Venezuela: Dictatorship or Democracy? (Venezuelanalysis.com)

[Imperialism Inc.]

(Edited for title. Pasted in more than I thought.)

(one more edit lol. The part of the title I edited was apparently a plea for funds. Someone else donated my star here so I'm going to donate to VA sometime after my next pay arrives. So whoever donated my star, thanks again and VA thanks you. Now everyone donate to VA its a great site! :)

Anyone know if Greg Wilpert posts here? This is the second time I've noticed VA did an editorial analysis that covers a topic of recent discussion here. Maybe he just read the same article.

(Mods: This is a long article and I've posted only a fraction, under 25%, but I'm not sure on the rules so let me know if I need to cut more of it)

Venezuela: Dictatorship or Democracy?
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1184

One of the most striking things about Venezuelan politics is just how diametrically opposed perspectives on the situation here are. In its most essential and simplified form, the perspectives tend to be narrowed down to those who say that Venezuela under Chavez has become a dictatorship and those who say that it has become a real democracy.

This dichotomy of perceptions is reflected in three major issues that have taken center stage in Venezuela recently.

Recall Referendum: Obstacle Course or Insufficient Popular Support?

...
While opposition leaders maintain that all of the CNE “obstacles” were designed specifically to thwart the referendum, they tend to ignore in all of this that it probably has more to do with the extremely profound suspicion that the CNE board majority have of opposition activity. ... Similarly, what government supporters seem to fail to realize is that the opposition has an equally profound distrust of the government. This is why what to government supporters are security measures appear as obstacles and traps to the opposition. Opposition reference to CNE security measures as intentional obstacles and government accusations of “megafraud” merely feed the vicious circle of mutual distrust.

...
Paramilitary Forces: Chavez’s “Reichstag Fire” or Real Threat?

Although the historical comparison has, to my knowledge, not yet been made, the opposition is, by and large, arguing that the recent discovery of a group of 130 uniformed Colombian paramilitary fighters on the outskirts of Caracas is a show designed to crack down on the opposition, just as Hitler’s 1933 Reichstag fire was a show to persecute his opposition.

Numerous homes of opposition military officers and some civilian leaders have been searched on the grounds of having links to the paramilitary group. Unfortunately, once again the vicious cycle of mutual distrust has set in, such that government suspicion that parts of Venezuela’s opposition are involved in the plot have led to blanket denials and to suggestions that the paramilitary force was planted by the government in order to persecute the opposition. This type of denial, on the other hand, strengthens government suspicions because the reality and the threat of the paramilitary force is undeniable to them and to do deny it nonetheless suggests culpability...


Supreme Court Law: Constitutional Dictatorship or Stronger Rule of Law?
...
Given the opposition’s suspicion of any action that will give the government an advantage, especially in the Supreme Court, which is one of the last state bastions (besides the National Assembly) where the opposition still has an important share of power, it should not come as a surprise that they would do just about anything to stop the law. As a matter of fact, on several occasions the opposition organized exhausting 24-hour filibusters in their efforts to stop the law from passing.

It is difficult to identify to what extent the opposition’s resistance to the Supreme Court law is born of a real fear of Venezuela becoming a “constitutional dictatorship” and to what extent it comes from protecting their “turf.”

...
What the opposition does not seem to realize is that government supporters see it exactly the other way around. To Chavistas, the opposition is synonymous with dictatorship and the government with democracy...

Venezuela: A Rorschach Test in Macondo

... Venezuelan mass media, whether private, state, or community, present vastly different images of Venezuelan reality so that it is impossible for most people, even for experienced observers of Venezuelan reality, to know what is real.

... The resulting impression or interpretation ends up being a stronger indicator of the interpreter’s psyche than of the underlying reality that is being perceived.

Thus, to a die-hard anti-communist the Venezuelan conflict is about the battle to defeat communism, to the dogmatic Marxist it is a typical class struggle, to the hard-nosed neo-liberal it is about assuring the triumph of economic rationality over fuzzy wishful thinking, to the postmodern multi-culturalist it is about giving power to the marginalized indigenous and dark-skinned peoples versus the whites of European origin, to the nationalists this is a fight against U.S. imperialism.

...
However, it is never that simple. The fact is, Chavez—the anti-democrat and caudillo according to those who oppose him—has acted in a less repressive manner than any Venezuelan president before him. Previously the National Guard would use real bullets in order to control a rowdy demonstration, now they don’t. Previously journalists who insulted the president would either be censored or face prison, now they don’t. Previously citizens who wanted to recall elected representatives had no recourse, now they do. Previously people who live in the poor neighborhoods, in the barrios, had no voice in the mass media whatsoever, now they do. Previously the poor had no hope of ever acquiring title to their home or to a plot of land, now they do. Previously any education at all was beyond the reach of the poor,<5> now most poor Venezuelans are involved in one free education program or another.

On the other hand, the heart of what insures that the rule of law is paramount in any country, the judicial system, still is a shambles.<6> As a result, the opposition is correct to point out that there has been little to no progress in fighting corruption, in stemming politically motivated judicial persecutions, in assuring that human rights violations of the National Guard and other state security forces are punished, or in preventing political patronage when it comes to disbursing government funds.

So the question of whether Venezuela is a dictatorship or a democracy is actually a misleading question, one which merely feeds into the dichotomous vicious cycle of polarization and mutual distrust. Rather, what observers should examine is whether there has been progress towards more democracy in Venezuela. Posed this way, the answer is, I believe, an unequivocal yes, but that there still is a very long way to go.

[lanparty]

1. Opposite world !!!!

In George W Bush's world, everything is opposite.

The democratically elected leaders of Venezuela, Haiti, Spain and South Korea are illegitamite. The popular leaders in Cuba and Libya are DEVILS!!!! The semi-democratic country of IRAN is our 2nd worst enemy in the gulf.

By contrast ... the House of Saud are the benevolent leaders of Arabia. So are all the despotic kings in charge of all the OTHER gulf nations. The appointed leaders of Iraq will be "democratic". China is are BEST trading partner. Canada is a bunch of socialist ninnies. The wildly regressive governments of Mexico are rightful and democratic.

Of course, Bush himself stole MANY, MANY votes. The electoral votes of Florida were APPOINTED to him by the US Supreme Court. Despite the fact that FLORIDA should have the ultimate say on how their votes should be counted (in accordance with equal protection (you can't keep "colored folk" from voting)). The irony is amazing.

Bush is an unelected usurper. No wonder he HATES democracy throughout the world.

[HuckleB]

2. I dunno, but "A THOUSAND Years of Solitude"?

Has this guy actually even read Garcia Marquez?

Divide by ten please.

Sorry, it just seems a bit odd for someone writing about SA, as does the incredibly oversimplified and out-of-context comparison to the book.

[Imperialism Inc.]

5. I've never heard of it myself. My guess is he hasn't read it.

He was just repeating what "some observers" have said in the footnote (where the title was printed correctly).
Not sure why it matters.

[HuckleB]

6. Gabo is quite intimately involved in SA politics.

No one who is writing about SA politics should be in the dark on Gabo. Someone who purports to have enough knowledge to offer an analysis such as this but gets the name of the most famous novel to come out of SA wrong leaves me scratching my head. It gives me doubts about the piece. That's all.

[Imperialism Inc.]

9. Well no offense , but he is the editor of a paper about Venezuela

which prints lots of info from many sources. He doesn't "purport" to know enough about it. He has plenty of info to offer an informed opinon whether he has read one particular author or not.

[AP]

10. I believe Wilpert writes in Spanish. Translator might have screwed up.

[HuckleB]

11. I do hope that's the case.

[AP]

13. Who cares if it's the case. It doesn't change his argument at all.

[HuckleB]

15. It does change the value one puts in his argument.

If he feigned enough knowledge of the book to use at as a point of comparison, his credibility is whacked. If he forgot the name of the most famous book in Latin American History, his credibility is still whacked.

[AP]

17. Wilpert has a huge body of commentary out their for you to criticize

and in which you can look for real evidence of his knowlege of politics.

This thing, which could be a typo by a translator, is hardly going to hurt his credibility.

But you can dream, can't you?

Do you have any problems with anything else in the article, or is it just the typo?

[HuckleB]

12. Unfortunately, Garcia Marquez isn't just "one particular author."

It's quite difficult to see how someone could know enough about the underlying culture of SA to write pieces like this without having quite a bit of knowledge about Gabo. His books, his journalism, his thought have played far too big a part in the history of the continent since the '50s.

And the guy did use the book as a comparison, which usually means having read the book. If not, it leaves grave doubts about his credibility.

I would suggest reading this piece on Gabo, for starters...

The Power of Gabriel García Márquez:
http://www.themodernword.com/gabo/gabo_power.html

And Gabo's own piece written on Chavez five years ago...

The Enigma of Chavez:
http://www.zmag.org/content/LatinAmerica/marquez_chavez-enigma.cfm

Edited for typo.

[Imperialism Inc.]

14. Thats fine. I personally don't put any stock in it.

Gabo is not necessary to form an opinion on Venezuela. I have opinions on it and have never heard of him. My opinions come from reports and news items covering real happenings and not a work of fiction. I also have opinions on current economic trends and have never read Ann Rand or Milton Friedman. What is important is the current situation.

He used the another reporter's reference to it(not his own) as a minor technique to get his point across.

Some observers of Venezuela have commented that Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ magical realist story of Macondo, in which nothing is as it seems, is applicable to Venezuela

If all he has ever heard of the book is this other reporter's article then I really don't see how that affects in any way his opinion, that is based on observable facts and reports of the current situation.

You should also consider the chance that it is a typo, or that he has read it and simply mis-remembered the title, or it was a translation error, or that he knows of Gabo quite well but only as a political actor.

I thank you for the links , which I will read, but still see this as basically irrelevant since he has shown himself otherwise to have quite an impressive and comprehensive knowledge of the current situation in Venezuela.

[HuckleB]

16. How do you know?

How do you know that what he writes is the true picture of what's happening in Venezuela?

One way to test for competency is to note that authors are able to show true knowledge of the history and culture of the area. In this case, he made a slip in this area. There may be a number of reasons for it, and perhaps there is an innocent explanation. However, such slips do diminish credibility, like it or not.

[bigbillhaywood]

3. Democracy

Venezuela is a consitutional democracy. Chavez was elected fairly. The "opposition" in Venezuela is the big business community. The so-called "general strike" against Chavez in Venezuela was actually a general lockout, led by employers, not workers, and assisted by right-wing AFL-CIA dominated unions. They are angry that Chavez dares to swim against the US-influenced current in Latin America of dismantling the public sector and social services. Is he a populist strongman to an extent, albeit democratically elected? Sure-- let's not forget he attempted a military coup several years back. But let's also not be fooled into believing the corporate propoganda. The reason the US hates him has nothing to do with democracy (we tolerate many undemocratic governments as long as they represent US corporate interests). In my opinion, Chavez and Lula (Brazil) are the best things to happen for the ordinary working person in South America in years.

[Imperialism Inc.]

7. I think the best thing for both sides would be for the extreme

part of the oppostion(the guys we supported through NED) to disappear. Of course that is not possible, but I think most of Chavez' bad rap with the sane oppostion comes from his reactions to the extreme right wing.

The mutual distrust he spoke of.

[Joanne98]

19. Good description of the real situation. The Venezuela "free press"

haha, is more fascist than the one in Italy. Chavez is a good guy. You can tell by the way he gets attacked. He's against the "US greed laws" that forbid a leader of a third world country to help the poor. He's also legally elected which is more than Bush can say. The "opposition" is just another version of "The Sopranos". It's that simple. Chavez=good Opposition=criminals. Same old Banana Republic economic model.

[On the Road]

4. Wow -- A Moderate and Independent Analysis

I don't think I've ever seen an article on Venezuela look at this situation this dispassionately.

[Imperialism Inc.]

8. You can probably find several more there.

I've found most of Wilpert's articles to be of the same excellent quality. The three part debate was also very good.

This is the third part. The other 2 are linked from it.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1147

[camero]

18. US complicity in the recall referendum

http://www.guerrillanews.com/human_rights/doc4550.html

The United States is using a quasi-governmental organization created during the Reagan years and funded largely by Congress to pump about a million dollars a year into groups opposed to Venezuela President Hugo Chávez, according to officials in Venezuela and a Venezuelan-American attorney.

Some 2,000 pages of newly disclosed documents show that the little-known National Endowment for Democracy is financing a vast array of groups: campesinos, businessmen, former military officials, unions, lawyers, educators, even an organization leading a recall drive against Chávez. Some compare the agency, in certain of its activities, to the CIA of previous decades when the agency was regularly used to interfere in the affairs of Latin American countries.

“It certainly shows an incredible pattern of financing basically every single sector in Venezuelan society,” said Eva Golinger, the Brooklyn, NY-based attorney who helped obtain the documents through Freedom of Information Act requests. “That’s the most amazing part about it.”

One organization, Sumate, which received a $53,400 grant in September, is organizing the recall referendum against Chávez, Golinger said. The head of another group, Leonardo Carvajal of the Asociación Civil Asamblea de Educación, was named education minister by “dictator for a day” Pedro Carmona, a leading businessman who briefly took over Venezuela during an April 2002 coup against Chávez, she said. A leader of a third group assisted by the National Endowment for Democracy and its subsidiary organizations, Leopoldo Martínez of the right-wing Primero Justicia party, was named finance minister by Carmona, she said.


Might shed a little light on the subject.

[Joanne98]

21. National Endowment for Democracy. What a joke

Another neo-con member of "the vast rw conspiracy". They HATE democracy. They're an extension of the AEI. All these new "fraud" groups are getting exposed. I'm interested in the new human rights group "Mercy Corp". They also have ties to AEI. FRAUDS LIARS FRAUDS LIARS. They need to be exposed, audited and defunded as soon as we get OUR government back. When Kerry wins the work just begins. we have to disinfect DC of these evil people.

[camero]

22. That caught my eye too

A group perporting to want "democracy" trying to install another oil guy and take power from Chavez, who was popularly elected. I posted to show that Bushco has their hands in the pot again. The recall effort is a fraud.


We will get the neo-cons out. We have to.

[PATRICK]

20. Context for the high-minded principles

Legitimately elected. Doesn't govern by the legitimacy of opinion polls or a slavish media. Nation under attack from without by the US who, in this case, is the big hypocritical whiner about imperfections in the system with the SOLE goal and solution being advised: remove Chavez, give us an oil guy puppet.

More like Lincoln then in a national emergency of overwhelming danger for their root independence and the control of their own resources when losing control would do grievous harm.

Yeah. WHEN Chavez has no external threat and lying propaganda war against him by the US THEN we can encourage this civil rights issue and dealing with divisions in his country on various levels. Maybe he could even calmly step aside as he must do someday and entrust that democracy will continue and continue to improve.

This is a covert war between Bushco and Venezuela. This is the arena of that war. This perception skewed debate about his conduct in office stinks.