Viva Chavez!


This is written by Chris Brady for the Marxism mailing list:

Fracas in Caracas
For your files and forwards:
Let us not forget these important and telling gringo gaffs:

“…on Thursday, the military installed Carmona, a development that the
United States later
greeted as a step toward 'democracy'.”
—DPA (German press agency) Sun, 14 Apr 2002:
"Chavez set to return to Venezuelan presidency"


“The United States, which disliked Chavez for his friendship
with Cuban President Fidel Castro and fretted about his
populist leadership, was clearly pleased to see the back of
him. U.S. officials said they considered there had been no
coup.”
—By Jason Webb (Reuters) CARACAS, Venezuela, April 14 2002

[USA supports democracy by cheering something that walked like a coup,
swam like a coup, flew like a coup...]:

“The Bush administration laid the blame for Mr. Chávez's overthrow
firmly with the ousted leader. Officials portrayed the ouster as a
victory for democracy, even though Mr. Chávez was a legitimately elected
president.

“"We know that the action encouraged by the Chávez government provoked
this crisis," said Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman. The Chávez
government, he added, suppressed a peaceful demonstration and fired on
unarmed protesters.

[snip]

“Among Mr. Carmona's most pressing tasks now will be to assuage concerns
in other countries about how Mr. Chávez's reign ended and deal with the
polarization between rich and poor that divides this country, analysts
familiar with Venezuela said.

“ "The goal for his successors is to effectively tackle the pressing
socio-economic issues that brought Chávez to power with so much popular
support," said Russell Crandall, a Latin America specialist at Davidson
College in North Carolina. "Chávez was right about the problems he saw
in Venezuela. He was wrong about the solutions and the Venezuelan people
made that very clear." ”
[what have those Venezuelan people made very clear lately?]
—By JUAN FORERO New York Times, April 13, 2002
Venezuela's Chief Forced to Resign; Civilian Installed
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/13/international/americas/13VENE.html


Perhaps most amusing is JUAN FORERO’s fawning portrait of Pedro Carmona
Estanga.
Here are some quips, oops, sorry, I mean “quotes”:

CARACAS, Venezuela, April12 — In one day, the man in charge in the
presidential palace went from a strong-willed populist known for his
rambling speeches to a mild-mannered businessman who chooses every word
carefully.
[snip]
Mr. Carmona promised "freedom, pluralism and respect for the state of
law" and said general elections would be called within a year.
[snip]
Mr. Carmona could not be more different from Mr. Chávez. Although Mr.
Chávez cherished attention from the news media and world leaders, Mr.
Carmona has never been comfortable in the limelight. Mr. Chávez sought
power, even starting a failed coup in 1992, when he was an army colonel,
before winning office in an election in 1998.
"This has never been his aspiration," said Rafael Sandrea, a
friend who is in Mr. Carmona's business group. "He fell into it because
of the circumstances."
[this is so Malvolio!]
Mr. Carmona, experts said, is a level-headed manager who is also known
as a conciliator.
[snip]
"He's a guy who's looking for compromises and solutions that everyone
can work with," said Robert Bottome, editor of Veneconomía, a business
newsletter here. "He has the style of personality that is exactly right
for this moment."
[snip]
Slight and meek, he often appeared sitting behind a desk, reading a
statement or giving a precise response to the reporters' microphones
that surrounded his baldish head.
He would sometimes seem overwhelmed, but he always managed to
remain calm.
[snip]
worked hard to get where he is.
[snip]
[end]
—By JUAN FORERO New York Times, April 13, 2002
MAN IN THE NEWS
“Manager and Conciliator Pedro Carmona Estanga”
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/13/international/americas/13CARM.html

Tim Weiner might be the NYT’s bromo for Forero:
“When is a coup not a coup? When the United States says so, it seems –”
—By TIM WEINER, New York Times, April 14, 2002
“A Coup by Any Other Name”
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/14/weekinreview/14WEIN.html?ex=1019751292&ei=1&en=3a9d8434418b4814