Latin America
Related: About this forumCaracas Chronicles, Part I of an Ongoing Series
MARCH 1, 2019
by KEN SILVERSTEIN
I just got back from Venezuela and Ill be writing a lot about the country next week. Virtually everything you read or see about the country in the U.S. media is a lie. And to be clear, I dont mean skewed or misleading or incomplete, I mean a lie.
For example, people in Venezuela are not starving at least very few are, if any nor is the country a dictatorship. But thats exactly what you would believe from reading the likes of the atrocious Hannah Dreier, who failed upward from the Associated Press to ProPublica, that beacon of investigative reporting, and who has been a chief propagandist for the rancid old oligarchy.
. . .
People live humbly but they have food especially because the government distributes a monthly food package, for the equivalent of a few pennies to everyone who needs it and even some who dont. Furthermore, food fruits, vegetable, meat, bread, for example is available everywhere. You have to be a blind liar like Dreier to miss it since street markets overflow with abundance. Its not cheap but its available.
Furthermore, President Nicolas Maduro, who I personally detest, is corrupt and repressive, but he is not a dictator. There are anti-government slogans painted all over Caracas and people spoke openly about wanting him gone, from the barrios to barbershops to markets.
I had an intense argument with many people close to the government while I was in Venezuela, yet continued to wander the streets and dive bars of the city until the wee hours. No one, neither government security forces nor crack heads, of which there are a few, bothered me.
More:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/03/01/caracas-chronicles-part-i-of-an-ongoing-series/
alwaysinasnit
(5,066 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,542 posts)GatoGordo
(2,412 posts)Try this website.
Aporrea.org
Full of Venezuelans who LIVE there and not just hacks who came for a visit. And very much Chavista.
Curiously they paint a very different picture of the situation in Venezuela than the author.
Rampant crime
No water
No food
No electricity
No medicine
No financial security
Not much of anything from the nation that used to be the envy of Latin America.
Oh, they love their Bolivarian Socialism at Aporrea. But despite the cheers from the CounterPunch author, Venezuela is in shambles.
So... who to believe?
MRubio
(285 posts)"People live humbly but they have food especially because the government distributes a monthly food package, for the equivalent of a few pennies to everyone who needs it and even some who dont."
A monthly food package? I guess for Ken, monthly in spanish translates to every 90 days or so. I know this. I see it. I live in a town of about 5,000 people or so. My woman sells food when she can find it at her bodega so we know what's available on the market and what's not.
The clap boxes DO NOT arrive monthly. And in the surrounding small towns it's the same story. The clap boxes typically arrive when the townspeople get so pissed off and hungry they shut down the national highway for a full day by burning tires. Then, and only then do the clap boxes show up. Well, that's not totally true, when there's an "election" they somehow miraculously show up to pay for chavismo votes.
"Furthermore, food fruits, vegetable, meat, bread, for example is available everywhere. You have to be a blind liar like Dreier to miss it since street markets overflow with abundance. Its not cheap but its available."
Overflowing with abundance? Laugh the fuck out loud.
Vegetables here in town TODAY consist of yuca, tomatoes, and green onions. That's it. I know, I shopped for veggies this AM here in town.
ZERO fruits, zero. Fruits don't make it here. Bread? LOL Meat? Today, yes, tomorrow who the fuck knows. I bought 2 kilos of lagarto, which is the lower leg of the animal and traditionally used in soups, for 12,000 bs Soberano. The minimum wage is 18,000 bs Soberano.............PER MONTH. Better cuts of meat cost 8,000 bs S per kilo, today, tomorrow, who knows?
Every once in a while the national guard and the mayor (whose office is over an hour from here) come to town and confiscate meat that they say is overpriced. You can about imagine what happens to meat sales for a couple of weeks afterwards. Chicken? Zero. Pork? Zero. Haven't seen the latter sold here for more months than I can recall.....not even for Christmas and New Years when Venezuelans make their traditional hallacas that require chicken and pork. But we do have plenty of horses getting stolen and slaughtered, so there's that.
If I want to find something in the way of fruits, or exotic vegetables like potatoes, carrots, or even oinons most times, I have to drive 45 miles to do so and there's no guarantee that I'll find what I need. You guys think the average Venezuelan here has a car? Or that the average Venezuelan here can afford to pay for transportation to make a 45 mile trip to buy what he needs to feed his family?
What people eat here, and I suspect in many small towns in this part of Venezuela are arepas, assuming they can find the corn to make them, yuca, and casave. That's it. Most don't eat meat, and canned sardines as a source of protein are no longer to be found here. If they are, they cost way more than one can afford. Chicken and pork are no longer part of the Venezuelan diet, at least not in the rural areas unless produced at home. BTW, my wife and I produce here at the house chickens for meat and eggs and hogs as well. We also have a garden. We eat well because we hustle and have the means to find most of what we need. Most Venezuelans don't have the means so they do without.
As suspected, after reading the article, Mr. Silverstein visited Caracas. He may not be aware of this, but a lot of Venezuelans don't live in Caracas. He may not also be aware that if Maduro is going to make sure ONE PART of Venezuela is relatively well-stocked with food, it's Caracas. Why you might ask? Because the last thing the Maduro regime needs is for the barrios on the hills surrounding Miraflores to empty into Caracas at night with pitchforks and torches calling for his head.
Don't believe everything you read. You can choose not to believe what I've said here. But I have no reason to lie about what I live every day.
Judi Lynn
(160,542 posts)I absolutely NEVER believe everything I read.
MRubio
(285 posts)........what I see and relate usually doesn't fit the narrative you push.
BTW, did you see the story about Diosdado Cabello (some believe he actually runs the country) sending his kids to Russia according to one source, to China according to another?
Well, I don't believe everything I read either.
Wednesday night I watched his program live on Chavez TV and there they were, his wife and three kids with him on the stage. I posted that info in a couple of threads here because others were making the claim he'd sent them out of harm's way. Fake news I call it.
Just like: "........especially because the government distributes a monthly food package, for the equivalent of a few pennies to everyone who needs it........".
Fake news. Some might even call it a lie. I won't, but you get the picture.
GatoGordo
(2,412 posts)I'm surprised Jorge Rodriguez didn't give him a chauffeured MB Gelandewagen to see the sights! Maybe a meal with Salt Bae and a Cuban cigar and a t-shirt?
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)- Maduro has stacked the Supreme Court with cronies, so anything he does is automatically legal.
- The parliament has been declared illegitimate by the Supreme Court.
- The 2017 elections for the Constitutional Assembly were marred by massive allegations of election-fraud that were never investigated.
- The unconstitutional de-facto parliament, the Constitutional Assembly, is stacked with cronies.
- The 2018 presidential elections for the Presidency were marred by massive allegations of election-fraud that were never investigated. No opposition-candidate was allowed to run.
If the people of Venezuela were to decide that they no longer want Maduro and vote for somebody else...
1. What are the odds that their candidates will be allowed to run?
2. If they win, what are the odds that their candidates will be allowed to actually serve?
3. If they are allowed to serve, what are the odds that they will be allowed to wield the power granted to them by the constitution?
MRubio
(285 posts)....by answering some of your questions.
1. What are the odds that their candidates will be allowed to run?
Many, if not most, Americans do not realize that Maduro literally hand-picked those who would run against him in last year's presidential "election". Top opposition candidates are typically disqualified by the National Election Council (CNE) that Maduro controls.
2. If they win, what are the odds that their candidates will be allowed to actually serve?
3. If they are allowed to serve, what are the odds that they will be allowed to wield the power granted to them by the constitution?
To make it appear that elections are legitimate here, chavismo allows some governorships and mayoral slots to be "won" by the opposition. "See, outside world, we're not a dictatorship, look at those opposition candidates who won as governors and mayors". What they don't tell the rest of the world is that the day the opposition candidate assumes his new role, a state or local parallel government structure is already in place with a chavista controlling the purse strings. The opposition is basically neutered because they have little access to money.
What most Americans don't realize is that states here in Venezuela are not nearly as autonomous as those in the US. That's to say, all important decisions about state affairs come from the federal level, not the governor. Even candidates for the governorships are hand-selected out of Caracas. The new governor may never have lived a day in the state that he's now supposedly directing.
Chavismo claims they've put together the bestest and safest election system in the world using their Smartmatic machines!!!! Its the bestest and safest alright......guaranteed to give them the results they want. This from the maker of the machine:
Venezuela Reported False Election Turnout, Voting Company Says
The Venezuelan government reported false turnout figures for its contentious election over the weekend, announcing a tally that had been altered by at least one million votes, a software company involved in setting up voting systems for the country said on Wednesday.
We know, without any doubt, that the turnout of the recent election for a National Constituent Assembly was manipulated, the company, Smartmatic, said in a statement.
On Wednesday, Smartmatic said that although Venezuelas election process includes a series of auditing systems that are impossible to circumvent, no election monitors from the opposition were present to watch for evidence as it came in. Opposition parties had boycotted the vote, declining to participate in the election or review the returns on Sunday.
The absence of auditors, the company said, allowed for a manipulation of the turnout numbers.
On Wednesday, Tibisay Lucena, the president of the electoral commission, issued a statement rejecting Smartmatics claims as irresponsible and threatening legal action against the company.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/world/americas/venezuela-election-turnout.html
GatoGordo
(2,412 posts)I call bullshit.
1. Chavismo used to be able to count on El Pueblo, (aka those who had very little and were promised much) who lived in the barrios. As of January, his support there is negligible. While you would be hard pressed to find someone who ISN'T a Chavista, Maduro has lost support of the masses due to his lies and repression. Maduro now routinely sends his henchemen (FNB, GNB, DGCIM, colectivos) into these same barrios to round up known troublemakers and puts a bullet in their heads. (ratted out by local PSUV barrio bosses)
2. Guaido is widely reviled and mocked? Funny that! He is drawing in crowds that only Chavez himself used to get in the "good old days" when he could easily buy votes. And according to RELIABLE sources, his popularity is at about 70% compared to about 15% for Maduro. The only people who mock Guaido right now are the Chavista water carriers who are pissing themselves over the thought that their Marxist/Leninist/Stalinist paradise is crashing down all around them. Just like every attempt before.
3. Electronics trafficker? Do you mean he had a FUCKING JOB before he got into politics? That is something that deserves derision? But its OK for an illiterate bus driver (and the failed paratrooper before him) to hold the reins of the highest political office?
Ken Silverstein is clearly a shill, with the agenda to gloss over the failed (AGAIN) Marxist paradigm. I suggest that Mr. Silverstein DOES NOT spend a lovely weekend pisser in Caracas and instead head over to any second or third tier city (or better yet, someplace near the Mining Arc) where he can live the life of a Chavista sycophant on 16 cents per day. Maybe his hosts won't be so eager to feed the lazy fuck when there is NO food to be had at ANY price.
I don't know exactly WHERE in Caracas Mr. Silverstein stayed, but it must be a new suburb called FantasyLand.