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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWestern Media Fall in Lockstep for Cheap Trump/Rubio Venezuela Aid PR Stunt
Source: FAIR - FAIRNESS & ACCURACY IN REPORTING
The Trump administration’s now completely overt effort to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had a very successful public relations effort this week, as major Western media outlets uniformly echoed its simplistic, pre-packaged claim that the Venezuelan government was heartlessly withholding foreign aid:
Read more: https://fair.org/home/western-media-fall-in-lockstep-for-cheap-trump-rubio-venezuela-aid-pr-stunt/
I don't know if FAIR is considered a reputable mainstream source on DU, but they cite such in making their case. I believe we are being seriously misled on what is going on in Venezuela. I'm 66 and I feel I've been down this rabbit hole before. I could be wrong.
I had this in Late Breaking News, but one member with a ton of posts said it should probably be in General Discussion so I moved it here, if anyone would like to discuss.
= new reply since forum marked as read
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diddlysquat
(1,156 posts)I agree that we are not being told the truth. Maduro IS the legitimate president. He was legally elected. That being said, I don’t know the truth about accusations against him. What I do object to is the other guy ...I forgot his name...is highly suspicious since he is claiming the presidency based on the fact that Trump supports him. That alone ought to disqualify him in the eyes of the world.
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)If by that you mean he cheated and stole the election then yes.
Reports of vote buying were also prevalent during the presidential campaigning. Venezuelans suffering from hunger were pressured to vote for Maduro, with the government bribing potential supporters with food.[123] Maduro promised rewards for citizens who scanned their Carnet de la Patria at the voting booth, which would allow the government to monitor the political party of their citizens and whether or not they had voted.
The head of the Caracas-based Global Observatory of Communication and Democracy Griselda Colina and former Director of the Carter Center's Americas Program Dr Jennifer McCoy concluded that Maduro's victory could not be considered democratic due to a wide range of failings in prevailing electoral conditions.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein noted that his office had concerns that reports of extrajudicial killings cast doubts on fairness, stating "this context does not in any way fulfill minimal conditions for free and credible elections".
Prior to the elections, the Lima Group, with its participating nations of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Saint Lucia, stated that they would not recognize the results of the presidential elections due to the perceived lack of transparency.
The European Union, through the European Parliament, also ruled that it would not recognize the 20 May elections and called the electoral process "fraudulent".[12] On 3 May 2018, the European Parliament again called for the immediate suspension of the 20 May election until "free and fair elections were held on a schedule agreed upon with the participation of all relevant actors and political parties".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Venezuelan_presidential_election
PeeJ52
(1,588 posts)Maduro didn't want United Nations overseeing their elections just as tRump wouldn't want the United Nations overseeing our elections. I would love the UN to oversee our elections.
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)...and B: moved up the elections by months so they wouldn't have time to prepare.
And promising food for votes to starving people is hardly a fair election.
PeeJ52
(1,588 posts)
Farmer-Rick
(10,170 posts)that getting at the truth is very difficult.
Some poster don't even bother. They just repeat the propaganda ad infinitum, treating the propaganda like truth.
Glad to see you are looking for the truth. I do not believe Maduro is the monster they make him out to be. And the guy they are pushing in his stead has very little background on the internet. I think he's a darling of the uber rich.
I just know that everything Traitor Trump has done has been to enrich himself or his mobster friends. So, I wonder who will be making money off of this. You can bet it wont be the citizens of Venezuela.
You got to wonder why we in the US object to Russia putting in Trump as our president and yet we are OK with Russia's puppet attempting to put in Guaidó as president. You got to wonder
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)Yes, doing a great job he is.
Human Rights Watch:
Under the leadership of President Hugo Chávez and President Nicolás Maduro, the accumulation of power in the executive branch and erosion of human rights guarantees have enabled the government to intimidate, censor, and punish its critics. Severe shortages of medicines, medical supplies, and food have intensified since 2014, and weak government responses have undermined Venezuelans’ rights to health and food. Security forces have arbitrarily detained and tortured protesters, and raids in low-income communities have led to widespread allegations of abuse. Other persistent concerns include poor prison conditions and impunity for human rights abuses.
https://www.hrw.org/americas/venezuela
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL:
Venezuela remained in a state of emergency, repeatedly extended since January 2016. A National Constituent Assembly was elected without the participation of the opposition. The Attorney General was dismissed under irregular circumstances. Security forces continued to use excessive and undue force to disperse protests. Hundreds of people were arbitrarily detained. There were many reports of torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual violence against demonstrators. The judicial system continued to be used to silence dissidents, including using military jurisdiction to prosecute civilians. Human rights defenders were harassed, intimidated and subject to raids. Conditions of detention were extremely harsh. The food and health crises continued to worsen, especially affecting children, people with chronic illness and pregnant women. The number of Venezuelans seeking asylum in other countries increased.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/venezuela/report-venezuela/
Reporters Without Borders said that the media in Venezuela is "almost entirely dominated by the government and its obligatory announcements, called cadenas.
According to the National Sindicate of Press Workers of Venezuela, 115 media outlets have been shut down between 2013 and 2018 during Nicolás Maduro's government, including 41 printed means, 65 radio outlets and 9 television channels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Venezuela
In a country with the largest oil reserves on the planet:
Venezuelans reported losing on average 11 kilograms (24 lbs) in body weight last year and almost 90 percent now live in poverty.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-food/venezuelans-report-big-weight-losses-in-2017-as-hunger-hits-idUSKCN1G52HA
PeeJ52
(1,588 posts)I could almost see the exact thing written by Amnesty International about tRump's escapades at the Mexican border. Amazing...
Farmer-Rick
(10,170 posts)You really think Putin's puppet is going to do something good for the Venezuelan people?
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)I think I will trust Human Rights Watch, thanks anyway...or are they "fake news" too?
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/18/hostages-hunger-venezuela
(Caracas, Venezuela) – Many Venezuelans will go to the polls on Sunday hungry. And some may be voting in the presidential election only because they fear what will happen to them if they stay home.
Getting food and medicine has become a daily preoccupation here. Most Venezuelans go to bed hungry or are eating less due to food shortages, and moderate to severe malnutrition of children under 5 increased in 2017. Venezuela’s health minister released data last year indicating that, in 2016, maternal mortality increased 65 percent, infant mortality 30 percent, and malaria cases 76 percent. Days later, President Nicolás Maduro fired her.
Mr. Maduro’s government denies that the humanitarian crisis exists. The truth is that failed government policy has ruined the economy, resulting in hyperinflation and severe shortages, and millions of Venezuelans cannot afford to buy food on the open market. Government-controlled rations are their only option.
Yet instead of allowing government-issued boxes of food to be sold by supermarkets, the Maduro regime has been using the military and its supporters to distribute them. Through this system — in which food distribution is controlled by government allies, people who tend to punish government critics — the Venezuelan authorities are using hunger as a mechanism of social and political control.
In January 2017, the Maduro regime started a campaign asking Venezuelans to register for a “carnet of the Fatherland” — a special government-issued ID document that allows access to social services. Within a year, more than 16 million Venezuelans — about half of the population — had them.
Venezuelans need this ID to get the food boxes, and also some medical procedures, housing, school supplies, pensions and special Christmas and other bonuses, among other benefits. The Maduro administration found a way to use the cards to bolster government support in elections.
malaise
(269,004 posts)The imperialists aren't fooling anyone.
My position is simple. This administration cannot discuss human rights anywhere while kidnapping the children of Latin America and putting them in cages.
Of course we've been down this rabbit hole. Venezuela is a sovereign country and the US does not decide who is it's President. I expect the usual suspects to show up on your thread.
Galeano speaks the truth. All should read Open Veins of Latin America.
diddlysquat
(1,156 posts)Thanks for recommending.
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)
Of course who wouldn't think the side of right is with N Korea, Iran, China, Cuba and Russia?
PeeJ52
(1,588 posts)It might have been even more heavily favored against Iraq?
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)Irrelevant in this case anyway.
Bur Russia, Iran, Cuba, China and N Korea must be the guys on the side of right? lol
malaise
(269,004 posts)The biggest Russian tool is the current US President
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)malaise
(269,004 posts)including those totally dependent on those Russian sanctions being lifted.
PeeJ52
(1,588 posts)and The Who said it too!
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)PeeJ52
(1,588 posts)I do believe there are terrible conditions in Venezuela. I do not believe putting in a US puppet to install an aristocracy as they had in the old days isn't the answer either.
I believe those terrible conditions are a result of unfair economic conditions that have been in place for over 20 years and have accelerated under tRump and Bolton. The "A" team of Abrams and Bolton are now in charge. They know how to plunder countries. See Iran/Contra and Iraq. Now Iran and Venezuela are within their sites. Oil is to be had and they will get it no matter what.
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)How is that US puppetry?
PeeJ52
(1,588 posts)dig a little deeper...
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)"In January 2019, the National Assembly declared the results of the election invalid, and invoked clauses of the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution to install National Assembly Speaker Juan Guaidó as acting president, precipitating the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis."
Which part of that is not true?
Did they not have a vote?
Is he not the Speaker?
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)Examples? The US has been Venz's largest trading partner for exports AND imports so hard to say the US was waging any economic warfare. Plus Venz. can buy food etc from any country on the planet of they had the money.
Poorly thought out govt polices are at the root of all their problems:
Price controls during rampant inflation making the shelves bare of food...check
Over printing money causing the million % inflation...check
Ridiculous multi-level currency controls ensuring no dollars to buy imports...check
Confiscation of foreign property driving off investment...check
Firing competent oil workers and substituting lackeys, ensuring oil production drops...check
Failing to diversify the economy from oil...check
Failing to invest in electrical infrastructure resulting in rolling blackouts...check
Pricing gas so low it's all black marketed to neighboring countries...check
Command economies have never worked.
PeeJ52
(1,588 posts)to stories written way back. You can't erase the past. It's fun to see what was written many years ago.
https://fair.org/home/us-media-ignore-and-applaud-economic-war-on-venezuela/
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)And if not why would that be?
I'll trust BBC, Reuters, The Guardian, etc...or is mainstream press "fake news" like Trump says?
The "sanctions" angle is strict nonsense, until last month the only sanctions were against a few govt officials that had been violating human rights. That in no way stopped Venz from buying whatever they could afford from any country on the planet.
To say Venz's biggest trading partner for exports AND imports was waging economic warfare is silly at best.
In spite of strained relations between the two countries, the United States has been Venezuela's most important trading partner. American exports to Venezuela have included machinery, agricultural products, medical instruments and cars. Venezuela is one of the top four suppliers of foreign oil to the United States. About 500 American companies are represented in Venezuela.[16] According to Central Bank of Venezuela, between 1998 and 2008 the government received around 325 billion USD through oil production and exports in general.[17] According to the International Energy Agency (as of August 2015), the production of 2.4 million barrels per day supplied 500,000 barrels to the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Venezuela
Here is the real problem:
Since the Bolivarian Revolution half-dismantled its PDVSA oil giant corporation in 2002 by firing most of its 20,000-strong dissident professional human capital and imposed stringent currency controls in 2003 in an attempt to prevent capital flight,[19] there has been a steady decline in oil production and exports and a series of stern currency devaluations, disrupting the economy.[20] Further yet, price controls, expropriation of numerous farmlands and various industries, among other disputable government policies including a near-total freeze on any access to foreign currency at reasonable "official" exchange rates, have resulted in severe shortages in Venezuela and steep price rises of all common goods, including food, water, household products, spare parts, tools and medical supplies; forcing many manufacturers to either cut production or close down, with many ultimately abandoning the country as has been the case with several technological firms and most automobile makers.[21][22] In 2015, Venezuela had over 100% inflation—the highest in the world and the highest in the country's history at that time.
PeeJ52
(1,588 posts)the hyperlinks lead to MSM or facts to back what they are saying. The MSM writes that Maduro is blocking the bridge that Abrams is trying to send aid to Venezuelans on. The bridge has been closed since 2016!!! It's stuff like that is what's going unsaid. Eliot Abrams used to ship arms to the Contras in containers of "humanitarian aid" back in the Reagan days.
Yes, the real problem is the US control of the world money markets and what they have done to Venezuela are in those stories.
https://fair.org/home/exonerating-the-empire-in-venezuela/
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)and he could open it and search the aid....and not letting in humanitarian aid for a starving populace is evil....and what Reagan did 40 some years ago is irrelevant.
So you which of Maduro's economic policies are working out well?
The price controls during rampant inflation?
Over printing money causing the million % inflation?
Ridiculous multi-level currency controls ensuring no dollars to buy imports?
Confiscation of foreign property driving off investment?
Firing competent oil workers and substituting lackeys, ensuring oil production drops?
Failing to diversify the economy from oil?
Failing to invest in electrical infrastructure resulting in rolling blackouts?
Pricing gas so low it's all black marketed to neighboring countries?
PeeJ52
(1,588 posts)According to La Opinion (2/5/16), after its initial construction in 2015, the bridge has never been open to traffic. How can Maduro, as the BBC suggested, “reopen” a bridge that was never open?
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)....what keeps them from opening it it exactly?
EX500rider
(10,848 posts)Just claiming it is all due to sanctions is your 1st clue that it is BS, the US had sanctions till last month on only a few individuals in the Venz. govt, how does that ruin their economy exactly?
And which of the govt policies that I posted are a good idea? I see you keep skipping that.
