Monthly Archives: August 2010

Aug
31
2010
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Q+A-What’s at stake in Venezuela parliament vote?

 

 

 

This article was originally posted by Reuters Africa

Venezuelans vote for a new parliament on Sept. 26 in an election President Hugo Chavez views as crucial to the continuation of his socialist reforms and opponents see as a chance to turn the tide against him.

Here are some questions and answers on the impending vote.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS ELECTION?

* Chavez has told supporters the vote is of huge significance to prevent opponents from derailing his self-styled “revolution,” now in its 12th year. In typical style, he has declared the campaign “Operation Demolition.”

Analysts view it as an important test of his popularity — which polls show slipping in percentage terms to the low 40s — ahead of the next presidential vote in 2012. Though not standing in the election, Chavez is the dominant figure, his face adorning huge government posters round Caracas, his name on the lips of every opposition candidate.

* The vote is guaranteed to give the opposition at least some sort of representation after they boycotted the last National Assembly election in 2005. That decision gave Chavez carte blanche in parliament and is now widely regretted among opposition parties. Their most realistic goal is to slash Chavez’s majority to below two-thirds in the 165-seat assembly, which would complicate his ability to pass major laws. Even if they do not manage that, the opposition will at least be able to air criticism in the assembly for the first time in years.

 

WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES?

* While both Chavez and the opposition say they have the majority of Venezuela’s 27 million people behind them, polls show a deeply divided nation with about a third of Venezuelans in the so-called “neither, nor” camp of not supporting either the government or the opposition. Chavez’s approval rating was above 50 percent at the last vote in 2009, but is now in the 40s. That makes for a hard-to-predict electoral scenario.

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Aug
31
2010
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Will Chávez steal parliamentary elections?

This article was originally posted by The Miami Herald

The situation in Venezuela is becoming dangerously tense. Ramón Guillermo Aveledo says that the Sept. 26 parliamentary elections may be the last ones in the country — ever.

Aveledo, a prestigious lawyer, writer and former president of Congress, is the executive secretary of the Mesa de la Unidad Democrática, the umbrella organization for the united opposition.

What’s happening in the country? Possibly, Hugo Chávez could lose, so he’s looking for a way to tamper with the results. One month away from the elections, the most reliable survey — by Consultores 21, as disclosed by expert Joaquín Pérez Rodríguez — gives the victory to the opposition, 52 to 42 percent.

That fact is reinforced by another question that is even more revealing. When voters are asked whether they like or reject Chávez, 37 percent say they like him, 56 percent don’t.

Obviously, Chávez’s popularity has plummeted for at least five powerful reasons:

• The unbearable violence that has turned Caracas into one of the world’s most dangerous cities and all of Venezuela into a slaughterhouse with more victims than Iraq, as The New York Times has reported. Almost 120,000 persons have been murdered since Chávez came to power. Violence has risen fourfold.

• The whole of society detests the existence of paramilitary armed gangs in the service of the government. CNN called them “Chávez’s Guardians” in an excellent documentary that rattled the country. Their task is to intimidate and mistreat the population.

• The infinite clumsiness of a government that, despite receiving a torrent of petrodollars, is incapable of supplying markets, conserving food (millions of kilos rot in warehouses or vanish), maintaining the infrastructures or equipping hospitals halfway decently. With good reason, Venezuelans perceive that no other country in South America is as poorly governed.

• Venezuela’s uncomfortable occupation by Cubans and the donation of much of Venezuela’s wealth to Havana, Managua, Bolivia and the rest of the famished family of 21st-century socialism. With those subsidies, Chávez buys his international importance and fosters the highest level of corruption Venezuela has ever known — which is saying a lot.

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Aug
30
2010
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Venezuela’s Chavez Criticizes Foreign Press Ahead Of Elections

This article was originally posted by The Wall Street Journal

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is accusing the international press of working with local opposition forces to slander his government and turn voters against the ruling socialist party in key upcoming elections.

“The foreign press corps’ strategy of defamation … has been put into action,” Chavez wrote in his weekly column Sunday, four weeks ahead of legislative elections. “They have powerful tools and they’re going to be using them.”

The president specifically mentioned several foreign media outlets, including CNN and the New York Times. The Times published an article recently claiming Venezuela is deadlier than Iraq in terms of civilian deaths from violence in 2009. The issue of soaring crime rates promises to be a key issue on the minds of Venezuelan voters next month.

But Chavez scoffed at the U.S. newspaper’s comparison of Venezuela to Iraq, saying the “uncorked violence” in Iraq is far worse than the “structural” public safety problem in his country.

For Venezuela’s murder rate, the New York Times article used statistics from the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence that are based on police files and are cited by many news outlets, including Dow Jones Newswires. The Chavez government has stopped releasing statistics publicly, but recent media reports suggest official figures on homicides in Venezuelan are actually higher than nongovernmental counts.

Chavez acknowledged crime and violence in Venezuela are a problem, but said previous administrations are to blame. Chavez has been in power for 11 years.

Calls Sunday to the New York Times weren’t immediately returned.

The National Assembly elections on Sept. 26 are being seen by many as a key test of support for Chavez, who is scheduled to face a presidential election in 2012.

Opposition forces that boycotted congressional elections five years ago are taking part in next month’s vote and have formed a relatively united front against Chavez’s socialist party.

Economic problems and soaring crime rates could help the opposition as they try to grab a majority control of the legislature, which would make it more difficult for Chavez to govern with the hands-on style he’s accustomed to.

But Chavez still has broad support among the poor, in part due to heavy spending on social welfare projects. As such, many pollsters say the president’s socialist party will likely retain control of the National Assembly.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is accusing the international press of working with local opposition forces to slander his government and turn voters against the ruling socialist party in key upcoming elections.

“The foreign press corps’ strategy of defamation … has been put into action,” Chavez wrote in his weekly column Sunday, four weeks ahead of legislative elections. “They have powerful tools and they’re going to be using them.”

The president specifically mentioned several foreign media outlets, including CNN and the New York Times. The Times published an article recently claiming Venezuela is deadlier than Iraq in terms of civilian deaths from violence in 2009. The issue of soaring crime rates promises to be a key issue on the minds of Venezuelan voters next month.

But Chavez scoffed at the U.S. newspaper’s comparison of Venezuela to Iraq, saying the “uncorked violence” in Iraq is far worse than the “structural” public safety problem in his country.

For Venezuela’s murder rate, the New York Times article used statistics from the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence that are based on police files and are cited by many news outlets, including Dow Jones Newswires. The Chavez government has stopped releasing statistics publicly, but recent media reports suggest official figures on homicides in Venezuelan are actually higher than nongovernmental counts.

Chavez acknowledged crime and violence in Venezuela are a problem, but said previous administrations are to blame. Chavez has been in power for 11 years.

Read More