The Nation reminds us of Juan Maria Aznar's fascist origins (Chavez knew what he was talking about)

[antiimperialist]

You may have already heard about the exchange between the Spanish king and Hugo Chavez in a recent summit of world leaders. The Spanish king told Chavez to shut up, and with good reason, because the latter was trying to interrupt president Zapatero. But...regarding the gist of Chavez' accusation: that ex-president Juan Maria Aznar is a fascist, The Nation in 2001 wrote a detailed article about Aznar's fascist origins. The magazine was protesting president Bush's willingness to grant Aznar the Congressional Gold Medal. In summary, The Nation reminded us that "as a teenager he was a Falangist." Moreover,

-Aznar denounced the town of Guernica for renaming General Franco Square as Liberty Square after the dictator's death.

-His father and grandfather played prominent roles in the Franco regime.

-Spain's Supreme Court, appointed by Aznar's government, refuses to expunge the criminal convictions of executed opponents of the Franco dictatorship.

-Aznar defied the instructions of a UN Human Rights agency to find the bodies of the more than 30,000 people who disappeared under Franco.

- He is president of the Popular Party, founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, Information Minister under Franco. Fraga recently wrote a prologue to a book denying the Holocaust.

-Fraga recently wrote a prologue to a book denying the Holocaust. He was Aznar's mentor and anointed him as his successor.

...and this is a 2001 article, even before Aznar supported the unjustified, immoral and terrible Iraq war.

Yes, Aznar was elected by the Spanish people, but I leave you with a quote by the Cuban vice-president the day of the summit:

"saying that "a president's legitimacy stems not only from his election by voters ... he must also be legitimate in the exercise of power."

Chavez should wait for his turn to talk...but he's smarter than many of you think.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20031208/infact

[Donald Ian Rankin]

1. An awful lot of smoke and mirrors.

All the accusations are, without exception, attempts to tarnish by association, rather than anything to do with whether or not Aznar himself is a fascist.

He clearly isn't.

Which is not to say that he isn't a nasty piece of work, of course, although arguably not as nasty a one as Chavez.

[antiimperialist]

3. Chavez didn't grant a medal to a torturer and Franco's right-hand

I challenge you to convince us here that Chavez is as bad as Aznar, as you claim.

"Aznar's govt. gavea medal medal of Civil Merit to Melitón Manzanas, the head of the secret police in San Sebastian and the first high-profile member of the Francoist government killed by ETA in 1968. He was widely considered a torturer, and Amnesty International condemned the awarding.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

9. You set me an impossible challenge.

I can demonstrate that to the satisfaction of an impartial jury, but it wouldn't possible to convince most DUers of it if Chavez was captured on film cooking and eating babies, because he says nasty things about Bush and is therefor a saint.

For what it's worth, though, read e.g. this article http://www.guardian.co.uk/venezuela/story/0,,2210473,00.html (and note that it's from The Guardian, and extrememly reputable & left-wing broadsheet).

And notice the fact that Chavez has effectively made fair elections in Venezuela impossible, by co-opting the apparatus of state to spread personal propaganda, and making it very difficult indeed to campaign against him.

[rinsd]

2. Oh the irony.....

"saying that "a president's legitimacy stems not only from his election by voters ... he must also be legitimate in the exercise of power."

Because Chavistas tell me all the time how Chavez is a democratically elected.

[antiimperialist]

6. Refusing to find 30,000 dead bodies vs. refusing to renew the contract for one TV station

To some, the second choice is worse, believe it or not.

[Progressive Friend]

4. Good post, and it is revealing to watch the resident DLC hacks here defend Aznar the Fascist

[cali]

10. Who's defending Aznar?

Nobody, that's who. Look, this is very, very, very simple. It really shouldn't cause too much pain to wrap your mind around it: Chavez interrupted Zapatera (are you going to argue that he's also a fascist?)And Juan Carlos reacted. They were both out of line. Chavez should have waited until Zapatera had finished speaking, and Juan Carlos should have kept his own mouth shut, instead of adding to the circus.

This isn't really about Aznar at all- much as some here are trying to make that pathetic case.

[Peace Patriot]

5. "He's smarter than you think." Yup. He and the Bolivarian Revolution--

which has many leaders, not just Chavez, and millions and millions of supporters, in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, and Nicaragua--all with Bolivarian governments--and in countries with leftist (majorityist) governments like Brazil and Uruguay, have outsmarted the Bush Junta and the combined evil intelligence of Condi Rice, Dick Cheney, John Negroponte, et al, and Exxon Mobile, et al, and the World Bank/IMF, et al, and the entire fascist elite in these countries, and are swiftly moving, with very practical programs of social justice, and regional self-determination and self-help, toward regional economic integration, aimed at a South American "Common Market" and common currency.

The brown majority in South America--excluded, and impoverished, and brutally repressed all these years--are going to have the last laugh--and they are doing it peacefully and democratically, and are harming no one. In fact, they are saving their own society--after years of ruinous looting by the rich and their global corporate predator pals.

I was glad to see Chavez calling out that little fascist worm, Aznar. But that wasn't all he said. He said that the Spanish government (Azner, prior to the current socialist Zapatero government) knew of, and supported, the violent rightwing military coup against the Venezuelan Constitution (they suspended it) and the elected Chavez government in 2002. This is what Zapatero (a socialist) was trying to deny, or muffle up, when Chavez interrupted him. The wonder is that Zapatero would defend Aznar, and the king would get so angry that he told Chavez to "shut up" and stomped out of the room. There were lot of undercurrents at that meeting. I don't think we know yet what all was going on. There could be a new plot against Chavez brewing among the rightwing in Venezuela (and in the White House). That could be part of it.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Amazing! How many reading this thread have read posters attacking Chavez for his relationship with

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, claiming that because he has been doing his country's business with him, he shares his beliefs, and is, himself, by extension, an anti-Semite?

Your article mentions something about their favorite Spanish clown, Jose Maria Aznar they should attempt to ponder:

- He is president of the Popular Party, founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, Information Minister under Franco. Fraga recently wrote a prologue to a book denying the Holocaust.

-Fraga recently wrote a prologue to a book denying the Holocaust. He was Aznar's mentor and anointed him as his successor.

Seems as if it can only be honest if they turn and attack Aznar, screeching as loudly as their heaving lungs will allow.

[...of J.Temperance]

8. The fact is that Chavez was incredibly bad-mannered

There is such a thing as tact, Chavez appears to have zero of it.

That he chose to have a rant in a Summit setting, just shows what a jumped-up little critter he is, as I've known for years, Chavez ain't no statesman, he's just a little street-thug.

And I agree with rinsd, I don't believe Chavez was democratically elected either....he's about to change the Venezuelan Constitution so he can set himself up as Dictator-for-Life, also contained in the changes are denying citizens the right to a lawyer, and giving the Security Services the right to arrest people without charge in the event of "political disturbances"....then we have the previously existing Chavez assault on the Free Press in Venezuela, where unless the Press kiss his ass, they get shut down....not to mention the human rights abuses that have occured under the Chavez Regime.

Chavez's little rant, is purely a case of pot meeting kettle.