"Venezuelans face long trips to vote" Associated Press, October 01, 2012
MIAMI — President Hugo Chavez is in a closely fought race with opposition candidate Henrique Capriles. A recent poll by the firm Consultores 21 put the candidates running roughly even in Venezuela, with 46.5 percent saying they would vote for Capriles and nearly 46 percent saying they would vote for Chavez.
Please remember this agenda-pushing poll cited by the agenda-pushing paper for later. They have the opposition winning, huh?
Please remember this agenda-pushing poll cited by the agenda-pushing paper for later. They have the opposition winning, huh?
Chavez, who is seeking another six-year term, gave a television interview Sunday in which he also weighed in on the US presidential race. Although he has been a strident critic of the United States, Chavez said he would vote for President Obama if he were a US voter, calling him “a good guy.’’
I don't know if he'd want that endorsement.
--more--"
"Venezuela election a test for Chavez, movement" by Ian James | Associated Press, October 05, 2012
CARACAS — For 14 years, Hugo Chavez has charmed them, inspired them, and made them believe he is nothing short of their savior.
‘‘Chavistas’’ are the lifeblood of the Venezuelan leader’s leftist movement, and as he runs for reelection on Sunday, the question is whether Chavez still has enough popular appeal to stave off the toughest challenge of his presidency from youthful rival Henrique Capriles. It is a historic test for Latin America’s most outspoken and divisive leader — and for his ‘‘Chavismo’’ movement.
His loyalists have been filling streets all over the country wearing red T-shirts with the slogan ‘‘Chavez isn’t going away!’’ They cruise in caravans of motorcycles with posters of a smiling Chavez plastered to the handlebars. At campaign rallies, admirers hand him letters and women scream: ‘‘Chavez, I love you!’’
For many in the crowds, ‘‘El Comandante’’ is the country’s first president to come from humble beginnings and genuinely care about the poor. They are thankful to the former paratrooper for building public housing, expanding free universities, and setting up affordable state-run grocery stores.
Kengly Sanabria, a pregnant 21-year-old student, cheered at one rally in the town of Guarenas and showed off a message written on her bulging belly: ‘‘With Chavez, I’ll be secure.’’
‘‘I support Chavez to ensure my son’s future,’’ said Sanabria, who studies for free at a public university and says her family never could have afforded tuition. She shops at a government food store, gets checkups at a subsidized clinic, and is applying for public housing.
Some recent polls show Chavez with a lead of about 10 percentage points over Capriles, while others put the two candidates roughly even.
Zoomed up in four days, huh? Or was the poll cited four days earlier just another piece of agenda-pushing sh.... sigh.
Violent crime, 18-percent inflation, and accusations of government corruption and ineffectiveness have taken a political toll on Chavez, and the election will reveal how many remain loyal despite it all — and whether he still has his popular touch.
No wonder the American people despise their government at this point.
Thousands of his supporters and government employees filled Caracas’s streets on Thursday for his final rally, blowing horns and waving flags while his campaign jingle blared from speakers: ‘‘Chavez, heart of the people!’’
At each stop, Chavez has trumpeted his ‘‘socialism for the 21st century’’ and emphasized that only his movement can guarantee stability and benefits for the poor and working class. Then Chavez reaches for the grand finale. Only he can protect the gains, he says, because he is Venezuela itself and its people.
Oh, now he is some sort of Emperor Palpatine?
Judging by the reaction from Chavistas, that message has won him lasting loyalty.
Which is something my government and mouthpiece media have lost.
--more--"
I don't know if he'd want that endorsement.
--more--"
"Venezuela election a test for Chavez, movement" by Ian James | Associated Press, October 05, 2012
CARACAS — For 14 years, Hugo Chavez has charmed them, inspired them, and made them believe he is nothing short of their savior.
‘‘Chavistas’’ are the lifeblood of the Venezuelan leader’s leftist movement, and as he runs for reelection on Sunday, the question is whether Chavez still has enough popular appeal to stave off the toughest challenge of his presidency from youthful rival Henrique Capriles. It is a historic test for Latin America’s most outspoken and divisive leader — and for his ‘‘Chavismo’’ movement.
His loyalists have been filling streets all over the country wearing red T-shirts with the slogan ‘‘Chavez isn’t going away!’’ They cruise in caravans of motorcycles with posters of a smiling Chavez plastered to the handlebars. At campaign rallies, admirers hand him letters and women scream: ‘‘Chavez, I love you!’’
For many in the crowds, ‘‘El Comandante’’ is the country’s first president to come from humble beginnings and genuinely care about the poor. They are thankful to the former paratrooper for building public housing, expanding free universities, and setting up affordable state-run grocery stores.
Kengly Sanabria, a pregnant 21-year-old student, cheered at one rally in the town of Guarenas and showed off a message written on her bulging belly: ‘‘With Chavez, I’ll be secure.’’
‘‘I support Chavez to ensure my son’s future,’’ said Sanabria, who studies for free at a public university and says her family never could have afforded tuition. She shops at a government food store, gets checkups at a subsidized clinic, and is applying for public housing.
Some recent polls show Chavez with a lead of about 10 percentage points over Capriles, while others put the two candidates roughly even.
Zoomed up in four days, huh? Or was the poll cited four days earlier just another piece of agenda-pushing sh.... sigh.
Violent crime, 18-percent inflation, and accusations of government corruption and ineffectiveness have taken a political toll on Chavez, and the election will reveal how many remain loyal despite it all — and whether he still has his popular touch.
No wonder the American people despise their government at this point.
Thousands of his supporters and government employees filled Caracas’s streets on Thursday for his final rally, blowing horns and waving flags while his campaign jingle blared from speakers: ‘‘Chavez, heart of the people!’’
At each stop, Chavez has trumpeted his ‘‘socialism for the 21st century’’ and emphasized that only his movement can guarantee stability and benefits for the poor and working class. Then Chavez reaches for the grand finale. Only he can protect the gains, he says, because he is Venezuela itself and its people.
Oh, now he is some sort of Emperor Palpatine?
Judging by the reaction from Chavistas, that message has won him lasting loyalty.
Which is something my government and mouthpiece media have lost.
--more--"
Related: Chavez wins new term in Venezuela
By how much?
"Hugo Chavez has much to tackle in Venezuela; Crime, inflation afflict the country" by Frank Bajak | Associated Press, October 09, 2012
By how much?
"Hugo Chavez has much to tackle in Venezuela; Crime, inflation afflict the country" by Frank Bajak | Associated Press, October 09, 2012
CARACAS — Venezuelans awakened on Monday to the prospect of another six years under President Hugo Chavez, as the leftist president’s supporters celebrated his victory against a youthful rival and a galvanized opposition pledged to build on its gains.
Sadly, no. It only lasted four months.
Chavez emerged from Sunday’s vote both strengthened and sobered, having reconfirmed his masterly political touch but also winning by his tightest margin yet. Challenger Henrique Capriles, conceding defeat, said that his campaign had launched a new political force and that he would keep working for change.
The 58-year-old president now has a freer hand to push for an even bigger state role in the economy and deepen friendships with US rivals. Meanwhile, he is under pressure to address nuts-and-bolts governance issues such as soaring crime rates, power blackouts, and double-digit inflation.
With a turnout of 81 percent, Chavez only got 551,902 more votes this time around than he did six years ago, while the opposition boosted its tally by about 2.1 million. Chavez appeared to acknowledge the opposition’s growing clout during a boisterous victory speech late Sunday night.
The mixed messages were as bad as Venezuelan health updates on Chavez.
‘‘I extend from here my recognition of all who voted against us, recognition of their democratic weight,’’ he told thousands of cheering supporters from a balcony of the presidential palace after midnight.
Capriles, a former state governor, had accused the flamboyant incumbent of unfairly using Venezuela’s oil wealth to finance his campaign as well as flaunting his near-total control of state institutions.
Still, he accepted defeat as Chavez swept to a 10-point victory margin....
Sadly, no. It only lasted four months.
Chavez emerged from Sunday’s vote both strengthened and sobered, having reconfirmed his masterly political touch but also winning by his tightest margin yet. Challenger Henrique Capriles, conceding defeat, said that his campaign had launched a new political force and that he would keep working for change.
The 58-year-old president now has a freer hand to push for an even bigger state role in the economy and deepen friendships with US rivals. Meanwhile, he is under pressure to address nuts-and-bolts governance issues such as soaring crime rates, power blackouts, and double-digit inflation.
With a turnout of 81 percent, Chavez only got 551,902 more votes this time around than he did six years ago, while the opposition boosted its tally by about 2.1 million. Chavez appeared to acknowledge the opposition’s growing clout during a boisterous victory speech late Sunday night.
The mixed messages were as bad as Venezuelan health updates on Chavez.
‘‘I extend from here my recognition of all who voted against us, recognition of their democratic weight,’’ he told thousands of cheering supporters from a balcony of the presidential palace after midnight.
Capriles, a former state governor, had accused the flamboyant incumbent of unfairly using Venezuela’s oil wealth to finance his campaign as well as flaunting his near-total control of state institutions.
Still, he accepted defeat as Chavez swept to a 10-point victory margin....
With the largest proven oil reserves in the world, Venezuela....
Is DAMN IMPORTANT to the AmeriKan empire!
It looks like a damn AmeriKan election.
But Shifter also noted the affinity and gratefulness Venezuela’s poor feel for Chavez. ‘‘Despite his illness, I still think he retains a strong emotional connection with a lot of Venezuelans that I think were not prepared to vote against him.’’
Perhaps the top question facing Chavez is whether he has truly beaten cancer, after having two rounds of surgery since June 2011 to remove tumors from his pelvic region as well as chemotherapy and radiation treatment. He has said his most recent tests showed no sign of illness.
Venezuela would have to hold a new election if Chavez were forced to step down during the first years of his term.
Now I'm worried about another rig job.
Without referring to his cancer, Chavez said in his victory speech: ‘‘I ask God to give me life and health to keep serving the Venezuelan people, more and better every day!’’
Both sides now turn to regional elections scheduled for December, in which Venezuelans will choose state and municipal leaders.
That will also be a barometer of support for Chavez and the movement.
While fireworks exploded over downtown Caracas, Chavez supporters said Sunday night they were prepared to turn back local victories scored by the opposition in recent years.
‘‘It’s time now to sweep away the squalid ones,’’ said Ignacio Gonzalez, using a description of the opposition Chavez employed during campaigning. The 25-year-old student wore a red shirt that wedded the images of Chavez, Jesus Christ, and South American independence hero Simon Bolivar.
‘‘It’s time to get them out of governor’s and mayor’s offices,’’ he said. ‘‘The next battle is in December.’’
Opponents pointed out that they had posed the strongest challenge yet to Chavez, who won by a 27-point margin in 2006 and by 16 points when he was first elected in 1998.
‘‘I will continue working to build one country,’’ said Capriles, the 40-year-old grandson of Holocaust survivors, in his concession speech. He said he rejected the idea of two Venezuelas divided by ideology and class and asked Chavez to rule for all Venezuelans.
He's the main opposition?
A Capriles victory would have brought a radical foreign policy shift, including a halt to preferential oil deals with allies such as Cuba, along with a loosening of state economic controls and an increase in private investment.
Yeah, I'll bet it would have brought a shift.
--more--"
And now those regional elections:
"With Chavez stricken, Venezuelan elections gain importance" by Fabiola Sanchez | Associated Press, December 16, 2012
CARACAS — Hugo Chavez’s cancer has upended politics in Venezuela, transforming Sunday’s nationwide elections for state governors and legislators into a test of his legacy that could chart the country’s future in the uncertain months ahead.
For the first time in his nearly 14 years in power, the charismatic, voluble Venezuelan president has been unable to actively participate in such a cam paign.
The question now hovering over the vote: Will his illness help or hurt the ruling apparatus he has built almost singlehandedly?
If Chavez’s camp can maintain dominance in the country’s 23 governorships, all but eight of which it holds, it can forge ahead with plans to solidify his ‘‘socialist revolution’’ by fortifying grass-roots citizen councils that are directly funded by the central government.
Looks like democracy to me.
Looks like democracy to me.
Chavez’s backers have framed the election as a referendum on his legacy, angling for the sympathy vote.
For the opposition, the elections are apt to determine the fate of its leadership. The most pivotal race involves Henrique Capriles, who gave Chavez his stiffest challenge yet in the Oct. 7 presidential election by winning 44 percent of the votes.
If Capriles, 40, can win reelection as governor of Miranda state, the grandson of a Polish Holocaust survivor would be the opposition’s most likely choice in the event of a presidential election that would need to be called within 30 days if Chavez died.
And here we are.
And here we are.
Chavez has virtually monopolized power in his person, painting much of the country red, the color of his leftist movement, as he nationalized key industries and expropriated private land.
Oh, did he bail out his banks and auto companies and seize property by eminent domain like the AmeriKan government?
Oh, did he bail out his banks and auto companies and seize property by eminent domain like the AmeriKan government?
The man he designated to succeed him before flying to Cuba last Sunday for cancer surgery, Vice President Nicolas Maduro, is a political lightweight by comparison.
Uh-oh.
Uh-oh.
Another key race is in Zulia state, Venezuela’s most populous, where opposition Governor Pablo Perez is running for reelection.
David Smilde, an analyst for the Washington Office on Latin America think tank, believes Capriles will hold on to Miranda’s governorship. But he expects an unusually high turnout Sunday that he believes will favor the Chavistas, even among voters fed up with high-level orruption in the Chavez government.
‘‘It is now about Chavez and his legacy,’’ said Smilde. ‘‘And there is a lot of sympathy.’’
Smilde said the woman who cleans his Caracas apartment complains about Chavez but, after news suggesting his cancer was incurable, ‘‘she was talking to me with her eyes moist about Chavez and how she’s going to vote for Elias Jaua, and that kind of surprised me and I tend to think it’s not isolated.’’
Gladys Espinal, who recently completed studies at the free, state-run Bolivarian University to be a schoolteacher, was also voting for Jaua.
‘‘The (electoral) map is going to be filled with red because that’s the best gift we can give our president,’’ she said in a downtown Caracas bakery.
Chavez, 58, underwent six hours of surgery in Havana on Tuesday that government officials said involved bleeding, which was stanched, and would mean a difficult recovery.
Now we know there won't be one.
Now we know there won't be one.
--more--"
Related: Hugo Chavez allies top governors’ races
"With Chavez health in question, allies vote to keep Assembly chief" by Fabiloa Sanchez and Ian James | Associated Press, January 06, 2013
"With Chavez health in question, allies vote to keep Assembly chief" by Fabiloa Sanchez and Ian James | Associated Press, January 06, 2013
CARACAS — Allies of President Hugo Chavez on Saturday chose to keep the same National Assembly president — a man who could be in line to step in as a caretaker leader of Venezuela in some circumstances.
Diosdado Cabello was retained as legislative leader in a vote by a show of hands. Chavez’s allies hold a majority of the 165 congressional seats.
Just five days remain until Chavez’s scheduled inauguration on Thursday, and government officials are suggesting the swearing-in could be delayed as the president fights a severe respiratory infection after cancer surgery in Cuba.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday night that Chavez could take the oath of office for his next term before the Supreme Court at a later date if he isn’t fit to be sworn in next week. His comments sent the strongest signal yet that the government may seek to postpone the 58-year-old president’s inauguration for a new term more than three weeks after he underwent cancer surgery in Cuba.
Maduro’s statement in a televised interview generated new friction between the government and opposition, which argues that according to the constitution, the inauguration should occur Thursday before the National Assembly. Opposition leaders have argued that if Chavez doesn’t make it back to Caracas by that date, the president of the National Assembly should take over as interim president.
Also see: Ex-Venezuelan official, Fidel Castro meet
Also see: Ex-Venezuelan official, Fidel Castro meet
That would be Cabello, a longtime Chavez ally who is widely considered to wield influence within the military.
If Chavez dies or is declared incapacitated, the constitution says that a new election should be called and held within 30 days, and Chavez has said Maduro should be the candidate.
I've noticed it almost seemed as if the AmeriKan press was hoping for such a thing as they eagerly awaited any news or announcement about the man.
There have been no public signs of friction between the vice president and Cabello, who have often appeared side by side during Chavez’s illness and have vowed to remain united.
Despite the best efforts of some(?) to divide them.
I've noticed it almost seemed as if the AmeriKan press was hoping for such a thing as they eagerly awaited any news or announcement about the man.
There have been no public signs of friction between the vice president and Cabello, who have often appeared side by side during Chavez’s illness and have vowed to remain united.
Despite the best efforts of some(?) to divide them.
Maduro and other Cabinet ministers attended the session, and Cabello reiterated that there is no basis to rumors of divisions between him and the vice president....
Cabello’s selection quashed speculation about possible political reshuffling in the midst of Chavez’s health crisis, pointing instead to an effort for continuity and stability within the party leadership....
The opposition had called for an inclusive leadership to encourage dialogue, but Chavez’s party did not include any opposition lawmakers among the congressional leaders....
Looks like Democrat and Republican partisanship to me, so what's the big deal?
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Must be a big deal to see this word in print:
Hugo Chavez loyalists warn off opposition
Top government officials are threatening to take action against opposition governors and issuing dark warnings about conspiracies against the government of President Hugo Chavez, who is ailing and remains incommunicado in Cuba. Vladimir Villegas, a former ambassador now critical of the government, said that in Chavez’s absence, Maduro and others were using the clash with the opposition to promote unity among their followers. ‘‘They can’t live without an enemy,’’ Villegas said. ‘‘The confrontation with the opposition holds them together.’’
Hugo Chavez loyalists warn off opposition
Top government officials are threatening to take action against opposition governors and issuing dark warnings about conspiracies against the government of President Hugo Chavez, who is ailing and remains incommunicado in Cuba. Vladimir Villegas, a former ambassador now critical of the government, said that in Chavez’s absence, Maduro and others were using the clash with the opposition to promote unity among their followers. ‘‘They can’t live without an enemy,’’ Villegas said. ‘‘The confrontation with the opposition holds them together.’’
Such agenda-pushing propaganda and crap but understandable when you consider the source.
