in Miami trying to recover from the shock and shame," the ex-president told reporters on Saturday, after being unseated by a revolt against his plan to sell the country's gas to the United States.

Fortunately for Mr. Sanchez de Lozada, there are plenty of other Miami residents who know just how shameful it feels to lose power to a left-wing resurgence in Latin America. So many, in fact, that he could form a local support group for sufferers of post-revolutionary stress disorder.

Possible members: Venezuela's ex-president Carlos Andres Perez, who started living part-time in Miami after his 1993 impeachment on corruption charges; fellow Venezuelan-Miamista Carlos Fernandez, a leader of the failed coup against President Hugo Chavez; Ecuador's ex-president Gustavo Noboa, who tried to flee to Miami in August to avoid a corruption investigation at home; and even Francisco Hernandez, who took part in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, and, as president of the Cuban American National Foundation, has been plotting to overthrow Fidel Castro ever since.

For decades, Miami has been the preferred retirement community for Latin America's regurgitated right wing. So powerful is the Florida Factor in Latin American politics that Joao Pedro Stedile, one of the founders of Brazil's powerful Landless People's Movement (MST), half-jokingly told an audience in Toronto on Monday that if Brazil's elites continue to undermine reforms promised by President Inacio "Lula" da Silva, they could find themselves looking for a South Beach condo.
(snip/...)

http://www.zonaeuropa.com/00588.htm

[el_gato]

7. the Miami Mafia

they should be disbanded and in jail

[htuttle]

8. Actually, Jeb is allowing terrorist groups to train in Florida

Here's their website, and an article about:
http://www.comandosf4.org/newspaper/2002-10-11_56.htm

That fellow with the rifle is part of the so-called 'Venezuelan opposition' in Florida, who have now allied with the so-called 'Cuban opposition'. Both train with live ammunition and automatic weapons in the swamps of Florida.

The FBI says it doesn't know where they are. Their phone number and street address are on the above-linked website.

[not systems]

3. Is Bush a 'pendejo'? You decide.

"Upon further investigation I discovered that a Pendejo is literally a single pubic hair."

This has the most votes but other definitions include:

"Pendejo means MORON in spanish"

and

"fool"

From:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Pendejo

I vote yes. Bush is a 'pendejo'.

[IndianaGreen]

5. Bush is a pendejo, but he is not the only pendejo in the Bush

administration.

[David__77]

6. White, racist, fascist, anti-people Venezuelan oligarchy.

I don't agree with all of Chavez's policies, but he correctly exposes the oligarchy's racism. Throughout much of Latin American, landed feudal gentry and old families use their power to run roughshod over people of color and perpetuate white supremacy. Chavez happens to have pointed this out and thereby infuriated them. They're deathly afraid of the masses of people and their "agitated" state.

[yellowcanine]

9. I don't know what a "pendejo" is but it does have a nice ring to it so

I am willing to say, yes, Bush is a pendejo. How do you say pendejo with no cojones?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

10. For us "pendejo" literally means pubic hair.

But we use it the same way people would use asshole here. It's sort of ironic that multiple pendejos make up a bush.

PS : Es un pendejo sin cojones.