Venezuela to create new workers militia

[KurtFF8]

Source (http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-create-workers-militia-165808807.html;_ylt=ArzugLamU_S79US3lyuAoL0SscB_;_ ylu=X3oDMTBzZXUwZm1iBG1pdAMEcG9zAzEwBHNlYwNsbl9MYX RBbV9nYWw-;_ylg=X3oDMTBhYWM1a2sxBGxhbmcDZW4tVVM-;_ylv=3)


http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/k8KlVUc1Hwb1cw34QxA8fA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MTg0Mjtjcj0xO2N3PTI5MjI7ZHg9MD tkeT0wO2ZpPXVsY3JvcDtoPTM5ODtxPTg1O3c9NjMw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/9c682072654dc911320f6a706700c652.jpg
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's president has ordered the creation of a new workers' militia to defend the country's "Bolivarian revolution" at a time when the government faces economic problems and political turmoil.
President Nicolas Maduro gave few details about the militia, including how many members it would consist of, but said it would be part of the Bolivarian Militia created by late President Hugo Chavez, which consists of roughly 120,000 volunteers. Analysts have said only about one-fourth of that force is combat ready.

Maduro's announcement in a speech in Caracas late Wednesday got little attention in the Venezuelan media.

The president said he had ordered military leaders to "move forward as fast as possible in the establishment and organization of the Bolivarian Militias of Workers."

He urged the crowd to imagine the respect the working class would command if it had "300,000, 500,000, 1 million, 2 million uniformed workers, armed, prepared to defend the sovereignty of the homeland."

Critics have warned such militias could be used to cement the socialist government's hold on power.

Chavez, a former paratrooper who died in March, sought to incorporate the military into his political efforts to turn Venezuela into a socialist state. During his 14-year rule, he warned repeatedly of potential threats to the government, including what he alleged were conspiracies in the United States and Venezuela's opposition, which they denied.

Maduro, whom Chavez anointed as his successor, echoed those allegations as he announced the creation of the new militia.

"In this world where there still are empires who fight to control territory, riches and people, there is no respect for the weak," Maduro said. "Respect is given to those who have morale, to those who make themselves respected."

Maduro narrowly beat opposition leader Henrique Capriles in an April 14 election that Capriles has refused to accept, alleging Maduro stole the vote through fraud, voter intimidation and abuse of public resources.

The president also is under pressure to preserve unity within his own ranks, amid reports of an internal power struggle in the Chavista movement. Adding to his woes, the economy is faltering despite having vast oil resources, with soaring inflation and shortages of food and basic necessities, including toilet paper, testing the patience of citizens.It will be interesting to see how this develops after such a close election

[Kalinin's Facial Hair]

Interesting indeed.

Maybe a response to the opposition's acts of terrorism, strengthen popular power?

[piet11111]

Well they would need such a militia is they ever plan on moving towards a socialist economy.

But all the other things Maduro has said and done seems to indicate that he doesnt want to do so.

[cyu]

Gotta love the biased reporting from the AP. You have to wonder if the reporter actually believes what they're writing, is just trying to submit something acceptable to their editor, or is suffering from Stockholm syndrome.

I wonder if there's a playbook they're ordered to follow, of if they just know they have to copy the tone of previous articles to know what will be acceptable.


at a time when the government faces economic problems and political turmoil.

"We want to make the enemy look divided and facing opposition because of insinuated oppression."


Analysts have said only about one-fourth of that force is combat ready.

"We want to make the enemy look easier to defeat in order to improve the morale of our troops."


Critics have warned such militias could be used to cement the socialist government's hold on power.

"We're not going to mention the American military that cements their capitalist government's hold on power. But we do want to make the enemy look dangerous enough to do something about, but not so dangerous that we won't attack."


he warned repeatedly of potential threats to the government, including what he alleged were conspiracies in the United States and Venezuela's opposition, which they denied.

"Which also happen to be well documented to be true, and well understood by every serious foreign policy analyst, even if they are afraid to admit it in public. So we're not going to admit it in public either."


Maduro narrowly beat opposition leader Henrique Capriles

"We want to imply the left has little support in this country, and we're not going to mention the media control by the rich, just like we have in our own country."


alleging Maduro stole the vote through fraud, voter intimidation and abuse of public resources.

"We want to put in a lot of criticism from right-wingers while ignoring leftist critics of the pro-capitalist organizations."


The president also is under pressure to preserve unity within his own ranks, amid reports of an internal power struggle in the Chavista movement.

"Divide and conquer is what it's all about my friend. If we can make the left look like they have no support, if we can get them to fight amongst themselves, our board members will be happier."


testing the patience of citizens.

"Let's see if those poor noobs will be dumb enough to fall for this one, when it was capitalist abuses that led to anti-capitalist sentiment in the first place."