Chavez on top ahead of election

[Judi Lynn]

Source: The Hindu

Chavez on top ahead of election
Washington, October 7, 2012

Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez (58), Latin America’s longest serving elected President, is likely to be re-elected for a fourth term on Sunday, as polls placed him comfortably ahead of challenger and “moderate leftist” Henrique Capriles (40), a former State Governor.

If Mr. Chavez wins, he will be in power until 2019, marking 20 continuous years at the helm in Caracas.

Mr. Chavez — who has fought a year-long battle with cancer, survived assassination attempts, coups and electoral challenges — remains one of the hemisphere’s most outspoken voices against American regional hegemony, though his stance has been softer against U.S. President Barack Obama than against his predecessor, George W. Bush.

The outcome of the elections this weekend may have a significant impact on regional political and economic trends as Venezuela is the second-largest oil producer in the world, and is well on track to ousting Saudi Arabia as the largest producer according to studies on the untapped potential of oil blocks in the Orinoco Belt.

Read more: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/chavez-on-top-ahead-of-election/article3972541.ece

[Ken Burch]

1. Hopefully, that's what will happen.

Expect the U.S. foreign policy establishment of both parties AND the multinational corporados to brand any Chavez victory a sham, however.

They will accept nothing but a Capriles landslide as a legitimate result.

[Buzz Clik]

2. Chavez single redeeming feature ...

... is his ability to piss off people in the US.

It's funny how that alone has the ability to raise him to the status of hero in them minds of so many.

[ronnie624]

12. Nonsense.

People support Chavez because he works for social justice for the majority of Venezuelans, not because he "pisses off people in the US". That doesn't even make any fucking sense. Progressives understand the issues. You're just regurgitating a vapid meme I've seen on this board a thousand times.

[davidpdx]

3. No surprise there

And with all the votes counted Chavez wins with 99.9% of the vote. Wait, that's more than Kim Jong Il.

[JackRiddler]

38. Honestly, how is this distinguishable...

from the same bullshit said on Freeperville?

Jimmy Carter said that of the 92 elections monitored so far by the Carter Center, Venezuela has the fairest of all. Fancy that.

Too bad the oligarchical opposition that wants to send VZ back to the bad old days is going to get a fairly high share of the votes, thanks to control of most of the media (contrary to the other bullshit you will hear here), and the money, and the hate propaganda against Chavez...

[Judi Lynn]

43. They don't bother to know anything beyond what Drudge tells them. Really sad.

Who would want to let a sociopath do his thinking for him, anyway?

Jesus on a pogo stick.

[davidpdx]

45. If you love Chavez, go live there

I'm not stopping you. Hell I may even pay for your one way ticket.

[JackRiddler]

46. Like I said, thank you.

Indistinguishable from Freeperville.

[davidpdx]

48. I'm not sure what your problem is

But in my first post, I simply said I wasn't surprised he won. You assumed I hated him. I actually don't really have an opinion one way or another about him.

Maybe you should address your fixation for attacking me.

[JackRiddler]

49. My problem is with right-wing propaganda.

Just like when people were saying "Go back to Russia!"

Your first post can still be read by others, so your bullshit is unconvincing.

[Comrade Grumpy]

55. I found my long-lost crazy old right-wing uncle. Howdy!

[Proletariatprincess]

7. I am not so impressed....

Like the Cubans in Florida, socialism is not for the rich and well off and they flee to the USA where we admire wealth more than fairness and justice.

[JackRiddler]

39. Well, it's nice that she can afford that.

Unlike the 2/3 or 4/5 of her compatriots whose interests don't seem to matter to her, if she's voting for the return of the oligarchs to power.

[dotymed]

11. That does not surprise me at all..

"FLEW back to Venezuela just to vote against him."
That really seems more like being self-serving rather than dedicated. The (shrinking) poor population in Venezuela know the good that he has done for their country and for them.
Of course, wealthy Venezuelans will do whatever they can to regain their wealth and status. Likewise, the wealthy corporations around the world (especially America) will act like the GOP elitists they are and do whatever possible to defeat him.
Hugo Chavez, IMO is the epitome of a leader who wants to improve the lives of his countrymen rather than line his pockets...if only we had more like him and Morales....

[aikoaiko]

29. What's wrong with flying back?

She cares about the future of her people and country.

[Brother Buzz]

42. She could have detoured to New Orleans and saved some money

[davidpdx]

53. I know of a great location not far south of there where he/she could go

The person would have some great bunkmates.

[davidpdx]

50. Judging from the posts on this board

he/she is nothing but a bully

[Judi Lynn]

31. In the meantime the people's President Chavez is increasing the gift of education to the poor

(which was unavailable to them previously) who have seized upon the chance to become literate with a vengeance, and would not willingly be forced by into the past positions of helplessness, and ignorance. They want and deserve the chance to learn, and become more capable of creating better lives for themselves than the grinding, painful poverty they have experienced already.

Clearly the oligarchs would reinstate the rule of the elite as soon as possible, putting things back into the ugly arrangement they maintained there for ages.

After former President Carlos Andres Perez ordered his police, many of whom refused, then his military, to open fire on crowds of protesters after he raised the cost of their heating oil, and fuel for transportation, etc., in the massacre which became known as "El Caracazo", that was the turning point which determined the enormous poor population would NEVER allow these pieces of human filth to have this much power to harm them again. They will defend themselves as well as they can, and who the hell would blame them for that? Only a right-wing scum.

The parasitic, racist, classist elite want their power back, and the poor know getting their world of pain back is wrong. They will fight to keep their hope.

[Kolesar]

36. Perez ordered his police, many of whom refused, then his military, to open fire on crowds ...

... of protesters after he raised the cost of their heating oil

You had mentioned that account before, but I never got the name of it. Now I have something to go on. It was 1989.

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

[Judi Lynn]

44. I'm certain it was never mentioned in our own corporate "news" media.

Here's a photo of George H W Bush with Carlos Andres Perez, and the photos below are images of Perez' handiwork:

[center]















[/center]
After he was impeached, Perez moved to Miami, New York, etc. Had several homes. His mistress lives in Miami, still, in the condo he bought her.

Venezuela's opposition has always adored this creepy, sadistic, dirty little man. They stand behind his massacre.

IF you look for videos of it on You Tube you will run into opposition remarks that the people who rioted are scum, and they deserved it.

[Missycim]

5. was the outcome ever in doubt?

Chavez know's how to get out the "vote" lol

[polly7]

8. 3 Million Strong Chavista March Shakes Caracas, Venezuela

http://www.zcommunications.org/3-million-strong-chavista-march-shakes-caracas-venezuela-by-rachael-boothroyd

By 1 pm, over five of the main streets and most of the metro lines were already filled to the brim with noisy and joyous supporters, who chanted, sang, danced and blew horns as they waited for Chavez to arrive. Determined to show their support for the socialist president, many people from the nearby shantytowns surrounding Caracas descended from the hilltops on foot when they proved too numerous for local transport links.

Most polls in Venezuela give incumbent president Chavez a 10% lead or more over his right-wing opponent, Capriles Radonski.

The continued popularity of the government has been attributed in part to the implementation of a series of “social missions” which provide free health, education and subsidised food to the population, as well to initiatives aimed at deepening citizens’ political participation such as through locally based bodies of self-governance known as “communal councils”.

[SamKnause]

14. Viva Chavez

Thank you so very much for posting the link to those awesome photos and videos !!!!

That sea of red was beautifully impressive.

I hope President Chavez is successful in his reelection.

Viva Chavez
Viva Venezuela

[Judi Lynn]

23. Beautiful photos of so MANY happy people who showed up to rally in the rain.

It reminds those of us who have cared to learn about Venezuelan history that these are the people who poured into the streets to demand the coup plotters RETURN THEIR PRESIDENT TO THEM.

You and the Democrats here know very well Chavez by God didn't force these people to demand his freedom, not when he was being held at gunpoint by the filthy opposition, which had also taken control of the police, and sent them out hunting down Chavez' cabinet and close workers to throw them into jail, not to mention their suspending the Constitution, the Supreme Court, etc.

Thank you, Polly!

[center]Click on image: http://venezuelanalysis.com/images/7318

Photo from Polly7's link[/center]

[Judi Lynn]

27. Polly, would you cross-post this link in the Latin America forum?

That forum has been getting the published photos posted by opposition supporters there. We are so aware photos of Chavez rallies have been in short supply! That's not an accident. We will NEVER see Chavez ralllies photos published by our own corporate media. It's as if they never happened, thanks to the conscientious, moral, truthful reporting done by our own "news" media. <gasp, choke>

[frylock]

13. derp

[Kingofalldems]

18. So you are accusing him of fixing the election

I presume.

Let's see your evidence.

[Igel]

28. It would be hard to have evidence ahead of the fact.

But for many, the fact that it's entirely "black box voting" would be prima facie evidence. What more proof is needed?

Yeah, there are thumbprint scans and receipts showing who you voted for--but unless there's a nice, publicly transparent way for people to show exactly who voted for whom and a way to contact them to show that their receipts correspond to what's on the official tally, that's not really all that meaningful. And if you can do that, then by most standards it's not really free and fair. If you vote for somebody, the victor can always find you and place any public sector employee or student in a public university at risk.

(As for Chavez, he wants greater public ownership of the means of production and consumption. How do you get public ownership of the means of consumption, or public ownership of consumption? Or private ownership of any means of consumption other than yourself, for that matter?)

[Judi Lynn]

30. Former US President Carter: Venezuelan Electoral System “Best in the World”

This observation has been posted here by two D.U.'ers, indepently, at different recent time, in different forums, and is freely available, among many other statements made by former President Jimmy Carter over the last decade:

Kurovski
Wed Oct 3, 2012, 03:25 AM

Former US President Carter: Venezuelan Electoral System “Best in the World”

Speaking at an annual event last week in Atlanta for his Carter Centre foundation, the politician-turned philanthropist stated, “As a matter of fact, of the 92 elections that we’ve monitored, I would say the election process in Venezuela is the best in the world.”

Venezuela has developed a fully automated touch-screen voting system, which now uses thumbprint recognition technology and prints off a receipt to confirm voters’ choices.

In the context of the Carter Centre’s work monitoring electoral processes around the globe, Carter also disclosed his opinion that in the US “we have one of the worst election processes in the world, and it’s almost entirely because of the excessive influx of money,” he said referring to lack of controls over private campaign donations.

http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/7272

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101643573#post24

[center]~~~~~[/center]
Please see Peace Patriot's post regarding the voting system:

The Carter Center praises Venezuela's election system

More news you won't hear anything about EVER in the Corporate Press:

----

Carter Center: Venezuelan elections historically fair

Jennifer McCoy of the Atlanta-based Carter Center said in an interview with Infobae Latinoamerica that her organization’s observer missions to Venezuela have found the country’s electoral system safe and trustworthy.

“There is a system of pre-electoral auditing to audit the software, hardware, and voting machines where political parties are able to say whether those audits are alright and are working correctly”, McCoy said.

She also stressed the role of post-electoral audits in Venezuela, which “are done to see if the official electronic results coincide with the vote counting. They have done the counting and they have never had any significant discrepancy between the paper receipts and the electronic votes”.

McCoy, who is the head of the Carter Center’s Americas Program, said that her organization will be present during Venezuela’s presidential elections this October 7 as an “informal observer”.

“We decided we want to have a more informal role in observing the political developments so we can carry out interviews with political actors and national observers to see how they view the electoral process in Venezuela”, she explained.

The journalist who interviewed McCoy suggested results might be very close, leaving room for contention, to which she argued that in her experience Venezuela’s electoral system is safe.

McCoy rejected the possibility of fraud, saying that the electoral process has many guarantees. She indicated that the system is trustworthy all the way from the registration of candidates to the voting itself.

http://www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/COI124.pdf

More:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/11085297

[Judi Lynn]

25. You should make the effort to know about the subject you're discussing.

Published on Friday, October 5, 2012 by Common Dreams

Venezuela Election: Chávez Holds Mass Rally on Final Day of Campaigning

Jimmy Carter says: 'Election Process in Venezuela is the Best in the World'

- Common Dreams staff

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/10/05-5

[center]~ ~ ~[/center]
As Democrats know, former President Carter, who established The Carter Center, has been monitoring elections world wide with his group for many years. He knows whereof he speaks. Venezuela's elections are among the most observed and monitored elections in the world.

Click on image: http://venezuelanalysis.com/images/7318
Photo from Polly7's link

[Kingofalldems]

34. Thank you

[davidpdx]

52. Now see, that's exactly what I said

and someone reads it backwards and attacks me for it. Better watch out, you might get bitten next. lol

[Proletariatprincess]

6. Viva Chavez!

I just wish the US elections were as clean as they are in Venezuela. That according to Jimmy Carter, who is an international authority on such things.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

9. I wish him the best of luck. He's one of my favorite world leaders.

Especially since watching "The War on Democracy" and seeing the extent of our involvement in Venezuelan affairs.

It really shows you how full of shit the American media portrayal of this man has been for years.

[SamKnause]

16. Chavez election

You are 100% correct about the American media and the American influence in Latin America.

He is one of my favorite leaders as well.

I would love to meet him !

[geek tragedy]

15. May the Candidate with the most votes win. nt

[UnrepentantLiberal]

17. Oh, good.

Now he can spend more money supporting dictators in other countries.

[ronnie624]

19. He engages in voluntary agreements with the existing governments of other countries.

He doesn't wage political warfare against them or violently overthrow them and install governments that are receptive to his own interests, at the expense of the populations there.

The need to force other nations to ones will, is more of a U.S. thang.

[SamKnause]

20. Smack down

Thanks for that smack down.

As an American, I am sad to say most Americans are clueless as to what their countries government and military are guilty of.

[SamKnause]

22. Dictators

How many dictators has the U.S. supported ?

How many dictators has the U.S. installed ?

How many successful coups has the U.S. been involved in ?

How many villains received their training at The School the of Americas (SOA) ?

You really don't know the history of the U.S. government or MIC.

The U.S. loves dictators they can control.

The U.S. loves countries they can control.

President Chavez is not a dictator and the U.S. does not control him.

He has something the U.S. wants; OIL.

That is why they spread propaganda about President Chavez.

[Judi Lynn]

24. You need to brush up on world history 100%. Do some reading. n/t

[JackRiddler]

40. Oh noes! Those people are electing the dictator again!

[Judi Lynn]

21. Delete. n/t

[SamKnause]

26. Chavez links

Thank you for the great links.

Viva Chavez

Viva The South American Revolution

[Judi Lynn]

32. Venezuelan Election Day: Channel 4 Selects Pro-Opposition Viewpoints

Venezuelan Election Day: Channel 4 Selects Pro-Opposition Viewpoints
The Editors, 7 October 2012

British news is today (07/10/2012) much concerned with the elections underway in Venezuela. The election will be the 'closest since Hugo Chavez took power' (The Guardian), or the 'the country's most tightly contested presidential election in a decade' (BBC).

To begin with, it should be noted that the above assertions are themselves misleading to a UK readership: even if the election is 'the closest' since 1998 in Venezuela, polling figures are such that if similar results were to be found in a UK election, the race would not be considered close. Furthermore, figures show that the reality of the contest is so far from 'close' that a statistical study by the Center for Policy and Economic Research, using polling data from Venezuelan elections from 2004 – 2010, has shown that Henrique Capriles has just a 5.7% chance of winning the election.

Yet the image painted by the UK media about these elections is almost hopeful of a Capriles win, having consistently pitted Capriles as the candidate most in touch with the Venezuelan people (Capriles ‘promises to govern for all Venezuelans’). Misleadingly referring to Capriles’ supporters as ‘Venezuela’, the BBC coverage of the closing rally for Capriles stated that 'Venezuela rallies for opposition's Henrique Capriles', yet when Chavez supporters gathered on Thursday in Caracas in support of the President, in what was reported to be the largest election campaign rally in the history of Venezuela, with up to one million supporters, the event was underplayed by the BBC’s Sarah Grainger who reported that ‘tens of thousands of supporters of the United Socialist Party braved the rain’ to attend the rally.

Some commentators appear to be almost rejoicing at the prospect of an election loss for current President, Hugo Chavez. The Guardian’s Rory Carroll has written recently on the Venezuelan elections in articles entitled ‘Hugo Chávez: a strongman's last stand’ and ‘Hugo Chávez: people's hero in final showdown’.

More:
http://www.newsunspun.org/article/venezuelan-election-day-channel-4-selects-proopposition-viewpoints

[lalalu]

33. Chavez is no hero

It is wrong to pretend Chavez is some good guy. It makes liberals and liberal causes look stupid. Chavez is nothing but a thug and Gangs have taken over Venezuela.

[Judi Lynn]

35. Clearly you need to spend time RESEARCHING instead of giving your opinion first.

There are so many DU'ers here who clearly know far, FAR more than you about it.

Study first, learn about Venezuelan history, THEN write about it.

[lalalu]

54. I have and I disagree

[DeSwiss]

37. K&R!!!

''Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.'' ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

[JackRiddler]

41. AND CHAVEZ WINS

What a shock.

[rebuke]

51. Let's expand our trade with South America

Romney indicated that we should open up more trade with South America and the Latin Countries. Chavez will be a Corporate lackey before you know it...ya think he has money in the Cayman Islands? This world order crap is REALLY working.