Venezuela foils military coup detat conspiracy

[TC]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26739767

"Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said that three air force generals have been arrested for plotting an uprising against his government.

Mr Maduro said that the authorities had been tipped off by "young officers".

The three generals, who have not been named, had links with the opposition, said Mr Maduro.

...[President Maduro] said the authorities had been alerted by "alarmed younger officers, generals, lieutenant colonels" who had been invited to join the coup. The generals were arrested on Monday night."

[Die Neue Zeit]

The young officers have hearts and heads, unlike the wannabe beneficiaries of a Guardian Coup or a Veto Coup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coup_d'état#Types).

[sixdollarchampagne]

Speaking for myself alone and no one else, I just wanted to say the following:

I always thought that Chávez, who was in power for something like fifteen years, without ever nationalizing the means of production, was underwhelming, and Maduro seems even less impressive. Is chavismo in power ever going to abolish capitalism in Venezuela, or will there simply be more years of flatulent rhetoric, and that's it?

I think it is quite remarkable that a government that collects, it must be, billions in oil revenue every year, is incapable of keeping bath tissue (to take a random example) on the shelves of the shops, but I guess the US government is, somehow (in some magical way that mere mortals like me cannot grasp), solely responsible for the shortages that plague the Venezuelan workers' paradise.

[Creative Destruction]

Speaking for myself alone and no one else, I just wanted to say the following:

I always thought that Chávez, who was in power for something like fifteen years, without ever nationalizing the means of production, was underwhelming, and Maduro seems even less impressive. Is chavismo in power ever going to abolish capitalism in Venezuela, or will there simply be more years of flatulent rhetoric, and that's it?

I think it is quite remarkable that a government that collects, it must be, billions in oil revenue every year, is incapable of keeping bath tissue (to take a random example) on the shelves of the shops, but I guess the US government is, somehow (in some magical way that mere mortals like me cannot grasp), solely responsible for the shortages that plague the Venezuelan workers' paradise.

You have to think of it in context. Chavez did, particularly in his last years, make a huge nationalization drive. However, this is a government that faced -- and defeated -- a coup backed by the United States before, and that was before any major programs were going into effect. Venezuela is not a superpower and there is no major power that would be willing to fight for Venezuela in the event of another coup. More over, the shortages are demonstrably caused, at least in part, if not primarily, by owners of distribution lines and also the bourgeoisie in Venezuela hoarding commodities. So it is a sticky situation. The PSUV is caught between balancing what they want to do, and trying not to rock the boat so much that everyone falls out, especially when they have virtually no outside support should shit just tip over.

With that said, it is disappointing that Chavez was placating the right-wing of the PSUV rather than listening and heeding the left-wing. Maduro is definitely underwhelming and should probably step aside for someone else who is better able to handle this situation. There's more that they could do, but a lot of the reason for the stalling is they're, basically, working with what they have.

But imagine if Maduro nationalized all industries tonight. Tomorrow, the Venezuelan bourgeoisie would probably be leading a coup with the backing of the U.S. State Department, European powers and several South American right-wing governments, including Colombia. Meanwhile, who is going to provide support to PSUV and the Venezuelan government? Cuba? Ecuador? Bolivia? Nicaragua? lol. Russia and China are going to pay lip service, but they're not going to touch that shit with a 10,000-mile pole. It'd be Allende all over again. This isn't all the fault of the Venezuelan government, though. A lot of the fault belongs with North American and European leftists, who could organize and support a revolution in Venezuela, but would rather sit and complain that Chavistas in power aren't revolutionary enough.

[ckaihatsu]

http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/960.php

[adipocere]

Originally Posted by sixdollarchampagne
I think it is quite remarkable that a government that collects, it must be, billions in oil revenue every year, is incapable of keeping bath tissue (to take a random example) on the shelves of the shops, but I guess the US government is, somehow (in some magical way that mere mortals like me cannot grasp), solely responsible for the shortages that plague the Venezuelan workers' paradise. Private business and industry are sabotaging the economy by creating scarcity. The US govt. is complicit in this. It's not that complicated, even for a mere mortal such as yourself.