Venezuela, More Deadly Than Iraq, Wonders Why

[groovedaddy]

CARACAS, Venezuela — Some here joke that they might be safer if they lived in Baghdad. The numbers bear them out.

In Iraq, a country with about the same population as Venezuela, there were 4,644 civilian deaths from violence in 2009, according to Iraq Body Count; in Venezuela that year, the number of murders climbed above 16,000.

Even Mexico’s infamous drug war has claimed fewer lives.

Venezuelans have absorbed such grim statistics for years. Those with means have hidden their homes behind walls and hired foreign security experts to advise them on how to avoid kidnappings and killings. And rich and poor alike have resigned themselves to living with a murder rate that the opposition says remains low on the list of the government’s priorities.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/world/americas/23venez.html?th&emc=th

[era veteran]

1. I saw this earlier and figured there would be more posting

on this. A dangerous place. "Even Mexico’s infamous drug war has claimed fewer lives." Horrible .. Hard to imagine but this is a fact not much discussed. Not the first year it is the Murder Capital of the World.

[ret5hd]

2. hmmm...

We have at least two sizable reasons to be suspicious of the media in this regard. To begin with the crime wave described in Venezuela is actually all over Latin America. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Latin America has the highest level of youth homicide of all regions in the world, with El Salvador and Puerto Rico singled out for special mention. Why isn’t there similar vituperation about these countries? In neighbouring Colombia an average of 12 people a day have been killed or disappeared in conflict related violence since 2002. Furthermore a significant proportion of these killings have been shared between the Colombian army and the paramilitary groups closely allied to them. The second reason to be suspicious is that while crime is high in Venezuela, it has been high for a very long time. Why the deluge of articles now? Why not ten, fifteen, twenty or even thirty years ago? Why aren’t the former presidencies of Rafael Caldera, Jaime Lusinchi or Luis Herrera Capins also tarnished by criminally high crime rates?

The media’s selectivity on this issue is partially explicable in the context of a much broader campaign to delegitimise Chávez. In the US in particular, media interest in Venezuela is commensurate with the level of importance of Venezuela to US elites. Not only is Venezuela situated in the US’s backyard, but it is also one of the world’s largest exporters of oil. However Chávez has been a thorn in the side of the US government ever since he openly criticised the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

(MORE)

http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/5578

[fascisthunter]

3. the answer is obvious... there is an agenda to smear democratic socialism

which Chavez has implemented. Objective: highlight anything negative and roll with it.

[cowman]

4. Your solution

smear anyone who posts negative articles about Chavez or Venezuela

[COLGATE4]

5. Absolutelyy correct.

Crime (and the homicide rate in particular) was much lower in Venezuela before Chavez. Comparing its burgeoning rate to countries like Colombia and Puerto Rico is apples and oranges - Colombia has been in the throes of a virtual civil war since 1948 rising to a climax in the Pablo Escobar days. Now, homicide has come down, although still way too prevalent. Puerto Rico also has its own particular set of problems, again mostly linked to narco-trafficking. We're talking specifically about Venezuela here and the conditions that Fearless Leader's people live under daily. (For those doubters, take a trip and stroll around Caracas, particularly after dark...)

[cowman]

7. What I can't figure out

is where are the small cadre of Chavez apologists that usually run to his defense and blast anyone with a different opinion of him. Maybe because they can't defend this honestly? Just saying.

[COLGATE4]

8. Yeah, all you hear are crickets chirping.....

[fascisthunter]

13. I have that one on ignore for a good reason... chirp, chirp

maybe you and your friend could learn something by reading Judi Lynn's article.

See, this is why I have no respect for knee-jerk detractors of democratic socialism and democratic socialists. The effort to malign both is pretty damn obvious. I usually don't waste time with people who choose to ignore information which is readily available to all of us on the internet... because they already made up their own minds. Others here do do the work so folks like you can't get away with spreading mistruth.

I once believed the right wing corporate slant on Chavez, but only for a brief time because then I did my own fact checking on the man, I found out they were lying and why they were lying; he's a threat to their economic ideology, a perverted form of capitalism. You fools follow lies yet never concede when proven wrong. Well, here's your chance... read the article down below.

Trying to pin this on Chavez alone is pretty pathetic and disingenuous. It's just as bad when right wing idiots place all the blame on Obama for the miserable economy we live in... it's goofey and old.

[TexanRudeBoy]

6. So your theory is

that they are killing each other in order to make talking points for right wingers?

[fascisthunter]

11. the news is skewed

especially in regard to democratic socialists and democratic socialism itself, but those who have an agenda will never ever dare to tackle this issue head on, because when people find out the truth, the debate will be over and democratic socialism will be more embraced than before.

[TexanRudeBoy]

15. ok...............

How does that change the numbers presented?

As far as debate being "over"....until someone, anyone can explain how any advanced economic activity can be accomplished without markets to relay prices, more importantly the price of capital?

[fascisthunter]

26. the numbers are similar to numbers around the world.

as for capital, ask the right leaning wealthy assholes who have targeted Venezuela ecomically to destroy Chavez and any form of success relating to democratic socialism and its safegaurds against crony capitalism. Our capitalistic-fascist system is nothing to envy

[TexanRudeBoy]

28. Nobody said it was something

to envy. I do think its funny that you admit we live in a fascist state(call it fascism, crony capitalism, mercantilism whatever you want but its FAR from capitalism). Mussolini would wet his pants at the level of control over the economy our government has and at the level of control coprorations have over regulation. I guess all the "failings of capitalism" aren't really the failings of capitalism huh? Jefferson and Madison expressly warned us about this exactly when debating the various mercantilist schemes Hamilton etal were trying to pass.


Anyways, so you can't explain how the complex capital accumulation required to service an advanced economy can occur absent markets to price capital.........Its ok. Nobody can. This is why Krugman etal never, ever, ever come anywhere near capital theory.

[dotymed]

49. Why is it that America

has the lowest crime rates, practically since the statistics began, yet we also have the highest incarceration rate in the world?
Is it because of our fair governmental policies? Because of our low unemployment? Maybe it's our tolerant attitude toward others?
I am just trying to understand this in conjunction with the Venezuelan statistics.

[Rebubula]

9. Yeah...

...that's the ticket.

God Bless Hugo!


:eyes:

[fascisthunter]

12. god has nothing to do with it

nor does your implication that Chavez can do no wrong. Try not to get too frustrated...

[JonBenet Ashcroft]

39. MIHOP

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Gladio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_of_tension

[Judi Lynn]

10. That's an excellent article. I have more which needs some consideration

also taken from this article, as it surely needs an airing here since our own corporate media wouldn't be caught dead dealing with the deeper reality:

~snip~
The trouble with this analysis is that it mirrors the media’s preoccupation with Chávez. Another consideration to take into account is the degree to which western correspondents are reliant on Venezuelan elites (with whom they have close political, economic and cultural affinity) in order to gather stories, opinion and analysis. Recognising this encourages us to consider more substantial changes within Venezuelan society, which may have triggered a corresponding shift in the western media’s reporting of the country.

One reason why crime in Venezuela has not been reported widely before is that a large portion of the crimes have historically been carried out by the State. In the years preceding Chávez’s election, human rights organisations were reporting a “massive number of arbitrary detentions produced through raids and security operations”, as well as “the persistence of extra-judicial executions by the police forces.” The report was referring explicitly to the presidency of Rafael Caldera, but was by no means an exception. In the 1980s the infamous Cantaura and Yumare massacres (1982 and 1986 respectively) were ultimately eclipsed by the Caracazo in 1989 in which as many as 3000 people were killed after the army was sent in to crush a popular protest.

This period of extrajudicial killings, massacres and police violence is what “the dominant stream of scholarship”1 describes as a period of stability in which Venezuela “developed into a model democracy for the hemisphere”2. The scholarship is referring to a period, between 1958 to 1998, when “democracy” was safely contained within a power sharing arrangement between the two main political parties (Acción Democrática and COPEI) known as Puntofijismo. This arrangement represented a centre right consensus that systematically excluded third parties and independents. In particular there was no place in this arrangement for a party representing the broad interests of Venezuela’s poor majority. It was natural under these circumstances that the state would resort to violence and murder to maintain the status quo.

More:
http://www.newleftproject.org/index.php/site/article_comments/crocodile_tears/
(Same article, different source.)

[fascisthunter]

14. amazing

[cowman]

16. I know Sir Hugo is not responsible

for the more than 16,000 murders in 2009 but why can't his Govt get a handle on it and why do you NEVER EVER critize the Chavez Govt.?

[txlibdem]

50. You speak the truth

Funny how we never hear anything good about Venezuela or Chavez from our corporate owned media. I wonder why.

[Prometheus Bound]

17. Still a lower murder rate than New Orleans and Gary, for what it's worth.

[Kringle]

18. when organizing a union, it helps to kill the leadership of the union ,,,

you are trying to replace

[Judi Lynn]

19. It would be useful if you posted your source for that insinuation Hugo Chavez has it in for unions.

That would attract a lot of readers. Be SURE to post it right where everyone can see it.

[Kringle]

20. try this link

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128930031&ft=1&f=1004

.........................................

my comment has nothing to do with H.C.

it is a statement of fact,

if you want to lead a union,
you have to kill your way to the top,

if your union wants to expand by organizing an
employer that it currently does not represent,
you have to kill off the incumbent union.

they don't just give it to you

[Judi Lynn]

23. Your source is the virulently anti-Chavez Washington Post's writer, Juan Forero.

People who watch Latin American events daily have been well acquinted with his name for years. I have an article which discusses your Juan Forero article. You really should take a deeper look at the information:

August 5, 2010
The Big Lie
Venezuela and Labor
By DANIEL KOVALIK

~snip~
Now enters Juan Forero in the Washington Post (and in a condensed piece for NPR), who, in a very misleading and many times self-contradictory story, is claiming that Venezuela should now be considered “the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists,” pushing Colombia out of the number one spot. This piece, which is getting a lot of attention, could not be better timed as far as policy-makers in the U.S. and Colombia are concerned. Thus, it came out just as Obama has announced a renewed interest in the Colombia Free Trade Agreement (despite his campaign pledge to oppose it based upon trade union considerations) as well as the recent attempt by Colombia to censure Venezuela at the OAS for allegedly harboring FARC guerillas on its territory.

In his July 15, 2010 Washington Post piece entitled, “Venezuelan union clashes are on the rise as Chavez fosters new unions at odds with older ones,” Forero first acknowledges the fact that Venezuela considers itself “the most labor-friendly government in Latin America,” having “repeatedly increased the minimum wage, turned over the management of some nationalized companies to workers and fostered the creation of new unions.” In regard to the latter, Forero explains later in his piece that there are now “4,000 new unions, up from 1,300 in 2001” – a fact supporting Venezuela’s claim of being labor friendly.

However, the meat of Forero’s piece is to say that there is a sinister side to all of this – the killing of unionists, albeit by rival unions . According to Forero, 75 unionists lost their lives in the past two years to such violence, 34 in the 12 months ending in May. Of course, in Colombia, 77 unionists have been killed in merely the past 1.5 years with 29 killed in the past 6 months, and this in the context of a country with much lower union density that Venezuela.

Still, Forero presses on, attempting to suggest that the killings in Venezuela are in fact politically motivated, and somehow the fault of the Chavez administration.

A close examination of Forero’s own piece, however, belies this claim. The most concrete example Forero gives of these “intra-union killings” is by way of an interview with Emilio Bastidas, a leader of the UNT, who talks of the murder of 8 union activists from the UNT in recent years. Bastidas himself is quoted in the story as saying that “We believe it is political to debilitate the UNT and cut us off from projecting ourselves.” While Forero explains that the UNT represents 80 unions, what he fails to tell the reader is that the UNT is a pro-Chavez union formed after the coup against Chavez in 2002. This is an incredible omission, for this obviously cuts against Forero’s premise that Chavez is somehow responsible for the violence. After all, why would Chavez want to interfere with the growth of a pro-Chavez labor federation?

More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/kovalik08052010.html

[ThomThom]

47. Sounds like what is going on there is similar to what is going on here.

The right is losing its hold and is fighting back, we just haven't gotten to the mass killings here yet. Beck can only hope his baggers take up arms but don't count them out. Weapons and ammo are being stored up.

[EFerrari]

33. So, Forero takes the violence spilling over the border from the country

where it really is deadly to be a trade unionist and blames it on Chavez?

That's about the most cynical pos I've read in long time.

[groovedaddy]

21. I have a few friends from Venezuela and neither are Chavez fans. Neither fall into the wealthy

category. One of them is very liberal in her politics, and she's a retired teacher. Her problem with Chavez is that many of her family and friends who signed petitions in opposition to certain policies lost their government jobs (i.e. teachers). She claims that many of these people are actually left leaning in their politics, but don't like some of the things Chavez has done, i.e. trying to make himself president for life.

The criticisms of mainstream U.S. media are certainly valid, i.e. the run up to the invasion and occupation of Iraq being a prime example.

I think Chavez has done good things to help the poor in Venezuela. But he is still a politician in a highly politicized environment.

[EFerrari]

32. "Like trying to make himself president for liife" ="Obama is a Muslin".

Same song, second verse. And Simon Romero is still a right wing hack posing as a "reporter".

[era veteran]

41. Jumping in

"President for life" = "dictator"!!! Wanted to clear that up. Remember, 'Cult of personality' = bad. Ta, off to work

[EFerrari]

46. Yes, that is the formula the propaganda is pushing

and it has very little to do with Venezuela.

[VioletLake]

22. "NYT Exploits Own Iraq Death Toll Denial to Trash Venezuela"

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/08/25-6

[Judi Lynn]

24. This is one great post, VioletLake! Just perfect for the occassion. Perfect.

Robert Naiman's ending to this very important message on perennial goddawful Simon Romero's article is so worth repeating:

Many may say "so what else is new" regarding the tendency of the Times to slant the news in the direction of a hawkish U.S. foreign policy. But the Times' influence on the US media is so great that the Times affects the thinking of many people who never read it. That's why it's important to call them to account.

Oh the press, the press
The freedom of the press
We must be free to say
Whatever's on our chest....
...For whichever side will pay the best!

- Marc Blitztein, "The Cradle Will Rock," 1936

Thank you so much for taking the time to run this down for DU'ers! It drives a lot of people nuts when people who know the truth take some time to respond to their maneuvers.

Here's a remark regarding Simon Romero from what has been a hilarious blog, BoRev, now on hiatus, unfortunately:

~snip~
As the media watchdog group FAIR pointed out, the New York Times' laziest little foreign correspondent doesn't even try to keep up appearances anymore. Last week he farted out two back-to-back stories about how by winning three-quarters of the elections last week, Chavez backers have 1) "taken a blow" and 2) "suffered a stinging defeat ." It's like an accurate reporting of events, only opposite.

http://www.borev.net/2008/12/simon_romero_is_so_full_of_shi.html

BoRev linked to a website, F.A.I.R. (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) for their report on Romero's coverage of the 2008 election in Venezuela:

NYT vs. Venezuela's Election Results
11/27/2008 by Isabel Macdonald
Anyone who followed the results of Venezuela's regional elections last Sunday will know that President Hugo Chavez's party won 17 out of 22 contests up for grabs, garnering 52.5 percent of the popular vote to the opposition's 41.1 percent. Unless, that is, they were relying on New York Times Latin America correspondent Simon Romero.

Despite a well-documented pattern of media misinformation about Chavez, many media outlets, including L.A. Times and CNN, conceded the fact of Chavez allies' victory in Sunday's races.

But not Romero!

Yesterday, the Times published an article by Romero titled, "Chavez Supporters Suffer Defeat in State and Regional Races."

The article's lede:

President Hugo Chávez’s supporters suffered a stinging defeat in several state and municipal races on Sunday, with the opposition retaining power in oil-rich Zulia, the country’s most populous state, and winning crucial races here in the capital.

Today, the Times ran a follow-up piece penned by Romero under the headline "Once Considered Invincible, Chavez Takes a Blow," as well as an editorial that argued that "In Sunday's state and municipal elections Venezuelans showed just how fed up they are with his government's authoritarianism and incompetence."

Over at Narco News, Al Giordano takes on Romero's peculiar alternate reality of Venezuela's vote:

Imagine if elections for all 50 state governors in the United States were held on a single election day and 74 percent of those seats (or 37 out of 50 governorships) went to one political party's candidates. Imagine also that the victorious party's candidates had won 52.5 percent of all votes to just 41 percent for the opposition (the technical definition of an electoral landslide is a victory of ten percentage points or more).

If a New York Times reporter--or any reporter--then wrote the story of the election results and called it a "stinging defeat" for the victorious party, wouldn't he be laughed off of his beat?

http://www.fair.org/blog/2008/11/27/nyt-v-venezuelas-election-results/

[VioletLake]

30. I learn a lot from you, Judi Lynn.

I appreciate your dedication.

A song I love, for you: True Blue, by Gary Louris

[Judi Lynn]

31. Once you stumble into a moment in which you suddenly see through the absolute void

which can happen in a very quiet burst of recognition, you'll reach a place from which you know you can never go back to your programmed way of seeing the world and people again.

It appears a lot of people have been reaching that point, starting to realize truths which work their way through the thick fog of misinformation to us.

I'm at the very beginning of this struggle out of the darkness, I don't know much, but I'm never going to turn back to embrace the heartless disrespect we are programmed to accept from childhood toward the rest of the world.

Thank you so much for your comment, and for sharing that completely unique song. Had to hear it again hours after the first time, and it's still as powerful. Amazing. I am so glad to have heard it.

[VioletLake]

37. Profound, and well said.

I don't know much either, but shhh ;)

I'm glad you liked the song. It was playing when I read your reply, and it made for a special moment of connectedness. :hug:

[amyrose2712]

43. Judy Lynn is AWESOME! nt

[Judi Lynn]

25. Kicking, for reads to your article. It's a good one. n/t

[fascisthunter]

27. once again news about Venezuela is proven to be less than truthful

[EFerrari]

34. Can you f#cking believe that? The cynicism of these people is unbelievable. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

29. Here's something we missed the first time around, you won't want to miss it now!

How The Associated Press (AP) Gutted Its Own Scoop On The Venezuelan Coup D'etat
By Jared Israel
www.emperors-clothes.com


Does the Western media deliberately distort the news to serve the interests of the foreign policy establishments of the NATO countries, especially the US?

Based on much research, Emperor's Clothes says: yes, but not entirely.

Journalists sometimes - perhaps often - write accurate pieces. However, when the issues are important, foreign policy stories get edited or replaced, with the end result supporting a slant which is so consistently in tune with the long-term goals of the US foreign policy elite that it is possible, by analyzing news stories, to predict positions which will be adopted by the US government.

That is partly how we made the predictions in the article, "Why Does Washington Want Afghanistan?" Alas, those predictions have proven true. (1)

Every day we test the above-stated thesis using the excellent Lexis search engine. It enables us to scan millions of newspaper articles and TV news transcripts in seconds. We can focus on particular dates or periods of time. We can check for the presence or absence of certain words or phrases. In this way, we can fashion an hypothesis and test it - see if we are right about the line being taken by most or all the media. Or we can just "go fishing" and see what we find.

On April 13th, the Associated Press published what is by far the best - indeed, from what I've seen, the only - mainstream article reporting the massive police terror against pro-Chavez Venezuelans after the recent coup d'etat. It was a scoop.

Below I have posted this dispatch, written by Christopher Toothaker.

Soon after AP sent out the Toothaker dispatch, they released a revised dispatch without Toothaker's account of police terror in poor neighborhoods. The new dispatch, by Andrew Selsky, retained only one thing from the original: the first part of an important paragraph was the same, but the second part was completely rewritten to reverse the meaning.

All the original material in the Toothaker dispatch was removed. AP gutted their scoop.

AP dispatches are sent out to news media "outlets" around the world. Thus by April 14th, most of the important newspapers and TV stations had received two very different AP dispatches. The first (Toothaker) was detailed and refuted the official line on what happened in Venezuela. The second (Selsky) was general and supported the official line.

This is as close to a scientific experiment as one could fashion to test our thesis that key media "outlets" censor themselves to support the US establishment's agenda.

More:
http://www.trinicenter.com/world/venez/lessons8.shtml

[EFerrari]

35. I have to read this again with a bucket of coffee.

Great catch, Judi Lynn. Thank you.

[Judi Lynn]

36. I have been thinking Christopher Toothaker was writing hard spun stuff for ages,

but it sure looks as if a lot of it could be editors putting programmed, hard spun words in his mouth, or keyboard back in the office, sometimes.

This is so crazy. You have to wonder "how looooong has this been goinggggg onnnnnn."

[molly77]

38. I am sure we should all be outraged at Chavez

After all, Venezuela has oil.

[EFerrari]

40. LOL. That's a great point. Welcome to DU, molly77.

:)

[molly77]

42. Thank you

[amyrose2712]

45. Bookmarking to read all of your articles. Once again THANK YOU! nt

[amyrose2712]

44. Marked for later reading. nt

[Vincevega]

48. Viva Chavez

Will the smear campaign ever end? Theres a documentary on youtube that shows in vivid video the campaign from the US and Venezuelan media stations to smear him. Its shows news segments reported by the smear artists and what exactly happened in video. Its just amazing what some people(democrats included) to destroy this man.

I cant wait to see Oliver Stone's doc on him, the anticipation is killing me :)

[bemildred]

51. You would think the NYT would be at least a little bit concerned about losing credibility.

I mean, posting horseshit like this, and considering what little credibility it has left.