English Edition Nº 120

Analysis

Opinion

Chavez riding high in polls for October elections pág 7

2002 Venezuelan coup victims accuse media owner of participation pág 8

Friday, August 3, 2012 | Nº 120 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve

Chavez rally shows opposition absence

ENGLISH EDITION/The artillery of ideas

Venezuela a full member of Mercosur

Thousands flooded the streets in one of Venezuela’s largest “barrios” –the low-income neighborhood Petare in Greater Caracas– to show support for his reelection. During the event, evidence of neglect on behalf of the local state government, led by current opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski, was touted by Petare residents as a sign of his failed governance.

Chavez pledged more investment in the area and reached out to youth involved in gangs, urging them to join his movement and leave crime behind.

P/ Efe

Olympic Gold

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Politics

Violence against journalists Anti-Chavez campaigners have been attacking public media journalists in Venezuela. page 4

Connie Mack tied to anti-Chavez group The republican congressman has dubious ties to a group promoting his agenda. page 5 Integration

Tariq Ali on Venezuela The PalestinianBritish writer speaks on why Chavez and Venezuela offer hope. page 6

INTERNATIONAL

President Chavez took his first international trip this week to Brazil after recovering from chemotherapy and radiation treatment for cancer discovered in his pelvic region one year ago. The trip was to solidify Venezuela’s formal entry as a full member of the Common Marketplace of the South (Mercosur), a bid the oil producing country has made since 2006, but which previously was blocked by Paraguay’s conservative congress. Chavez declared his country’s membership in Mercosur as a great step for regional integration. page 2

Top US general: Venezuela not a national security threat T/ AP

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he Air Force general responsible for US military operations in most of Latin America said Tuesday that he does not believe Venezuela, despite ongoing arms purchases and close ties to Iran, poses a national security threat to the United States.

General Douglas Fraser was asked if he thought Venezuela’s newly announced development of unmanned aerial vehicles and continued purchase of bil-

lions of dollars’ worth of weaponry, including anti-aircraft missiles from Russia and other nations, did not present a danger to his country.

“From my standpoint, no, I don’t see it that way”, he told AP in a phone interview. “I don’t see them as a national security threat”.

Fraser, chief of the US Southern Command, said from his headquarters in Miami that he views the anti-aircraft missile purchases in particular as primarily defensive in nature.

He also said he did not consider Iran’s ties with Chavez’s socialist government to amount to a military alliance.

“As I look at Iran and their connection with Venezuela, I see that still primarily as a diplomatic and economic relationship”, he said, with Iran using it to counter international sanctions over its alleged development of nuclear weapons.

Fraser’s comments echo a July 11 statement by US President Barack Obama that drew criticism from his presumed Republican challenger in November elections, Mitt Romney.

Obama said his “overall sense is that what Mr. Chavez has done over the past several years has not had a serious national security impact on us”.

Venezuela’s Ruben Limardo won the Olympic gold medal in men’s individual epee Wednesday night, topping Norway’s Bartosz Piasecki 15-10 in the title bout.

Jung Jinsun of South Korea won the bronze, beating Seth Kelsey of the U.S. 12-11 in overtime.

Limardo was seeded 12th and is the highest-seeded competitor to reach the medal round after a series of early upsets. When he scored the final point against Piasecki, he tore off his headpiece, thrust both arms into the air and ran around the arena.

Piasecki had placed 43rd, 65th and 26th, respectively, at the last three world championships.

Limardo was seventh at worlds in 2011, and had not been in the top 20 in either of the previous two years.

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The artillery of ideas

years to adjust its current trade policies to the demands of Mercosur.

This includes the adoption of a Uniform External Tariff and a Common Classification of traded goods.

Since the admission of Venezuela was first announced in late June, President Hugo Chavez created a government agency comprised of public servants and private businesses to facilitate the country’s adjustment to the new regulations.

“We’re going to take the Venezuelan economy to a new level in order to increase our participation in the common market”, Chavez said.

STRENGTHENING RELATIONS WITH BRAZIL AND ARGENTINA

Venezuela enters as full member of Mercosur commercial bloc T/ COI P/ Presidential Press

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n a move that will further strengthen South American economic and social integration, Venezuela formally entered the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) trade bloc last Tuesday following a meeting held in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia.

The admission of the Caribbean nation means that Venezuela will now join Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay as a full member of the commercial alliance, which represents more than $3 trillion annually and encompasses a population of more than 274 million people.

The acceptance of Venezuela, an OPEC member state and South America’s largest producer of crude, is being hailed by the country’s President, Hugo Chavez, as a triumph of diplomacy and a boon for economic growth.

“The entrance of Venezuela into Mercosur forms part of a struggle, a battle that has put our national interest and the interest of our people at the front... The true direction for our country is towards the South and this has been writ-

ten and recorded in the heroic pages of our history”, Chavez said before boarding a plane to Brazil on Monday.

The development, according to the Venezuela President, also represents a failure “of the diplomacy of the United States which has always tried to divide and conquer” the countries of South America.

PROTRACTED PROCESS Although the presidents of each Mercosur member had approved Venezuela’s admission, the Caribbean nation’s acceptance into the alliance had been 6 years in the making as the Paraguayan congress had refused to ratify the entrance of the socialist government of Hugo Chavez into the group.

With the temporary suspension of Paraguay from Mercosur following the much criticized impeachment of exPresident Fernando Lugo in June, Venezuela was given the opportunity to enter the bloc as a full member in concordance with the will of the organization’s countries.

This includes the firm backing of the congresses and presidents of South America’s largest and most powerful economies, Brazil and Argentina.

“Venezuela is not entering Mercosur through the backdoor. Venezuela is entering with the backing of very strong countries. These are countries with an enormous strength that have approved the admission of Venezuela”, said Yadira Cordova, Venezuela’s Vice President for Social Affairs.

With the inclusion of Venezuela, Mercosur now encompasses the world’s largest oil reserves, estimated at some 297 billion barrels, and an economy that exceeds $316 billion a year.

For the OPEC member, participation in the alliance represents a chance “to transform our economic model which till now has depended exclusively on oil”, Chavez said.

This includes fostering greater commercial ties with its South American partners to diversify its industrial and agricultural base and begin exporting products outside the parameters of oil and oil derived commodities.

The Venezuela government is also estimating the creation of more than 240 thousand new jobs as an immediate result of its membership in the alliance.

“We needed this”, Chavez explained to the press. “It is essential for us as a motor to move forward with our project of economic diversification and industrial development”, he stated.

In accordance with the regulations established by the alliance, Venezuela will have 4

Prior to the Mercosur meeting held on Tuesday, President Chavez took advantage of his time in Brazil to sign a series of bilateral accords with both Argentina and Brazil.

This includes the purchase of six E-190 airplanes from the Brazilian company Embraer to be added to the Venezuelan state commercial fleet, Conviasa.

The purchase is worth $270 million and the delivery of the first planes will be made by the end of this year.

The accord also establishes an option for an additional 14 aircrafts of the same model, with a capacity of between 98 and 114 seats, to be purchased at a later date.

During a dinner with the Brazilian head of state Dilma Rousseff on the eve of the Mercosur meeting, Chavez proposed that Venezuela’s southern neighbor consider purchasing crude from the Caribbean nation as part of their growing economic and energy alliance. “[President Rousseff] is very interested in the idea and we’ve given the first orders for Venezuela to export crude to Brazil”, the Venezuelan President stated.

“Brazil still imports oil and we’re increasing our production”, Chavez said of his nation’s goal of reaching a daily output of 3.5 million barrels daily.

Similarly, the socialist head of state solidified a deal with Venezuelan state oil company Pdvsa and the Argentine energy firm YPF. The pact, signed in the Argentine embassy in Brazil, is intended to augment by 60 percent YPF’s refining capacities of Venezuelan crude over the next 5 years, create a larger role for the state firm in the Orinoco Belt, and increase the presence of Pdvsa gas stations in Argentina.

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Venezuelans criticize opposition for “absolute absence” in critical urban areas T/ COI P/ Presidential Press

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enezuelan President Hugo Chavez addressed issues of security and basic services last Saturday during a campaign stop in the state of Miranda, which saw the socialist head of state lead a festive caravan through the streets of one of Latin America’s largest shantytowns.

The rally took place in the densely populated sector of Petare that forms part of the capital district of Caracas and belongs to the state of Miranda.

Celebrating his 58th birthday, the two-time incumbent expressed his contentment to be in the one of the most important urban centers of the country and urged his followers to work towards electoral victory on October 7.

“I’m very happy to be here in this sector where the people sing and cheer. The inhabitants of these mountains and valleys have been here for centuries.

There is nothing more native, more patriotic and more inspiring than these neighborhoods”, the head of state said.

Chavez’s visit to Petare is indicative of a campaign strategy that has highlighted the shortcomings of his conservative rival, Henrique Capriles Radonski, who, as Governor of Miranda, oversaw the administration of public services in the state for more than 3 years.

As the rundown barrios of Petare continue to be plagued with high crime rates, gang activity and extreme poverty, Chavez emphasized the failures of Capriles to effectively provide solutions to the most needy regions of his constituency.

Pointing out that while the ex-governor promised to reduce the number of violent crimes before taking office, the homicide rate in Miranda has grown from 49 to 69 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

The problem of insecurity “has gotten worse” as have other problems such as garbage collection because “they don’t interest” governments led

by Venezuela’s upper classes, Chavez declared.

“Only the Bolivarian Revolution has provided for the people

what the people deserve. Only the Bolivarian government has granted the right to health and education”, he said of his political movement named after independence hero Simon Bolivar.

The presidential hopeful went on to contrast the record of his campaign rival Capriles with the heavy investment that his administration has made including the construction of cable cars, the expansion of the city’s metro system, the renovation of hospitals and the inclusion of more elderly Venezuelans in the nations retirement benefits system.

“These are not imaginary things. These public works can be seen and are in progress”, Chavez said of his government’s initiatives.

COMMUNITY POWER On Sunday, the socialist campaign in the shantytowns continued as Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jaua led a brigade of PSUV activists in doorto-door visits with residents in the municipality of Sucre.

Jaua informed that Venezuela’s largest political party has visited more than 14,000 homes in Sucre, of which Petare is the capital, and more than 100,000 residences statewide.

While canvassing the street of Juan XXIII, the Venezuelan Vice President described the “absolute absence” of Governor Capriles in the underprivileged areas of Miranda where he witnessed “seniors that need pensions, homes in extreme poverty [and] houses erected precariously”.

“The only real presence here is that of the Bolivarian Government [of Hugo Chavez]”, Jaua said in reference to the programs being implemented by the national government in conjunction with the area’s grassroots community councils.

Venezuela’s community councils, enshrined in the nation’s constitution, provide the legal mandate for neighborhood residents to petition the country’s Executive for direct funding of locally devised and implemented development projects.

These projects, ranging from the construction of schools and affordable housing to the creation of cultural expositions and sports activities, have become an example of what the current socialist government calls “participatory democracy”.

By empowering local populations to take greater control in their neighborhoods, the councils were devised by the Chavez administration to subvert the deviation of government funds by local bureaucrats and opportunistic functionaries.

FIGHTING VIOLENCE WITH CULTURE According to the head of the socialist campaign for Venezuela’s Central Region, Aristobulo Isturiz, the community councils also serve an important function in the heightening of

security in the nation’s underprivileged precincts.

“The fundamental way to attack insecurity is through community organization. The community councils...know the social problems of the neighborhoods and offer the solutions to them through joint work with the national government”, Isturiz said.

During the campaign rally on Saturday, Chavez also implored the youth of Petare to leave behind the criminal activity and drug trafficking that has become commonplace in the country’s shantytowns.

“I’m calling on the youth who are involved in gang activity... this is not the way. Come with us where there is life. Come with us and let’s build the homeland together”, he said.

As an example of youth alternatives to violence and crime, Chavez appeared during the rally with members of the social movement “Miranda is Another Thing” which promotes artistic and productive enterprises over drugs and gang life.

The movement, named after one of Venezuela’s founding fathers, Francisco Miranda, has been working to politicize youth around the capital by presenting the values and goals of the Bolivarian revolution as an alternative to the rampant violence that afflicts many urban areas.

“The ‘thing’ right now is youth violence... What we want is a change for the youth in the shantytowns. We want to fight delinquency with culture and art by using graffiti, dance and audiovisual productions. By changing this we can engage with the young people who are currently unorganized”, said rapper and activist Yhoiran Rivera during and interview with state television on Monday.

Rivera reported that the collective has developed 28 projects in zones surrounding Caracas that include the installation of 6 new sports facilities.

“There are youth in the shantytowns who believe government policies will never reach them. So what we do is show them something else - demonstrate the potential there is to help them by offering culture and socially productive projects”, Rivera affirmed.

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Venezuela: Continued violence against public sector journalists T/ Paul Dobson P/ Agencies

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enezolana de Television (VTV) journalist Giovanina Guillen was the victim yet again of violence and abuse this week when she tried to report on the ‘house to house’ electoral campaign event for opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski in the sector Las Marcelas in the central state of Guarico.

At the event led by Capriles, the journalist reported that she was “beaten” and there were attempts to take her camera and reporting equipment. Her recording equipment was damaged. Speaking via telephone link to the VTV studio, she stated, “they have damaged the camera again. This is the third camera which the followers of this candidate have damaged when we have tried to report on their events, for the third time we were assaulted, hit, and we didn’t have access to the interviews”.

Andres Izarra, Minister of Communication and Information, condemned the attack via his Twitter account: “New aggression against the reporting team of VTV whilst they covered the opposition campaign in Guarico. Journalists beaten and camera destroyed”.

Journalist Giovanina Guillen was twice previously the victim of violence by Capriles’ followers and bodyguards in May this year when she covered similar events. One such attack left her needing hospital attention, and prompted outcries from Chavez’s campaign manager Jorge Rodriguez, who deplored the “fascist bands” who accompany Capriles in his campaign activities.

The state TV channel VTV is one of the many means of communication that make up the National Network of Public Communication (SNMP), which have been the targets of a series of attacks in the past few month of electoral campaigning by Capriles’ team and followers.

PSUV National Assembly member Tania Diaz describes these attacks as “continuous, systematic, and cowardly”.

On March 12, 2012, a journalist from Catatumbo TV, another member of the SNMP network, was grabbed and shoved when covering an event by Capriles in the opposition controlled Zulia State. On March 16, Richard Mardo, elected member of the National Assembly for Capriles’ First Justice Party, grabbed VTV journalist Llanfrancys Colina by her hair and pulled her to the floor in the state of Aragua. On March 22, members of Avila TV, who also belong to the SNMP network, suffered acts of violence against them by supporters of Antonio Ledezma, opposition mayor for the center of Caracas, and on March 23, VTV journalist Pedro Carvajalino was hit in the groin when covering an opposition event in the same sector. On that same day, members of the VTV team covering an opposition event in the western state of Tachira were also attacked.

On May 10, VTV reporter Janeth Suarez was attacked when covering an opposition meeting of agricultural producers in the state of Barinas, and her camera was stolen from her cameraman. On May

18, members of Avila TV were verbally attacked when attending an event organized by the opposition alliance, and on May 20, a journalist from news network AVN was attacked in the state of Amazonas when working. On June 13, there were accusations made by the VTV journalist Arbenys Padil-

la of violence from members of Capriles’ First Justice Party in the eastern city of Maturin.

Capriles claims that these accusations by journalists from the public means of communication are “lies”, “inventions” and a “waste of time”.

In May the SNMP and Capriles’ campaign team pro-

Chavez administration approves worker, student spending T/ COI

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he Venezuelan government approved a total of more than $1 billion bolivars ($232 million) to guarantee subsidized student transportation last Tuesday.

The disbursement was finalized by the Vice Minister of Transportation, Luis Mendoza, who reported that a percentage of the allocation would be used to pay government debts to public transportation entities as a result of a raise in user rates in 2011.

Students in Venezuela, in addition to receiving free public

education, also benefit from reduced housing rates, cost-free dining facilities, and heavily subsidized transportation.

The funding approved earlier this week, Vice Minister Mendoza explained, will guarantee that students’ transportation costs will be covered for the remainder of 2012.

Similarly, the socialist government of President Hugo Chavez approved last weekend the payment of more than 380 million bolivars ($88 million) in debts owed to retired aeronautic workers.

“One billion bolivars for subsidized student transpor-

grammed a meeting to resolve such issues through dialogue, but Capriles’ representatives failed to attend on the day, leaving public sector journalists fearful for their safety when covering future events.

A recent report by Human Rights Watch claimed that in Venezuela there is frequent aggression against private sector journalists and against freedom of speech, alleging that the government doesn’t allow private sector opposition voices to be heard. The attacks against public sector journalists now prove that there is some truth in the report’s conclusion- there are frequent aggressions against journalists in Venezuela, and violations of freedom of speech- however these aggressions do not originate from the government and are not directed against private sector journalists, but rather originate from the right wing campaign and are directed against journalists from public media.

There are currently 13 cases presented to the legal authorities by journalists of the SNMP of violence against them when covering opposition events, and the SNMP have advised journalists to attend opposition events with “helmets” and “body protectors” as they are, according to Minister Izarra, at “high risk”.

tation, 380 million bolivars to pay our debts to workers and retired workers of the aeronautic sector!” Chavez wrote via his twitter account on Sunday.

Garbage collection in the shantytowns of Miranda state will also see a boost in funding as the Venezuelan head of state announced on Sunday an initiative to inject more than 68 million bolivars ($16 million) in waste collection.

The measure follows a visit to Miranda by Chavez over the weekend where the head of state described the “abandonment” suffered by residents from the conservative local government of presidential candidate Henrique Capriles.

According to another twitter message from Chavez, the sectors of Petare, Caucaguita, Dolorita and Mariche will benefit from the new spending plan.

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Connie Mack’s staff tied to anti-Hugo Chavez group T/ John Bresnahan P/ Agencies

Venezuela’s 2012 vacation plan underway with more community involvement T/ Rachael Boothroyd P/ Agencies

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he government’s highly successful “Vacation Plan” got underway last Monday, with a range of summer activities for children and adolescents being held free of charge throughout the country.

This year will be the fourth year of the government’s summer vacation plan, which provides support for Venezuela’s poorest families throughout August and the first half of September while the children are on vacation. Last year the government estimated that over 1 million children benefitted from the program, a figure which they are aiming to increase to 1 million 500 thousand this summer.

“It is to bring a smile to the faces of the little ones that come from low-income families who don’t have the possibility to access a private summer activities program. Today the Chavez administration brings them happiness through recreational, sporting, cultural and ecological activities”, said Coordinator of the National Autonomous Committee for Children and Adolescent Rights (Idena), Jose Caraballo.

While previous years were principally organized and led by groups of trained Venezuelan students known as “recreationers”, this year the government also hopes to increase input from community groups, such as communal councils, into planning and developing the activities. According to the government, over 10,000 communal councils have been involved in this year’s program, and over 3000 recreational areas have been set up throughout the country.

Anderson Piñango, a recreationer from Caracas, explained that this year the project is more organized than previous years.

“The objective is to incorporate as many people as possible, it is a work tool. They trained us through workshops and chats, and we will pass that teaching on to the children”, he said.

Recreationers are responsible for holding sports activities, organizing games, or taking the children to sites of historical, environmental and cultural interest in their local areas. The government has trained over 29,000 of the youth leaders over the past 3 months and spent over 300 million bolivars on the project (US$68 million).

“All Venezuelans have the right to recreation, it is not just a capitalist business”, said Vice-president Elias Jaua, speaking from Miranda Park in Caracas.

The program is part of anticrime project, Mission Venezuela Full of Life, and hopes to improve community integration and cohesion, as well as to discourage Venezuelan children and adolescents from getting involved in crime by providing them with a range of educational options and opportunities.

Speaking from her community council in Coche, Caracas, Adelaida Cisneros explained why the project is so important in Venezuela.

“A lot of these children come from areas where a lot of their parents can’t take them out.

This gives them the opportunity to get to know national parks, areas of historic interest and to take part in cultural activities”.

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or years in the House and in his current bid for Senate, Florida Republican Rep. Connie Mack has attacked Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez with a zeal possibly unmatched in Congress. Chavez, the congressman says, is a “thugocrat” and serious national security threat to the United States.

But the full story of Mack’s anti-Chavez campaign doesn’t end there. In a little-noticed and highly unusual episode, a trio of Mack staffers worked with a secretive nonprofit group whose sole purpose appears to be promoting the congressman’s crusade against Chavez. It’s not clear who provided the $150,000 used to bankroll the group, which apparently did little else than produce a 30-minute documentary that aired on a Houston TV station and consisted almost entirely of a Mack speech bashing Chavez.

The bizarre sequence of events could prove significant given the highly charged politics surrounding Chavez among Florida’s large Latino electorate –which Mack is aggressively courting– and the controversial role of outside groups in the Sunshine State’s political universe. Recent polls have shown Mack in a tight race with Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, whom Mack has attacked for being soft on Chavez. Mack has shown strong support among different Latino communities, fueled at least in part by his unrelenting criticism of Chavez.

The Committee to Free Venezuela Foundation, a nonprofit group, was founded in Aug. 2010 in Delaware. The organization is “dedicated to educating the American public and policymakers about the dangers posed by Venezuela’s Socialist Dictator Hugo Chavez,” according to its Internal Revenue Service filings.

The tax records show a close interplay between Mack staffers and the foundation. The group’s executive director, Jeff Cohen, was Mack’s chief of staff before leaving his office in June 2009. Cohen returned to Mack’s House staff as the top aide in September, a month before the congressman jumped into

the Florida Senate race. Since February, Cohen has been a “part-time employee” in Mack’s House office while also serving as campaign manager for Mack’s Senate campaign.

Cohen, who was working as a political consultant during his stint away from Mack’s office, was paid $35,000 by the Committee to Free Venezuela between January and September of last year, according to his annual financial disclosure form.

Another former Mack aide, Scott Henderson, served as vice president for the anti-Chávez group. Henderson was Mack’s deputy chief of staff from 2005 to 2008.

And Craig Engle, Mack’s campaign treasurer since 2007, was the treasurer-secretary of the Committee to Free Venezuela.

The Committee to Free Venezuela raised $150,000, but as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, it was not required to disclose the source of that funding.

The Committee to Free Venezuela ran a 30-minute documentary featuring Mack in May 2011 on KRIV-TV in Houston, which had initially balked at showing it. After the group issued a public statement blasting KRIV for its decision, the TV station backed down and

ran the documentary. Houston is home to the headquarters of Citgo, the Venezuelan government-owned oil giant.

Mack, as chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has frequently targeted Chavez in both speeches and legislative initiatives.

In May 2011, as the Committee to Free Venezuela was preparing to air its documentary, Mack introduced a resolution calling for Venezuela to be designated a state sponsor of terrorism because of its “support of Iran, Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia”.

In an interview, Cohen said the Committee to Free Venezuela “came about in large part because of the work I had been involved when I had been Connie’s chief of staff” before his departure from Mack’s office in mid-2009. Chavez and Venezuela “were obviously a major focus of Connie long before he became chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee”.

Cohen said he was not aware if the committee is still in operation or who is running it. Efforts to contact the Committee to Free Venezuela were unsuccessful, and the organization appears to be dormant.

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Tariq Ali praises venezuelan democracy T/ COI P/ Radoje Jovanovic

“They have tried to rid themselves of Chavez on numerous occasions”, he explained. “They´ve tried coup d´états, organized oil stoppages, used the media as a weapon of war, always without success”.

“Up until now”, he affirmed, “they´ve failed because we´ve always been able to beat them democratically, with the support of the people…

But it would be total foolishness to think that the victories we´ve had in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia are somehow irreversible”.

US imperialism “has not given up” in Latin America, and “while the United States is certainly debilitated, economically speaking, it is still the most powerful country in the world”.

“From a political point of view”, he added, “we must be very careful. We must continue educating the continent, the citizens of the region, and in this process Telesur and other public media are extremely important”.

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n Venezuela over the weekend, internationally-acclaimed author, activist, and intellectual Tariq Ali highlighted the importance of Venezuela´s Bolivarian Revolution and socialist President Hugo Chavez.

Visiting the country to participate in anniversary celebrations for Telesur, the Caracas-based Latin American news media, the respected British Pakistani historian spoke at the national headquarters of the Bolivarian University of Venezuela (UBV) and told those gathered that “Venezuela must not be lost” as this year´s presidential election approaches.

DEMOCRATIZING THE MEDIA Discussing the leadership role played

by Latin America in consolidating alternative means of communication, New Left Review and CounterPunch contributor Tariq Ali spoke at an event titled, “The Western Media: A Pilar of the State”, providing audiences an opportunity to reflect on the importance of Venezuela´s struggle to democratize the media.

According to Ali, the world is currently suffering through “a prolonged war, implemented by the United States, which is aimed at dominating the world and maintaining US hegemony”.

“In this war”, he affirmed, “the means of communication play a fundamental role”. In contrast to the mainstream corporate media which “only reports on ordinary people when there are catastrophies”, he explained that people around the world “are anxious to access alternative media that inform viewers in an open and critical way”.

“Above all else”, Ali affirmed, “people want media that reflect the conditions in which ordinary people live and struggle on a daily basis”.

Venezuela-based Telesur, for example, “provides coverage of average people all the time; on the daily suffering experienced by common folk here in Venezuela, in neighboring Colombia, in Chile, all over the place”, he said.

While media reports worldwide show the US and Europe plunging us into a “global crisis”, Ali explained, “it is this very same crisis that allowed for the development of alternative means of communication such as Telesur”.

“Just seven years ago”, he added, “Telesur rose out of South America and defied the global airwaves; something it has done very well”.

“Since private media no longer allow for critical debate to occur”, Ali said, “this is something the public media must do…We must demonstrate that what Telesur is doing, for example, is

VENEZUELA: AN ALTERNATIVE

the democratic alternative, that we are the ones allowing the people to express themselves”.

According to Ali, media such as Telesur “teach the people to think critically” and, he affirmed, “if this is achieved than we will have played an important role in bringing more balance to the general imbalance that exists in today´s world”.

US DIDN´T EXPECT A CHAVEZ In addition to his discussion on the role of public media in a growingly multi-polar world, the acclaimed author of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Axis of Hope” also used his stop in Venezuela to stress that great care must be taken to defend the advances made by progressive forces in Latin America.

The “democratization” that has begun in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, he af-

firmed, “is going to be a prolonged and difficult struggle”.

“I always tell my friends in South America”, Ali said, “that no one should think the United States has renounced its hold on the region”. “The US is very displeased with what is happening in South America and they consider it rather unfortunate that a new generation of solidarious, valiant leaders has arisen”, he affirmed.

According to Ali, “the US did not expect the rise of a (Hugo) Chavez, which took them by surprise. The United States thought the parties of the Right would be able to control things (in Venezuela), and they didn´t think Evo (Morales) would win in Bolivia or that (Rafael) Correa would win in Ecuador”.

“This has created panic in Washington and they´ve now launched their counter offensive”, he affirmed.

During his time in Venezuela, Ali was also interviewed by the Venezuelan News Agency (AVN). Speaking to AVN, Ali outlined the importance of the Bolivarian Revolution and its leader, President Hugo Chavez. In contrast to the “official democracy of capitalist countries” which he described as “ever more restrictive”, Ali said Venezuela´s participatory democracy “represents a real democratic alternative”.

“It’s amazing the things people say about Venezuela abroad”, Ali affirmed.

“They say Chavez is a dictator, negating the fact that he has had more elections, has won more elections than any other (elected official). Of course”, he added “the only democracies they (the US and Europe) permit are the democracies that do what they say must be done”.

Asked about democratic change in other nations and regions, Ali affirmed that “China is not an alternative, nor is India or Russia. In fact, the only real alternative available in today´s world is found here in South America”.

“In no other place do we observe what we observe here”, he said.

“Venezuela”, he explained, “is an alternative precisely because it questions all of the priorities of modern capitalism, using the State on behalf of the poor”.

“That is the importance of Venezuela”, he affirmed.

The Bolivarian Revolution “is very important for all of us, across the globe,” he said, “and we cannot allow ourselves to lose Venezuela”.

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T/ Stephen Lendman P/ Presidential Press

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olivarianism remains overwhelmingly popular.

So is Chavez. He heads the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

In 1999, he transformed the nation into a Bolivarian republic. It’s based on “solidarity, fraternity, love, justice, liberty and equality”.

He changed it politically, economically and socially. He established participatory democracy. Venezuela’s process shames the US, Britain, France, and other Western states.

He constitutionally instituted basic social rights for everyone. They include universal health care, education, affordable housing, land reform, indigenous rights, and much more.

Venezuala’s oil wealth is used responsibly. It’s elections are free, open and fair. Freedoms of speech, the press, and assembly are institutionalized. So are other fundamental rights sorely lacking or eroding in the US, across Europe, and elsewhere.

Venezuela today and preChavez are worlds apart. Venezuelans overwhelmingly approved constitutional reform by national referendum. Everything changed for the better.

People in the US can’t imagine rights afforded all Venezuelans. Washington’s duopoly power condemns them to eroding public services, growing poverty, unemployment, hunger, homelessness, despair, and repression enforcing policy on non-believers.

Reform is a work in progress.

Transforming generations of government of, by, and for privileged elites alone takes time.

Venezuela’s transformation has miles to go. But it’s accomplishments in 13 years under Chavez are impressive by any standard. Most Venezuelans wholeheartedly endorse them.

They deplore returning to preChavez days.

Henrique Capriles Radonski is Washington’s man in Caracas. He represents money power, neoliberal extremism, and pre-Chavez harshness. He heads the opposition umbrella group Table for Democratic Unity (MUD).

Venezuelan and Western media scoundrels support him.

His Primero Justicia party was involved in Washington’s aborted April 2002 coup. At the time, Capriles was Baruta mayor. He and other party members were involved.

Chavez riding high in polls At a July rally, Chavez told supporters: “We have made the vital strategic decision that every time there’s aggression from the imperialists and the bourgeoisie.... we will respond by deepening the socialist revolution”.

No wonder a Columbia University Earth Institute study called Venezuela South America’s happiest country. A 2011 Gallup poll ranked it fifth globally. A GIS XXI survey found 84% of Venezuelans are “satisfied” with their lives. An equal percent call themselves “happy” or “very happy.”

On October 7, Chavez and Capriles face off. Voters have final say. After 13 years as President, poll numbers predict another sweep.

Social investment is the reason. Around 60% of government revenues go for healthcare, education, and other social and cultural benefits.

America’s budget goes largely for militarism, imperial wars, homeland repression, internal spying, banker bailouts, corporate giveaways, and tax cuts for rich elites already with too much.

Capriles now serves as Miranda governor. He represents wealth and privilege. He promises a “better Venezuela”.

He doesn’t explain how.

He was born to wealth. He’s taken funds from Washington’s National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and International Republican Institute

(IRI). They tolerate democracy nowhere, including at home.

His campaign endorses market based solutions. Anything government does business does better so let it, he believes.

Borrowing from Margaret Thatcher’s TINA ideology (There Is No Alternative), his campaign highlights “There is Only One Way”. Most Venezuelans know better.

On July 16, the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign (VSC) headlined “Hugo Chavez is running high in the polls; Venezuela’s right plot not to recognize the people’s verdict”, saying: Based on International Consulting Services (ICS) June 23 - 27 poll numbers, Chavez holds an overwhelming 25.2% advantage. He leads Capriles by a 59.1% to 33.9% margin.

Results show Capriles “badly stagnated in the recent period”. It’s not surprising. Most Venezuelans deplore returning to the bad old days. Sacrificing Bolivarianism for money power rule is unthinkable.

Asked to evaluate governmental performance, 71.4% rated Chavez positive compared to 28.3% judging him negatively.

Heading toward October, he looks unbeatable.

So does PSUV. It’s got a 59.9% advantage. Primero Justicia is MUD’s strongest coalition partner. It registered a meager 17.9%. UNT got an embarrassing 3.8%. Worse still, Proyecto Venezuela, Copei and Adeco

scored 1.8%, 1.8%, and 1.3% respectively.

MUD’s combined strength is less than 27%. In December 2005, Accion Democratica (AD), Copei and Proyecto Venezuela withdrew from National Assembly elections. At issue was lack of support. They claimed no trust in electoral legitimacy. In fact, it’s beyond reproach.

Perhaps MUD will find reason to back out for equally spurious reasons, or if participate will cry foul when results are announced. Scoundrels who can’t win fairly denounce systems rejecting them.

In June, Chavez said he knows of a “hidden” right-wing scheme to “boycott” or not recognize electoral results. On public television he explained that he’ll “respond with a lot of vigor (to any) threat to the independence of Venezuela”.

IVAD, Datanalisis, Hinterlaces, GIS XXI, and other pollsters give Chavez a lead ranging from 15 - 35 points. In response, MUD already refuses to say if they’ll respect October results.

Chavez called on Capriles to state his intentions publicly.

Chavez said he’ll accept whatever results turn out.

Capriles didn’t respond. Nor did anyone in his campaign.

According to VSC, refusing “is puzzling given the highly efficient, competent, impartial and clean manner in which Venezuela’s Electoral Council (CNE) conducts elections”.

| Analysis

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Independent international observers rate them highly.

They include EU, OAS, and Carter Center representatives.

According to VSC, refusing to publicly agree to accept October’s results “is particularly worrying, and acquires sinister overtones, when it was this very opposition that formally requested this very CNE to conduct their” February 2012 primaries.

At issue is replacing Chavez.

All options are considered. Destabilization, media attacks, coups, targeted assassinations, and wars are favorites. Covert plots may be planned. Rejecting legitimate results, disruptive protests, and perhaps other tactics will be employed.

Despots play hardball.

Washington perfected the art.

It controls what may play out post-election. Extending congratulations to Chavez isn’t planned. Delegitimizing and denigrating him will be featured. It’s the American way.

As long as he’s President and looks certain to win reelection, Chavez is vulnerable. No tactics are too dirty to defeat, discredit, denigrate, or oust him.

His health remains an issue.

He had three cancer operations and multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. In early July, he told Venezuelans he’s “(f)ree, free, totally free” of cancer.

Recovery isn’t easy. Reoccurrence can follow remission.

Eva Golinger writes often on Venezuelan issues. On May 30, she discussed false reports about Chavez’s health.

Since diagnosed with cancer, “all kinds of rumors, lies and speculations” circulated.

Anti-Chavez media scoundrels featured it. So do right-wing extremists.

Chavez reported forthrightly about his health, surgeries, treatment and recovery.

Evidence shows no metastasis.

Many cancer patients recover fully and live long, healthy, productive lives.

Chavez got superb care. He maintains a rigorous schedule. In early July, he began campaigning for reelection.

Health issues won’t deter him.

“Every day I feel in better physical condition,” he said.

He expressed faith for a full recovery.

Based on consistent poll numbers showing overwhelming support, he looks certain to win big. Venezuelans reject returning to their ugly past.

As long as Chavez runs and remains healthy, he’s their man.

Friday, August 3, 2012 | Nº 120 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve

INTERNATIONAL

! PUBLICATION OF THE &UNDACION #ORREO DEL /RINOCO s Editor-in-Chief %VA 'OLINGER s Graphic Design Pablo Valduciel L. - Aimara Aguilera

Opinion

Victims of 2002 coup d’etat accuse Venevision owner Gustavo Cisneros T/ Laiguana.tv Translation by Tamara Pearson

M

iguel Mora, a 37 year old environmentalist, was present during the events on Llaguno Bridge in Caracas on 11 April 2002, and is accusing Venevision [television station] of being involved in the coup against President Hugo Chavez. Mora fired at a Metropolitan Police truck from Llaguno Bridge. The truck was on Baralt Avenue, a fact that was presumably manipulated by audiovisual press for their political advantage and to bring down the President.

“I hold the owner of Venevision, Gustavo Cisneros, and the head of the company Vinccler, Juan Francisco o Clerico, responsible for ev-erything that happened,, personally and collectively,, towards those who were e on the Llaguno Bridge thatt day, some of whom lost their lives. Clerico, for being the financer of the coup”, Mora said.

Maybe Cisneros is known by most Venezuelans as a wealthy businessman, president of the organization bearing his name, which includes telecommunications such as Venevision channel, as well as mass consumption products, but few people know about Clerico.

Juan Francisco Clerico is the heir of the empire of an Italian builder. He dedicated himself to the petroleum business, and his income was as big as it is unmentionable. The Vinccler company, said to be Canadian, but presided over by this Venezuelan, who is also owner and/ or director of Petro Falcon, Petro Cumarebo, Microfin (responsible for Fondemi micro credits- Translator: Fondemi is the state owned mi-

“The journalists took part in that script and commented on a march that they couldn’t even see and said that we were firing shots at innocents” cro credit development fund) as well as the stock company, Trasbanca. The first company recently received a loan from the World Bank for $36 million.

In the past Vinccler also signed a contract with Petroleos de Venezuela SA (Pdvsa) for 300 million bolivares to construct two gas processing plants in Anzoategui state- one in San Joaquin and the other in Santa Rosa. However, ex-workers accuse the com-

pany of unjustly firing 2,258 workers and other supposed irregularities regarding worker finances, according to Aporrea.org.

Clerico is a friend and business partner of Rafael de Armas, part of the De Armas media bloc, as well as with Ruth Zuloaga, Francesco Nicoletto, and Lourdes Gonzalez, in Miami, Florida construction businesses, such as the Metro West Park company.

MORA’S VERSION In April 2002, after the shots fired from Llaguno Bridge, Mora’s family was terrified. Their house was raided by the Technical Judicial Police, and his wife was taken to Carabobo Park as a prisoner. The woman suffered attacks and psychological torture by police. She spent two days locked up in a small dark room that they

hammered against repeatedly in order to break her.

The woman didn’t know where Mora was. They wanted him to turn himself in for her. “On Venevision they broadcasted a special program where they practically asked for our heads, they accused us of being murderers and my son saw that, which caused him psychological harm”.

Mora reported that the negative effect of the Venevision video, in which he was firing but with images in the background that “condemned us,” (the pro-government protesters on the bridge) can’t be easily erased. He affirms that Gustavo Cisneros “put it all together, he created the script that was going to be carried out that day”.

“Everyone in Venezuela should know that it was Venevision who executed the

coup. The camera people who recorded us were already in position, with an already defined plan. Venevialread already knew they were sion a going to air those first images, they even had a script”, Mora said.

He said they doctored the images image during the April 11, 2002 coup, something explained in a documentary plain which has won internation‘Llaguno Bridge: al prizes, pr Keys to a Massacre’, by film maker Angel Palacios. make Mora argues that those Mo people on the Llaguno peop Bridge Bridg weren’t clear about Cisneros’ plan, but those Cisne who received the images to broadcast on Venevib sion were; “The journalists took part in that script t and commented on a march c that tthey couldn’t even see said that we were firing and sa shots at innocents”.

He indicated that he fired from Llaguno bridge with clear objectives; the Mettwo cl ropolitan Police truck, and the Eden hotel, both located on Baralt Avenue, where the snipers were. Snipers who initially shot at the unarmed marchers who were going down Urdaneta Avenue, leaving many people dead, and which were used as an argument to try to remove democratically elected president Hugo Chavez from power.

The documentary ‘Llaguno Bridge: Keys to a Massacre’ scientifically and objectively takes apart the lies spread by the private media in Venezuela on April 11, 2002. Among those lies is the people with pistols allegedly shooting at the opposition march, and what stands out is that the media knew that wasn’t true, and even so, they tried to deceive the population. This shows that they participated in a coup.

Why aren’t the owners of that media in prison?