Latin America
Related: About this forumAnother Failed Coup in Venezuela?
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MARCH 6, 2019
The Venezuelan opposition and its backers in Washington may have underestimated the Chavista grassroots.
BY GEORGE CICCARIELLO-MAHER
Venezuelan opposition leader and declared acting president by the National Assembly Juan Guaidó meets foreign allies including U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (R) in a meeting of Lima Group on February 25, 2019 in Bogota, Colombia. (Photo by Luis Ramirez/Vizzor Image/Getty Images)
If you repeat your own lies enoughso goes the apocryphal Goebbels quoteyou start to believe them yourself. For two decades, the Venezuelan opposition and its supporters in Washington have smeared Hugo Chávez and now his successor, Nicolás Maduro, as despotic strongmen kept in power solely through military force and paltry payouts to the poor. So its no surprise that they are once again underestimating both Chavismo and the resilience of its supporters today.
Underestimating the People
Weve seen this all before: On April 11 of 2002, the Venezuelan oppositionaccording to the most credible accountsunleashed snipers on its own supporters and used the ensuing deaths to justify a coup against Hugo Chávez. But the opposition dramatically overplayed its hand and underestimated the Chavista grassroots, who it routinely smeared as the blind followers of a populist strongman. When coup leaders abolished all branches of government and scrapped the constitution, hundreds of thousands of poor Venezuelans poured into the streets demanding, and eventually forcing, Chávezs return to power.
Much has changed since 2002. A perfect storm of Chávezs death, collapsing global oil prices, a mismanaged system of currency controls, ferocious aggression from the opposition andmore recentlyU.S. sanctions, has thrown the Venezuelan economy into a tailspin. Many of the impressive accomplishments of the Bolivarian Revolutionin health care, education and poverty reductionhave quickly evaporated, producing frustration, confusion and desperation among even Chavismos most hardline supporters.
So when opposition backbencher Juan Guaidó declared himself interim president of Venezuela on January 23, he and his co-conspirators thought the military would quickly fragment before eventually falling in line behind the self-proclaimed president. Things didnt work that way: Aside from a handful of soldiers and the U.S. military attaché, the Venezuelan armed forces remained solidly behind Nicolás Maduro. And despite large demonstrations both for and against the government, there have been no signs of sustained, mass resistance in the streets in favor of the coup either.
Why? In part because the frustration many poor Venezuelans feel today is just that: frustration. They are fed up with the economic crisis, and many place at least a share of the blame on Maduro. But as in the past, most dont see frustration as justifying undemocratic regime change, much less foreign interventionwhich the majority of Venezuelans oppose. Whats more, wanting the economy to improve has not led many to identify with opposition parties that still represent the most elite sectors of Venezuelan society and have offered no credible solutions to the economic crisis.
More:
http://inthesetimes.com/article/21785/venezuela-guaido-maduro-lima-group-pence-trump-coup-chavista-opposition
Editorials and other articles:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016227957
MRubio
(285 posts)........that last round of sanctions being sanctions with TEETH in my humble opinion.
Here's my point. Read the sentence below:
"Much has changed since 2002. A perfect storm of Chávezs death, collapsing global oil prices, a mismanaged system of currency controls, ferocious aggression from the opposition andmore recentlyU.S. sanctions, has thrown the Venezuelan economy into a tailspin."
That sentence would lead one to believe that recent sanctions have done their part to throw the Venezuelan economy into a tailspin. I would submit that the Venezuelan economy was in a tailspin LONG before sanctions were imposed that really target the Venezuelan economy. Hyper-inflation had kicked into high gear by the time 2018 got underway. Shortages of basic products were felt LONG before that.
For years, there were sanctions against a few targeted chavista big wigs, starting under President Obama. That pressure was steadily increased once Trump became president, expanding to include many military actors. I would ask, how would sanctions such as visa revocations and the freezing of personal assets in the US harm the Veneuzelan economy? I don't think it would.
I do believe that this latest round of sanctions will make a difference. That's to say, that its effects will be felt by the average Jose soon. So far though, nada. The first thing I expected to see happen was a gasoline shortage. It hasn't materialized, at least not yet.
GatoGordo
(2,412 posts)haha?
MRubio
(285 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,601 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,601 posts)Could save so much idiotic confusion, hissy fits, and death threatening.
Drexel professor resigns amid threats over controversial tweets
By Melissa Gray, CNN
Updated 6:44 PM ET, Fri December 29, 2017
(CNN)A Drexel University professor who received death threats after posting several controversial tweets said Thursday he is resigning because the year-long harassment has made his situation "unsustainable."
George Ciccariello-Maher, a professor of politics and global studies, had been teaching his class remotely via video conference after being put on administrative leave, a move that Drexel said was for his own safety.
The professor said his resignation is effective December 31.
"This is not a decision I take lightly; however, after nearly a year of harassment by right-wing, white supremacist media outlets and Internet mobs, after death threats and threats of violence directed against me and my family, my situation has become unsustainable," Ciccariello-Maher wrote on his Facebook account. "Staying at Drexel in the eye of this storm has become detrimental to my own writing, speaking, and organizing."
. . .
More:
https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/28/us/drexel-university-professor-resigns/index.html
The dipshits can read, meaning they can pronouce the words out loud, hopefully, but they don't understand the meanings, of course. Truly sad.
Unfortunately, that's why we have the "right wing." A lot of sub-standard people in the same boat, and they're mad as hell.
GatoGordo
(2,412 posts)I didn't see any sarcasm in his Tweet. There are screen captures out on the net.
George Ciccariello
@ciccmaher
All I Want for Christmas is White
Genocide
12/24/16, 10:48PM
____________________
77 RETWEETS 103 LIKES
Clearly this fraud has his apologists out there.
Judi Lynn
(160,601 posts)GatoGordo
(2,412 posts)The guy is an idiot, and clearly his worldview hasn't improved since Christmas Eve, 2016
Judi Lynn
(160,601 posts)Breitbart and Fox have been foaming at the mouth about him since they couldn't understand him, either. The fact they ARE the side which supports evil barbaric abuse of the poor, all people of color, and they support torture and hatred toward all European-descended people who DON'T support them and their barbarous abuse of the unconnected, poverty-stricken people.
They despise and loathe all "white" people who won't join them in their murderous hatred of the poor, the people without stolen power.
Yeah, gotta whole lot of hate they want to throw at people who know all about them, and want to protect the human race from them.
GatoGordo
(2,412 posts)that has a strong history of forbearance and tolerance. He quit before he brought more disgrace upon himself and the University.
The author doesn't play well with others. Is absence from academia is a blessing.