Venezuela - President Maduro issues arrest warrant for opposition leader Lopez

[ckaihatsu]

Venezuela - President Maduro issues arrest warrant for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMSprFC9ly0


Venezuela - anti-government protest leader arrested on charges of murder and terrorism

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SenPxp5vAgA


More anti government protests in Caracas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJrQDxrPTfo


Caracas chaos video - Gunfire, clashes as 3 dead in violent Venezuela protests

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFPkt0AuSFA

[tuwix]

Let's say who is this Leopoldo Lopez without watching on YT. He's a man employed by US government proxies to restore classic capitalism in Venezuela.

[motion denied]

Oh no Maduro is being anti-democratic again!

[Os Cangaceiros]

The executive can issue arrest warrants in Venezuela?

[Raquin]

Waste of time unless this is step two:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/21/article-2051552-0E76557D00000578-565_634x703.jpg

[Bala Perdida]

Waste of time unless this is step two:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/21/article-2051552-0E76557D00000578-565_634x703.jpg
Ordering his arrest was already a bad move for him, this is only gonna anger the public more. If he executes him, like it appears you are suggesting, that's gonna set off a riot! Then the opposition will take advantage of that, stage a coup, and send Venezuela into an economic crisis similar to that seen in Eastern-Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union.

The opposition are mostly a bunch of self proclaimed social democrats who want to give privilege back to the bourgeoisie.

I recognize that the government of Venezuela has been taking authoritarian measures against their opposition for a while, but now they have no choice. So the bourgeois is capitalizing off of this to rally support, as well as the increasing crime in Venezuela. I can't help but think the US might be playing a bigger part in this than we think. Also with all the corruption in Venezuela, they (the bourgeoisie) might be paying off police to cause discontent.

[Tim Cornelis]

Waste of time unless this is step two:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/21/article-2051552-0E76557D00000578-565_634x703.jpg

Idiot. You say you're not a Stalinist, but if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck....

[consuming negativity]

I did a bit of digging on the internet (can't watch Youtube videos at the moment) and found that students are mainly protesting because two other students were killed during other protests. However, what I'm more interested in is why the students are protesting in the first place? What do they want from the government?

[Os Cangaceiros]

I did a bit of digging on the internet (can't watch Youtube videos at the moment) and found that students are mainly protesting because two other students were killed during other protests. However, what I'm more interested in is why the students are protesting in the first place? What do they want from the government?

I don't think that the Venezuelan economy is doing so good. It's probably related to that.

[motion denied]

While I do agree that the executive issuing warrants is a dangerous precedent*, I cannot help but be very skeptical towards the hospital-burning-cuban-doctors-bashing opposition.

After last presidential elections we all saw what those "democrats" tried to do.

*If that's truly what happened.

[ckaihatsu]

I did a bit of digging on the internet (can't watch Youtube videos at the moment)


Technical aside:


Download YouTube videos as video files, for viewing anytime, on any device

http://www.revleft.com/vb/download-youtube-videos-t182944/index.html

[Comrade Jacob]

This is such a bad move. There is no way he will win the next election in 2019 now. He needs to nationalize, right now because the problems are caused by the private sector and it existing.

[Comrade Jacob]

Waste of time unless this is step two:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/21/article-2051552-0E76557D00000578-565_634x703.jpg

Now, I want to see Lopez pay for his conspiracy of attempting to dis-rail Venezuela's road to socialism but please this makes you look sociopathic.

[Criminalize Heterosexuality]

Now, I want to see Lopez pay for his conspiracy of attempting to dis-rail Venezuela's road to socialism but please this makes you look sociopathic.

Do you genuinely think Venezuela is on the road to socialism? That socialism can be built by the decrees of an admittedly bourgeois government? That is completely incompatible with Leninism.

This is a struggle between two bourgeois factions - although one faction might appear to be "anti-imperialist", their "anti-imperialism" will soon disintegrate in face of economic pressure.

[ckaihatsu]

Venezuela's Maduro calls for peace violent protests persist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FDE7Rp7SJU


Venezuelan authorities free dozens of student protesters as clashes with security forces continue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6fEr65Ei3M

[Ocean Seal]

Idiot. You say you're not a Stalinist, but if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck....
To be fair I'm pretty sure most tendencies are pretty okay with killing reactionary leaders/ bourgeois representatives. Unless you mean to say that this is because Maduro is himself a bourgeois head of state.

[Ocean Seal]

I don't think that the Venezuelan economy is doing so good. It's probably related to that.
Ehh among latin american economics I would say that its not under performing. Even compared to other "leftist" nations like Bolivia and Ecuador. There hasn't been a steep drop off either recently.

[Illegalitarian]

It's a problem with inflation.


Venezuela has came along ways since the late 90's with poverty, unemployment, healthcare, education, housing, etc, but inflation has always been a huge problem.


I think the lesson here is this: no half measures. If you're going to start expropriating private businesses and nationalizing them, don't stop with this company and that company and this one, as this is only going to force the bourgeois into a siege mentality where they will fight back with everything they have, be it price gouging thus inflation or funding right wing forces, both things that are happening and have been happening within the country.


Now we have a dual economy, half black-market goods peddled to people below state price controls, and of course the state economy.

Does Maduro have the guts to step up nationalization and crack down on the increasingly well-together right and bourgeois direct action, or will he fidget and end up handing over the keys to someone like Capriles? Time will tell I suppose.


Civil unrest like this is never monolithic, however, so it's wrong to look at this as merely "right wingers funded by the private sector", though no doubt they're probably the most prominent voice on the scene. There are legitimate complaints to be had with the Maduro government, hopefully they don't get lose in the frucus.

[RedSonRising]

I've seen some images of pretty brutal repression by the police against student demonstrators. Although given the source, it's hard for me to take it seriously.

This video is fairly choppy in terms of it's message and production, but if these are images from the past few days, this government won't last.

EFS6cP9auDc

[ckaihatsu]

Tensions rise in Venezuela as pro and anti-government activists take to streets of Caracas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpn1G9nSxv4


Demonstrators clash with riot police in Caracas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-xokmprtnI

[ckaihatsu]

Venezuelan opposition shows its right-wing, racist and anti-working class character in the streets of Washington, D.C.

A tale of two demonstrations: Eyewitness report

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http://www.answercoalition.org/national/assets/images/solidarity-Bolivarian-Revolution.jpg
In front of the Venezuelan Embassy - Washington, D.C., Feb. 15, 2014

Yesterday (Sat., Feb. 15) at a demonstration in Washington, D.C., the racist, privileged and pampered character of the ultra-right-wing opponents of Venezuela’s revolutionary government revealed itself in a grotesque display.

Vividly unmasking the true class nature of the opposition to Venezuela’s progressive government, the enraged children of Venezuela’s upper classes, who live a coddled existence in Washington, D.C., yelled insults and racist slurs against a multi-racial group of demonstrators who rallied for six hours to condemn the U.S. government and the CIA for trying to carry out another coup against the progressive government led by Nicolas Maduro.

Standing in front of Venezuela’s Embassy in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C., the demonstration was one of many taking place all over the United States in opposition to the CIA’s effort to carry out another sabotage and destabilization in Latin America.

“We, the people of the United States, are mobilizing around the country with a simple message: the government of the United States is trying to use the tactics of economic disruption and sabotage to overthrow the Bolivarian Revolution. The U.S. government speaks in our name but we, the people, oppose this policy,” explained one of the demonstrators over a bullhorn.

The empowered children of Venezuela’s elite went nuts.

“You are Cuban mother****ers” they chanted. Pointing at Black demonstrators, they yelled: “Go back to your homeless shelter.” Stylish, well dressed and chic, Venezuela’s elite arrived for several hours in expensive cars to conduct a counterdemonstration. They brought a team of four impeccably groomed, small, purebred dogs adorned in costumes, and proceeded to pose for pictures with them.

They reflected the typical arrogance of those who have lived with servants throughout life. They spent their entire time pouring out abuse and hatred toward the rally of working-class people who had come out because they oppose the U.S. government using its vast power in an attempt to derail a revolution that is so clearly benefiting Venezuela’s poor.

They called the multi-racial, progressive demonstrators “stupid” and “lazy” and, of course, “communists.” Americans fighting for civil rights or an end to the Vietnam War recognize these echoes from our own homegrown right-wing bigots. But the arrogance of Venezuela’s affluent community in Washington, D.C., seemed boundless.

These empowered rich kids from Venezuela – who go to Georgetown University, which costs over $58,000 a year to attend – screamed out at the demonstration that was attended mostly by working-people in Washington, D.C., “why don’t you get a job” and “who are you” and “go home.”

It was a bad showing for Venezuela’s upper classes. Even though they were in Washington, D.C., they acted like they owned the place. They are an owning class and they cannot conceal their arrogance. They are convinced that they should always own Venezuela’s vast wealth while the majority of the population lives in dire poverty. Why not own the streets of Georgetown too while yelling at working-class people in Washington, D.C., that they should “go home!”

They were dripping with class privilege. These coddled teenagers and twenty-somethings whipped themselves into a frenzy. They gave people the middle finger, and yelled and screamed things such as “Who’s paying you?” and “Come over to our side and we’ll pay you twice the minimum wage.”

They came in shifts so they wouldn’t have to stay out in the cold too long. But it was clear that the progressive demonstration was determined to stay. The temperatures were below freezing. There was a stiff wind, making it feel even colder, and snow for part of the time. The numbers of the right wing dwindled and dwindled. At 4:30 p.m., the last of them retreated and the progressive demonstrators raised their signs and banners, and chanted: “The people united will never be defeated.”

We encourage everyone to join these upcoming events:

Washington, D.C.: Counter the lies of the right wing at the OAS

Wed., Feb. 19, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Outside the OAS

Washington, D.C.-area organizations are calling a rally on Wednesday, Feb. 19 outside the Organization of American States (OAS) – where the right wing will be having a protest at the same time.

We urge you to join us to defend the Bolivarian Revolution, to denounce the right-wing attacks on the people, and to demand that the United States government stop funding the opposition groups, which are responsible for the violence

Find more info and RSVP on Facebook

SF Venezuela demo flyer

http://www2.answercoalition.org/images/content/pagebuilder/Venezuela_protest_Feb_17_2014-page-001.jpg
View the flyer and help spread the word

Emergency rally in San Francisco

Monday, Feb. 17, 12:00 noon
24th and Mission

We urge you to join us Mon., Feb. 17, 12 noon, 24th & Mission St., SF, to defend the Bolivarian Revolution, to denounce the right-wing attacks on the people, and to demand that the United States government stop funding the opposition groups, which are responsible for the violence.

For information: 415-821-6545.

Click here for more information



Click here to view a complete listing of events in solidarity with Venezuela

Your donation to the ANSWER Coalition allows us to sustain this movement against war, and for social and economic justice. The ANSWER Coalition is active in cities and towns throughout the country. We can do this work with your continuing support. Please make an urgently needed donation today.

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[KurtFF8]

I've seen some images of pretty brutal repression by the police against student demonstrators. Although given the source, it's hard for me to take it seriously.

This video is fairly choppy in terms of it's message and production, but if these are images from the past few days, this government won't last.

EFS6cP9auDc

You post an anti-socialist opposition video and conclude that "this government won't last"?

I don't understand why some Leftists buy into this "look people are protesting so they deserve support" kind of analysis.

My apologies if I've misunderstood your post though.

[La Guaneña]

A rally with 3-5 milion people, depending on sources, supporting the government and the popular measures and all the ultra-right and imperialist-sympathetic left care about are some fascist-inflated demos with 500 people.

Fuuuuuuuuucking pathetic

[bropasaran]

Do you genuinely think Venezuela is on the road to socialism? That socialism can be built by the decrees of an admittedly bourgeois government?
I've read mentions here and there that there have been experiments in economic and political (direct) democracy in Venezuela during Chavez, is that true?

[RedSonRising]

You post an anti-socialist opposition video and conclude that "this government won't last"?

I don't understand why some Leftists buy into this "look people are protesting so they deserve support" kind of analysis.

My apologies if I've misunderstood your post though.

I knew from the outset it wasn't to be trusted, which is why I mentioned it, just thought I'd post the footage regardless. Unsurprisingly the use of fake imagery has surfaced:

http://venezuelasolidarity.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/photos-venezuelan-fascists-use-fake-pictures-on-social-media-to-generate-chaos/

Still though, I think the government is in danger. The US-funded right wing in Venezuela has forced the hand of the state to look every bit the repressive dictatorship they want to portray it as. The fact that students are also protesting is significant, since Latin American student movements have traditionally been pro-left and against neoliberalism.

A phenomenon I'm seeing is people with otherwise radical politics confuse the Bolivarian government with a meaningfully socialist one. Progressive, sure, but there are severe problems with the country that haven't been managed well even before the death of Chavez and it's fallen far short of being truly working class in nature.

[RedSonRising]

A rally with 3-5 milion people, depending on sources, supporting the government and the popular measures and all the ultra-right and imperialist-sympathetic left care about are some fascist-inflated demos with 500 people.

Fuuuuuuuuucking pathetic

Post some info if you can please.

[RedSonRising]

Very expansive article discussing the links of opposition protest leaders with US institutions such the CIA, and the various tactics (including monetary sabotage) used by the Venezuelan bourgeoisies.

http://www.popularresistance.org/is-us-supporting-oligarch-coup-attempt-in-venezuela/

[Per Levy]

La Guaneña


A rally with 3-5 milion people, depending on sources, supporting the government and the popular measures and all the ultra-right and imperialist-sympathetic left care about are some fascist-inflated demos with 500 people.

"imperialist-sympathetic left" like yourself? cause you know venezuela is deep into chinese and russian imperialism. so are you an anti-imperialist and therefore against all imperialism or just another western imperialism evil, eastern imperialism good leftie? i know allready, but maybe something to think about.


Fuuuuuuuuucking pathetic

indeed.

[La Guaneña]

La Guaneña



"imperialist-sympathetic left" like yourself? cause you know venezuela is deep into chinese and russian imperialism. so are you an anti-imperialist and therefore against all imperialism or just another western imperialism evil, eastern imperialism good leftie? i know allready, but maybe something to think about.


And talk about being detached from reality, my friend. Do you really want to compare the Russia/China relationships with latam with the USA's past and present actions here? I mean, I'll agree with you any day that Russia and China are imperialist nations, but please do me the favour to point out how many democratic governments they have knocked down, how many Venezuelan, Bolivian and Ecuatorian companies they have force de-nationalizations and how many elections they have rigged.

You have to be blind or choosing what you see to not understand how important this bolivarian process is for true independence and soverignty.

[La Guaneña]

Post some info if you can please.

Just look at it with your own eyes, comrades:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTXDe_Bk-co

[ckaihatsu]

http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/news/venezuelan-right-wing-gangs.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=partial&utm_campaign=Liberation%20Newsletter


Venezuelan right-wing gangs’ violence potential prelude to coup attempt

Reactionary forces have full support of US government and imperialist media

By Gloria La Riva
FEBRUARY 17, 2014

http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/assets/images/content/delcy-rodriguez.jpg
Venezuela’s Minister of Communication and Information, Delcy Rodríguez speaks Feb. 16 to denounce the international media’s publication of several images falsely attributed to Venezuela. Here she shows a famous photograph of a protest in Egypt falsely identified as Venezuelan police repression.


A coordinated operation of Venezuelan right-wing forces, the U.S. government and imperialist media is underway against the revolutionary government of President Nicolás Maduro and the masses who back the country’s move toward socialism.

On February 12, people marching in “Youth Day” actions—to celebrate the 200th anniversary of a key independence battle—were attacked by opposition forces and three people were killed by gunfire with dozens injured. The shootings are being investigated.

Violence has continued by right-wing gangs, in what many believe may be a prelude to an attempt to overthrow the Maduro government.

Openly calling for Maduro’s overthrow is Leopoldo López, leader of the right-wing Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) party. He had called for protests on Feb. 12 in the streets to force an “exit” of President Maduro.

An arrest warrant has been issued for López for promoting the violence and he is now in hiding. He has announced an opposition march for Tuesday, Feb. 18 and is seeking renewed confrontation this week. His blatant call for the government’s overthrow now has the blessing of Washington.

In a veiled threat to the Bolivarian government, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry denounced the arrest warrant for Leopoldo López and detention of “anti-government protesters.”

US supports right-wing attempt to overthrow Bolivarian government

An official response by the Venezuelan government rejected Kerry’s statement, saying they are “one more maneuver of the government in Washington to promote and legitimize the attempts to destabilize Venezuela’s democracy by the violent groups in recent days.”

Yesterday, the Bolivarian government expelled three U.S. diplomats for meeting with opposition forces in universities, under the guise of offering them visas. Maduro said, “We have been watching them in the universities holding meetings … let them go conspire in Washington. Leave Venezuela alone in peace.”

In explaining on television the reason for the diplomats’ expulsion, Maduro exposed the U.S. government’s blatant threats, when Venezuela’s ambassador to the United States Roy Chaderton was called to meet with a U.S. State Department official in Washington yesterday.

“Alex Lee, undersecretary for Latin America, gave him a message to the Venezuelan government. He said the United States demands that the people of Venezuela sit down to dialogue with the opposition; second, that we release all those who were arrested for the recent disturbances, and third, he said ‘the arrest of Mr. Leopoldo López could cause many negative consequences with international ramifications’…”

Maduro continued, “I do not accept threats from anyone in the world. There is no force that will detain the Bolivarian Venezuelans in our task of carrying out justice and defeating fascism. And third, in Venezuela we are prepared at any cost to defend our peace, independence and democracy…”

The violent attacks are reminiscent of the right-wing violence leading up to the April 2002 coup that overthrew President Hugo Chávez for 48 hours before the masses and pro-Chávez military forces restored him to the presidency.

The Venezuelan ruling class and its supporters are infuriated at the continuing advances of the revolutionary process, with radical economic and social measures carried out by the democratically elected presidency of Nicolás Maduro. Some of these measures include tight restrictions on the capitalists’ profit-gouging practices.

Venezuelan ruling class angered by radical economic measures

Much of Venezuela’s food and essential items for the population are imported from abroad. Giant food importers, national and foreign—from Néstle to Venezuelan conglomerate Polar—have up to now enjoyed enormous profits because of their monopoly power and practice of hoarding massive quantities of commodities to create chaos and shortages.

Corporations that sell consumer goods from food to appliances and other basic items are known to gouge the public with price mark-ups as high as 5000 percent. Food and basic-item shortages are a source of much discontent and a weapon used by Venezuela’s capitalists to foster opposition to the government.

A radical “Law for the Control of Fair Costs, Prices and Profits” was announced by Maduro on January 23. Among the measures are a 30 percent limit on corporate profits for items sold to the public, and severe penalties on companies that hoard consumer items.

Several days later, on February 4, Maduro declared he will undertake “the most radical measures to protect our people’s economy” and that any company that is not in compliance by February 10 will be expropriated.

The right-wing violence that was unleashed two days later was no coincidence.

With each new revolutionary act restricting the capitalists, the rich are escalating their confrontation and aggression, now openly calling for Maduro’s overthrow.

U.S. imperialism is not standing by the sidelines, and Kerry’s statement is one more proof of its counterrevolutionary intents.

Anti-government media distorting reality

Outright lies and false photographs are being published and broadcast worldwide by U.S. and Venezuelan opposition media, to try to portray revolutionary supporters as responsible for the violence, or to claim that Venezuela’s government is severely repressing the opposition.

Venezuela’s Minister of Communication and Information, Delcy Rodríguez, spoke on Feb. 16 to denounce the international media’s publication of several images falsely attributed to Venezuela. In one example, she showed a well-known photograph of a protest in Egypt published by Spain’s ABC, of SWAT police brutalizing demonstrators.

But that and other photos are identified as Venezuelan police repression. Rodríguez promised judicial action against any media violators.

International defense of Venezuela

Swift actions in support of Venezuela’s sovereignty took place over the weekend by activists, from Washington DC to Argentina and elsewhere. In the United States, the majority of Venezuelans living in the U.S. tend to be from the upper class and are hostile to the Bolivarian revolutionary process.

As the ANSWER Coalition, the FMLN, the PSL and local DC community groups stood with placards to defend Venezuela in front of its embassy in Washington on Saturday, a crowd of right-wing Venezuelans hurled racist and anti-worker insults. In sub-zero weather, the progressive activists stood their ground for six hours until the right-wing protesters left. (See story here.)

Another protest is planned in front of the Organization of American States on Wed., February 19, and in San Francisco, a protest will be held today in the heart of the Latino Mission district.

Urgent messages of solidarity and mobilization continue worldwide. Meanwhile, inside the country, the Venezuelan masses who have seen their lives greatly improved by the revolutionary process begun by the heroic leader Hugo Chávez defend their government and are mobilizing to defend their gains.

On Feb. 15, tens of thousands of Venezuelans marched to demand an end to the violence and to defend their revolution.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation stands with the revolutionary masses of Venezuela and the government of Nicolás Maduro. We demand, “U.S. Imperialism, Hands Off Venezuela!”

Content may be reprinted with credit to LiberationNews.org.

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[ckaihatsu]

Venezuela Crisis explained in 90 seconds - BBC NEWS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPdvYW4iwjc


US reacts to diplomat expulsions as Venezuela protests rumble on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukeNbbzzJfc


Opposition headquarters raided by security forces in Venezuela

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvNeLBX9wss

[ckaihatsu]

Violent protests sweep Caracas, opposition leader surrenders

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCylPEH2XcE


Lopez calls for protests to continue despite arrest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksYuQyuaWJk


Venezuela Opposition Leader Surrenders to Police

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tyjrb16-Eg


Venezuela opposition leader detained as street demonstrations continue in Caracas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2hZYh_y6fo

[Red Commissar]

I don't know about how this has been treated in other countries, but I've noticed even up to more reputable US news sources they've made it a point to highlight Lopez's Harvard credentials and his relatively young age (40s), with some going so far as to say he is good looking. They contrast that rather subtly or invite the reader to contrast that with Maduro, who to put it softly isn't exactly a photogenic individual and his background as a bus driver.

I don't really see an easy way out of this for the Chavistas though. Besides the issues with their soc-dem policies, the opposition will continue rallying people around issues stemming from inflation and crime, many of whom aren't the usual archetype of the venezuelan elite. They need to do something to resolve that to take that tactic away from them, though I worry the government will likely capitulate to neo-liberal demands to ease the economic issues and appease the opposition, at least to keep people off the streets and giving them a media circus.

[La Guaneña]

though I worry the government will likely capitulate to neo-liberal demands to ease the economic issues and appease the opposition, at least to keep people off the streets and giving them a media circus.

May I ask where you see Maduro capitulating to neo-liberal policies? From the feeling I get from the latest venezolan news, Maduro has been tightening his grip around buisiness, even putting a 30% mas profit rate. That kind of stuff doesn't sound very neoliberal to me.

Otherwise, thanks for the good post.

[Red Commissar]

May I ask where you see Maduro capitulating to neo-liberal policies? From the feeling I get from the latest venezolan news, Maduro has been tightening his grip around buisiness, even putting a 30% mas profit rate. That kind of stuff doesn't sound very neoliberal to me.

Otherwise, thanks for the good post.

I didn't say that he is currently, what I'm worried about is if the government does capitulate and enact reforms as a way to put the opposition off the streets and with it push away international attention both on a public level and within opposing governments. The only thing as of late that was changed by the government was their intent to reduce the fuel subsidies, but other than that so far it's been a continuation of the prior policies. They've been able to manage the protests without this fear, but this current episode that Lopez and other cohorts have done has caused an issue they really didn't need at this point.

The problem is with enough pressure and bullying, you might push away more ideological goals and instead worry about political survival and accept the remedy for resolving inflation in the way an economist in another country would assign it. That's where a capitulation might occur. I don't really know what's going on through the PSUV though so they may continue to hold the course. I know that despite the narrow victory of Maduro, they kept back the opposition in the local elections, but they still might be looking at their own figures and for a way to pull out the opposition's more popular poles around inflation and crime.

[The Intransigent Faction]

Here's a pretty awesome article from Policy Mic that I think the OP especially will appreciate. :)

http://www.policymic.com/articles/82817/these-photos-being-shared-from-venezuela-are-fake

[Os Cangaceiros]

And talk about being detached from reality, my friend. Do you really want to compare the Russia/China relationships with latam with the USA's past and present actions here? I mean, I'll agree with you any day that Russia and China are imperialist nations, but please do me the favour to point out how many democratic governments they have knocked down, how many Venezuelan, Bolivian and Ecuatorian companies they have force de-nationalizations and how many elections they have rigged.

You have to be blind or choosing what you see to not understand how important this bolivarian process is for true independence and sovereignty.

The only reasons that Russia or China haven't started throwing their weight around is that they haven't reached the hegemonic heights that the USA has, where everything south of Texas is considered it's back yard, and everything south of Florida is it's swimming pool. For now Russia and China have to be content with throwing their weight around in geographically contiguous areas, which they most certainly do, and try to build blocs to counter the USA's economic/political influence. IMO there can be no true independence or sovereignty under capitalism, at least not for the people the left-wing cares about.

[ckaihatsu]

Protesters rally behind arrested leader in Venezuela; unrest spreads abroad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym08QvEln5s


Sixth person dies in Venezuelan unrest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNXIw73ljR4

[ckaihatsu]

Maduro threatens to expel CNN as protests rage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEV6lHmjtH4


'Caracas chaos promoted by US with regime change aim' - Venezuelan minister

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYMYnwo1d38


Demonstrations in Venezuela continue as opposition leader faces charges

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzcbGTmAN1o

[La Guaneña]

The only reasons that Russia or China haven't started throwing their weight around is that they haven't reached the hegemonic heights that the USA has, where everything south of Texas is considered it's back yard, and everything south of Florida is it's swimming pool. For now Russia and China have to be content with throwing their weight around in geographically contiguous areas, which they most certainly do, and try to build blocs to counter the USA's economic/political influence. IMO there can be no true independence or sovereignty under capitalism, at least not for the people the left-wing cares about.

Well you are basically saying that "if they had a chance, they would be"? Well, as you said, they would be, but they aren't now. And Venezuela needs strong friends to hold off the USA now, or it won't be able to give the next steps.

[Red Commissar]

There's a good article I read breaking down some of the protests in Venezuela, it repeats a lot of points that've been made in this thread and elsewhere but here they are in one collection.

http://roarmag.org/2014/02/venezuela-protests-opposition-coup/

Of interest to this thread is the fact that one of Lopez's associates, Yon Goicoechea, who tries to pass himself off as a youth leader, received a $500,000 scholarship from the Milton Friedman foundation (A project of the Cato institute) to study in the US. Of course said scholarship is meant for people who'll parrot neo-liberalism and treat any notions of public programs like kryptonite. What's gold in the Cato's article of him is they try to draw parallels between his movement and that of MLK :rolleyes:



3. Venezuela’s opposition receives active support from the United States. While there is no evidence that the ongoing protests have been directly machinated by the White House or the CIA, it is publicly known that leading Venezuelan opposition groups receive millions of dollars (http://www.chavezcode.com/2011/08/us-20-million-for-venezuelan-opposition.html) in financial support from the US government and US-based NGOs and think tanks. In 2008, a leader of Venezuela’s student movement — which organized similar anti-Chávez protests back in 2007 — won the $500,000 Milton Friedman Award (http://www.cato.org/friedman-prize/yon-goicoechea/student-movement) from the right-libertarian CATO Institute, which is funded by major corporate sponsors like the Koch Brothers and the Ford Foundation, headed by an “ardent devotee (http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/07/kochs-cato-john-allison.html)” of Ayn Rand, and driven by a zealous mission (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_Institute) to defend “the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace.”


All in all, it is estimated that various “youth outreach” programs in Venezuela received at least $45 million (http://upsidedownworld.org/main/venezuela-archives-35/4709-venezuela-the-real-significance-of-the-student-protests) from US sponsors. Furthermore, the Obama administration has earmarked at least $5 million (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/18/venezuela-protests-us-support-regime-change-mistake) to directly support Venezuela’s opposition parties through 2014 — not to mention the secret ties that undoubtedly exists between the opposition and the US intelligence community. This comes on top of the dozens of millions of dollars (http://www.chavezcode.com/2011/08/us-20-million-for-venezuelan-opposition.html) that have been donated to the opposition over the years. Not surprising, perhaps, given that Venezuela is sitting on top of the largest known oil reserves in the world, just around the corner from the US.


Elsewhere the article also points out Lopez's involvement with the previous coup which included the abduction of the then interior minister.


Venezuela should be prepared however. With the Ukrainian situation nearing a resolution the US's undivided attention will be on Venezuela again, and with it the media as well as they try to present Venezuela being a parallel to the Ukrainian situation.

[ckaihatsu]

Dueling protests in Venezuela

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqrmcpzq_Vs

[ckaihatsu]

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro announces dialogue to end unrest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaK9cg_Vzj4


Turmoil in Venezuela

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_bfJSqXEsA


Clashes in Venezuela

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgHPybDbDks


Caracas cops clash with protesters as thousands rally against govt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isCUfifHMc4


Caracas: anti-Maduro protests continue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF-0wL4Einw


Violent clashes at Venezuela march - BBC News

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljITh5aCH_s

[ckaihatsu]

Thousands of 'iron horses' swarm streets in Caracas to vow support for Venezuela's Maduro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAdg76Z2cpo

[ckaihatsu]

Maduro sends mixed messages about U.S.-Venezuela relations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr3KrwCgh9A


Anti-government protests continue in Venezuela

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_ADDPC5yKI

[ckaihatsu]

Capriles says Venezuela is 'consuming itself'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNjgL5rMzOc


Venezuela peace conference

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX4HMQb1j0k


Venezuela's president calls for national peace conference as protests continue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6q73OdN68k

[RedMaterialist]

This post looks like a deliberate provocation. I think it ought to be taken down. the photograph of, i suppose, mussolini and his wife.

[ckaihatsu]

This post looks like a deliberate provocation. I think it ought to be taken down.


Not intentional -- thought it was newsworthy enough to include.

[RedMaterialist]

Not intentional -- thought it was newsworthy enough to include.

No. I mean the photo of the three people hanging.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Well you are basically saying that "if they had a chance, they would be"? Well, as you said, they would be, but they aren't now. And Venezuela needs strong friends to hold off the USA now, or it won't be able to give the next steps.

What next steps? Being in the pocket of some other nation which would replicate the exact same phenomena that it's experiencing currently?

[ckaihatsu]

We stand with the Bolivarian Revolution

http://www.answercoalition.org/national/news/we-stand-with-Venezuela-bolivarian-revolution.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=partial&utm_campaign=ANSWER%20Newsletter


The Third Insurrectionary Moment of the Venezuelan Right

http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/942.php

[adipocere]

I have noticed that Caprilles is laying low during this, only coming out to condemn violence and feign concern. I think the strategy here is to legitimize the Caprilles opposition by using a Pinochet-style ideologue to obviously stir shit up that will make Caprilles seem like a sensible "alternative" to far left/far right politics- to obfuscate the US support for Caprilles by overtly supporting Lopez. Bet hedging I suppose.

[Luís Henrique]

Ordering his arrest was already a bad move for him, this is only gonna anger the public more. If he executes him, like it appears you are suggesting, that's gonna set off a riot!

Oh good grief.

There is no death penalty in Venezuela for starters, not to say only the judiciary branch can issue penalties.

Luís Henrique

[ckaihatsu]

Socialist Project - home
The B u l l e t

Socialist Project • E-Bulletin No. 947
March 10, 2014

Socialist Project - home


Violence in Venezuela Caused by Opposition,
Not Government


Steve Ellner

The slant of Venezuela's private media and the international media on what is happening in Venezuela is clear: the government is responsible for the violence. In the first place, it is said, government-ordered gunmen are shooting at peaceful demonstrators and the violence generated by the opposition is just a response to the brutality of police and military forces.

But there is considerable evidence that shows the violence, including that of unidentified motorcyclists against demonstrators, is being carried out by the opposition. Consider the following:

http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/b947.jpg
An opposition group in Merida, February 19. [Photo: Ewan Robertson / Venezuelanalysis]

1. Violent actions have been carried out by the opposition since the time of the 2002 coup. The guarimba, which means urban violence (or “foquismo”) was publicly advocated by opposition leaders in 2003-2004 as the only way to prevent the establishment of a “dictatorial regime” in Venezuela.

2. On April 11, 2002, the day late president Hugo Chavez was overthrown, the Venezuelan and international media, and the White House, used juxtaposed images of Chavistas shooting pistols in downtown Caracas, on the one hand, and peaceful anti-government demonstrators, on the other to justify the coup.

However, the Irish-produced documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised and other documentaries demonstrated by the flow of the camera that the demonstrators were far away from the Chavistas and they were shooting in response to sniper fire against them. If snipers were responsible for the 15-20 killings (of both Chavistas and opposition demonstrators) that justified the 2002 coup, is there any reason to doubt that the unidentified individuals who are attacking demonstrators are acting on behalf of sectors of the opposition?

Public Buildings and Services Targeted

3. The violence that has rocked Venezuela during the past two weeks has targeted public buildings, such as the headquarters of the attorney-general, the public television Channel 8, the state-owned Banco de Venezuela, the house of the Chavista governor of Tachira, trucks of the state grocery store chain PDVAL, and dozens of metro buses in Caracas.

4. None of the opposition leaders have explicitly condemned the opposition-promoted violence. Opposition mayors in Caracas and elsewhere have refrained from using their police force to contain the violence.

5. The so-called “peaceful” demonstrators engage in disruptions by closing key avenues in a bid to paralyse transportation. Where I live, on the main drag between the twin cities of Barcelona and Puerto La Cruz, the demonstrators occupy two of the three lanes on both sides, causing traffic to back up for miles. A number of tragedies have been reported of people in an emergency unable to make it to a hospital or clinic on time.

6. The term “salida,” which has become a main slogan of the protesters, implies regime change. The opposition is not calling for a constitutional solution, in which [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro resigns and is replaced by the president of the National Assembly (and leading Chavista) Diosdado Cabello, as the constitution stipulates. Regime change is a radical slogan that implies radical tactics.

7. Political scientist and Venezuelan specialist David Smilde of the University of Georgia, who is not pro-Chavista but rather evenhanded in his analyses, points out the Venezuelan government has nothing to gain by the violence.

8. The government has nothing to gain by the violence because the media is largely on the side of the opposition and present a picture of the violence that directly and indirectly blames the government. Consider the following front page article in the February 20 El Universal titled “Capital City Suffers Night Violence,” one of Venezuela's major newspapers:

“Last night, the National Guard and National Police attacked almost simultaneously different demonstrations that were taking place in distinct areas of the capital city. In the confrontations there was gunshot [and] tear gas while people banged on pots and pans from their windows (opposing the government).”

9. The Venezuelan government has shown great restraint in the context of opposition-promoted violence and disruption. In nearly any other country in the world, the disruption of traffic in major cities throughout the country would have resulted in mass arrests.

10. Governments, particularly undemocratic ones, which lack active popular support and completely control the media use repression against dissidents. This is not the case in Venezuela. None of the non-state channels and newspapers (that the vast majority of Venezuelans get their news from) supports the government and most of them are ardently anti-government.

Furthermore, unlike governments that use massive repression (such as Egypt under Mubarak), the Chavista government and movement has a greater mobilization capacity, particularly among the popular sectors of the population, than the opposition. As Smilde says, the use of violence by the government makes absolutely no sense. •

Professor Steve Ellner has taught at the Universidad de Oriente in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, since 1977. He is the author of many books on Venezuelan politics. This article first appeared on the greenleft.org.au website.

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[Die Neue Zeit]

In response to Daniel Harvey's article on Venezuela (http://www.cpgb.org.uk/home/weekly-worker/999/venezuela-right-wing-smells-blood), there is one issue I would like to point out:

The majority of Venezuela's adult population doesn't have a working-class background or profile. It is imperative that the Bolibourgeoisie be ousted and liquidated as a class, but also necessary to recognize the revolutionary pragmatism of seeing through via Communitarian Populist Fronts the political ascension of national or socioeconomic "patriotic" elements of the petit-bourgeoisie, a sort of petit-Bolibourgeoisie, for the urban and rural petit-bourgeoisie do form the majority of the country's adult population.

[Bala Perdida]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrfM5UD-Azk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This video author was made previously unpopular on another Venezuelan protest thread for his quoting and commentary of Cuban troops in Venezuela. Nonetheless, I think this video give a good analysis of the inflation and economic problems. It also reveals the economically crippling activities used by Venezuelan bourgeoisie.

[ckaihatsu]

http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/957.php


Socialist Project - home
The B u l l e t

Socialist Project • E-Bulletin No. 957
March 25, 2014

Socialist Project - home


The Strategy of the Venezuelan Opposition
and How it Works


Steve Ellner

http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/b957.jpg

The strategy and tactics of the Venezuelan opposition is a replay of events that took place leading up to the coup against Hugo Chávez on April 11, 2002 and is similar (although in some ways quite different) from the script that has been used in the Ukraine and elsewhere. The blatant distortions and in some cases lies of the media (CNN in Spanish playing a lead role) represent an essential element in the strategy.


There are two main groups that the opposition has mobilized and from all appearances the two act in coordination even though their style, and even social background, differs from one another. One group is non-violent and the other engages in acts of aggression in some cases endangering lives.

On the one hand, students and other young people carry out protests which the media and the opposition deceptively call “peaceful.” These mobilizations involve to a disproportionate extent students from private universities and operate almost exclusively in wealthy areas whose mayors (and in some cases governors) belong to the opposition. The protests are not legal, even though many of the protesters are convinced (or have been convinced by their leaders) that they are exercising the constitutional right of dissent. However, nearly all of these protests take over main avenues and highways in urban areas, typically forcing traffic to a halt and then having to pass through just one lane. It often takes hours for cars to pass through these points. In most cases the protesters consist of between 15 and 80 people, and in a few cases over one hundred.

The second group sets up barricades using garbage bags, trees, boulders and barbed wire. In addition, they have dispersed oil on roads in some cases causing fatal accidents. For an excellent description of these actions in the city of Merida near the Colombian border where the violence has been most intense, see the article by Miguel Tinker Salas, who resided there over the last month: “What is happening in Venezuela?”

Peaceful and Violent Protests

All efforts by security forces to get both situations under control have been portrayed in the private media as fierce acts of repression carried out by police, National Guardsmen and motorcyclists and other Chavistas organized as “collectives.” While the media generally recognizes that some of the protesters have engaged in violence, attention is focused on the so-called “peaceful protesters” with little acknowledgment of the chaos that they cause. Furthermore, these reports fail to point out that a large number of the victims including the fatal ones are Chávez supporters including security forces. In most violent urban protests throughout the world, the ratio of protesters to security forces who are wounded and killed ranges from 25 to one or 500 to one. Here the ratio may be in the single-digit range (a similar situation occurred in the Ukraine). Claims in the social media that the violent actions are provoked by “infiltrators” (the implication being that the infiltrators are Chavistas) are sometimes reflected in the media.

The script's end game consists of a large “peaceful” protest that heads to the center of Caracas with a “vanguard” that creates violence and provokes shootings, resulting in deaths on all sides (protesters, Chavista civilians and security forces), thus forcing the government to resign or setting off a military coup. This scenario was exactly what occurred on April 11, 2002. On that occasion, the media and the opposition deceptively claimed that the government's contingency plan known as “Plan Avila” consisted of widespread brutal repression. The opposition and media also falsely claimed that armed Chavista groups known as the Bolivarian Circles were poised to violently attack peaceful opposition concentrations and that these groups even had tanks at their disposal. The 20-some odd deaths on that day (consisting of both Chavistas and opposition) was the excuse to carry out a military coup, which the government of George W. Bush (which as documents demonstrate knew perfectly well who was behind the killings) used to justify its support for the de facto government headed by Pedro Carmona.

The Chavista government has learnt from the experience of April 11. President Nicolás Maduro and the mayor of Caracas’ “Libertador” municipality where the popular sectors are concentrated have adamantly refused to allow the demonstrators to go from the wealthy eastern part of Caracas to the downtown area. Time and time again the protestors organize marches designed to reach the city's center even though they have not been given permits. CNN and the media in general harp on the government's failure to issue a marching permit as an example of the restriction on democratic liberty, without mentioning that the government has good reason to prevent marches from reaching the downtown area.

The phony issue of government repression raised by the opposition and the private media is an essential part of the script. Without the issue there is really no justification for the opposition's sole demand for regime change embodied in the slogan “salida” (exit). Certainly there are pressing problems in Venezuela including shortages of basic (and some non-basic) commodities, inflation and delinquency. But these problems do not justify the overthrow of the government. If these were the issues, people in general would say “wait until the next elections and vote the Chavistas out of office.” Obviously, the opposition's strategy is either create conditions that may set off a coup (which is highly unlikely given the military's well demonstrated loyalty) or (much more likely) bring about a wearing out process in which in the next electoral cycle the average voter supports opposition candidates who distance themselves from the violence allegedly coming from both sides. •

Professor Steve Ellner has taught at the Universidad de Oriente in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, since 1977. He is the author of many books on Venezuelan politics, including his latest Latin America's Radical Left. This article first appeared on the Venezuelanalysis.com website.

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[ckaihatsu]

Hands Off Venezuela! What Has Been Happening Since February and Why It Matters

http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/978.php

[Rafiq]

I can emphasize enough that there is absolutely no doubt that the turmoil occurring in Venezuela today is one distinctively of class struggle, that greatly exceeds the political interests of Maduro and the PSUV. All I can say, is that any form of sympathy with the protesters, the privileged reactionary expression of the petite bourgeoisie, can never be granted by any self proclaimed Communist. We can hope that Maduro and his lot get theirs, for their repulsive international politics, but only from the revolutionary proletariat, whom in coalition with the rural peasantry they are unified by the PSUV against the counter revolution.

[RedWorker]

I can't believe some people here really got tricked by the reactionary bourgeois media. How many times does it need to happen in order to wake up? :laugh:

To summarize:

- Yes, capitalism still exists in Venezuela. That is not to doubt the massive improvements by the left-wing government there though, with poverty dropping from 50% to 25% in about 10 years, etc. Anybody on the Internet can type "shit government, they have not established worldwide higher-stage communism yet! Bourgeois capitalism-retaining scum!". Why not go there and establish that? Of course, Venezuela is social democratic, and so is the ruling party.

- Available information suggests that the opposition is responsible for most of the deaths at the protests. Even so, President Maduro has created a commission which is set to investigate any possible violence by government supporters or government forces, and apply justice.

- There is a situation of massive chaos. If you see a 30 second bad video of some police unit appearing to be shooting somewhere, with the camera perfectly set so that you can see only them and not any of the context, while there is obviously an extreme chaotic situation going on around them does this tell anything? No. Anything could be going on there, it doesn't mean that they're "cold blooded murderers". The fact that meanwhile there is a very chaotic and violent situation going there the police almost always restricted themselves to simply watching and defending, and in a few instances simply dissolved the protests, says a lot.

- The violence of opposition supporters even went as far as burning vehicles of state food distribution networks. According to government sources, they damaged millions of dollars' worth of public property.

- Pro-government demonstrations involved millions of people.

- Twitter images were probably not intentionally blocked. According to the government this was simply a technical problem, and it lasted only about 3 days. The right-wing media quickly picked up and blamed the government though.

- There was an Internet outage in a certain city affecting about 600,000 people. It was resolved in about 36 hours and was probably simply a technical problem. However the rightist propagandist media quickly picked up on this, claimed the government blocked it and in some cases even reported about "Venezuelan government completely shutting down the Internet".