Venezuela News And ViewsVenezuela News And Views: Prozac for everybody! Kiss and make up in Santo Domingo
Venezuela News And Views
Friday, March 07, 2008
Prozac for everybody! Kiss and make up in Santo Domingo
I am traveling so little time to follow up close the news. Too bad because today was truly something. No time to put links, so you will need to take me on faith from my radio and TV occasional glimpses. The Rio group gathers in Santo Domingo
Well, the scheduled reunion was expected to end up with someone punching someone's else face and it ended up fine, to everyone surprise. It seems that eventually common sense prevailed, that Chavez and Correa realizing that their broadband insulting of Uribe was not taking them anywhere decided to take a breather. So, let's distribute awards.
The big victor of the day award Lionel Fernandez, who as president of Dominican Republic and the host demonstrated extraordinary skill in shepherding his summit and obtaining a positive result. When he finishes his term he has a promising future at the UN or the OAS.
The come from behind winner
Uribe, no question. After the OAS summit he kept pressing, standing firm, calling everyone's bluff and it paid off. At the end drunkard Ortega had to withdraw his earlier break up with Colombia, shit faced Correa had to shake Uribe's hand and Chavez had to salute him. The winner of the round, no question. His walk around the table to go and reach out to Correa will remain in the annals of direct diplomacy.
The sour puss award
Correa. He knew he was beaten, that he had more to lose than to win trying to make a mountain of a mole hill. So he relented and allowed for a conciliatory moment. He still benefits from the OAS inquiry commission to recoup, but tonight he is in full retreat. But his face and the one of his foreign minister told the story.
The back from the abyss award
We must give him something: he lost graciously, at least by his standard. Although it was clear he was pissed when Uribe stood up and walk to Correa, as a consummate showman Chavez knew that Uribe was nailing it. So, he decided to accept with a big smile Uribe calling on him. Months of insulting Uribe to end up pitifully like that. But at least he minimized as much as possible the damage to his image today. We must grant him that cleverness. The question now is if there is no coming war with Colombia, at least in the next weks, what is Chavez going to do when he comes back to an ever deteriorating home front? "tanto nadar para ahogarse en la orilla" (so much swimming to drown at the shore).
Bad move of the day
Chavez invited to attend the summit two people that had no business there: Piedad Cordoba and Yolanda Pulecio. As a diplomatic summit the Colombian senator and the mother of Ingrid, clearly suffering form a bad case of Stockholm syndrome, were a silly ploy by Chavez to try to impress Uribe. As usual, he underestimated the man who not only accepted this unaccountable intrusion but went ahead saying all what he had to say anyway, perhaps even morally strengthened. Thus we had Chavez the manipulator and Uribe the statesman in an even starker contrast.
And these two women degraded their image inside Colombia even further where now they can be treated as traitors in the public opinion eyes. I wonder if Ingrid is ever released alive if she will thank her mother for the delays she caused to her freedom as being such a convenient puppet of Chavez and the FARC... But if Ms. Pulecio had at least an emotional excuse, Cordoba had none. Banking on the discomfiture of the president of her country in public sitting on the side that was supposed to do the humiliation, she will pay the consequences. Such political errors rarely remain unpunished.
Grim moment of the day
Perhaps the success of Uribe today could also be explained by the news that had been circulating. Ivan Rios, FARC number 4 was killed three days ago (was the release of the info a planned strategy by Colombia today?). Thus in a week FARC loses 2 and 4.
But it got worse when details came. It was the body guards of Ivan who killed their boss to cash the bounty. And they sent to the army as a safe conduct the severed right hand of Ivan, his computer and his ID papers. Ah! The lovely FARC that Chavez, Correa, Cordoba and assorted jerks think is worthy to support....
Written from the Venezuelan provinces, this blog started as private letters to my friends overseas, letters narrating the difficult days of the 2002/2003 strike in Venezuela. These letters became this mix of news, comments, pictures of the Venezuelan situation. Unknowingly, I have written the diary of Venezuela slow descent into authoritarianism, the slow erosion of our liberties, the takeover of the country by a military caste, the surrendering of our soul to our inner demons.
Click logo above to go directly to the English language blog. Click here to go to the Spanish language mirror.
Not all key word will be searched through the blogger default search above. If that one fails try this one.
THE DAILY READS
For many years only one major newspaper in Venezuela had an English language section, El Univesal.
Venezuela Crisis has a visual and textual record "hors pair" of the recent electoral campaign in Venezuela, the first blogger to have covered live a Venezuelan campaign. Seems to be on a resting phase for a few weeks.
Veneconomy has some of the very best editorials that can be found in English on Venezuela.
Miguel's blog longest serving blogger, a role model. Plus, all you need to know on chavismo suspicious financial deals.
THE REGULAR READS (mostly from Venezuelans on Venezuela)
Estamos en Venezuela, nunca se sabe. In spite of its Spanish title, an irregular blog about a French student observing Venezuela. Interesting pictures.
STORAGE AND INFO ON VENEZUELA
General info
Local anti-Chavez links are compiled by Iruña, along political activities going on.
Some of the documents discussed in this blog have been posted "as is" in a Document Section. Usually articles that appear in paid sites.
Digital papers with Venezuela and LatAm in mind (in Spanish)
There are two major digital papers with forums and all, for a permanent clash between factions. Noticiero Digital is the oldest one and Noticias 24 is giving it a run for tis money.
Ciudadania Activa has a large selection of articles on Venezuelan politics and civil rights issues.
Relevant info to expose some of the regime's propaganda and human rights violations
The lies of April
The famous "infamous" video "The revolution will not be televised" has been duly analyzed and shown to be in large measure a crass manipulation. Counter-video in Spanish here, and summary of main points here.
There is a documentary that follows the April 2002 events from the perspective on what Chavez did that April 11, "La Cadena". It is about the forced broadcast made by Chavez to hide the massacre of the pacific march on Miraflores.
The infamous apartheid like system of the Tascon and Maisanta lists
The compilation of various documents from Miguel.
The video "La Lista" and my reviews in English and Spanish by invitation at Hispalibertas.
The El Nacional review of Perez Oramas.
The original video itself can be seen here.
Diverse Human Rights pages
Of course, from Amnesty International to the Human Rights Watch page, without forgetting local organizations such as prestigious COFAVIC, the Venezuelan government comes only too often lacking in its Human Rights record.
OTHER FOLKS WITH VENEZUELA MORE OR LESS IN THEIR MIND (Please send links that should be added here)
And of course to be fair there must be links to pro-Chavez sites. I do pride myself of having been the first opposition blog to have listed pro Chavez links; a situation that has now changed. However extremely rare is the pro Chavez page or blog that links to any of the sites listed above. The readers might draw their own conclusion
Aporrea (Beat up, bruise! as in the imperative mode of the verb; the only interesting one if you can read Spanish. Predicts the future)
And of course the full time propaganda agencies, ALL at tax payer expenses, the National Radio coverage, RNV, and the rather deficient official news agency, ABN (both in Spanish).
Without forgetting the "official" newsletter in English.
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Map of Venezuela to help you locate the different locales mentioned through the blog (click here for a more detailed map)
The pics and march map below date from the epic days of the December 2002/January 2003 "El Paro", when the opposition was strong and decided.
Forgive me if for sentimental reasons I leave them there. It was a huge and pacific period and thus should be celebrated as long as we feel that our freedom is endangered, to remind us that what we were once.
Map indicating the paths of some great marches through Caracas during the strike, some with more than half a million folks.
Dotted areas indicate a rally at end of march.
Blue halos indicate the starting points of "Media March" which pictures are the ones you see.
Click on any picture for a bigger version.
Marching toward Hotel Melia, 01/31/03, 5 PM.
Small yellow square under the Pepsi ball is the big stage.
Looking back to the coming wave (01/31/03).
A special thanks to JoAnne Schmitz for the suggestions and help in setting this blog up.
