They are different by scale. Venezuelan elections may have other candidates, but Chavez throws opposition media in prison for criticizing him, so it's obviously not a fair election. Hell, even my former co-workers at CITGO (in Louisiana) are forced to sit through a propaganda session once per month where Chavez raves about how great things are in Venezuela because of him.
You do know that he fired all of the striking workers and hired scabs in violation of their contract, right? I can't believe liberals, who hold labor in such esteem, defend this tyrant.
Is there some kind of dispute as to whether or not Chavez is a dictator going on? Alleged? I guess YOU could try to make a case for Hilter being an "Alleged" fascist. Maybe Alleged Dictator....Maybe Alleged super a-hole. Never met the dudes. But at least someone sticks up for their favorite local commie. Stay gold Pony.
Schizophrenia works in weird ways. The black helicoptors that circle Glynch's house are just the Xmas lights he hung 20 years ago.
Nice try. When you have unpatriotic workers trying to destabilize the government at the behest of a small elite and a foreign government , I perhaps even a US libertarian, who simply believes unions to be a crime against "free" labor markets, would sympathize with the elected government stepping in.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/18/world/americas/18briefs-Venezuela.html?_r=2 Lame duck Venezuelan Congress gives Chavez ability to rule by decree, in anticipation of a Congress with a few more opposition party members taking over next month.
This might also be a good time to point out that Venezuela is deadlier than Iraq. No doubt this the fault of Fox News and Sarah Palin. Link
Of course it's the fault of Fox News. They haven't yet started the propaganda campaign to get the public behind a "liberation" of Venezuela.
Agreed. In fact, most that I know detest what he's doing to his country. I was directing that at the vocal minority that excuses his abuses of political freedom, free speech, and the democratic process because he talks about equality.
Interesting wikileaks document showing how the US government tries to destabilize Venezuela and manage the free press to create a false picture of Venezuela and Chavez sort of like how it managed the whole WMD thing that so many fell for. *********** Wikileaks: Documents Confirm US Plans Against Venezuela -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State Department documents published by Wikileaks evidence Washington's plans to "contain" Venezuela's influence in the region and increase efforts to provoke regime change By Eva Golinger Monday, December 20, 2010 Change Text Size a- | A+ Eva Golinger's ZSpace Page Join ZSpace A substantial portion of the more than 1600 State Department documents Wikileaks has published during the past two weeks refer to the ongoing efforts of US diplomacy to isolate and counter the Venezuelan government. Since Hugo Chavez won the presidency for the first time in 1998, Washington has engaged in numerous efforts to overthrow him, including a failed coup d'etat in April 2002, an oil industry strike that same year, worldwide media campaigns and varios electoral interventions. The State Department has also used its funding agencies, USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), to channel millions of dollars annually to anti-Chavez NGOs, political parties, journalists and media organizations in Venezuela, who have been working to undermine the Chavez administration and force him from power. When these interventionist policies have been denounced by the Chavez government and others, Washington has repeatedly denied any efforts to isolate or act against the Venezuelan head of state. Nonetheless, the State Department cables published by Wikileaks clearly evidence that not only has Washington been actively funding anti-Chavez groups in Venezuela, but it also has engaged in serious efforts during the past few years to convince governments worldwide to assume an adversarial position against President Hugo Chavez. "CONTENTION" PLAN AGAINST A "FORMIDABLE FOE" In a secret document authored by current Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Craig Kelly, and sent by the US Embassy in Santiago in June 2007 to the Secretary of State, CIA and Southern Command of the Pentagon, along with a series of other US embassies in the region, Kelly proposed "six main areas of action for the US government (USG) to limit Chavez's influence" and "reassert US leadership in the region". Kelly, who played a primary role as "mediator" during last year's coup d'etat in Honduras against President Manuel Zelaya, classifies President Hugo Chavez as an "enemy" in his report. "Know the enemy: We have to better understand how Chavez thinks and what he intends...To effectively counter the threat he represents, we need to know better his objectives and how he intends to pursue them. This requires better intelligence in all of our countries". Further on in the memo, Kelly confesses that President Chavez is a "formidable foe", but, he adds, "he certainly can be taken". In 2006, Washington activated a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Mission Manager for Venezuela and Cuba. The mission, headed by clandestine CIA veteran Timothy Langford, is one of only four such intelligence entities of its type. The others were created to handle intelligence matters relating to Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan/Pakistan, evidencing the clear priority that Washington has placed on Venezuela as a target of increased espionage and covert operations. Another suggestion made by Kelly in the secret cable, is a recommendation to increase US presence in the region and improve relations with Latin American military forces. "We should continue to strengthen ties to those military leaders in the region who share our concern over Chavez". Kelly also proposed a "psychological operations" program against the Venezuelan government to exploit its vulnerabilities. "We also need to make sure that the truth about Chavez - his hollow vision, his empty promises, his dangerous international relationships, starting with Iran - gets out, always exercising careful judgment about where and how we take on Chavez directly/publicly". Kelly recommended US officials make more visits to the region to "show the flag and explain directly to populations our view of democracy and progress". Kelly also offered details on how Washington could better exploit the differences amongst South American governments to isolate Venezuela: "Brazil...can be a powerful counterpoint to Chavez's project...Chile offers another excellent alternative to Chavez...We should look to find other ways to give Chile the lead on important initiatives, but without making them look like they are our puppets or surrogates. Argentina is more complex, but still presents distinct characteristics that should inform our approach to countering Chavez's influence there". PRESSURING MERCOSUR Kelly also revealed the pressure Washington has been applying to Mercosur (Market of the South) to not accept Venezuela as a full member in the regional trade bloc. "With regard to Mercosur, we should not be timid in stating that Venezuela's membership will torpedo US interest in even considering direct negotiations with the trading bloc". MEXICO, BOGOTA & OTHERS ASK TO "FIGHT" CHAVEZ The cables published by Wikileaks not only reveal US hostility towards Venezuela, but also the requests made by regional leaders and politicians to work against President Chavez. One secret document from October 2009 referring to a meeting between Mexican President Felipe Calderon and US Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair tells of how Calderon confessed he was "trying to isolate Venezuela through the Rio Group". The Mexican head of state also appealed to the US intelligence chief, "The region needs a visible US presence...the United States must be ready to engage the next Brazilian president. Brazil, he said, is key to restraining Chavez...The US needs to engage Brazil more and influence its outlook". URIBE REQUESTS "MILITARY ACTION" AGAINST CHAVEZ In several secret documents authored by the US Embassy in Colombia, efforts by ex President of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, to convince Washington to take action against Venezuela are evidenced. In one cable from December 2007, the US Ambassador in Colombia recounts a meeting between Uribe and a delegation of US congress members, including Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid. According to the text, Uribe "likened the threat Chavez poses to Latin America to that posed by Hitler in Europe". And in yet another report summarizing a January 2008 meeting between Uribe and the Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, Uribe is quoted as recommending military action against Venezuela. "The best counter to Chavez, in Uribe's view, remains action - including use of the military". Later in that same secret cable, Uribe urged Washington to "lead a public campaign against Venezuela...to counter Chavez..." OPPOSITION BISHOP REQUESTS US ACTION In addition to regional politicians and US diplomats urging plans against President Chavez, one cable reveals how during a meeting between a Venezuelan Archbishop and the US Ambassador, the religious leader asked for Washington to act against his own government. At the meeting, which took place in January 2005 according to the document, Archbishop Baltazar Porras told Ambassador William Brownfield that the "US government should be more clear and public in its criticism of the Chavez administration" and that the "international community also needs to work and speak out more to contain Chavez..." The plans and strategies revealed through these official documents confirm what other evidence has already corroborated regarding Washington's increase in aggression towards Venezuela. The US continues to fund opposition groups that act to undermine Venezuelan democracy while escalating its hostile discourse and policies against the Chavez government. This week's Senate affirmation of Larry Palmer as Ambassador to Venezuela will only make matters worse. Palmer was rejected by the Venezuelan government after he made negative statements about the Chavez administration in August. Washington's insistence of sending Palmer appears to be an effort to provoke a rupture in diplomatic relations. http://www.zcommunications.org/wiki...rm-us-plans-against-venezuela-by-eva-golinger
Where exactly does this talk about "destabilizing" Venezuela and "managing the free press to create a false picture"? Where?
For those who still think Chavez is not a dictator, read the WaPo take: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/24/AR2010122401916.html By IAN JAMES The Associated Press Friday, December 24, 2010; 1:36 PM CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez has given himself the equivalent of a big Christmas present in congress: a package of laws that dramatically expand his powers and allow him to undermine opponents in one of the boldest moves of his presidency. In a single week, he has used an outgoing National Assembly packed with loyalists to gain new abilities to crack down on critics - over the air, on the Internet, in universities and from independent organizations that get foreign funding. He also has obtained broad powers to bypass Venezuela's legislature and enact laws by decree for the next year and a half. Chavez is likely to use the new powers to try to strengthen his political footing as he prepares for the next presidential election in less than two years. Opponents are denouncing the maneuvers as a virtual "coup d'etat" before a new legislature takes office Jan. 5 with enough opposition lawmakers to prevent passage of some types of major laws. "What the outgoing National Assembly is doing is taking advantage of Christmas to legislate behind the country's back," said Julio Borges, an opposition congressman-elect. "They're approving a bunch of laws that are aimed solely at concentrating power." Opposition newspaper editor Teodoro Petkoff warned that Chavez is taking "the path of dictatorship" and asked in an editorial: "Is the country going to put up with it?" Thousands of students marched in protest Thursday after lawmakers approved a law increasing government authority over universities. Other Chavez opponents have taken to beating on pans at nighttime - a form of protest that has broken out during divisive moments in Chavez's 12-year rule. ad_icon The president says the country's "parasitic bourgeoisie" is griping because he is working to dismantle a capitalist system built to favor the rich, and denies making a power grab for himself. He says he needs decree powers to help thousands who lost homes in recent floods and mudslides - and also to attack "structural problems" as he accelerates the pace of his socialist-inspired Bolivarian Revolution. Chavez has wondered aloud on national television what all the fuss is about. "What dictatorship? My God," Chavez told supporters Wednesday night, insisting he has no plans to infringe on freedoms or round up opponents like Chile's Augusto Pinochet and other right-wing dictators once did. Yet Chavez has steadily amassed power as president while repeatedly winning re-election. He and his allies have filled courts with sympathetic judges, taken tighter control of institutions such as the Central Bank and expropriated a growing list of private companies. Chavez thrives on confrontation, and the new measures also serve political aims: rallying supporters, keeping the opposition on the defensive and guiding the national debate away from problems such as crime and inflation that he has failed to tame.
Is he perfect? No, but he beats having the leaders of most 3rd world countries. He at least tries to give his people a chance.
If a bird walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, Most likely that bird is a duck.
Chavez does seem to be concentrating power in his favor, but if it narrows the gap between rich and poor in his country, then I think it's better to have a corrupt dictatorship rather than a corrupt sham democracy in their case. Then again, I have little faith in that happening. Most likely he becomes more and more power hungry and ultimately gets his ass kicked by his people.
Is the same type elections that guys like Ahmadinejad recives 75% of the votes and once fraud evidence comesout the mow down the protesters and call then western spies?
I'm not a fan of all Chavez does, but stop spreading this BS. The elections have been monitored and the result with Chavez as the winner was deemed legit.
No, this is the type of election where they have invited outside observers to oversee the elections to make sure they are fair. Chavez gets a huge percentage of the vote because since he has been in power, he has retasked the country's resources so that education and healthcare, among other services, are available even to the poor.
