Venezuela News And ViewsVenezuela News And Views: The Venezuelan 2008 election: update 8- The real poll
Venezuela News And Views
Saturday, October 04, 2008
The Venezuelan 2008 election: update 8- The real poll
It does not matter how far you go (at least in your mind), it does not matter that you are only too happy Internet is expensive as an excuse to avoid getting sucked by Venezuelan news, they reach you anyway. In fact, the little bit that reached me was persuasive enough to allow me a quick electoral update. Among the many events that happened through the second half of September we can list the following ones, without any particular order:
- Chavez crashes into several capitals for photo ops, even in Paris a few days before I arrived there. Note: these are real photo ops as nothing substantial is negotiated at each stop, as no red carpet nor official state reception is previewed. But Chavez gets his picture shacking hand with the local potentate.
- Since the "yankis de mierda" speech the stream of vulgar invectives against anyone that crosses Chavez path has gone down unabated. There is no more debate, if there was any, only insults from Chavez at every campaign stop.
- Opposition figures passports are now routinely photocopied when they come back home from some foreign trip. There is no valid reason offered considering the fact that the Venezuelan government is supposedly already in the know of who does travel where and when. Or why else are the immigration officials for? Heinz Sonntag passport was even annulled as "deficient" though the man has used it dozens of times. And even poor Yon Goicochea coming back from his honeymoon was scanned (at least his bride went through). I suppose that since we met overseas by accident I should be included in that lot: it was a famous museum cafeteria, surely there was embassy personnel spying on us from a corner.
- Vivanco and assistant from HRW were violently expelled from Venezuela because they published an unflattering report on Human Rights in Venezuela. That their treatment confirmed everything in that report does not seem to have crossed the mind of the fascist group that took them tot he airport to catch the first flight. In an amusing detail that speaks volumes on how bonkers these people are becoming, they had no qualms in delaying by hours the Sao Paulo flight, the last one to leave Maiquetia in the day, until they could put inside Vivancos. Amusingly the passengers were complaining because they thought that again the flight was delayed in order for some running late chavista big wig to catch it....
- Yesterday Baduel was arrested. The interest here is not whether Baduel deserves it or not (he gets little sympathy from me as he is one of the fathers of the beast) but on how the arrest procedure took place, reminding us of daylight fascist arrests. Clearly, the objective is to scare dissent.
- Students are now killed at the rate of one a week, including just sworn in elected leaders.
- The National Assembly passed on first discussion a law that will allow Chavez to appoint military personnel to supervise the newly elected governors and mayors, ending thus effectively their local authority.
This all from afar or just as I arrive. I am sure that once I get back in the mood to search news I will be able to double that list easily.
The question thus is very simple: who do you think is leading in polls in Venezuela these days? I thought we would agree.....
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.
Estamos en Venezuela, nunca se sabe. In spite of its Spanish title, an irregular blog about a French student observing Venezuela. Interesting pictures.
General info and discontinued blogs but with good archives
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.
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.
And a new comer:Venezuela es noticia.
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.
Some blogs, more or less sycophantic.
Yosmary, campaigning for Mario Silva, quite something.
Less sycophantic, even critical on occasion Terreno baldio.
=====================================
Map of Venezuela to help you locate the different locales mentioned through the blog (click here for a more detailed map)
For the memories. The picture below dates from the epic days of the December 2002/January 2003 "El Paro", when the opposition was strong and decided, and when Chavez was low in polls.
Then came the "misiones" and the worst populist episode of our history. Through pacific protests and strikes we tried to preserve democracy.
History proved us right even if we lost that battle.
Marching toward Hotel Melia, 01/31/03, 5 PM.
Small yellow square under the Pepsi ball is the big stage.
A special thanks to JoAnne Schmitz for the suggestions and help in setting this blog up.
