Chavez is Winning says Financial Times

this story just posted at narconews:

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2005/8/9/122436/6754
Financial Times: U.S. Losing Control in Latin America
By Sean Donahue,
Posted on Tue Aug 9th, 2005 at 12:24:36 PM EST
In a wide-ranging editorial earlier this week, London's Financial Times, expressed deep concerns over the waning influence of the U.S. and the growing influence of Hugo Chavez in Latin America. The article provides a fascinating window into the international financial communities' sober assessment of the floundering corporate agenda in Latin America -- an analysis not altogether different from our own.

After briefly celebrating the victory of CAFTA, and the consolidation of George W. Bush's alliance with brutal regime of Colombia's Alvaro Uribe, the Financial Times expresses grave concern that "there is much to do and little indication yet that the administration has devised a strategy to cope with the growing influence of Venezuela's radical nationalist president, Hugo Chávez."
The editor's concede that, on a regional basis, coca eradication efforts have failed as decreases in cultivation in Colombia have led to increased cultivation in Peru and Bolivia -- just as the CIA predicted it would in a September, 2000 report uncovered by Narco News's Jeremy Bigwood. They also express concern that the future of Plan Colombia may be threatened by growing Congressional concerns in the U.S. against the blatant hypocrisy of Colombia's new paramilitary law which allows death squad leaders implicated in drug trafficking to get off with a slap on the wrist, hold on to their wealth, maintain their terror networks, and escape extradition by making vague confessions and accepting light prison sentences.

But the editors of the Financial Times are of course concerned first and foremost about the growing regional influence of Venezuela. They write that:

"Above all, the US needs to respond seriously to the rise of Mr Chávez. At home, the president has built support on a series of popular social programmes, funded with the proceeds of high oil prices. Abroad, Mr Chávez has been throwing money around. In the past few weeks he has bought up chunks of Argentine debt and despatched cheap oil to a dozen needy Caribbean countries. Ecuador could also be set to benefit from Venezuelan largesse, if a bond sale goes through as expected. And during a visit this week Mr Chávez will offer shipbuilding contracts to Argentina and funds for Uruguay's state-owned airline."

Interestingly, however they go beyond the usual rhetoric of panicing about Hugo Chávez spreading revolution throughout Latin America, and in fact chide the Bush administration for exagerrating Chávez's role in the recent uprisings in Bolivia:

"So far Washington has tended to focus on links between Mr Chávez and radical groups in the region, such as those led by Evo Morales, the leftwing indigenous leader who could become Bolivia's next president later this year. This exaggerates Mr Chávez's capacity for political meddling and underestimates the extent to which high oil prices give him the possibility to build softer forms of power and influence in the region."

The Financial Times is more or less conceding that Chávez is threatening corporate interests not by exporting revolution in the traditional sense, but by undermining U.S. hegemenony by leveraging economic power to strengthen Latin American solidarity. The editors' conclude, of course, that this is a horrible development and that the U.S. needs to find new strategies to thwart Venezuela and reassert its hegemony -- but there is something oddly gratifying about having one of the established organs of the global financial community more or less concede most of the points that we Authentic Journalists have been putting forward in recent months.

 

if you love him so much, why don't you assassinate him and hang him in your room to look at for motivation.

 

u still pissed off at me for the 'yes' thing?

 

no was i supposed to be pissed off?

why did you say yes anyway?

 

b/c about a month ago on another thread u and me were on by mistake i posted a message with a quote from u in it: 'yes' (i thought i was answering someone else's post). and it did look kinda ridiculous: ur little 'yes' and my long boring answer. anyway if u recall taxrefund90 u had a go at me and dared me to say yes. u even called me an arsehole for refusing to (which made me cry at the time). so i kept this day of infamy etched deep in my mind looking 4 sweet revenge which by happenstance came yesterday with ur ethanol post. u remember? as a free man i will never say 'yes' under sufferance!























yes.

 

Seriously...what the hell is up with this thread?

 

shucks mista. pls don't rouse on me

 

Chavez's country will collapse in 10 years.

 

care 2 elabor8

 

I faintly remember the exchange. your have learned well from your master, but now i will show you the true power of the dark lords.

(Theme Music)

 

Caracas - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, under fire at home and abroad for his intimidation of domestic opponents, was feted as a "warrior of freedom" on Thursday by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez.

The 80-year-old African leader, who is barred from traveling to the European Union by EU sanctions, was warmly received by left-winger Chavez after he arrived in Caracas to attend a two-day summit of developing nations.

"You are and always will be a true warrior of freedom," Chavez said as he presented Mugabe with a replica of the sword of Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan-born independence hero of Latin America.

Former paratrooper Chavez is facing a bid by foes to hold a referendum on his rule, and is seeking solidarity at this week's summit from Third World leaders he sees as soul mates.

In brief speeches on Thursday, Chavez and Mugabe stressed the importance of throwing off "imperialist" control of their countries' mineral-rich economies and of increasing co-operation between developing nations.

The two leaders also witnessed the signing of a bilateral energy and mining co-operation agreement.

The European Union this week renewed a travel ban and asset freeze against Mugabe and leading aides, criticising him for intimidating his opponents and muzzling media critics.

The sanctions were triggered by the controversial handing of white-owned commercial farms to mainly landless black peasants and Mugabe's disputed re-election in 2002.

In 2003, he pulled out of the Commonwealth, which groups mostly former British colonies, after it extended Zimbabwe's 18-month-old suspension, first imposed over accusations of vote-rigging in the 2002 election.

from http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=qw1077863762407B215

 

that's stale news. chavez has of course since won his referendum in a landslide victory and has since also won the council elections by handsome majorities: the eighth such election he has faced since 1998 in a country with perhaps the most diversified and free media in the world (in terms of variety and ownership) and in a country with the most liberal constitution in the world: even more liberal than south africa's if that's possible. so, ur point is ...?

 

I guess you missed the point about
"You are and always will be a true warrior of freedom," Chavez said as he presented Mugabe with a replica of the sword of Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan-born independence hero of Latin America.

Also calling Venezuala's press free when insulting the President can land a three year prison sentence suggests you have been watching "Hello President" too much.

Here's some more news for you to ignore:

2004 World Press Freedom Review

On 7 December, in an open letter to President Chávez, International Press Institute Director Johann P. Fritz condemned "the decision to promulgate a controversial media law that poses serious threats to freedom of expression in Venezuela." The law "threatened journalists' ability to carry out their professional duties" and "compromised the public's right to information," Fritz said.

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) called the law "an instrument that allows the administration of President Hugo Chávez to meddle in the content of the media and its political editorials."

Ann Cooper, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), wrote, "We believe that the law's broad language could be used to muzzle the private media and impose censorship."

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said, "This legislation severely threatens press freedom in Venezuela. Its vaguely worded restrictions and heavy penalties are a recipe for self-censorship by the press and arbitrariness by government authorities."

Throughout the year, Chávez and other public officials intensified their verbal attacks on journalists:

In September, Chávez used his weekly radio programme, "Aló, Presidente", to attack publisher Andrés Mata and his newspaper, El Universal, saying Mata "is unpatriotic … and caters to the transnational interests that would like to take over Venezuela."

Defence Minister Jorge Luis García Carneiro accused the media of supporting paramilitary movements, while Foreign Minister Jesús Pérez blamed journalists for sowing hatred and division.

This aggressive rhetoric contributed to a climate of hostility toward the media, in which frequent attacks against journalists by groups close to the government continued to occur with impunity.

One journalist, Mauro Marcano Ramos, was killed by two unidentified gunmen as he was leaving his home in the city of Maturín, Monagas state, on 1 September. Marcano hosted the programme "De Frente con el Pueblo" (Facing the People) on Radio Maturín and wrote a regular column, "Sin bozal" (Without Muzzle), which appeared in several regional newspapers, including the Maturín-based El Oriental. He was known for his exposés on drug trafficking and police corruption, and had received numerous threats, colleagues said.

On 18 January, a TV crew for the Caracas-based 24-hour news channel Globovisión was attacked by alleged government supporters in Caracas. Josua Torres and his assistant, Zullivan Peña, were filming clashes in Plaza Bolívar between members of the opposition party, Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), and a group of hooded men armed with sticks and pipes, when the latter began hitting the journalists' car, smashing the windshield. A bullet was also fired and hit the car, but Torres and Peña escaped uninjured. According to Torres, some of the attackers were wearing T-shirts and hats with the logo of the Círculos Bolivarianos (Bolivaran Circles), a network of neighbourhood committees with close ties to the government.

Violent attacks on journalists intensified after 27 February, when opposition leaders called on their supporters to take to the streets to demand that the National Electoral Council (CNE), which had disputed the validity of more than a million signatures the opposition had collected, hold a recall referendum on President Chávez's leadership.

During the ensuing violent street clashes throughout the country, in which several people were killed and many more injured, at least 20 journalists, photographers and cameramen covering the events were assaulted.

On 27 February, Vladimir Gallardo, a photojournalist for the regional daily El Impulso, was hit in the face by a rubber bullet near Plaza Venezuela, in downtown Caracas, when National Guard troops fired on opposition demonstrators.

Also on 27 February, Carlos Montenegro, a cameraman with the Caracas-based TV station Televén, was shot in the leg while covering an opposition demonstration in Caracas's Bello Monte area. On the same day, Berenice Gómez, a reporter for the newspaper Últimas Noticias, was surrounded by pro-government protesters in downtown Caracas, threatened and robbed of her personal belongings.

On 28 February, Billy Castro and Wilmar Rodríguez of the daily Impacto were attacked by government supporters while covering demonstrations in the city of Anaco, Anzoátegui state. According to Castro, the attackers were wearing T-shirts with the Círculos Bolivarianos logo.

On 29 February, Felipe Izquierdo, a cameraman for the U.S.-based Spanish-language television station Univisión, was shot in the foot while covering clashes between National Guard troops and anti-Chávez protesters near Caracas's Plaza Altamira. Juan Baretto, a photojournalist for Agence France-Presse (AFP), was hit in the chest by a bullet, which deflected off his bulletproof vest.

On 1 March, Janeth Carrasquilla, a correspondent for Globovisión, was hit on the head by a blunt object while covering clashes between opposition demonstrators and National Guard troops in the city of Valencia, Carabobo state.

The same day, Globovisión journalist Johnny Figarrella was hit in the chest with a tear-gas canister while covering an opposition demonstration in the Caurimare area of Caracas. Henry Delgado and Edgar López, journalists for the Caracas-based daily newspaper, El Nacional, were beaten by National Guard troops, who confiscated their press cards and a camera, in Terrazas del Ávila, a suburb of Caracas.

Also on 1 March, Bernabé Rodríguez, a photographer for the daily El Tiempo, published in Puerto Cruz, Anzoátegui state, was hit in the face by a tear-gas bomb while covering clashes between opposition demonstrators and police.

On 2 March, National Guard troops used their rifle butts to beat journalist Juan Carlos Aguirre, a reporter for CMT television station, and his cameraman, Alejandro Marcano, who were filming clashes between military police and demonstrators near Plaza Francia de Altamira in Caracas. Marcano's equipment was also seized.

A news crew for Televén was threatened and assaulted the same day by a group of some 20 masked individuals while covering opposition demonstrations in the eastern part of Caracas. The group seized cameraman Frank Molina's camera before forcing the journalists to leave the area.

On 3 March, Carlos Colmenares, a cameraman for the Caracas-based television channel Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV), was shot in the ankle while covering opposition demonstrations in Caracas.

Reporters for Globovisión and the Valencia-based newspaper Notitarde were assaulted by alleged pro-Chávez supporters on 29 May, while covering an event in the La Lucha de Horizonte area of Caracas. Sandra Sierra Núñez and Pedro Rey of Notitarde and Marta Palma Troconis and Josua Torres of Globovisión were covering a signature verification process, or "reparo", for the referendum on Chávez's term in office.

On 3 June, pro-Chávez demonstrators attacked the offices of RCTV. The attackers, who threw stones and other objects at the building, also rammed a truck into the entrance. The same day, some 20 people attacked the offices of El Nacional in downtown Caracas. The attackers threw bottles and stones at the building, destroying several windows, and set fire to a newspaper distribution truck. They also drove a truck into the gates of the building's parking lot, damaging several vehicles belonging to the newspaper's employees.

On 11 August, a Globovisión news crew was attacked outside the vice president's office in Caracas by government supporters while covering a meeting on the recall referendum between government officials and international observers. Reporter Ana Karina Villalba and technicians Tony Vergara and Juan Camacho were stopped by some 15 men carrying pipes, spray cans and firearms, who partially destroyed their vehicle, smashing all of its windows. Both Camacho and Vergara were robbed of their valuables, including money, mobile phones and identification cards, as well as some of their broadcasting equipment. National Guard troops, who were stationed nearby, failed to intervene, the journalists said.

Apart from verbal and physical aggression, Venezuela's journalists were also confronted with a barrage of litigation during the year.

Court cases were brought against several journalists, including Ibéyise Pacheco of El Nacional, who was sentenced on 25 May to nine months in prison by Caracas's Eleventh Court for defaming an army colonel, Ángel Bellorín. The court ruling also ordered El Nacional to publish the sentence in its entirety and Pacheco to cover the costs of the trial. The charges stemmed from a 15 June 2001 story in her column, "En Privado" (In Private), in which Pacheco alleged that Bellorín had altered a grade in order to pass a law school course. Pacheco said she would appeal the sentence.

On 22 March, Patricia Poleo, editor of the Caracas daily El Nuevo País, received a summons stating that she was being charged with instigating rebellion and defaming the National Armed Forces after publicising a videotape that allegedly showed a group of Cuban nationals inside facilities of the National Guard's Sixth Regional Command.

In November, a complaint was brought against journalist Manuel Isidro Molina of the weekly La Razón for defaming the National Armed Forces in a 7 November article alleging that retired air force colonel Silvino Bustillos, who disappeared on 1 November, had been tortured and killed by the military intelligence service (DIM) in Caracas. Although Molina published a correction after Bustillo reportedly telephoned his family and informed them that he was well, but in hiding, the journalist faced three to eight years in prison, if convicted, under Article 505 of the Military Justice Code.


The legal and administrative harassment of the four main television stations, Globovisión, RCTV, Televén and Venevisión, whom Chávez has dubbed the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse," also continued in 2004.

In March 2003, the National Tax Service (SENIAT) had announced that it was investigating the four stations in connection with political announcements they transmitted during the 2002-2003 general strike. National Tax Superintendent Trino Alcides Díaz said the object of the investigation was to discover whether or not political announcements were broadcast during the strike as "donations" to the opposition, and to establish the amount of taxes the stations must pay. "If the air time was donated, they have to pay the applicable taxes. Donations for cultural, scientific and charitable activities are tax-exempt, but not for other kinds of activities," he said at the time.

On 18 March 2004, Globovisión, RCTV, Televén and Venevisión were informed that they were being fined by SENIAT. The fines, amounting to more than US$ 2,000,000, were imposed because the stations had broadcast free of charge political advertisements endorsing the general strike, SENIAT said. According to SENIAT, Globovisión must pay US$ 1,145,830 in fines, RCTV US$ 1,041,660, Venevisión US$ 781,250 and Televen US$ 302,080. Marcel Granier, president of Grupo 1BC, which owns RCTV, said his company would initiate legal action in response to the SENIAT sanctions, which limited the right of Venezuelans to use media outlets to freely express themselves.

In another worrying development, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court ruled on 27 July that mandatory membership in a journalists' association did not violate freedom of speech and that it was fully within the powers of the legislature to establish such a requirement. The decision declared a 1995 constitutional challenge against various articles of the 1994 Law on the Practice of Journalism to be unfounded. The Law on the Practice of Journalism requires a university degree in journalism, communications or the equivalent from a Venezuelan university and membership in the National Association of Journalists. The law also imposes jail terms of between three and six months for those "who practice journalism in an illegal manner."

from http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/Americas/venezuel.htm

This is "the most diversified and free media in the world"? Says who?

 

more news 4 me 2 ignore? nah. what an amateurish beat up that was, pb. i'm not wasting my time in all of it, b/c most of it is meaningless and inconclusive. perhaps u need reminding that a counter-revolution occured two years ago when a lot of ppl were killed and that the scene there was very dangeous and violent: it's not like doing the financial reporting from the stock exchange. as it turns out it was the opposition who insitgated the killings in the demo (then trid to blame the national guard) that resulted in the violence that ensued during the attempted takeover. any deaths caused by 'apparent' chavez supporters or national guradsmen need to be cautiously assessed, certainly not used as evidence to trumpet ur anti-chavez case. for the guy who's always damning others for their lack of sources and proof, we may ask u, where the hell are yours? many of the deaths here u list could have been done by anyone. what's the proof? many seem to me related to drugs trafficking, so are u saying that chavez is a drug trafficker?

who are u getting your information from? ann coulter?

i'm looking in2 the Law on Social Responsibility in Radio and Television, commonly known as the Media Content Law, which is what i imagine u refer to.

personally, i don't care what chavez says about robert mugabe. i don't like the man either but chavez has to find his allies from somewhere no doubt. if we're going to play this 'judge him by the company he keeps' game then i can offer u just as many counter-examples (reagan spoke of the taliban as being like the founding fathers of america). let's just stick to venezuela, hey?

 

while i'm at it i'm also looking into the international press institute b/c what they write seems more like propaganda 2 me than impartial reporting. funny how little old hugo makes the wingnuts all come out of the woodwork.

 

Venezula's economy will collapse because te government pays all the industry. Most of the industries don't turn a profit and it's just a matter of time.

 

it's a mixed economy and none of the oil industry has been nationalised. they still turn a good profit. do u mean some other industry?

 

Venezuala's oil industry was nationalised around 40 years ago.

Sounds like you're a real expert on Venezuala, james.

The International Press Institute, The Inter American Press Association, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, all dismissed with a simple wave of the hand. Its so easy to be a Chavez apologist!

 

not by chavez it wasn't. that was some other bs done by the ruling elite to siphon off the profits for themselves.

nver claimed i was.

on the strength of the evidence u have presented on their behalf, yes. it's no good. it proves nothing.

u've got me wrong honey. i'm no apologist: i'm an absolute advocate. chavez is great. best thing happening in the world 2day imo.