Reply #15: Absolutely pathetic story. Quote from Carlos Fernandez, who has chosen to flee to Miami,

[Judi Lynn]

as he's in hot water in Venezuela, whiling away his time with the virulent right-wing Cuban "exiles," who organized a pro-_Bush parade on the very same day the entire rest of the world was marching in the streets globally, protesting _Bush's Iraq war.

In Miami, they celebrated the coup, the strikes, and chose Carlos Fernandez, and Carlos Ortega to lead their parade. Here they are, Ortega in the white shirt, Fernandez to his right, in the dark gold shirt, with the hat.



Coverage of that parade from the Sun-Sentinel of South Florida:

~snip~
Fernandez and Ortega left Venezuela in 2003 after helping lead a two-month national strike that paralyzed the country's economy, including the oil sector, but brought few concessions from President Hugo Chávez's government. Ortega, former head of the country's largest labor group, sought political asylum in Costa Rica a year ago; Fernandez now lives in Weston.

Organized by Cuban and Venezuelan leaders, the march called for an end to human rights abuses and advocated greater democracy in both countries, according to organizers like Luis Prieto of Todos Por Venezuela, or All for Venezuela, an opposition group with members in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

"We are here to denounce two governments that pose a serious threat to Latin America," Prieto said.

About 1,500 people walked down Calle Ocho, according to Miami Police Officer Jane Walker.

The march was a stark contrast to last year's protest that drew thousands of Venezuelans including political leaders, beauty queens and entertainers, many of whom left the South American nation because of the national strike.
(snip)

http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/venezuela/march.htm

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While participation in the "general strike" found even less support on the fourth day, this was the day that tanker captains decided to get involved and began blocking the transport of oil to and from Venezuela. This, more than anything else the opposition has achieved so far, has the potential of bringing the economy and thus the government to its knees. Venezuela's economy is so heavily dependent on oil that any interruption in oil production has nearly immediate effects on the economy. The fact that the opposition cheered this act of sabotage (it is one thing not to show up for work, another to blockade a country's ports), shows just how desperate and how far it is willing to go to "topple the regime," as the Fedecameras president Carlos Fernandez calls the aim of the protest.
(snip)

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=2727
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~snip~That’s when managers of the oil company PDVSA8 decided to bring the oil industry to a halt. According to Moyano, Marisel Benavides (SUPROBAUX’s financial secretary) and Carlos Rojas (labor director of the Venalum aluminum workers union), out of 35,000 employees, including 18,000 professionals and specialists, only 3,000 directors and managers went on “strike”. 9

· But before walking out, the bosses sabotaged the highly automated computer technology that controls production, distribution and export of oil, paralysing the industry. They adjusted temperature controls as high as boiling point causing explosions, disrupting electricity, gas and oil, and creating a humanitarian crisis as people could not cook or get healthcare. As a result, most workers could not do their jobs. But workers soon got the plants functioning by going back to manual operation “like we had 20 years ago”, and working 16-hour shifts seven days a week to keep the industry afloat. The corporate opposition is now resorting to terrorism, placing bombs and shooting holes in oil pipes.10

· Banks joined the attempted oil and media coup, closing their doors to the public to create a financial crisis (similar to what happened in Argentina as a result of IMF and World Bank profiteering). Most bank workers’ unions dissociated themselves from their bosses. They claim that Fetrabanca, the union affiliated to CTV which joined the “strike”, represents only 1.7% of bank workers, and the unions opposed to the “strike”, which they list, represent 60-70% of bank workers.11

· The statement issued by Pedro Eusse, General Secretary of CUTV, dated December 18, 2002, makes clear where workers generally stood: “. . . the Venezuelan working class has not joined any ‘general strike’, whose clear aims are to destabilize and bring down the legitimate government in order to meet the ambitions of the national oligarchy and of American imperialism which wants to take charge of our oil industry and prevent the formation of an alliance of governments and peoples in Latin America (Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador) who oppose its plans for domination based on the implementation of ALCA.”

· Following the defeat of the oil coup by the oil workers and workers generally, President Chavez was urged again, by trade unionists and others, to move on FEDECAMARAS, the employers’ organization, and on the corrupt CTV leadership. In response, Carlos Fernandez, the head of FEDECAMARAS was arrested and a detention order issued against Ortega for instigating criminal acts, conspiracy and sabotage, in attempts to bring down the elected government. Ortega ran away and was granted asylum by Costa Rica.
(snip)

http://www.globalwomenstrike.net/English/AppealtoUSUnionists.htm
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~snip~
It would seem that where the opposition’s efforts to oust Chavez via a non-stop media campaign, large demonstrations, a coup, and four “general” strikes have largely failed, the management take-over, or coup, of the oil company might succeed. The scenarios for doing so are still murky, though. Many among the more radical elements of the opposition, to which the main actors behind the “general strike” belong, such as Fedecameras President Carlos Fernandez, CTV President Carlos Ortega, and Caracas Mayor Alfredo Peña, seem to be hoping for another military coup attempt.
(snip)

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=2760

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If people took the time to find out who these characters are, and what they have done, these articles wouldn't hit them like wild baseball pitches, leaving them dazed, confused, happy to swallow the most twisted, tied-in-knots propaganda yarns.

Folks, folks, you owe it to yourselves to read about these things YOURSELF, and not be a sitting duck for any clown who spins off another piece for political reasons in the corporate media, or any sneaky right-winger who thinks he/she will just insinuate him/herself in a liberal/progressive meeting place and start trying to eliminate any chance for discussion among Democrats.

Bypass the spin, go right to the sources and start separating the real from the spun yourself. That way you won't need to rely on anyone, liberal or right-wing, who tells you anything, any time. It's all in your hands.



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He was in this group of coup plotters who took over the Presidential Palace in April, 2002, after they had kidnapped Hugo Chavez:


Un gouvernement de transition
À Miraflores, le palais présidentiel, le nouveau président n’est pas investi par les militaires putschistes, mais par un groupe de huit personnalités influentes qui sortent de l’ombre. Il est composé de :
*S. Exc. Mgr Ignacio Cardenal (Opus Dei) (*That's Ignacio Velasco)

Luis Enrique Ball (entreprises)
José Curiel (partis politiques)
Rocio Jigarro (associations)
Miguel Angel Martinez (médias)
Gouverneur Manuel Rosales (gouvernements régionaux)
Alfredo Ramos (syndicats)
Carlos Fernandez (patronat)

http://www.voltairenet.org/article8686.html