Thread: Venezuelan leader: 'Capitalism needs to go down'

The largest proven oil reserves and leading position in the independence movement within Latin America, which seeks to extricate itself from the US control, makes Venezuela a key target for intervention, activist and writer Keane Bhatt told RT.

RT:In a recent interview you stated that the media is incorrectly portraying Venezuela's economic state, which they say is at the core of the recent protests. What is the situation in Venezuela right now?

Keane Bhatt: I’m glad that you brought that up because if you look at the UN data under the Gini coefficient, which measures income inequality, it clearly demonstrates that Venezuela actually has the lowest income inequality of any country in Latin America. This is just a part and parcel of a broad misconception when it comes to the economic conditions of Venezuela.

There is no doubt that high inflation continues to plague the country and that creates all kinds of problems when it comes to access to basic foodstuffs, you are seeing shortages on many of these goods. But if you look at key indicators like calorie consumption, if you look at per capita GDP, real per capita income, you have increasing living standards for the past decade. There is no question that at this moment there are acute problems when it comes to these kinds of issues around black market, consumer products being scarce and high inflation. But when you look at the broader trends, you actually see that Venezuela over the past decade has enjoyed pretty robust per capita economic growth, declining income inequality and many other kinds of indicators show pretty dramatic increases in the day-to-day life of the average Venezuelan.

RT: What about on an international level, is there a foreign interest in removing President Maduro from power? Would another country gain from that?

KB: Well, there is no question that Venezuela, which sits on the largest proven oil reserves perhaps on the entire planet, is a key target for intervention. The US has demonstrated that in 2002 when it supported a coup d’état against the democratically-elected government of Hugo Chavez. Because of that history and then the subsequent history of the US continuing to support financially and offer training to the opposition groups, many of the actors of which were active participants in that coup, Venezuela has a very strong suspicious kind of a standpoint towards the United States.


So the role that Venezuela has played historically over the past decade-and-a-half of promoting a kind of an independence movement within Latin America, which seeks to extricate itself from US control, particularly economic control in terms of the broad economic policies that have been imposed upon the region. Venezuela is the key piece of the puzzle when it comes to trying to look for governments that may be more amiable for the US.

I think that Venezuela and its opposition are very much incentivized by the US government’s ongoing support for these kinds of efforts. If you look at [US Secretary of State John] Kerry’s most recent statements, unlike the rest of Venezuela’s neighbors, like the group MERCOSUR, which consists of Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and others, the US has actually been very forceful in terms of its denunciations, whereas the rest of the Venezuelan neighbors have strongly condemned the kinds of activities which seek to overthrow effectively a democratically-elected government.

RT: What has spring these protests if not the economic situation? And will they escalate?

KB: There is no real way to figure out whether they will escalate in the coming days. There was a big outburst earlier today in terms of new energy in protest. The Venezuelan government has recently had a referendum in a sense - the municipal and regional elections which took place in December were convincingly won by the pro-government coalitions and those political parties gained basically a 10-point advantage over the opposition. So that coupled with Maduro's election last year mean that the government still retains a very broad mandate, and the idea that those protests will be effective in terms of the outcomes of trying to force the resignation of Maduro or any of those kinds of objectives seem to be quite futile.

http://rt.com/op-edge/venezuela-prot...aduro-usa-669/

Tue Mar 4, 2014 1:28AM


Jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has called on his supporters to continue demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro.

On Monday, Lopez also demanded top officials resign over what he described as the use of force against demonstrators.

"We must continue the peaceful struggle. There is no reason to give up our fight," Lopez said in a video message to his supporters.

Lopez was arrested nearly two weeks ago in connection to last month's violent protests in the country.

On Monday, around 2,000 anti-government protesters marched to the offices of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Caracas to call on the body not to ignore the situation in Venezuela.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua has accused international media outlets of conducting a psychological war against the oil-rich nation.

"Venezuela's people have been subjected to a continuous attack over the last month that seeks to make the state look like a human rights violator," Jaua said.

"They are trying to paint a picture of generalized chaos and indiscriminate repression to justify a foreign intervention in our internal affairs," he added.

Venezuela has witnessed violent pro- and anti-government protests since February 12. The unrest has left 18 people dead and over 250 others hurt.

The opposition has criticized the Maduro administration for the country's high crime rate and economic hardships, claiming that his policies have led to a shortage of essential goods and high inflation.

Maduro has accused the United States of backing the opposition to launch a coup d’état in the country.

The Venezuelan president has also said that US Secretary of State John Kerry's remarks about the government’s use of "unacceptable" force on protesters gave violent groups a "green light" to continue their brutalities.

The Venezuelan leader ordered the expulsion of three American consular officials last month, accusing them of meeting with student protest leaders under the guise of offering them visas to destabilize the country.

In response, Washington declared three Venezuelan consular officials personae non gratae and asked them to leave the US.


http://presstv.com/detail/2014/03/04...-for-protests/
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These Photos Being Shared From Venezuela Are Fake
There have been some powerful images coming out of Venezuela over the past week.

Massive anti-government demonstrations have clogged the streets of major cities, and clashes between law enforcement and protesters have resulted in injury and even death. Shocking photos of the violence and unrest have quickly disseminated under hashtags like #SOSVenezuela and #PrayforVenezuela.

But all is not what it seems. A slew of phony images has emerged since the protests began, some of which have been shared thousands of times.

Though it is impossible to know the extent to which these hoaxes have fueled the conflict in Venezuela, they demonstrate that social media are fertile ground for spreading rumors and hysteria.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/these-p...e-fake/5370091

Related content: http://www.globalresearch.ca/constru...allery/5369165

Venezuela has arrested three air force generals suspected of plotting an uprising against the leftist government, President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday. Maduro said, adding that the three generals, who were not identified, had been in contact with the opposition and "were trying to rise up against the legitimately constituted government."


"This group that was captured has direct links with sectors of the opposition and they were saying that this week was the decisive week," Maduro said.

He said the generals had already been summoned before a court martial, adding that the plot was discovered because other officers had come forward to say they were being recruited.

The disclosure comes amid a broadening government crackdown against Maduro's opponents after weeks of street protests that have left at least 34 dead.

On Monday, National Assembly president Diosdado Cabello announced that a prominent opposition deputy, Maria Corina Machado, had lost her seat and parliamentary immunity, and could be arrested at any moment.

Last week, two opposition mayors were arrested, and another prominent opposition leader has been in jailed for a month, accused of inciting violence.

Venezuela accuses US of attempting to fund violent protests

Venezuela's top prosecutor on Friday accused the United Statesof attempting to finance the ongoing violent protests by the South American country's right-wing opposition.

"They asked for money, and undoubtedly it's to finance these violent actions that have been taking place in Venezuela," Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz said at a press conference in Geneva, where she was attending a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

US senators on Wednesday called for an aid package of 15 million US dollars to protect human rights and independent media outlets and strengthen democratic civil groups in Venezuela.

"Venezuela prohibits (foreign) financing of national politics ... We will sanction those who receive financing from foreign governments for national politics," she warned.

Ortega also slashed the United States for attempting to "police the world," after a bipartisan group in the US Congress proposed two bills seeking to impose sanctions on members of the Venezuelan government deemed responsible for violently repressing the protests.

"Who has given them the authority to sanction countries?" asked Ortega.

Since its onset on Feb. 12, anti-government protests in capital Caracas and other major Venezuelan cities have left 28 dead and more than 360 injured.


http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_0...enezuela-1063/

From February to June 2014, Venezuela experienced a period of violence and terrorism by individuals whose stated goal was to force “La Salida,” (the Exit) of the elected government.

One year later, the Venezuelan government has documented the involvement of foreign powers in a campaign of media disinformation that accompanied the unrest on the streets.

On February 12, 2015, the Venezuelan Consulate in New York City commemorated the 43 people (33 civilians plus 10 police and military personnel) who perished during the events that took place last year. The presentation documented that the episode of violence and unrest was not a spontaneous, grassroots uprising. Instead it was the result of collaboration between nonprofit agencies in the United States and an extremely isolated fringe section of the Venezuelan right wing. The goal of this collaboration was to destabilize and overthrow the elected government.

Twenty-nine of the people who died during "La Salida" perished as a result of gunshot wounds, seven from traps set on roads. The violence that ultimately took 43 lives, included motorcyclists being virtually beheaded when they ran into steel wires placed across intersections by opposition groups. Bombings targeted hospitals, universities and buses. Explosions took place dangerously close to children’s daycare centers. Many people were in fear of their lives.

Presenting before the audience gathered at the Venezuelan Consulate, Dr. George Ciccariello-Maher of Drexel University said, “These are events that, even as they were occurring, were misrepresented.” He described the episode of violence as a staged plot to bring the Venezuelan government down – a plot that involved media manipulation and a large amount of foreign backing.

The roots of the Bolivarian Republic

The movement that eventually created the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela can trace its roots to an upsurge in 1989 known as the “Caracazo.” This was an explosion of anger against neoliberal privatizations and the rising cost of public transportation. A rising amount of protests, strikes, and anti-Western sentiment eventually resulted in the 1999 election of Hugo Chavez as president and the 2002 beating back of a coup attempt against him.

Chavez, who took office on a platform of opposing neoliberalism and economic domination by the United States, launched a series of economic reforms. After ratifying a new constitution, the country declared itself to be a “Bolivarian Republic” in honor of patriotic Latin American anti-colonial leader Simon Bolivar. The new government opened facilities, staffed with Cuban doctors, which provided free healthcare to low-income Venezuelans. This implementation of accessible medicine was followed by massive literacy programs.

Starting with the most impoverished, the Venezuelan government has used the proceeds from the state-owned oil company for the benefit of the population. New universities have been established. Labor unions and community organizations have been empowered. Telecommunications, cement, and steel have been nationalized. Food prices have been regulated to ensure the population has adequate nutrition. Land has been redistributed in the countryside, and hundreds of thousands of homes for low-income families have been constructed in a “Grand Housing Mission.”

The result of these reforms has been good for the majority of the population. Poverty has dropped by 40 percent. Infant mortality has decreased by 10 percent.

Before his death, Hugo Chavez declared his aim was the creation of “21st Century Socialism” in Venezuela -- the ultimate goal of what he called the “Bolivarian Process.” In elections, the Venezuelan public has voted for Chavez, as well as his successor Nicolas Maduro, in solid majorities. Election monitors from the United Nations, the Carter Center, and the Organization of American States have all confirmed that the massive popular votes in favor of the Bolivarian Process are legitimate.

However, there has been a minority of right-wing Venezuelans who refuse to recognize the legitimacy of Maduro’s presidency, and are doing all they can to destabilize the government. In his presentation, Ciccariello-Maher described them as “delusionally paranoid” in thinking that “the Carter Center and everyone else” were all part of a “conspiracy” when confirming the accuracy of the election results.

Articles and reports in international media continue to portray the Venezuelan elections as fraudulent, despite the words of the United Nations, the Carter Center, and the Organization of American States.

When Maduro was elected in the aftermath of Chavez’s death, the right-wing opposition had been once again defeated at the polls. Mainstream opposition leaders like Henrique Capriles called for the Venezuelan right wing to re-examine its strategies – to perhaps adopt support for certain economic aspects of the Bolivarian process. The hard-line section of the Venezuelan opposition, based primarily on the college campuses and in wealthy neighborhoods, had different ideas.

“Youth Day”

On February 12, 2014, the opposition started a campaign of violence on “Youth Day” – a traditional commemoration of an 1814 battle during Venezuela’s war of independence. Ciccariello-Maher stated that the timing of the campaign was very intentional. “The goal was to seamlessly insert themselves into this historical trajectory, this moment of upsurge and resistance against authoritarianism, for democracy, for equality. To do so, they had to misrepresent what they were doing on the ground.” The protesters attempted to present themselves as a Venezuelan version of the Occupy Wall Street movement or Spain’s Los Indignados.

The campaign had little support domestically -- but winning domestic support was not the goal of this campaign. Ciccariello-Maher, who directly observed the actions of theatrical violence and chaos in Venezuela’s streets, said: “It was made for Twitter. It was made for Facebook. It was made for the English-speaking international media.”

The Albert Einstein Institute, along with many “human rights”-oriented nonprofit agencies and non-governmental organizations based in the United States, poured money into and gave wide publicity to the protests. Claims that “people were being shot dead on the streets left and right” circulated the internet, along with inflammatory claims that a “tropical pogrom” was taking place.

This video of police shooting rubber bullets was linked from the blog "Caracas Chronicles" from the phrase "We have videos of soldiers shooting civilians on the street." The post spoke of a "Tropical Pogrom.")

The hope was that the media blitz could be used to justify foreign intervention. Ciccariello-Maher points out: “The hashtags were very revealing… SOS Venezuela. Who is the audience of such a hashtag? It’s some foreign savior somewhere else.”

Videos were published purporting to show the Venezuelan police firing live ammunition into crowds. In reality, the police were only firing rubber bullets in the hope of pushing back an increasingly violent crowd of oppositionists.

Giving a romantic image to the anti-Maduro street fighters, a photograph showing two youths wearing Guy Fawkes masks, in front of a wall spray-painted with the words “Maduro is coming for you,” circulated the internet. Ciccariello-Maher pointed out that the image was very deceptive: “That picture was taken in the center of the richest part of Caracas,” he said. Speaking of the protesters, mostly wealthy students, he remarked that “they did not get out of the rich areas, because they knew they did not have support in the barrios.”

Posts like this on the Huffington Post presented photos painting a romantic portrait of the Anti-Bolivarian protesters wearing Guy Fawkes masks. The post fails to mention that the photos were exclusively taken in the wealthiest neighborhoods of Caracas.

Pointing to the danger of lies spread on social media, Ciccariello-Maher pointed out that “You can debunk it, but by the time you’ve debunked it, a dozen more lies have been spread.”

Continued Subversion from the United States

The violent campaign of “La Salida” was defeated because it did not have support among the population.

“It may have been effective internationally, but it was not effective where it counted: domestically,” Ciccariello-Maher remarked. He went on to describe how the deceptive social media campaign had weakened the international response in defense of Venezuela.

“People in the United States, people on the left -- we failed.” He said. “We fell for the allure of the protester in the streets.”

Since the end of the “La Salida” campaign, Robert Serra, a leader of the Bolivarian Movement who had been elected to the National Assembly, was stabbed to death in his home. Video recorded confessions link the assassins to the US-backed government in neighboring Colombia. A recent plot within the Venezuelan military to depose Maduro has also been exposed.

US government officials continue to refer to both Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez as “brutal dictators.” Based on claims of repression, new sanctions have been placed on Venezuela by the United States.

No matter how many times the Bolivarian government has been democratically re-elected, how much the hostile private Venezuelan media is tolerated, or how mildly the extremist opposition is treated, these claims persist. Because the Maduro government continues opposing neoliberalism and the domination of Wall Street banks, western politicians and media pundits continue to insist that it cannot be legitimate.

Full story
http://rt.com/op-edge/236059-venezue...sts-civilians/