Chavez, media boss lay ground rules for recall

[Judi Lynn]

Last Update: Sunday, June 20, 2004. 7:27am (AEST)
Chavez, media boss lay ground rules for recall

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has held talks on an upcoming referendum on his rule with a Venezuelan media magnate and with former US President Jimmy Carter, the Carter Centre said.

Mr Carter organised the meeting on Friday between the left-wing president and billionaire Gustavo Cisneros, who owns TV channel, Venevision, which regularly broadcasts criticisms of Chavez's government.

They discussed the upcoming August 15 recall vote and media coverage of it, the Atlanta-based Carter Centre said in a statement released in Caracas.

"There was a mutual commitment to honour constitutional processes," the statement added.
(snip/...)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200406/s1135908.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. President Hugo Chavez Frias confirms meeting with Carter and Cisneros

Published: Sunday, June 20, 2004

President Hugo Chavez Frias confirms meeting with Carter and Cisneros

Globovision reports: During President Hugo Chavez Frias’ Sunday “Alo President” program, The Head of State confirmed that he met with ex-president Jimmy Carter and billionaire Venezuelan-Cuban businessman Gustavo Cisneros. Chavez explained that Carter had interceded several times to set up the meeting.

“If I have to go to the Fifth Hell and see the Devil’s horns in order to defend the interests of the Venezuelan people, to defend the people’s sovereignty, to defend Venezuela’s sacred interests, I don’t have any problem with that.”

Chavez considers it a positive development that the Venezuelan businessman recognizes him as President of the Republic and has recognized the need for balanced news.
Chavez emphasized that the government didn’t make any concessions. “I’ve demonstrated that. Given the choices of giving up my principles negotiating the revolution and physical death, I would prefer a thousand times over my physical death.”
(snip/)http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=21674

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What does Cisneros risk losing? Can't be his honor.

Cisneros and some guy


He's a winner, all right.

Hugo Chavez, after being freed by captors.


Impeached darling of the opposition,
friend of George Bush, Carlos Andrés Pérez
(And they, in their graciousness, call
Hugo Chavez a "monkey.")

[AP]

3. "...I would prefer a thousand times over my physical death"

Man, what a quote. The one in bold too.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

2. What will the oligarch-friendly folks say about this?

I wonder.

Thanks for your posts - as usual!

[pescao]

4. cisneros: a berlusconi for venezuela?

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1199

From Media War to Armed Struggle in Venezuela?


By: Aram Aharonian - Question

“The Andean region, from Colombia to Venezuela, is a very probable objective of a U.S. invasion, whose project needs new invasions.”

—Noam Chomsky

Beyond the latest pronouncements of Roger Noriega or Colin Powell and the “repair” just completed process, all indications are that the most radical sectors of Venezuela’s opposition intend to repeat a similar script to the one of April 2002. To organize a massacre and, with the support of the mass media, to accuse the Venezuelan armed forces—and in this way the commander in chief, Hugo Chavez—of genocide, so as to appeal for a foreign intervention.

...

Venezuela’s opposition, which is incapable of unifying or of even having a common plan, knows that it will not be easy to get rid of Chavez via a vote. The most recent surveys, conducted by the opposition itself, confirm this. Therefore they appeal to the only resource they have, in order to once again enjoy the corrupt power of more than 40 years of formal democracy: violence and presidential assassination. The private mass media, the stimulators of violence, orchestrate and direct the publicity to justify a foreign intervention under the pre-text of dislodging a regime that does not follow the directive of Washington.

...

There is no doubt that the Venezuelan right is playing two games. The first appears legal and democratic and the other is illegal and subversive. But, despite being able to count on the private mass media—written, radio, and above all televised—that is committed to the most radical sectors, the opposition has not even managed to agree on a plan of action, on a proposal for the country, and even less so on a candidate to succeed Chavez. The U.S. and Spain are trying to impose the coup plotting businessman Gustavo Cisneros, as a possible Berlusconi for Venezuela.

...

The Colombian paramilitaries were contracted to wear uniforms of the Venezuelan army and to commit a massacre in some urbanization in the east of Caracas (perhaps the same day as the signature re-certification), duly documented by the private television channels, attributing the act to the armed forces and demand—with “a little help” from their foreign friends (Colombian businessmen, sectors of the U.S. government, Cuban exiles from Miami, U.S. and Spanish transnational companies, television channels that depend on the economic power of these friends)—foreign intervention in order to dislodge Chavez and his reforms from power.

...

[Judi Lynn]

12. The information gets wilder and stranger.......

I was belatedly reading your article and focusing on the information concerning the Colombian paramilitaries found near Caracas on the property of Roberto Alonso, a real right-winger and Cuban "exile," a brother of movie actress "Maria Conchita Alonso," and the inventor of the "guarimba."

I went to try to find out what a "quarimba" is and located the following:

According to Chacón, the paramilitaries captured Sunday in the outskirts of Caracas were part of the "Plan Guarimba 2" aimed at creating a new wave of disturbances in the Venezuelan capital and other cities over the next few weeks.

In late February and early March, anti-Chávez groups threw up barricades and held violent protests along the roads leading into middle-class neighbourhoods of Caracas and other cities.

During the disturbances and the crackdown by security forces, 10 people were killed and around 50 were injured.

The technique of setting up flaming roadblocks was dubbed 'guarimba' (refuge) by radical anti-Chávez activists -- including Alonso -- who, over the Internet, shared slogans and instructions for keeping alive that form of struggle.
(snip/...)

~~~~ El Link ~~~~
This just gets creepier, and creepier. These guys are really determined, aren't they?

Thanks, a little late, to you, Pescao. Some of us would still be wandering in the dark without your first class input from the "belly of the beast" here during the coup.

There are so many people going after Chavez it will take a miracle to keep him safe.

[pescao]

17. thanks to you too for spreading the vital info

we all know how many people have the venezuelan story completely upside-down, and why. actually the bbc's getting better but this piece is kinda silly...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3815145.stm

The goddess and the president

By Mike Ceaser
In Caracas

When opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez succeeded on 3 June in triggering a recall vote on his rule, many saw it as a sign of trouble for the controversial leader.

But for some, the real warning for Mr Chavez - and the nation - came three days later when the statue of goddess Maria Lionza collapsed in Caracas.

...

In 1956, Venezuela's final dictator, Marcos Perez Jimenez, placed a 6.7 metre-tall concrete statue of a nude Lionza astride a tapir in the median of the freeway which bisects Caracas.

...

A pro-Chavez borough mayor wants to move her to a nearby plaza, where an empty pedestal sits waiting. But the anti-Chavez leadership of the neighbouring public university, which claims to own the statue, says she should be restored where she stands.

...a

[DesolationRow]

18. It's also amazing how often they report how controversial he is,

and that he may be recalled. Yet, they never mention that if that were to happen there is no chance that the people who initially started the recall effort will be elected in his place. At worst they will elect the moderate right leaning guy. At best another from the MVR party(Chavez' party) or other left leaning parties.

It is so hard to tell what is really going on. I'm sure there are abuses on both sides. However, when the media and even both Presidential candidates only ever mention one side, you know there is an agenda afoot. The stark contrast with coverage of a guy like Uribe in Colombia makes it even more clear.

All the various articles on this thread about the activity in Colombia give me a pretty good idea of how this might play out. The only thing I wonder about is , will they wait until August or will they sneak something in on June 30th? That is the day of the "handover" of Iraq (yeah right). I have read on here, that on that day, they are going to sneak in pulling troops out of Haiti to let the "rebels" have their way even more, and are going to step up pressures (aggression?) on Cuba. I wonder if they'll try to sneak in some tricks in Venezuela as well. I haven't read anything concrete or even any rumors , but I'll be watching for it.

[Judi Lynn]

20. Oh, jeez! I'm almost sorry you posted that! It's fairly sneaky, isn't it?

Looks as if they're trying to draw a connection between the poor, and superstitious, and very religious, to the President, and have some fun at his expense!

It is widely rumoured that Mr Chavez himself is a believer in Maria Lionza and that he calls on her for advice and guidance.

Francisco Maya, owner of the Moonbeam occult shop, where Zerpa works, cites the president's almost superhuman career as evidence that he has harnessed some otherworldly force.

Mr Chavez led a failed coup in 1992, was imprisoned and pardoned, won a landslide election victory in 1998 and has since survived a coup and a devastating strike against the nation's key petroleum industry.

"(Chavez) must have a pact with the devil to be where he is," says Mr Maya.

"A normal person couldn't withstand all the pressures he has."
(snip/)

Well, now! That's some major silliness, for sure!These guys just never give up.

Thanks for the look at this article. I'm sure a lot of us have been wondering what the heck the BBC is doing in their attitude on Chavez. Doesn't make much sense. Guess they're dominated by conservatives?

[AP]

22. BBC is often on the wrong side when it comes to neoliberalism.

If you ever want to feel gutted, just listen to the BBC doing a show on African politics and having Fred Forsyth as their expert guest.

Ugh.

[SupportRapeVictims]

5. Why does it sound fishy that the Chavez gets to set the "ground" rules

That isn't very "democratic".

Chavez is a thug that fancies about fighting a war with the US.

[not systems]

6. No fishier than the Bush team setting ground rules for debates...

with Kerry.

You better believe that is happening.

What are you trying to say with your last phrase?

If you're saying Chavez want a conflict with the US, could
you point to the source info for your assertion?

I have only seen aggression flowing from
the thugs in Washington DC and Florida.

[SupportRapeVictims]

7. Chavez warns US about '100 year' war

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-03/08/content_312797.htm

This guy is nuts!!! Those liberals that support him are no better than conservatives who support Slobodan Milosevic.

[AP]

8. I'm so sick of people calling liberals "crazy." Wanting justice isn't a

mental disorder.

[not systems]

10. There has been a war going on for 500 years...

what is another 100.

People supporting Anglo-American oil hegemony while
pretending not to are no better than General Custer.

Proving I also can play your name game.


From your article:

"Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday vowed to freeze oil exports to the United States
and wage a "100-year war" if Washington ever tried to invade Venezuela."


What would be the "sane" response of a sovereign nation to the
threat of invasion from the world's military super power, that
has a well known pattern of serial invasion.

[AP]

9. You think the unelected fascists dominating the media should make the

ground rules?

[Judi Lynn]

13. It's all to strange, AP.

Where would we be without reading, you have to wonder! Nothing like actual information to help develope a position, is there?

You have the patience of Job!

[AP]

14. I heard about this book...you might be interested.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1558853022/ref=wl_it_dp/002-3666528-3809629?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=I2WWF4873VO3CE&colid=2YRWDUP4MTFCM

[Judi Lynn]

15. Oh, ha ha ha. Great! I took a quick look and saw this

http://www.americanpatrol.com/FEATURES/020815-JOSE-ANGEL-RABID-RECON/Feature020815.html

I'm going to go look around some more and find out what the book's about, and read about the author, and Reies Lopez Tijerina. Looks as if Jose Angel Gutierrez has some right-wing psychopaths foaming at the mouth.

I saw the list of books he's written, and it sounds as if Gutierrez has a VERY level head on his shoulders, and gets a real kick out of seeing the fools among us go beserk.

This is an area I've not read anything about at all. Thanks a lot for bringing it up. :hi:

[AP]

16. Here's how I found out about it:

http://www.latinousa.org/program/index.html

It's a fascinating story. You find all the same themes discussed in relation to Venezuela, Haiti and Africa. And the media response is the same.

[DesolationRow]

11. From what I've seen he already is fighting a war with

Bush. Don't ask me how... a little subscription birdie dropped it in my mailbox. ;-)

He is also important to John Kerry since a Venezuelan is currently head of OPEC and may be able to counteract any pro-Bush moves by any fishy Princes.

Chavez is not fighting this war with guns though; yet! Let us all hope that doesn't happen, but it is looking more and more likely all the time.

The Final Answer Will Be Given by the Tanks
June 19 - Justin Podur
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=45&ItemID=5742

A few months ago, the commander of the Venezuelan Army, Raul Baduel, described something that worried him (1). Colombia had just purchased 46 AMX-30 battle tanks from Spain. The media claimed the tanks were to fight drug trafficking, but that hardly seemed plausible. Baduel suspected that the tanks were going to end up on the Venezuelan border.

This deployment was blandly reported in El Tiempo, Colombia's national newspaper, yesterday (2). The 46 tanks will be part of a new Brigade, especially created, to 'patrol the border'. Four battalions and a Special Forces group form this new Brigade. The tanks are supposed to arrive in (and watch the timing carefully, for we will revisit it) August.

The El Tiempo article refers to the need for the tanks in order to "defend Colombia" from an "eventual incursion from Venezuela". The Brigade is also charged with the defense of the Wayuu indigenous people, who have been victims of massacres by "illegal armed groups". Thus, the indigenous can rest secure under the protection of the very army that is killing them directly or working with the paramilitaries ("illegal armed groups" who happen to work with the army) who are killing them.

(snip)

To be fair, between his (President of Colombia) privatizations, his labor 'reforms', and his assault on unionists, the public sector, and the poor in Colombia, no one could accuse Uribe of 'pandering to the poor'. Only of military aggression, paramilitary murder, anti-democratic political manipulation, and economic plunder - none of which are crimes, so long as they are done in the service of the right interests.


Colombian military sets up new brigade 10 miles from Venezuelan border
June 20
http://vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=21662

21 paramilitaries captured along the Venezuelan border with Colombia
June 20
http://vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=21670

Fierce battle between the Venezuelan Army and Colombian paramilitaries
June 18
http://vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=21645

[DesolationRow]

19. Here is a link you all might be interested in.

Bolivarian Circles International
http://cybercircle.org/english/index.html

Great background and FAQ info and an open letter to Kerry. It pledges their votes for him in November and trys to inform him on the situation.

[Judi Lynn]

21. Great link, DesolationRow!

This really looks interesting. I've just scanned it, and I'm going off to read more. It has EXCELLENT material in it.

I'm glad to see they mentioned the Venezuelan "exile"-Cuban "exile" connection in South Florida. A lot of people don't realize there is a real connectedness between both right-wing extremist, violence-advocating groups.

Welcome to D.U.! :hi: :hi: :bounce:

[DesolationRow]

23. Thank you.

It is a long and twisted history. If I am remembering right, in another thread you said you started following Venezuela after the 2002 coup. I am in the same boat. I don't know why it has captured my attention so. I guess because I see in it echos of Reaganesque shenanigans that I was too young to fully understand at the time.