Thursday, April 25, 2013

Taking the gloves off: Capriles tells explicitly that Maduro stole the election

I did not know how to title this entry but scanning for background before typing it I thought that an adaption of Spain' El Pais would do. Because this is exactly what Capriles has done tonight: he has officially claimed that the election has been stolen from him. I am putting the portion of the video at the end of the post.

Far from me at this point to tell you that he is right or not, no matter how much evidence is already available. I am too far from the centers of opposition power and too ignored by them to be able to defend them, not that they need it much these days.

HOWEVER......

There is a few signs that show quite clearly that chavismo has something to hide. They are coming back on their word given at the UNASUR meeting of last Friday. The electoral board, CNE, goes all around saying that the results are irreversible no matter what the audit will say. They refuse to answer the written request of Capriles commando. And they are not even offering a serious audit methodology.

To this you add the ruthless campaign going on against Capriles in the state media and you do not need much to start agreeing with me: the regime has something to hide and is trying desperately to avoid an audit.  When that has happened in historical situations, I would bet anything that at least 90% of the time the people on power lost the election and were trying to retain office through cheating.

We must thus recast the battle in proper terms: this is not anymore about whether Capriles got a vote more or a vote less: this is about democracy, accounting, ethics, and the rule of law. And this is exactly what Capriles did tonight, stupidly proven right by yet another governmental abuse during his press conference.

This week has brought an increased attack against Capriles:  personal, fascist in the best tradition of Goebbels and his Cuban distinguished students.  The worse was yesterday's noon cadena where edited videos of last week wanted to prove that Capriles had been the single organizer of all the violence that happened last week. This came along the equally fascist threats from Iris Varela as to her having a cell bunk ready for Capriles, without mentioning the wave of repression that has fallen over the country since April 14, from tortured student protesting to firing public employees who were at the water cooler at the wrong time, because someone hear them pronounce the word Capriles.

Capriles took his time and replied tonight, not wanting to perturb what mattered more, that the CNE fess up to its promise of last Friday. But as this one was not coming he went to a press conference tonight to speak his truth.

Of course, only Globovision was showing him, the other "independent" networks having been duly brow beaten by the regime last week with direct threats from Maduro (well, he threatened Televen, the only one that still shows on occasion real news). And yet the regime knows that when Capriles speaks people tune in to Globovision and maybe half of the country on TV is watching him. So the regime did the only thing they know to do: silence him. They suddenly played again the cadena of yesterday, cutting sharp Capriles press conference (reminder: a cadena is the forced commandeering by the state of ALL TV AND RADIO STATIONS for a simultaneous broadcast, with no right to reply for anyone, of course  not even on state TV late at night).

That way I could see that infamous cadena that I had missed for being at work. It certainly was infamous and show all the power of the state magnifying incidents that happen in any national election in Venezuela to the status of coup mongering and terrorism, all under the order of Capriles. Editing does wonders, you know.

Once the cadena was over (I am sparing you the details, in particular of the Peopl'e Ombudsman who clearly thinks that non chavistas are not people) Globovision went back to where Capriles left and this one, certainly expecting such a clumsy move, had already at hand all the material to discredit the cadena, while showing pictures of the tortured students and wondering whether the Venezuelan state prosecutor was also going to investigate these victims.

All of Capriles presentation was this forceful, tearing down one by one the mask of the CNE and Maduro, announcing that the elections had been stolen from him, that he did not care about the threats, that they should dare put him in jail, giving the CNE an ultimatum, while reminding that the new regime had still to do anything positive for the people in spite of being in office since last December 8.  He even found a way to totally humiliate Madruo while he replied to a journalist question about Maduro overreacting by putting to jail the heckler at his inauguration. "Ridiculo! No seas Bolsa" he said, which loosely translate as "you are ridiculous, do not be a nincompoop".  That heckler, by the way, having also crashed in the past a Chavez event and a Capriles one and even a Miss Venezuela. Needless to say that

#elpropiobolsa and #SeRobaronLasElecciones


became instant Twitter trends in Venezuela.

I cannot remember when a just elected president was ridiculed so fast, and given zero honey moon......

Of course this means that the ante are going up. But the regime is the one forcing the issue, overpalying its hands with lies and manipulations, unable to explain why ballots should not be audited properly even though the law allows for that.. Capriles ended up with an unassailable ploy: he called everyone to go to church next Sunday and pray for the country. But I doubt that this will slow down the inexorable march of the regime towards open violence.


30 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:11 AM

    This won't end well. The regime will try to have him assasinated soon, I suspect. I'd say they will have him assasinated, but they're incompetent.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michel Garcia8:23 AM

    Check this out (in spanish):
    http://dolartoday.com/video/el-proceso-juridico-de-la-revolucion/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Island Canuck12:45 PM

    Daniel, excellent summary.

    For those of you who don't understand Spanish I would like to add that the Capriles of April 2013 is a totally different man than the Capriles of September / October 2012.

    He's forceful, believable, charismatic and honest.
    He has never said anything that would would push people to violence.
    Quite the opposite. He keeps asking for peace & telling people to act under the rules of the constitution & the law even in the face of provocations from the regime.

    The're will not be an easy resolution to this problem. As Daniel says it's now very obvious that the regime has something to hide. They will not agree to an audit unless forced to by something they fear more than Capriles.

    Maybe "The Pueblo"?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous1:42 PM

    I had said last week that this fight from Capriles was worth fighting to expose the cne in an effort to restore confidence in the system. It doesn't matter if he won by one vote or by 10%. The cne is broken, and if not corrected there will be zero confidence in the system to vote democratically in the future.

    The audit is not really about counting votes because it is close. It is an avenue to expose the 3200+ violations committed before, during and after the vote. Capriles won without a doubt. The election was stolen and now the truth has to come out.

    Last night Capriles went back on the offensive. Lets see how chavismo responds today. They panic under pressure, and take one more step towards the gallows with each stupid move they make.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Milonga1:43 PM

    What credibility will an audit have now? They are probably moving things around to prove Maduro won! Stupid move that cadena interrupting Capriles which probably made many more people watch Capriles! His reading of the Pope's letter to Venezuela was a perfect chess move!

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  6. margareth2:34 PM

    Milonga totalmente de acuerdo contigo. Beginning with the Pope.

    I wonder what will happen what Capriles said about the stealing of reales by
    Diputado Carreño. How does he know about that? He must have been very sure about it and very risky to mention that in public. Look at the face of Carreño, parece un coimero del primera clase...I thought yesterday. They say never judge a book by its cover, but I always do.....;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous3:32 PM

    So far, this is the only clear evidence I have seen that fraud did in fact occur. If the CNE had nothing to hide, it wouldn't act like it had so much to hide. I'm convinced.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Michel Garcia7:57 PM

    Kind of OT article, but interesing nonetheless:
    http://prodavinci.com/blogs/corea-del-norte-esta-en-america-del-sur-por-fernando-mires/

    ReplyDelete
  9. margareth8:21 PM

    Look at this...fantastic!!


    Cita:
    El nuevo ministro del Interior y Justicia, Miguel Rodríguez Torres, informó que los organismos de inteligencia del Estado investigan desde octubre del año pasado lo que han denominado la “Conexión Abril”, la cual perseguía generar violencia tras las elecciones y fomentar una guerra civil.

    O sea, ya en Octubre sabían que iba a haber elecciones en Abril?

    Nojoda, este Rodríguez Torres es todavía más imbécil y mojonero que Reverol, el que se fué.
    http://www.noticierodigital.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=961457

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am still appalled at the international community. It seems the Pope is about the only one with some nerve. I understand US has not recognized maduro, but it is being criticized abroad.
    What a curious things has happened since I came to the US. Back in the day the position of the US in international issues counted for something, and countries around the globe knew that if the US picked up their cause (like Venezuela today) to have US backing them up was a huge victory already. But the leftist, US haters here and abroad have managed to neuter the country. Most times now US don’t stand for anything, and when it does it gets dismissed by the most inconsequential clown.
    So if what is happening in Venezuela would have happened 30 yeast ago, the US would have protested and carry the support of Europe and other democracies around the globe. It would have been the backing Capriles needed to perhaps overcome the stolen elections and save the country.
    So the US haters have won, the US is very inconsequential. But what they did not foresee was that their countries could be taken over by the radical, progressive, fascist left, socialist of the XXI century (the most radical in their camp). Now they need something like the US they destroyed to save them, but the work was done too good and there is nobody to answer the call for help.
    With all the “openness” of France, where is France’s hand to Venezuela? Canada? Spain? OAS? UN? UE? Who is answering the call for help from Venezuela? Nobody!!!
    While this comment uses Venezuela situation, is the same with Argentine (they just passed the judicial reform, so now CFK can appoint a judicial system like TSJ) and Bolivia, and Ecuador, Brazil, etc, etc. They are all marching in the same direction and there is nothing that will stop them.
    Capriles is putting a valiant effort, but you see that it doesn't matter, even to have the majority behind you (I believe Capriles won by a good margin) doesn't matter. It wont matter if they jail him, harm him or force him into exile. The crazies are in charge, they will get more radical, they are here to stay...and stay they will because we know that not even cancer can rid us of them.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Island Canuck9:32 PM

    "I am still appalled at the international community. It seems the Pope is about the only one with some nerve."

    With what's going on in Syria & North Korea & the world reaction you are surprised by their reaction to Venezuela?

    To me they see Venezuela as a pimple of the ass of the world & as long as the problem doesn't spill over the border into neighbouring countries they will sit on the fence.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ronaldo3:28 PM

      Island Canuck,
      More civilians are murdered in Venezuela each year than in Iraq which is still in a war. You never hear this on the media?

      Palestinians dominate the news media. But why not Venezuela?
      Israel has killed about 4,900 Palestinians in the last 20 years....and the majority of those dead have been engaged in military action against Israel or were being used as human shields by militants.

      In Venezuela, 20,000 civilians are murdered annually.
      Where is the coverage? Where is the coverage?

      Delete
  12. Milonga11:33 PM

    http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21576428-weak-showing-governments-candidate-creates-dangerous-face-ebbing-support?frsc=dg|a

    The Economist talking about a tightening grip, which is getting worse every day. Every US citizen will be denounced from now on as hate perpetrator and all Caprilistas jailed for stimulating a coup d´etat. And as Orlando says, lots of people write or talk, but the international community looks to the other side, mainly because the Unasur has given their support to Maduro and who is going to fight against that!

    I'm really sick!

    ReplyDelete
  13. margareth11:49 PM

    Can nobody twitter what is on our minds? I don't have twitter nor a facebook account. But the rest of you maybe?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michel Garcia7:35 AM

      People has done so, on both FB and TW, in spanish, english, french, italian, and other languages.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous4:28 AM

    in response about the international community...

    Yes Venezuela is on their own, I am from USA after living there in CCS 03 to 07 and witnessing the atrocities of the regime, noone knows or cares, they read soundbites only, people from the US who hated Bush thought Chavez was right( Sean Penn....)from the soundbytes I hate Bush but I know and I care, six years later I still read Daniel and others every day. It infuriates me even though I never had a stake or penny on the line in VZ

    It is time Venezuleans take their own country back, I am not trying to be mean but I witnessed the indifference, resignation and acceptance on how things were, I agree it is a tall order to fight this regime( non violently I hope) but i was appalled at how during the world cup I saw thousands take to the street to cheer for a country that had nothing to do with VZ the same passion needs to be used for themselves, their kids etc.

    Fight back do not give up, eventually you will succeed. Do not comply, do not resign, do not give up, it is on the way to ending these days are important. Don't give up and go have scotch and accept this anymore keep plugging away

    ReplyDelete
  15. I agree with anonymous@9:58. I understand the feelings about the international community not saying a lot at this point in time, but the world is a much different planet than from 30 years ago. With almost instantaneous communication available, and everyone knows everything that happens,it is much more difficult for any country, but especially the US, to try to influence, interfere, or even make suggestions to other countries. That there is support for the democratic party cannot be denied. However, the situation that Venezuela finds itself in can only be resolved by Venezuelans. There are many, many, many millions of people, worldwide, who are pulling for you, including me. "The right outcome" might not come this month, in 3 months, or even in a year. But after having come SO far just in the last 2 months, you must continue to fight the GOOD fight, NOT the Chavista fight. Animo a todos los venezolanos! No se rindan, y sigan empujando hacia un futuro mejor!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous6:41 AM

    The international community has not cared because most don't know anything about what is going on here. Only in the last week have there been any fact based headlines on any of the major networks. That is a major improvement. Usually the only headlines are the government paid propaganda clips that highlight missions and how the government is doing a damn fine job. If I were to see one more press release praising the "firebrand paratrooper", I think I might puke.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:14 PM

      Anonymous, I couldn't agree more. Calling Chavez a paratrooper insults the military to no end. He was a coward who let others die while he hid in the same military museum where his body lies today. Chavez illegally wore military uniforms while president. Here is a stupid photo of Chavez looking like an admiral. http://www.filibustercartoons.com/content/pic_essays/leaders/democ/chavez2.jpg Kadhafi of Libya designed the outfit.

      Visit http://www.filibustercartoons.com/pictessays_leaders_democ.php to see other dictators wearing military medals.

      Delete
  17. Milonga12:35 PM

    Margareth: we are tweeting our lives away! We're making them crazy! Actually, In Cuba there is no or little internet so this avalanche of tweets was not in their plans! They cannot lie, you see! If they say a CDI Has been burnt by opposition violence, a minute later there's a pic of it working normally and shown to the world! It's almost funny but unfortunately tragic!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous2:00 PM

    Now they are detaining American filmmakers? I think nicholas has seen Argo one too many times

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous4:39 PM

    Opposition now calling for new vote not an audit.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I'll keep quoting Gene Sharp
    From Dictatorship To Democracy:
    http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations/org/FDTD.pdf

    "A few harsh realities concerning reliance on foreign intervention need to be emphasized here:
    • Frequently foreign states will tolerate, or even positively assist, a dictatorship in order to advance their own economic or political interests.
    • Foreign states also may be willing to sell out an oppressed
    people instead of keeping pledges to assist their liberation at the cost of another objective.
    • Some foreign states will act against a dictatorship only to gain their own economic, political, or military control over the country.
    • The foreign states may become actively involved for positive purposes only if and when the internal resistance movement has already begun shaking the dictatorship, having thereby focused international attention on the brutal nature
    of the regime."

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm in the US, and I'm sad that this issue isn't getting more attention. It's up to us to keep the pressure on, to (at least!) promote awareness especially if we care about democracy. Also, wanted to let you know that a liberal member of the House of Commons in Canada released a statement this week. It's here, on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRUazhY2tXo

    ReplyDelete
  22. margareth6:15 PM

    Thank you Milonga for your answer. Don't stop tweeting.....there is a new one......#NoalaAuditoriaCHIMBA ;)

    ReplyDelete
  23. margareth7:09 PM

    Capriles must do a tweet like "golpe electoral" This regime did a "modern golpe de estado" messing with the machines.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Have you seen Carlos Latuff's posters about HCR? They're not only offensive but libelous!

    ReplyDelete
  25. It's is quite hard for people in any country to know what is truly going on in another country.For gosh sakes many people in any given country have a hard enough time with their own country.If this were not so, Chavez would never have been elected.Journalism today is partly to blame, so are the innate human biases we all have...and culture, language, and experience also play important roles.

    But that doesn't mean we should stop trying to get our message out there, because this does put some pressure on the government,and something is better than nothing.

    firepigette

    ReplyDelete
  26. I come here for my information beyond what I hear from my friends in CCS. Here, in New Zealand, we got a few column cm in our dailies around the April 14 election but now -nothing. Our Head of State and trade leaders visited Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Brazil recently - but not Venezuela. The idiots are doing untold damage to how the world sees Vz. Unfortunately if another country interfered - there would be BIG trouble and it would be unlikely to end well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ross, unfortunately they are already interfering by printing exaggerations, lies and biased reports, or even by not informing at all.

      And believe me, that has a significant influence.

      Delete

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