Venezuela Thread

[The Wiseman]

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=2158

Voting Without Problems in Venezuela’s Presidential Elections

Caracas , December 3, 2006 ( venezuelanalysis.com)— With a round of fireworks from the National Electoral Council (CNE) at 5am this morning, election day officially began with a bang. The community, however, was already in the streets. As early at 3am in some areas across Caracas, residents woke up, playing drums, blasting music, shooting fireworks and chanting. The morning trumpet wake-up call rang from the military barracks at the Presidential Palace of Miraflores, and from the balconies and windows of residents across the capital city of Caracas.

Altagracia

Although most polls would not be opened until 7 am in most cases, by 5 am, there was already a half-a-block long line waiting in front of the voting center located in the Dr. Francisco Mendoza school, just north of Miraflores. According to Gladimar Faudito, President of one the voting tables at the center, the center was installed by shortly after 6am, and after the various members in charge of the voting center, including the secretary, the president, the witnesses, and others – voted themselves, then local residents began to enter around 7:30 am. According to Faudito, approximately 1,500 people are registered to vote at the voting center. 500 for each voting table.

The process at the Mendoza voting center was and continues to be slow, but steady. Those who arrived in line by around 6 am, were voting by just after 9 am in this neighborhood in the Northwest region of Altagracia. Long lines are expected into the late afternoon, and the center will not close this evening until everyone in line has had a chance to vote. This morning, at the Mendoza and another nearby center, according to residents and center directors, there were no complaints or problems with the fingerprint or electronic voting machines.

Except for what appeared to be annoyance over the long lines, the residents in this region appeared to be in calm and in good spirits. The Mendoza center appears to be a microcosm of much of the country. By 9:30 am this morning, CNE President Tibisay Lucena announced that 96% of the voting centers throughout the country had been installed.

La California Norte

Between 8:30 am and 9:30 am, the line of voters was running 200 meters along Francisco de Miranda Avenue, then around a corner and up the hill. Another 50 meters up was the polling station. The mood was very calm and nobody seemed to want to reveal who they intended to voted for. As is the regulation, no person was wearing anything to identify them with either candidate. Only one person drove past shouting “Viva Chávez!” The National Guard soldiers were allowing voters in and out in groups of around 10 people. Once inside voters first have to go through electronic fingerprint identification machines before voting. All was running smoothly.

Upon leaving was a sole exit pollster, Angel Martínez, who works for GRERCA, which was conducting polls at random stations around the state of Miranda. He explained the methodogy of his company, “I approach people walking down after voting at random. The person must be on their own or if in a group only one person must be asked,” he said. After identifying himself as an exit pollster he asked one simple question, “What was your option, Chávez or Rosales?” He said that up until that moment the majority were with Chávez, but that plenty had voted for Rosales.

Barrio La Agricultura, Petare

At 10:30 am in Petare the same eerie calm could be felt as in La California. This is unusual because Venezuelans are a loud bunch and with such a large number gathered in one place, one might expect the usual party atmosphere. The line sprawled up the hill as far as could be seen. Venezuelans normally have little time for orderly lines either, but today in La Agricultura it was different.

The National Guardsmen at the polling station seemed a little nervous, but they were permitting journalists with the correct credentials to enter. Inside things were much the same as in California, orderly lines for identification and orderly lines for voting. In Petare those who had voted were not met by anyone conducting exit polls. However, they were more forthcoming when asked who they had voted for. Out of the 20 people asked as they left the polling station, not one admitted to voting for Rosales.

La Florida

The situation in the upper middle class neighborhood of one of La Florida’s voting centers was tense because the line was extraordinarily long. Close to a thousand people were standing outside, waiting to enter the school, at 7:30 am this morning. People were calm at first, but would periodically break out in applause, whenever someone came out holding up his or her fist, as if having just committed an act of defiance.

At one point, one of the poll workers came out and started complaining loudly that the reason the line was moving so slowly was because of the fingerprint scanners. She said people should complain and that the scanners ought to be removed, so as to speed things up. A rumor started to spread that only four of the ten fingerprint scanners, which are supposed to ensure that no one would vote more than once, was working. People starting chanting, “We want to vote!” and, “Get rid of the fingerprint scanners!”

However, once people entered, they were surprised to find that all ten scanners were working fine and that the line for the scanners was no longer than the one for casting the actual vote, which suggests that the scanners were not holding anything up. What was holding things up was simply the large number of voters. Those who came early in the morning ended up having to wait in line for four hours to vote. Those who came in the afternoon, were able to vote after less than an hour because the lines were far shorter at that time.

Direct reports from the last two hours from Merida, Barquisimeto, Valencia, San Diego (Carabobo State), and across Caracas, show most of Venezuela’s election day to be running smoothly. However, according to one report from Caracas Radio Alí Primera, there have been reports of pockets of people with the opposition who “try to create a state of tension between the voters, in a very isolated way.” Nevertheless, the population “has maintained a democratic attitude of respect and tolerance,” it continues.

Other than small difficulties and problems, voting across the country seems to be running smoothly.

According to Las Ultimas Noticias, there are 1,410 international and national observers witnessing the election.

[The Wiseman]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061204/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/venezuela_election

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez, an outspoken opponent of the United States who has used Venezuela's oil wealth to give handouts to the poor, won re-election to another six-year term by a wide margin on Sunday, official results showed.

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With 78 percent of voting stations reporting, Chavez had 61 percent to 38 percent for challenger Manuel Rosales, said Tibisay Lucena, head of the country's elections council. Chavez had nearly 6 million votes versus 3.7 million for Rosales, according to the partial tally.

Turnout was 62 percent, according to an official bulletin of results, making Chavez's lead insurmountable.

[DECOLONIZE]

Venezuela's Chavez Says Plot Was Foiled
By FRANK BAJAK, Associated Press Writer

Thu Nov 30, 11:20 PM

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez said Thursday during a marathon news conference that authorities had foiled a planned sniper attack against his main opponent in this weekend's elections.

As campaigning ended ahead of Sunday's vote, Chavez said "fascist" militants had planned to use a rifle with a telescopic sight to shoot Manuel Rosales during a speech and then blame it on Chavez's government in hopes of derailing the balloting.

"It was to say that Chavez sent them to kill him, and generate chaos," Chavez told reporters at the presidential palace.

The Venezuelan leader used the 3 1/2-hour news conference to laud achievements of his "people's revolution" _ citing statistics on lowered unemployment, a deep drop in poverty and petroleum-fueled economic growth.

He even quoted analysts from major foreign banks as saying the most dangerous scenario for this politically polarized country would be a Chavez election loss.

Chavez also said that upon re-election he would immediately convene a special commission to propose constitutional reforms to be approved by voters, likely including an end to presidential term limits. The current constitution would bar Chavez from running again in 2012.

Campaigning ended Thursday with red-clad Chavez supporters parading through downtown Caracas chanting: "Chavez isn't going anywhere!"

Rosales supporters cite polls showing Sunday's balloting will be tight, although an independent AP-Ipsos survey and other recent polls found Chavez with a large lead.

Rosales has called the vote a choice between democracy and an increasingly authoritarian Cuba-style system. Chavez, who was swept into power in 1998 on popular discontent with a corrupt political class, calls Rosales a U.S. lackey.

On the alleged assassination plot, Chavez said authorities had seized the rifle from a vehicle. In answer to a reporter's question later, he said that a military officer had been arrested for meeting with civilian plotters. He did not offer further details.

A high-ranking military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to talk to reporters, confirmed that a naval officer was under investigation.

Rosales' campaign said it had no knowledge of the plan.

"This is a smoke screen. It's to manipulate the people, but nobody believes that," said Timoteao Zambrano, one of Rosales' campaign managers.

"The government is obliged to safeguard the lives of all Venezuelans, and that includes the presidential candidate," Zambrano said. "If something were to happen to our candidate, the government would be responsible."

Chavez has taken advantage of Venezuela's oil wealth to lavish the poor with programs that provide everything from subsidized food to free health care and education. And he persistently accuses the "imperialist" U.S. government of trying to topple him, on Thursday saying the "U.S. empire" had done more damage to Latin America than colonial Spain.

He urged his enemies to respect the result of the vote, calling an upset impossible and suggesting that some opposition activists are planning post-election violence.

"There are two options here _ ours and that of the U.S. empire and its flunkeys here, who were the ones who staged the coup," Chavez said, referring to a two-day coup in 2002. Chavez was returned to power by street protests and loyalists in the military.

Rosales said his supporters would be on alert for possible vote fraud.

"It has to be a clean game ... If that happens, all of us will be calm," Rosales, a political veteran who is ex-governor of Zulia state, told The Associated Press shortly before closing his campaign with a rally of hundreds of thousands in Maracaibo, Venezuela's second-largest city.

He has managed to unite Venezuela's opposition movement for the first time since a crushing defeat in a 2004 recall referendum against Chavez.

Chavez accused Rosales of lying about signing a document supporting the short-lived coup.

"Everyone saw the ex-governor here in this room signing the coup proclamation. So he's said no, that what he signed was an attendance sheet," Chavez said.

"What nerve! And a gentleman like that wants to be president!" Chavez said, adding, "A liar cannot be president of a country, much less of Venezuela."

Chavez insisted that his proposal for constitutional changes to do away with presidential term limits "is not a dictatorship, it's democracy." He noted that presidents of France have served long periods in power.

Venezuela has become increasingly polarized along class lines, with the wealthier supporting Rosales, the poor backing Chavez and a fractured middle class.

Shoppers are packing supermarkets to stock up on supplies, fearful that Sunday's outcome could prompt street protests and violence.

http://www.comcast.net/news/international/.../30/532119.html

[salvadoreanromero]

Viva Venezuela, Arriba Hugo Chávez, a new Latinamerica is emerging from da poor people!

[RMX]

Censorship of Election Results???

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4376202.html

Dec. 3, 2006, 5:08PM
Telemundo: Venezuela Halts Transmission
© 2006 The Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela — Officials identifying themselves as members of a state regulatory agency forced the U.S.-based Spanish-language TV network Telemundo to halt transmission Sunday of its presidential election coverage.

"We're surprised by this," said Pablo Iacub, a member of Telemundo's eight-person team, which arrived last week. "We only want to do our work," he said by telephone.

At least six people who identified themselves as members of the National Commission of Telecommunications (CONATEL), which regulates electronic media in Venezuela, arrived Sunday afternoon at the hotel from which Telemundo had been transmitting since Friday, said Iacub.

The officials said the network needed permission to transmit and lacking such could not, he said. Iacub said he was unaware of such a requirement but that the Telemundo journalists were accredited with Venezuela's national elections council.

Iacub said the Telemundo team asked how they could obtain permission and, after an hour, were told that they would not be able to transmit.

Telephone calls to Conatel offices seeking comment on the incident went unanswered.

Telemundo Communications Group is owned by NBC Universal Inc., which is controlled by General Electric Co. It claims to reach about 93 percent of Hispanic households in the U.S. and also has viewers in Mexico.



my emphasis:These are the same people who feed us the news here in the US...thats f'd up

[ThaRebeliouZ]

Chavez Derails Plan For Global Dictatorship
Venezuelan President trounces "genocidal, immoral, sick, and corrupt elite" running United States

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Monday, November 27, 2006

Hugo Chavez' vow to "defeat the most powerful empire on earth" and "beat the devil" on December 3rd by achieving re-election in Venezuela is a bold and stark reminder that the fiery President has achieved what many dismiss as impossible - Chavez has derailed the plan for global dictatorship.

The Free Trade Area of the Americas, craved for so long by internationalists whose goal is to centralize global power into a pervasive world government structure with the U.S. as the token figurehead, was derailed last year when Chavez signed the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, which effectively killed the FTAA.

Chavez insistence that, "The FTAA can go to hell," is a rallying cry that has spread like wildfire across Latin America over the past year and has completely isolated U.S. and Mexican aspirations to have had the power bloc in place by 2005. It falls further behind schedule by the day and this is one reason why the Bush junta and the CIA are chomping at the bit to overthrow Chavez as they first attempted to do in April 2002.

But it's a forlorn desire supported by an arrogance that buries the memory of the riots that resulted in Chavez re-taking control less than 48 hours later.

Framing Venezuela as a safe-haven for Al-Qaeda terrorists, as some have tried to do, is a discredited old method and simply won't pass the smell test with the Venezuelans or U.S. citizens. The only umbrella under which Venezuela can conceivably be overthrown would be an inside coup de 'tat smoke screened as a natural political transition, but Chavez himself would have to be kept in the dark over a long period of time for anything of this nature to take place. Any overtly violent putsch would immediately be recognized for what it was by the Venezuelans and riots would ensue again.

While cutting slack for unforeseen circumstances, the Globalists are stuck between a rock and a hard place and it is patently clear that Hugo Chavez has derailed the plan for global government.

As Wayne Madsen points out, recent election results across the region show a noticeable decline of successful candidates with close ties to the Bush administration and the Neo-Con junta. Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay and Cuba have all elected leaders with populist, nationalist and anti-globalist sympathies.

Madsen notes that during his campaign Bush backed banana tycoon Alvaro Noboa, opponent of newly elected President of Ecuador Rafael Correa, "bragged about his close ties to the international bankers' class, including the Rockefeller family."

Such vapid associations are now routinely perceived as admissions of a candidate serving the dark side and the individuals who declare such alliances are being kicked out of power across the world.



Chavez does not mince words when he characterizes the enemy in stating, "We are facing the threat of global challenges stemming from the genocidal, immoral, sick, and corrupt elite currently governing the United States, which appear to have no limits."

In taking on this elite, Chavez has built his attack on the legitimacy of the uni-polar world and U.S. imperial domination on two pillars.

1) By following a populist course of serving the interests of his own country rather than an elitist fad-driven ideologue of submission to the role of a slave cell in a global dictatorship. This has afforded him the overwhelming support of his countrymen domestically.

2) By consistently and vociferously denouncing the U.S. led imperial agenda as being mired in a toxic soup of lies, deliberate carnage and false justifications. Chavez' repeated attacks on the official story behind 9/11, other state sponsored acts of false flag terror and their exploitation to advance geopolitical agendas has resonated internationally.

Chavez's socialist leanings do not sit well with many, this author included, but no one can deny that his actions have contributed substantially to reversing the stampede of world fascism, neo-mercantilism and economic meltdown presided over by unelected, unchecked, faceless powers in pursuit of global totalitarianism and a new world order.

No surprise it is therefore to witness the juggernaut of the U.S. media engage in ceaseless attempts to drag the name of Chavez through the mud - mindful, desperate and terrified that another "rogue state" has excelled itself in neutralizing the goals of an elite hell-bent on turning the earth into a prison planet.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2006/271106chavezderails.htm

[DECOLONIZE]

Univision is way worse than Telemundo. I'd say it's the equivalent of Fox News but in spanish. I didn't watch the election results on TV but I did see the swearing in of Calderon as president in Mexico a few days ago. I got so upset about the unbelievebale unjournalistic bias that I turned it off after only 5 minutes.

[Godfather of Soul]

VIVA EL CHAVISMO Y LA REVOLUCION DE BOLIVAR!

[The Wiseman]

VIVA EL CHAVISMO Y LA REVOLUCION DE BOLIVAR!

between fellows liberterian leftists where do you think Chavez is heading with Venezuela, is he attempting to establish another form of state capitalism or is he really going for some form of liberterian/democratic socialism, his various grassroots community democracy projects he funds shows he may be going for the latter but still he has yet to even nationalize the oil companies much less put them under worker or community control, what are your opinions?

[RMX]

Censorship of Election Results???

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4376202.html



Telemundo Communications Group is owned by NBC Universal Inc., which is controlled by General Electric Co. It claims to reach about 93 percent of Hispanic households in the U.S. and also has viewers in Mexico.



my emphasis:These are the same people who feed us the news here in the US...thats f'd up

Mass propaganda (93%) + MultiBillion $ Corporations + x=  Yeah you can guess...fill in the blank if you dare ___________________

This is something else GE does.   They are a global leaders.   Global leaders like war.  Cause war makes profits.   Profits not wages.   That is why workers will never be rich.   

http://www.geae.com/aboutgeae/factsheet.html

Cmon peoples we gotta start seeing these things.  I am putting it out there for yall

[The Wiseman]

Censorship of Election Results???

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4376202.html



Telemundo Communications Group is owned by NBC Universal Inc., which is controlled by General Electric Co. It claims to reach about 93 percent of Hispanic households in the U.S. and also has viewers in Mexico.



my emphasis:These are the same people who feed us the news here in the US...thats f'd up

Mass propaganda (93%) + MultiBillion $ Corporations + x= Yeah you can guess...fill in the blank if you dare ___________________

This is something else GE does.   They are a global leaders.   Global leaders like war.  Cause war makes profits.   Profits not wages.   That is why workers will never be rich.   

http://www.geae.com/aboutgeae/factsheet.html

Cmon peoples we gotta start seeing these things.  I am putting it out there for yall

As if none of us ever knew this.....? Wow profits not wages, thats why workers will never be rich?? Really??? You have nearly reached the pinnacle of Marxist theoretics!!!

[RMX]

Censorship of Election Results???

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4376202.html



Telemundo Communications Group is owned by NBC Universal Inc., which is controlled by General Electric Co. It claims to reach about 93 percent of Hispanic households in the U.S. and also has viewers in Mexico.



my emphasis:These are the same people who feed us the news here in the US...thats f'd up

Mass propaganda (93%) + MultiBillion $ Corporations + x= Yeah you can guess...fill in the blank if you dare ___________________

This is something else GE does.   They are a global leaders.   Global leaders like war.  Cause war makes profits.   Profits not wages.   That is why workers will never be rich.   

http://www.geae.com/aboutgeae/factsheet.html

Cmon peoples we gotta start seeing these things.  I am putting it out there for yall

As if none of us ever knew this.....? Wow profits not wages, thats why workers will never be rich?? Really??? You have nearly reached the pinnacle of Marxist theoretics!!!

I am doing pretty good running my own business, thank you.  and the remark on wages had a purpose, just trust me.   

[The Wiseman]

Censorship of Election Results???

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4376202.html



Telemundo Communications Group is owned by NBC Universal Inc., which is controlled by General Electric Co. It claims to reach about 93 percent of Hispanic households in the U.S. and also has viewers in Mexico.



my emphasis:These are the same people who feed us the news here in the US...thats f'd up

Mass propaganda (93%) + MultiBillion $ Corporations + x= Yeah you can guess...fill in the blank if you dare ___________________

This is something else GE does. They are a global leaders. Global leaders like war. Cause war makes profits. Profits not wages. That is why workers will never be rich.

http://www.geae.com/aboutgeae/factsheet.html

Cmon peoples we gotta start seeing these things. I am putting it out there for yall

As if none of us ever knew this.....? Wow profits not wages, thats why workers will never be rich?? Really??? You have nearly reached the pinnacle of Marxist theoretics!!!

I am doing pretty good running my own business, thank you. and the remark on wages had a purpose, just trust me.

Just thought id make a comment on this

Cmon peoples we gotta start seeing these things. I am putting it out there for yall

[Godfather of Soul]

VIVA EL CHAVISMO Y LA REVOLUCION DE BOLIVAR!

between fellows liberterian leftists where do you think Chavez is heading with Venezuela, is he attempting to establish another form of state capitalism or is he really going for some form of liberterian/democratic socialism, his various grassroots community democracy projects he funds shows he may be going for the latter but still he has yet to even nationalize the oil companies much less put them under worker or community control, what are your opinions?

I think he is moving in the direction of Cuba.  I think it would be a mistake for him to eliminate term limits, which he will.  That will definitely sour world opinion against him.  He needs to gracefully bow out and play a major role from the sidelines, or maybe in the Senate.  The oil question is touchy.  Ideally it would be a simple thing to do, but there would be severe consequences.  We shall see.  If he does it, then he will have my full and complete support.  More importantly, he needs to be careful not to do the "ruler for life" thing...that will ruin any claim to socialism that he has.  Right now he is still a moderate-socialist/social democrat.  Hopefully this radicalizes him in the right direction and makes him democratize society more by decentralizing decision making and opening the economy to more worker control.  However, if he is using some played out marxist-leninist doctrine, a dictatorship might be on the horizon.  We shall see.

[RMX]

Wiseman,  

 I just wanted to point out that how the same company that controls the media and pumps out propoganda for war and the like, to include censorship, is the same company that makes the engines and the like for the weapons to go fight these wars, then they make billions...i just wanted to emphasis that bring it to the surface....for further discussion.

No bad intent except to stop this machine, which is owned by a few.  it seems like these few have more power than we give them credit for.  plus they spend fun weekends in freaky little country clubs where they pray to large owls and death with mock cremations...wow

[Godfather of Soul]

RMX-

Would you ever collectivize your business?

[RMX]

Huh??  I am not sure what you mean??

[The Wiseman]

RMX-

Would you ever collectivize your business?

lol i didnt even realize that comment, i thought he meant "my business" as in "mind my own business", lol so we have a petty bourgoriese on our hands that is doing good on his own running it, making comments about "workers will never be rich on wages" but then exploiting them at the same time

[Godfather of Soul]

Huh??  I am not sure what you mean??

Don't you own your own business?  Would you ever turn it over to your employees?  Would you share your profits EQUALLY with them or in direct proportion to the amount of work they do?

[RMX]

RMX-

Would you ever collectivize your business?

lol i didnt even realize that comment, i thought he meant "my business" as in "mind my own business", lol so we have a petty bourgoriese on our hands that is doing good on his own running it, making comments about "workers will never be rich on wages" but then exploiting them at the same time

You have no idea what I do or how i do it.  And anyone who has ever worked with me or for me would never say that.   That was low.   Are to trying to discourage entrpreneurism??  Self sufficiency??  Community Empowerment??