Venezuelans Continue to Defy Washington Post

[Judi Lynn]

Venezuelans Continue to Defy Washington Post
By Peter Hart
Jan 08 2013

The Washington Post has never been fond of left-wing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. As serious questions mount about the state of Chavez's health, the paper's editorial page (1/5/13) found it a good time to take another swipe:

Venezuelans are bracing themselves for the death of the caudillo who has ruled them–and wrecked their once-prosperous country–over the past 13 years.

Economist Mark Weisbrot has a different take. In a "Room for Debate" discussion at the New York Times (1/4/13), he writes:

Since Hugo Chávez first took office, he and his party have won 13 of 14 national elections, mainly because they greatly improved the living standards of the majority of voters in Venezuela. Since 2004, after the economy recovered from the devastating opposition oil strike, poverty has been cut by half and extreme poverty by more than 70 percent.

Weisbrot goes on to show some of the other ways Venezuelans' lives have improved in the Chavez years, adding:

These numbers are not really in dispute among economists or international statistical agencies. If you follow Venezuela and haven't heard any of this, it's because the news media is giving you the equivalent of a "tea party" view of the country.

More:
http://www.fair.org/blog/2013/01/08/venezuelans-continue-to-defy-washington-post/

[Kurovski]

1. K&R

Thanks, Judi Lynn.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Hugo Chavez: Why Does He Hate Us?

Hugo Chavez: Why Does He Hate Us?
By Peter Hart
Jan 11 2013

If there's one thing media want you to know about Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, it's that he doesn't like the United States. On the PBS NewsHour (1/10/13), Ray Suarez told viewers that Chavez

antagonized Washington, it seemed, whenever he could, forging friendships with Iran's Mahmoud Abbas, Syria's embattled Bashar al-Assad, and he formed an especially close bond with Cuban Presidents Fidel and Raul Castro.

On the CBS Evening News (1/8/13), Scott Pelley said: "Chavez has made a career out of bashing the United States and allied himself with Iran and Syria."

While it's hard to say Chavez has made a "career" out of U.S.-bashing–he does have, after all, a full-time job as president of Venezuela–you, too, might be excused for harboring some hard feelings towards a government that helped to try to overthrow your own. Which may be why U.S. reports rarely bring up the 2002 coup attempt–and when they do, treat Washington's involvement in it as another nutty Chavez conspiracy theory.

More:
http://www.fair.org/blog/2013/01/11/hugo-chavez-why-does-he-hate-us/

[malthaussen]

3. A better question might be: why do we hate him?

It's moot, anyway. We'll be invading Venezuela soon.

-- Mal

[Judi Lynn]

4. They would have already if they didn't know how much the great majority of the people love him.

They know it would create a conflict which would be horrific, and engage most of this hemisphere's sympathy on the side of the people without a doubt.

That's why they've been trying so hard to deteriorate his image every way possible to the U.S. citizens, in order to organize public sympathy here against him, to support hostilities should they ever "go for it".

[malthaussen]

5. With the Hezbollah accusation, we have a convenient causus belli.

South America a hotbed of Islamists. Who knew?

-- Mal

[bemildred]

6. That one pops up every so often, never goes far because there is not much to it.

There are muslims in Latin America, but they are not looking to take over or make trouble.

[malthaussen]

7. Are you suggesting that "facts" make a difference?

Obviously, predicting the future is a mug's game, but I do find it interesting that as we prepare to abandon Afghanistan, we are making noises about the Islamist threat in other parts of the world.

-- Mal