Venezuela News And ViewsVenezuela News And Views: Meanwhile, back at the Venezuelan ranch
Venezuela News And Views
Monday, July 06, 2009
Meanwhile, back at the Venezuelan ranch
We need to take a break of our Honduras extensive coverage to remind people what is going on in Venezuela.
Briefly on Honduras first. Two people were indeed killed yesterday, including a teenager. Inasmuch as it is a sad event we can be happy that the count was so low. It is not good propaganda for the sitting regime of Tegucigalpa but the way Zelaya so carelessly handed his "return" is going to make these deaths difficult for internal consumption. True, outside people are going to scream in horror but what matters, let's face it, is how "zelayistas" will mobilize and that is not a certain thing at least looking at the past week. And when you read that Zelaya will come back through the back country roads, you wonder how long is it going to take until the guy finally realizes he is wasting his 15 minutes of fame.
Back at the ranch. The news today is the Venezuelan opposition making a big fuss about the REAL constitutional violations. The OAS might still not be replying but there are clear indications that the local regime is getting anxious.
First, the hero du jour, Ledezma, is persisting in his hunger strike now going into its fourth day. He has been joined by some folks and has received many well known visitors. True, In English you will not find much material on Ledezma but wait a couple more of days and we will talk about it again.
Do not think that the OAS is going to be able to play dumb and deaf fro much longer. First, in a tough editorial at Tal Cual today, Teodoro Petkoff deliberately broke the secrecy rule and reported a conversation he had a few weeks ago with OAS secretary Insulza. Needless to say that Insulza reputation is not going to improve, and his crazy bias on their way to due exposition as we are told that he is perfectly aware of Chavez regime violations of the Inter American charter now brandished against Honduras.
Furthermore that government of Chavez has given a wonderful argument to the opposition, at the worst moment: the banning of the CEDICE TV advertisements have been legally digested by the opposition and a strong counteraction is under way, timed along the Honduras events it seems. REUTERS might tend to be forgiving to Chavez but their report, even if it includes "virulent" as an adjective for Globovision, cannot hide the attempt at censorship now taking place in Venezuela. The New York Times correspondent is also noting in a brief dispatch that 240 radio stations are about to be closed. Expect a longer article on the matter soon, just as the OAS will meet again for Honduras.
I am not sure of what is really going on but I have a sense that the opposition is for once sensing its opportunity to really bother Chavez and that many countries are waiting for the excuse to silence Chavez and make a deal on Honduras. Or has no one noticed the relative calm of Brazil, Chile or Colombia, limiting themselves to the pro forma condemnation of the Honduras coup?
I do not know about you, but so far I am not seeing Chavez winning this hand. He will come back and exact revenge on us for sure, but he might have overplayed his Honduras game, even with people starting to die for the "zelayista" revolution who seems lack in people...
And here, well, once again, unity of the opposition is the key to any success, as Honduras might yet demonstrate us. The time for resolve has come.
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.
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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)
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.
