Sunday, May 25, 2008

In Venezuela

The 2008 election gambles: part 1, Chavez’s angst

May first brought once again to the forefront the divided country that Venezuela has become. There were two “workers” marches convoked. One to praise Chavez, with dozens and dozens of buses coming from all around at tax payer expense, all passengers adequately uniformed in red, brandishing whatever slogan du jour. The other one was a more heteroclite affair made of actual workers, mostly from Caracas. But there was a difference this time: the opposition workers march was barred from its final outcome by an extraordinary display of police and soldiers that betrayed only one thing: chavismo is running scared.

It is clear to all that the December 2 referendum has changed the political course of the country. With Chavez aura of invincibility gone, not only his followers are less likely to put up with all of his antics, but a new type of opposition, now emboldened by its success believes that the end of the regime is not a farfetched hypothesis anymore. What the opposition is doing these days is the subject of a following post... read the rest

21 comments:

  1. wow...you could replace the word chavez for bush in each place and the story is about the USA in 2008.

    i cant believe i voted for bush. i will never live that one down.

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  2. Bush has turned armed soldiers on US citizens? Theo! Come on. He's going to be out of office soon, he hasn't nationalized and closed any media outlets... or ANY of what Chavez has done.

    Seriously - it trivializes what's being done in Venezuela to make a statement like that. It's like someone comes in with a broken arm and you idly examine your fingernails, exclaiming that you have a hangnail.

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  3. And what have you come to expect from Theo ?

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  4. Let's revisit this in say, four years. Then, if our computers haven't been seized, replace the name "Chavez" with "Obama" and a true "Aha" moment will arrive! And many will long for the "old days" under George Bush.

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  5. obama is agaisnt computers? and he is muslim too, right?

    i will never long for the "old days" of bush. bush wants constant war, but doesnt want the war supporters to pay for it. if the war is so important, be a man and ask for money from supporters, if not, stop the religious war. if people really support the war, they will welcome an increase in taxes.

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  6. "Bush has turned armed soldiers on US citizens?"

    Well he knew that terrorists had a plan to kill thousands on 9/11 and he didn't do a thing to stop that other than plan ahead for the wars and military interventions that suited the needs of his handlers that would be much easier to sell to the public due to the tragedy.

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  7. Really? And Clinton Gore didn't know anything about any of that, not even after the FIRST World Trade Center bombing, or the Cole bombing, or any number of other killings of Americans? Or they did? And who was it who regularly bombed Iraq, and then Bosnia?

    Uh uh. You gotta quit playing party politics and get inoculated against Bush derangement syndrome.

    He'll be out of office soon, what will happen then? Where will all the hate go?

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  8. the muslims will still be the target....targeted by cheapskates who want everyone else to pay for their wars...

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  9. rose,
    ive never voted democrat in my life. saying that im playing partisan politics is a joke. im allowed to criticize people who i voted for.

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  10. Rose,don't expect me to defend anything to do with the Clinton/Gore regime.Not one bit,both are war criminals too.

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  11. Sorry, Theo, I was talking in that case to mresquan. But it appears he didn't like Clinton/Gore either.

    What did you think of the Iraqis braving death to go and vote? The purple fingers. The obvious pride.

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  12. You must have missed the stories about them being threatened with not receiving ration cards if they didn't vote and the fact that all candidates had to be approved by the US to appear on the ballot. Great example of democracy.

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  13. Theo....I'm not really happy with Bush euther, but equating him with Chavez is ludicrous. Muslims as tangos....nope...we're the target.

    Anon....without even asking for verification of the threats you cite...at least the People of Iraq had a choice for the first time.

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  14. As opposed to the sham elections where Saddam got 99% of the vote.

    I wonder if the Iraqi oil will become a national asset, the money is shared amongst the people (not the govt), like the Casinos do with the tribes here, like Alaska, some hybrid of those two things.

    That kind of set up would also be a beacon for the other Middle Eastern nations...

    I know, probably extremely naive, but, why not?

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  15. "I wonder if the Iraqi oil will become a national asset.."

    goverment ownership and control of assets is called socialism or communism. i thought that we "libertated" iraq to make sure that capitalism spreads....

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  16. Chavez, unlike Bush, won internationally certified elections and the reason he is so vilified in the US is because he nationalized their oil. If you think the US would vilify Chavez for nationalizing their oil but allow Iraq to do so, you are more delusional than I previously thought.

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  17. 2:14 Proof that the greatest danger to the US lives right next door.

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  18. Canada? Mexico? You have GOT to be kidding.

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  19. Oil is a national asset in the US as well. We just practically give it away to the oil industry so they can bilk us at the pump.

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  20. the feds own the oil under my property? is that true?

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  21. That depends on your deed, Theo. Many modern deeds exclude all minerals, including oil. The offshore oil, Alaskan oil, Gulf oil all belongs to the citizens of the US but the fields are leased to the oil companies.

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