We are all Venezuelans today.
"Venezuela’s Chavez dies; nation roiling" by William Neuman | New York Times, March 06, 2013
CARACAS — President Hugo Chavez died Tuesday afternoon after a long struggle with cancer, the government announced, leaving behind a bitterly divided nation in the grip of a political crisis that grew more acute as he languished for weeks, silent and out of sight in hospitals in Havana and Caracas.
With his voice cracking and close to tears, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said that he and other officials had gone to the military hospital where Chavez was being treated, sequestered from the public, when ‘‘we received the hardest and most tragic information that we could transmit to our people.’’
Within short order, police officers and soldiers were highly visible as people ran through the streets, calling loved ones on cellphones, rushing to get home. Caracas, the capital, which had just received news that the government was throwing out two US military attaches it accused of sowing disorder, quickly became an enormous traffic jam. Stores and shopping malls abruptly closed.
His body is STILL WARM and already there is another U.S.-sponsored coup afoot?
His body is STILL WARM and already there is another U.S.-sponsored coup afoot?
As darkness fell, somber crowds congregated in the main square of Caracas, some people crying.
Not alone there.
Chavez supporters set fire to tents and mattresses used by university students who had chained themselves together in protest several days ago to demand more information about Chavez’s condition.
Not alone there.
Chavez supporters set fire to tents and mattresses used by university students who had chained themselves together in protest several days ago to demand more information about Chavez’s condition.
‘‘Are you happy now?’’ the Chavez supporters shouted as they ran through the streets with sticks. ‘‘Chavez is dead! You got what you wanted!’’
Yeah, I guess they did.
Yeah, I guess they did.
Related: Protesters demand details of Hugo Chavez’s health
Also see: Venezuelan President Chavez Hints U.S. Could Be Behind Cancers Affecting South American Leaders
Sure is a strange cluster, cui bono?
Also see: Venezuelan President Chavez Hints U.S. Could Be Behind Cancers Affecting South American Leaders
Sure is a strange cluster, cui bono?
Chavez’s departure from a country he dominated for 14 years casts into doubt the future of his socialist revolution. It alters the political balance in Venezuela, the fourth-largest foreign oil supplier to the United States, but also in Latin America, where Chavez led a group of nations intent on reducing US influence in the region.
Actually, no, it doesn't.
See: The Venezuelan Vote
It only casts the future into doubt for those globe-kicking builders of empire who wish to make something happen.
Actually, no, it doesn't.
See: The Venezuelan Vote
It only casts the future into doubt for those globe-kicking builders of empire who wish to make something happen.
Former US representative Joseph P. Kennedy II mourned the death of Chavez, who was a key partner with Kennedy in his efforts to provide heating oil to needy families through his Boston-based nonprofit, Citizens Energy Corp.
In my mind he is the true heir to Jack, Bobby, and Ted's legacy.
“President Chavez cared deeply about the poor of Venezuela and of other nations around the world and their abject lack of even basic necessities, while some of the wealthiest people on our planet have more money than they can ever reasonably expect to spend,” Kennedy said in a statement.
It's not about spending it; it's about having another zero at the end of the total, and whoever has the most toys when he dies wins.
“There are close to two million people in the United States who received free heating assistance, thanks to President Chavez’s leadership. Our prayers go out to President Chavez’s family, the people of Venezuela, and all who were warmed by his generosity.”
Maybe that's why his passing affected me more than most. Some of that came here, to my state.
In my mind he is the true heir to Jack, Bobby, and Ted's legacy.
“President Chavez cared deeply about the poor of Venezuela and of other nations around the world and their abject lack of even basic necessities, while some of the wealthiest people on our planet have more money than they can ever reasonably expect to spend,” Kennedy said in a statement.
It's not about spending it; it's about having another zero at the end of the total, and whoever has the most toys when he dies wins.
“There are close to two million people in the United States who received free heating assistance, thanks to President Chavez’s leadership. Our prayers go out to President Chavez’s family, the people of Venezuela, and all who were warmed by his generosity.”
Maybe that's why his passing affected me more than most. Some of that came here, to my state.
The relationship between Kennedy and Chavez dates back to 2005, when the Venezuelan leader, who controlled the nation’s oil industry during his tenure, began delivering crude oil at no charge to a Citizens affiliate, which then resold it and used the money to pay for oil deliveries to America’s poor.
In January, Citgo Petroleum Corp., which is owned by a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-run oil company and has donated oil for the assistance program, announced that more than 200 million gallons had been donated over the last eight years. The campaign this winter is expected to help more than 100,000 families in 25 states plus the District of Columbia, Citgo said.
Related: Citgo Sign Goes Dark
In honor of Chavez?
Kennedy has faced criticism over the years for his relationship with Chavez, a fiery leftist known in the United States for his anti-American rhetoric.
Related: Citgo Sign Goes Dark
In honor of Chavez?
Kennedy has faced criticism over the years for his relationship with Chavez, a fiery leftist known in the United States for his anti-American rhetoric.
The former congressman, whose television ads thanking Venezuela have become a staple in New England households, has said repeatedly that he asked major oil companies in the United States and elsewhere to join the program, but only Chavez agreed to participate.
Because the major oil companies can't stand the thought of not gouging for greed.
Because the major oil companies can't stand the thought of not gouging for greed.
“Some people say it’s bad politics to do this,” Kennedy said in one Citizens TV ad that ran several years ago. “I say it’s a crime against humanity not to because no one, no one, should be left out in the cold.”
Especially in this era of global warming(?).
Especially in this era of global warming(?).
A Citizens spokesman declined to comment when asked how Chavez’s death may affect Citizens. A Citgo spokesman could not immediately be reached.
Kennedy’s son, current US Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III, said in a statement that his “thoughts and prayers” were with Chavez’s family.
“In this time of transition, it is my hope that the United States and Venezuela can build a productive relationship for the future,” the younger Kennedy said.
Chavez, 58, changed Venezuela in fundamental ways, empowering and energizing millions of poor people who had felt marginalized and excluded.
Thus he was demonized in my monied corporate media.
Thus he was demonized in my monied corporate media.
But Chavez’s rule also widened society’s divisions.
I suppose you could also say that about Obama.
His death is sure to bring more changes and vast uncertainty as the nation tries to find its way without its central figure.
I'm sure that's what the agenda-pushing interests are hoping -- so they can get their greedy little mitts on the world's largest oil reserves.
The Venezuelan Constitution says the nation should ‘‘proceed to a new election’’ within 30 days when a president dies in the first four years of his term, and Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said in a television interview that Maduro would take the helm in the meantime.
I suppose you could also say that about Obama.
His death is sure to bring more changes and vast uncertainty as the nation tries to find its way without its central figure.
I'm sure that's what the agenda-pushing interests are hoping -- so they can get their greedy little mitts on the world's largest oil reserves.
The Venezuelan Constitution says the nation should ‘‘proceed to a new election’’ within 30 days when a president dies in the first four years of his term, and Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said in a television interview that Maduro would take the helm in the meantime.
The election itself is likely to pit Maduro, whom Chavez designated as his political successor, against Henrique Capriles Radonski, a young state governor who lost to Chavez in a presidential election in October.
I'm really worried about a rigged election, but I don't think the Venezuelan people will let it happen.
I'm really worried about a rigged election, but I don't think the Venezuelan people will let it happen.
But there has been heated debate in recent months over clashing interpretations of the constitution, in light of Chavez’s illness, and it is impossible to predict how the post-Chavez transition will proceed.
“We, your civilian and military companions, Commander Hugo Chavez, assume your legacy, your challenges, your project, accompanied by and with the support of the people,’’ Maduro told the nation.
Only hours earlier, the government seemed to go into a state of heightened alert as Maduro convened a crisis meeting in Caracas of Cabinet ministers, governors loyal to the president and top military commanders.
Taking a page out of Chavez’s time-tested playbook, Maduro warned in a lengthy televised speech that the United States was seeking to destabilize the country.
One, I'm tired of pot-hollering-kettle media, and two, he's right.
He said the government had expelled two US military attaches, accusing one of seeking to recruit Venezuelan military personnel. He called on Venezuelans to unite as he raised the specter of foreign intervention.
It's not like it hasn't happened before!
Chavez was given a diagnosis of cancer in June 2011, but throughout his treatment he kept many details about his illness secret, refusing to say what kind of cancer he had or where in his body it occurred.
One, I'm tired of pot-hollering-kettle media, and two, he's right.
He said the government had expelled two US military attaches, accusing one of seeking to recruit Venezuelan military personnel. He called on Venezuelans to unite as he raised the specter of foreign intervention.
It's not like it hasn't happened before!
Chavez was given a diagnosis of cancer in June 2011, but throughout his treatment he kept many details about his illness secret, refusing to say what kind of cancer he had or where in his body it occurred.
He had three operations from June 2011 to February 2012, as well as chemotherapy and radiation treatment, but the cancer kept coming back. The surgery and most other treatments were done in Cuba.
Then on Dec. 8, just two months after winning reelection, Chavez stunned the nation by announcing in a somber televised address that he needed yet another surgery.
That operation, his fourth, took place in Havana on Dec. 11. In the aftermath, grim-faced aides described the procedure as complex and said his condition was delicate. They eventually notified the country of complications, first bleeding and then a severe lung infection and difficulty breathing.
After previous operations, Chavez often appeared on television while recuperating in Havana, posted messages on Twitter or was heard on telephone calls made to television programs on a government station. But after his December surgery, he was not seen again in public.
Chavez’s aides eventually announced that a tube had been inserted in his trachea to help his breathing and that, as a result, he had difficulty speaking. It was the ultimate paradox for a man who seemed never at a loss for words, often improvising for hours on television.
As the weeks dragged on, tensions rose in Venezuela, and the situation turned increasingly bizarre. Officials in Chavez’s government strove to project an image of business as usual and deflected inevitable questions about a vacuum at the top. At the same time, the country struggled with an out-of-balance economy.
The opposition, weakened after defeats in the presidential election in October and elections for governor in December, in which its candidates lost in 20 of 23 states, sought to keep pressure on the government.
Then officials suddenly announced Feb. 18 that Chavez had returned to Caracas. He arrived unseen on a predawn flight and was installed in a military hospital.
See: Venezuela celebrates Chavez return after surgery
A surprise return.
See: Venezuela celebrates Chavez return after surgery
A surprise return.
--more--"
I'm surprised they never mentioned that Venezuela was flying uranium and various components for nuclear weapons to Tehran.
UPDATE:
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez Leaves Mixed Legacy
"FOX News is pounding on this issue of Hezbollah being inside Venezuela, which signals that the US is going to invade Venezuela "To Fight Terror" but to actually gain control of the oil, the gold, and the uranium, and to get rid of Chavez' silly notion that the wealth of the nation belongs to the people of the nation." -- What Really Happened
This New York Times eulogy was better than expected, all things considered. I guess they didn't want to spit on a dead man.
I'm surprised they never mentioned that Venezuela was flying uranium and various components for nuclear weapons to Tehran.
UPDATE:
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez Leaves Mixed Legacy
"FOX News is pounding on this issue of Hezbollah being inside Venezuela, which signals that the US is going to invade Venezuela "To Fight Terror" but to actually gain control of the oil, the gold, and the uranium, and to get rid of Chavez' silly notion that the wealth of the nation belongs to the people of the nation." -- What Really Happened
This New York Times eulogy was better than expected, all things considered. I guess they didn't want to spit on a dead man.
"Hugo Chavez, 58; fiery populist split nation as he sought to unite region" by Simon Romero | New York Times, March 06, 2013
CARACAS — Hugo Chavez, who rose from poverty in a dirt-floor adobe house to unrivaled influence in Venezuela as its president, consolidating power and wielding the country’s oil reserves as a tool for his Socialist-inspired change, died Tuesday, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said. He was 58.
Maduro said President Chavez died at the military hospital in Caracas, where he had been treated for complications from his struggle with cancer.
With a televangelist’s gift for oratory, President Chavez led a nationalist movement that lashed out at the US government, moneyed Venezuelans, and his own disaffected followers, whom he often branded as traitors.
It's the same old skew, but then....
It's the same old skew, but then....
He was a dreamer with a common touch and enormous ambition. He maintained an almost visceral connection with the poor, tapping into their resentments, while strutting like the strongman in a caudillo novel. His followers called him Comandante.
Yes, yes, we all know globalists and their international financier bankers resent nationalism.
Yes, yes, we all know globalists and their international financier bankers resent nationalism.
But he was not a stock figure. He grew up a have-not in an oil-rich country that prized ostentatious consumption.
Maybe that's why so many Americans could identify with him.
He was a man of mixed ancestry — African, indigenous, and Spanish — who despised a power structure dominated by Europeanized elites. As a soldier he hated hunting down guerrillas but had no qualms about using weapons to seize power, as he and a group of military co-conspirators tried but failed to do in 1992. Even so, he rose to power in democratic elections, in 1998.
Almost as if he were another.... Hitler?
Maybe I was too quick to praise the Times.
Maybe that's why so many Americans could identify with him.
He was a man of mixed ancestry — African, indigenous, and Spanish — who despised a power structure dominated by Europeanized elites. As a soldier he hated hunting down guerrillas but had no qualms about using weapons to seize power, as he and a group of military co-conspirators tried but failed to do in 1992. Even so, he rose to power in democratic elections, in 1998.
Almost as if he were another.... Hitler?
Maybe I was too quick to praise the Times.
In office, he upended the political order at home and used oil revenues to finance client nations in Latin America, notably Bolivia and Nicaragua.
We call it aid.
Inspired by Simon Bolivar, the mercurial Venezuelan aristocrat who led South America’s 19th-century wars of independence, President Chavez sought to unite the region and erode Washington’s influence.
The Founding Fathers were aristocrats, but.... (sigh).
We call it aid.
Inspired by Simon Bolivar, the mercurial Venezuelan aristocrat who led South America’s 19th-century wars of independence, President Chavez sought to unite the region and erode Washington’s influence.
The Founding Fathers were aristocrats, but.... (sigh).
‘‘The hegemonic pretensions of the American empire are placing at risk the very survival of the human species,’’ he said in a 2006 speech at the United Nations. In the same speech he called President George W. Bush ‘‘the devil.’’
Yes, he's right, and I remember that well. He said the podium still smelled of sulfur, and he was right. Looking back in hindsight, Bush was the anti-christ. His reign was for seven years, he invaded and defiled Babylon (Iraq), and the fallout of his "war on terror" has been the persecution and flight of Christians across the planet.
Yes, he's right, and I remember that well. He said the podium still smelled of sulfur, and he was right. Looking back in hindsight, Bush was the anti-christ. His reign was for seven years, he invaded and defiled Babylon (Iraq), and the fallout of his "war on terror" has been the persecution and flight of Christians across the planet.
For years, he succeeded in curbing US influence. He breathed life into Cuba, the hemisphere’s only Communist nation, with economic assistance; its revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro, was not only an ally but also an inspiration. President Chavez forged a Bolivarian alliance with some of Latin America’s energy-exporting nations, including Ecuador and Bolivia, and applauded when they expelled US ambassadors, as he had done.
Because U.S. ambassadors must now be considered spies.
He asserted greater state control over Venezuela’s economy by nationalizing dozens of foreign-owned assets, including oil projects controlled by Exxon Mobil and other US corporations.
And that tends to piss certain people off and get oneself killed.
Because U.S. ambassadors must now be considered spies.
He asserted greater state control over Venezuela’s economy by nationalizing dozens of foreign-owned assets, including oil projects controlled by Exxon Mobil and other US corporations.
And that tends to piss certain people off and get oneself killed.
Though he met opposition at home, he enjoyed broad support, in part by going into the slums to establish health clinics staffed by Cuban doctors and state-run stores selling subsidized food. These and other social welfare programs could be corrupt and inefficient, but they made the poor feel included in a society that had long ignored them.
At the same time, he was determined to hold onto and enhance his power. He grew obsessed with changing Venezuela’s laws to ensure that he could be reelected indefinitely and become, indeed, a caudillo, able to rule by decree at times.
Think of it as one of Obama's executive orders.
Think of it as one of Obama's executive orders.
A bizarre governing apparatus subject to his whims coalesced around him.
Why are they bringing up the Obama administrations drone policy now?
State television cameras recorded nearly every public appearance, many of them to make surprise, unscripted announcements, often in his military uniform and paratrooper’s red beret.
So they are just like the AmeriKan media and Obama?
He might rail against Venezuela’s high consumption of Scotch whisky — he did not drink alcohol, his aides said — or its high demand for breast augmentation surgery. He once stunned citizens by decreeing a new time zone for the nation, a half-hour behind its previous one. Fawning Cabinet ministers sat through his televised lectures as he browbeat them.
Why are they bringing up the Obama administrations drone policy now?
State television cameras recorded nearly every public appearance, many of them to make surprise, unscripted announcements, often in his military uniform and paratrooper’s red beret.
So they are just like the AmeriKan media and Obama?
He might rail against Venezuela’s high consumption of Scotch whisky — he did not drink alcohol, his aides said — or its high demand for breast augmentation surgery. He once stunned citizens by decreeing a new time zone for the nation, a half-hour behind its previous one. Fawning Cabinet ministers sat through his televised lectures as he browbeat them.
Dr. Edmundo Chirinos, a psychiatrist who knew Chavez as a patient, described him in a profile in The New Yorker in 2001 as ‘‘a hyperkinetic and imprudent man, unpunctual, someone who overreacts to criticism, harbors grudges, is politically astute and manipulative, and possesses tremendous stamina, never sleeping more than two or three hours a night.’’
They put a corpse on the couch?
They put a corpse on the couch?
No mentor was more supportive than Castro, who well understood how important Venezuela’s subsidized oil shipments were to Cuba’s fragile economy. An ally from the start of Chavez’s presidency in 1999, he offered help in one of the Venezuelan leader’s most difficult moments, a coup d’etat that removed him from office for 48 hours in April 2002. Castro telephoned Venezuela’s top military officials, pressing them to assist in returning President Chavez to office.
I guess that's what won me over in this obituary.
I guess that's what won me over in this obituary.
The collapse of the coup, which is thought to have received tacit support from the Bush administration, signaled a shift in his presidency. President Chavez promised compromise and harmony, but instead his response was retaliation.
It did, and I guess reading those revelations in the paper (I already knew about them) colored my view of this piece.
It did, and I guess reading those revelations in the paper (I already knew about them) colored my view of this piece.
He purged opponents from the national oil company, expropriated the land of others, and imprisoned retired military officials who had dared to stand against him. The country’s political debate became increasingly poisonous, and it took its toll on the country.
At least someone was putting traitors in prison.
At least someone was putting traitors in prison.
Private investors, unhinged over the nationalizations and expropriation threats, halted projects.
The important people in my newspaper. Just serving their dwindling readership.
Hundreds of thousands of scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs and others in the middle class left Venezuela, even as large numbers of immigrants from Haiti, China and Lebanon put down stakes here.
Did Chavez give them amnesty?
The important people in my newspaper. Just serving their dwindling readership.
Hundreds of thousands of scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs and others in the middle class left Venezuela, even as large numbers of immigrants from Haiti, China and Lebanon put down stakes here.
Did Chavez give them amnesty?
The homicide rate soared under his rule, turning Caracas into one of the world’s most dangerous cities. Armed gangs lorded over prisons, challenging the state’s authority.
See: Clearing Venezuela's Prisons
See: Clearing Venezuela's Prisons
All the while, President Chavez rewrote the rule book on using the media to enhance his power.
This is really starting to stink.
With ‘‘Alo Presidente’’ (“Hello, President”), his Sunday television program, he would speak to viewers in his booming voice for hours on end.
I can see why AmeriKan politicians wouldn't like him.
His government ordered privately controlled stations to broadcast his speeches.
Like that silly State of the Union s***?
While initially skeptical of social media, he came to embrace Twitter, attracting millions of followers.
They literally followed him until the end.
This is really starting to stink.
With ‘‘Alo Presidente’’ (“Hello, President”), his Sunday television program, he would speak to viewers in his booming voice for hours on end.
I can see why AmeriKan politicians wouldn't like him.
His government ordered privately controlled stations to broadcast his speeches.
Like that silly State of the Union s***?
While initially skeptical of social media, he came to embrace Twitter, attracting millions of followers.
They literally followed him until the end.
Globe was by his beside all along:
"Hugo Chavez faces new cancer surgery; Names VP as his successor choice should he die" by Ian James | Associated Press, December 10, 2012
"Hugo Chavez faces new cancer surgery; Names VP as his successor choice should he die" by Ian James | Associated Press, December 10, 2012
CARACAS — President Hugo Chavez’s announcement on Saturday night cast a shadow of uncertainty over the country, and thousands of his supporters poured into city plazas across the nation to pray for his recovery from what appears to be an aggressive type of cancer.
Chavez acknowledged the seriousness of his health problem in a televised address. He said for the first time that if he suffers complications, Vice President Nicolas Maduro should be elected as Venezuela’s leader to continue his socialist movement.
He can't make his dying wish any clearer, can he?
He can't make his dying wish any clearer, can he?
Several outside medical analysts said that based on Chavez’s account of his condition and treatment so far, they doubt the cancer can be cured.
Chavez said he has not given up.
‘‘With the grace of God, we’ll come out victorious,’’ he said, holding up a crucifix and kissing it during his Saturday night appearance.
The 58-year-old president is scheduled to be sworn in for a new six-year term Jan. 10. He has been in office for nearly 14 years, since 1999.
‘‘There are risks. Who can deny it?’’ Chavez said, seated at the presidential palace beside Maduro and other aides.
Chavez, who won reelection Oct. 7, said he would undergo surgery in Havana in the coming days. Lawmakers on Sunday unanimously agreed to grant him permission to leave the country for the operation....
Chavez, who won reelection Oct. 7, said he would undergo surgery in Havana in the coming days. Lawmakers on Sunday unanimously agreed to grant him permission to leave the country for the operation....
--more--"
"Chavez suffered complications in surgery" by Ian James | Associated Press, December 14, 2012
CARACAS — In the latest of a series of unusually frank reports about the president’s delicate medical condition, the government has begun providing regular updates on the president’s recovery after the six-hour surgery in what appears to be a slight easing of the secrecy that has surrounded Chavez’s medical treatment since he fell ill last year.
"Chavez’s condition worsens; his supporters urge prayers" by Ian James | Associated Press, January 01, 2013
CARACAS — President Hugo Chavez’s new complications after cancer surgery prompted his closest allies to call for Venezuelans to pray for him on Monday, presenting an increasingly bleak outlook and prompting growing speculation about whether the ailing leader has much longer to live.
Maybe it is just me, but I got the feeling the AmeriKan media were hoping he would die. It's like they wrote the report with their fingers crossed.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro looked weary and spoke with a solemn expression as he announced in a televised address from Havana on Sunday that Chavez confronts ‘‘new complications’’ due to a respiratory infection nearly three weeks after his operation. He described Chavez’s condition as delicate.
Related: Chavez fighting severe lung infection
So he hung on for nearly two more months, huh?
Maybe it is just me, but I got the feeling the AmeriKan media were hoping he would die. It's like they wrote the report with their fingers crossed.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro looked weary and spoke with a solemn expression as he announced in a televised address from Havana on Sunday that Chavez confronts ‘‘new complications’’ due to a respiratory infection nearly three weeks after his operation. He described Chavez’s condition as delicate.
Related: Chavez fighting severe lung infection
So he hung on for nearly two more months, huh?
The streets of Caracas were abuzz on Monday with talk of Chavez’s increasingly tough fight, while the news topped the front pages of the country’s newspapers.
As it should.
As it should.
‘‘He’s history now,’’ said Cesar Amaro, a street vendor selling newspapers and snacks at a kiosk in downtown Caracas. He motioned to a newspaper showing side-by-side photos of Maduro and the National Assembly’s president, Diosdado Cabello, and said politics will now turn to them.
Yup.
Yup.
Amaro said he expects a new election soon to replace Chavez. ‘‘For an illness like the one the president has, his days are numbered now,’’ he said matter-of-factly.
A government-organized New Year’s Eve concert had been planned in a downtown plaza in Caracas, featuring popular Venezuelan bands, but was canceled due to Chavez’s condition.
The president’s aides sang and prayed at a televised Mass held at the presidential palace, while Chavez’s allies urged Venezuelans to keep their president in their prayers.
He will be.
He will be.
Political analyst Ricardo Sucre said the outlook for Chavez appears grim, saying Maduro’s body language during his televised appearance spoke volumes.
‘‘Everything suggests Chavez’s health situation hasn’t evolved as hoped,’’ Sucre said. He said Maduro probably remained in Havana to keep close watch on how Chavez’s condition develops.
‘‘These hours should be key to having a more definitive prognosis of Chavez’s health, and as a consequence make the corresponding political decisions according to the constitution,’’ Sucre said.
Sucre and other Venezuelans said it seems increasingly unlikely that Chavez would be able to be sworn in as scheduled on Jan. 10.
The Venezuelan leader has not been seen or heard from since undergoing his fourth cancer-related surgery Dec. 11, and government officials have said he might not return in time for his inauguration for a new six-year term.
If Chavez dies or is unable to continue in office, the Venezuelan Constitution says that a new election should be held within 30 days.
--more--"
They really want to have that election, huh?
"Opposition demands Hugo Chavez details" by Ian James | Associated Press, January 03, 2013
They really want to have that election, huh?
"Opposition demands Hugo Chavez details" by Ian James | Associated Press, January 03, 2013
CARACAS — Venezuela’s opposition demanded that the government reveal specifics of President Hugo Chavez’s condition Wednesday, criticizing secrecy surrounding the ailing leader’s health more than three weeks after his cancer surgery in Cuba.
The opposition coalition leader, Ramon Guillermo Aveledo, said at a news conference that the information provided by government officials ‘‘continues to be insufficient.’’
Chavez has not been seen or heard from since the Dec. 11 operation, and on Tuesday Vice President Nicolas Maduro said the president’s condition remained ‘‘delicate’’ because of complications from a respiratory infection. Maduro also urged Venezuelans to ignore rumors about Chavez’s condition.
Aveledo said the opposition has been respectful during Chavez’s illness, arguing that ‘‘the secrecy is the source of the rumors.’’
‘‘They should tell the truth,’’ Aveledo said, noting that Maduro had pledged to provide full reports about Chavez’s condition. He reiterated the opposition’s call for the government to release a medical report and said all indications are that Chavez will not be able to be sworn in to begin a new term on Jan. 10.
If Chavez cannot take office on that date, Aveledo said the constitution is clear that the National Assembly president should then take over until an election is held. He said what happens next in Venezuela should be guided by ‘‘the truth and the constitution.’’
If Chavez dies or is unable to continue in office, the constitution says an election should be held within 30 days.
With rumors swirling that Chavez had taken a turn for the worse, Maduro said on Tuesday that he had met with the president twice, had spoken with him and would return to Caracas on Wednesday.
‘‘He’s totally conscious of the complexity of his post-operative state and he expressly asked us ... to keep the nation informed always, always with the truth, as hard as it may be in certain circumstances,’’ Maduro said in the interview in Havana that was broadcast Tuesday night by the Caracas-based television network Telesur.
I told you he was a special leader and man.
Related: "We lost a true hero and man of the people yesterday."
I'm not alone.
I told you he was a special leader and man.
Related: "We lost a true hero and man of the people yesterday."
I'm not alone.
Both supporters and opponents of Chavez have been on edge in the past week amid shifting signals from the government about the president’s health.
I can empathize.
Officials have reported a series of ups and downs in his recovery — the most recent, on Sunday, announcing that he faced the new complications from a respiratory infection.
Reads like an AmeriKan economic report.
I can empathize.
Officials have reported a series of ups and downs in his recovery — the most recent, on Sunday, announcing that he faced the new complications from a respiratory infection.
Reads like an AmeriKan economic report.
In Washington, the State Department said procedures under the Venezuelan Constitution should be followed if Chavez is no longer able to carry out his duties as president.
So when are you guys going to start following your own?
So when are you guys going to start following your own?
--more--"
"Venezuela’s stability may be at risk with Chavez’s absence; Allies, opponents accuse each other of plotting coup" by Jose Orozco | Bloomberg News, January 08, 2013
CARACAS — Venezuela is heading toward a constitutional crisis as allies of Hugo Chavez and the opposition accuse each other of using the socialist president’s battle with cancer to plot a coup....
Well, ONLY ONE SIDE can do that -- and it is NOT the side that WON ELECTIONS!
Well, ONLY ONE SIDE can do that -- and it is NOT the side that WON ELECTIONS!
The Supreme Court is controlled by the government and will almost certainly rule that Chavez can continue in power even if he can’t be sworn in because of ill health, said Diego Moya- Ocampos, a Venezuelan political analyst at IHS Global Insight in London.
Not now.
Not now.
Such a move could be considered an ‘‘institutional coup’’ and may generate instability within factions of Venezuela’s armed forces and the government, he said.
Mine's been taken over by Zionist Jews.
‘‘We’re going to see a breach of the constitutional order and an institutional coup where state institutions are used to undermine the democratic order,’’ Moya-Ocampos, a former chief secretary to the Venezuelan attorney general’s office, said in a phone interview from London. ‘‘Venezuela’s armed forces act as a form of constitutional police. If such a blatant breach of the constitutional order takes place, it would create behind-the- scenes tensions.’’
That's AmeriKa!
Mine's been taken over by Zionist Jews.
‘‘We’re going to see a breach of the constitutional order and an institutional coup where state institutions are used to undermine the democratic order,’’ Moya-Ocampos, a former chief secretary to the Venezuelan attorney general’s office, said in a phone interview from London. ‘‘Venezuela’s armed forces act as a form of constitutional police. If such a blatant breach of the constitutional order takes place, it would create behind-the- scenes tensions.’’
That's AmeriKa!
Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Venezuela also are warning that the country’s stability is at risk due to the tensions surrounding Chavez’s health, the Associated Press reported.
Officials of the Venezuelan Bishops Conference said they feared a potentially dangerous and violent situation. ‘‘The nation’s political and social stability is at serious risk,’’ said Bishop Diego Padron, the president of the conference.
That's one way if rigged elections fail.
That's one way if rigged elections fail.
The leaders also criticized the government for failing to provide more details about Chavez’s condition nearly a month after his operation.
Chavez, 58, is experiencing a ‘‘severe’’ respiratory infection that is making it hard for him to breathe after undergoing his fourth surgery in 18 months, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said earlier this month.
Maduro said last week that opponents of Chavez are distorting the constitution by saying that he must show up for the Jan. 10 swearing-in ceremony or be declared ineligible to govern.
That criticism was echoed by Attorney General Cilia Flores, who said Sunday that the former paratrooper’s landslide election victory holds sway over the Jan. 10 inauguration date.
‘‘The important and determinant date here is Oct. 7 in which the people expressed their sovereignty and that has to be respected,’’ Flores said in an interview with Telesur network. ‘‘We have a president that’s been reelected and holds the office. He already has the presidential sash and the symbols of power.’’
Chavez will still be recovering in Cuba from his operation on Jan. 10, said Flores, who is also Maduro’s partner....
--more--"
Judge OK’s Chavez swearing-in delay
"Chavez misses his inauguration; Thousands gather despite absence of Venezuela leader" by Ian James and Christopher Toothaker | Associated Press, January 11, 2013
"Chavez misses his inauguration; Thousands gather despite absence of Venezuela leader" by Ian James and Christopher Toothaker | Associated Press, January 11, 2013
CARACAS — Nothing shows the extent of Hugo Chavez’s grip on power quite as clearly as his absence from his own inauguration Thursday.
Venezuela gathered foreign allies and tens of thousands of exuberant supporters to celebrate a new term for a leader too ill to return home for a real swearing-in.
In many ways, it looked like the sort of rally the president has staged dozens of times throughout his 14 years in power: The leader’s face beamed from shirts, signs, and banners. Adoring followers danced and chanted in the streets to music blaring from speakers mounted on trucks. Nearly everyone wore red, the color of his Bolivarian Revolution movement, as the crowd spilled from the main avenue onto side streets.
But this time, there was no Chavez on the balcony of Miraflores Palace.
It was the first time in Venezuela’s history that a president has missed his inauguration, said Elias Pino Iturrieta, a prominent historian.
‘‘Perhaps it’s the first chapter of what they call Chavismo without Chavez,’’ Pino said.
Yet in the crowd outside the presidential palace, many insisted that Chavez was still present in their hearts, testifying to his success in forging a tight bond of identity with millions of poor Venezuelans.
The crowd chanted: ‘‘We are all Chavez!’’
Some wore paper cutouts of the yellow, blue, and red presidential sash to show they were symbolically swearing in themselves in, in Chavez’s place.
Those in the crowd raised their hands and repeated an oath after Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Chavez’s designated successor: ‘‘I swear by the Bolivarian Constitution that I will defend the presidency of commander Chavez in the street, with reason, with the truth!’’
An anti-coup crowd!
An anti-coup crowd!
************************
The Venezuelan leader, normally at the center of national attention, is so ill following a fourth cancer surgery in Cuba that he has made no broadcast statement in more than a month and has not appeared in a single photo. Officials have not specified what sort of cancer he has or which hospital is treating him.
Yet the opposition, limping off of two recent electoral defeats, seems powerless to effectively challenge him, and critics see its impotence in the battle over his new inauguration as an example of how the president and his allies have, both previously and now, bent the country’s democratic system to suit their purposes....
Seems familiar to me for some reason.
Seems familiar to me for some reason.
--more--"
Photos of Hugo Chavez shown after 2-month absence
The images and new details filled a vacuum of information about Chavez’s condition that has spurred rampant speculation in Venezuela.
Chavez fights for his life, official says
"Venezuela says Chavez receiving chemotherapy" by Fabiola Sanchez | Associated Press, March 03, 2013
CARACAS — ‘‘We’ll see how they explain to the country in the [coming] days all the lies they’ve been telling about the president’s situation,’’ opposition leader Henrique Capriles, whom Chavez defeated in Oct. 7 elections, said in a tweet.
No small bit of irony that it is a Holohoax™ survivor's grandson that is saying that.
Chavez has not been seen nor heard from since going to Cuba for his fourth cancer surgery, except for a set of ‘‘proof of life’’ photos released Feb. 15 while he was still in Havana....
The government has sent mixed signals on Chavez’s condition, although Vice President Nicolas Maduro has said several times that Chavez was battling for his life....
What's so confusing?
Cancer specialists couldn’t be reached immediately for comment on Maduro’s announcement. But oncologists have said that chemotherapy is sometimes given to slow a cancer’s progression, ease symptoms, and extend a patient’s life.
And it can also destroy healthy cells as well as the cancerous ones. That's why you see so many herbal alternatives to the sickening radiation treatments (and then they want to deny you pot for pain and appetite!).
As a palliative treatment, chemotherapy can slow the growth of a tumor that is causing a patient pain, for example.
The opposition says Chavez should be sworn in for the new term he won in the election or declare himself incapable and call a new election. The constitution says he should have been sworn in on Jan. 10, but Venezuela’s Supreme Court said it was OK to wait.
Earlier Friday, Maduro accused the Spanish newspaper ABC and Colombia’s Caracol network of spreading lies about Chavez’s condition.
Isn't that why agenda-pushing newspapers exist?
--more--"
Related: Chavez: Another CIA assassination victim?
Now you can have your damn elections.
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"Chavez’s populist machine honors his legacy" by Emilia Diaz and Juan Forero | Washington Post, March 07, 2013
CARACAS — A day after Hugo Chavez’s death, the populist government that was built around his outsized persona began to pay homage on Wednesday as Venezuelans wondered what would come next after his 14 years in office.
The body of the president, who was 58 and had been battling cancer for about two years, was taken to the Venezuelan Military Academy here in the capital to lie in state for three days. The funeral will take place Friday with dignitaries from across the world in attendance.
The government’s vast state television apparatus played Chavez’s speeches and ran footage of him hugging his followers, while government newspapers pledged that even in death he remained the guiding light of this country of 29 million people.
We call them cable news networks here.
‘‘Chavez hasn’t died,’’ said a headline in Vea, a leading state newspaper. ‘‘The commander president lives in the Bolivarian Revolution.’’
It is as I said: the Venezuelan people are not going back as much as the globe-kickers would like.
The Bolivarian Revolution was what Chavez called Venezuela’s socialist movement, in honor of his idol, 19th century Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar.
The funeral procession began in the late morning, with a coffin draped in Venezuela’s flag transported slowly from the hospital where Chavez spent his last days to the military academy where Chavez began adulthood. People dressed in black wailed in grief as the procession passed by.
As mourners took to the streets for a second day, the message many of them repeated was that they would continue to follow Chavez’s path — to ensure that Venezuela remained a socialist state.
A coup couldn't get rid of him, and killing him won't work, either. You can't kill ideas.
His followers remained keenly aware that their leader, in his last speech on Dec. 8, directed Venezuelans to vote for Vice President Nicolas Maduro should his presidency be cut short....
And any other winner will scream rig job.
Outside the hospital, where groups of Chavists — as the late president’s followers call themselves —had gathered for vigils, Marlenis Vanegar, 75, said she prayed for Chavez to recover.
‘‘He left a legacy for us,’’ she said. ‘‘He awoke a people. Don’t anyone think that this revolution will now be lost. We will continue with the candidate that he left for us.’’
The death of the leader seemed, at least for the moment, to bring a sense of calm to Venezuela as the volume was turned down on the political vitriol from government officials and Chavez’s opponents that had characterized the political discourse in recent days....
Still, in a tense political environment much of the country was talking about what would come after Chavez’s death.
I know my agenda-pu$hing paper is looking forward.
--more--"
Nothing on the US military attaches attempting to organize a coup, huh?
Also see: Chavez death creates risk, opportunity
I'm always worried and suspicious when the agenda-pushing elite say tragedies represent opportunities.
The images and new details filled a vacuum of information about Chavez’s condition that has spurred rampant speculation in Venezuela.
Chavez fights for his life, official says
"Venezuela says Chavez receiving chemotherapy" by Fabiola Sanchez | Associated Press, March 03, 2013
CARACAS — ‘‘We’ll see how they explain to the country in the [coming] days all the lies they’ve been telling about the president’s situation,’’ opposition leader Henrique Capriles, whom Chavez defeated in Oct. 7 elections, said in a tweet.
No small bit of irony that it is a Holohoax™ survivor's grandson that is saying that.
Chavez has not been seen nor heard from since going to Cuba for his fourth cancer surgery, except for a set of ‘‘proof of life’’ photos released Feb. 15 while he was still in Havana....
The government has sent mixed signals on Chavez’s condition, although Vice President Nicolas Maduro has said several times that Chavez was battling for his life....
What's so confusing?
Cancer specialists couldn’t be reached immediately for comment on Maduro’s announcement. But oncologists have said that chemotherapy is sometimes given to slow a cancer’s progression, ease symptoms, and extend a patient’s life.
And it can also destroy healthy cells as well as the cancerous ones. That's why you see so many herbal alternatives to the sickening radiation treatments (and then they want to deny you pot for pain and appetite!).
As a palliative treatment, chemotherapy can slow the growth of a tumor that is causing a patient pain, for example.
The opposition says Chavez should be sworn in for the new term he won in the election or declare himself incapable and call a new election. The constitution says he should have been sworn in on Jan. 10, but Venezuela’s Supreme Court said it was OK to wait.
Earlier Friday, Maduro accused the Spanish newspaper ABC and Colombia’s Caracol network of spreading lies about Chavez’s condition.
Isn't that why agenda-pushing newspapers exist?
--more--"
Related: Chavez: Another CIA assassination victim?
Now you can have your damn elections.
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"Chavez’s populist machine honors his legacy" by Emilia Diaz and Juan Forero | Washington Post, March 07, 2013
CARACAS — A day after Hugo Chavez’s death, the populist government that was built around his outsized persona began to pay homage on Wednesday as Venezuelans wondered what would come next after his 14 years in office.
The body of the president, who was 58 and had been battling cancer for about two years, was taken to the Venezuelan Military Academy here in the capital to lie in state for three days. The funeral will take place Friday with dignitaries from across the world in attendance.
The government’s vast state television apparatus played Chavez’s speeches and ran footage of him hugging his followers, while government newspapers pledged that even in death he remained the guiding light of this country of 29 million people.
We call them cable news networks here.
‘‘Chavez hasn’t died,’’ said a headline in Vea, a leading state newspaper. ‘‘The commander president lives in the Bolivarian Revolution.’’
It is as I said: the Venezuelan people are not going back as much as the globe-kickers would like.
The Bolivarian Revolution was what Chavez called Venezuela’s socialist movement, in honor of his idol, 19th century Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar.
The funeral procession began in the late morning, with a coffin draped in Venezuela’s flag transported slowly from the hospital where Chavez spent his last days to the military academy where Chavez began adulthood. People dressed in black wailed in grief as the procession passed by.
As mourners took to the streets for a second day, the message many of them repeated was that they would continue to follow Chavez’s path — to ensure that Venezuela remained a socialist state.
A coup couldn't get rid of him, and killing him won't work, either. You can't kill ideas.
His followers remained keenly aware that their leader, in his last speech on Dec. 8, directed Venezuelans to vote for Vice President Nicolas Maduro should his presidency be cut short....
And any other winner will scream rig job.
Outside the hospital, where groups of Chavists — as the late president’s followers call themselves —had gathered for vigils, Marlenis Vanegar, 75, said she prayed for Chavez to recover.
‘‘He left a legacy for us,’’ she said. ‘‘He awoke a people. Don’t anyone think that this revolution will now be lost. We will continue with the candidate that he left for us.’’
The death of the leader seemed, at least for the moment, to bring a sense of calm to Venezuela as the volume was turned down on the political vitriol from government officials and Chavez’s opponents that had characterized the political discourse in recent days....
Still, in a tense political environment much of the country was talking about what would come after Chavez’s death.
I know my agenda-pu$hing paper is looking forward.
--more--"
Nothing on the US military attaches attempting to organize a coup, huh?
Also see: Chavez death creates risk, opportunity
I'm always worried and suspicious when the agenda-pushing elite say tragedies represent opportunities.
