One person killed in demonstration in Venezuela

[Judi Lynn]

Source: ElUniversal (opposition newspaper)

One person killed in demonstration in Venezuela
Caracas, Monday November 26 , 2007

Venezuelan Vice-President Jorge Rodríguez Monday confirmed that a man was killed amidst protests and riots staged in Maracay, central Aragua state, and Valencia, central Carabobo state, by demonstrators opposed to the constitutional reform who burnt tires, and blocked streets.

José Aníbal Oliveros Yépez (19) was a worker with a government firm. He was going to work when he ran into demonstrators who blocked the street. When he insisted in traversing the street, one of the demonstrators fired a gun and killed him.

According to Rodríguez the casualty came because the opposition leaders "are hopeless because they know the people of Venezuela supports President Chávez and will endorse the reform" in next December 2 referendum.






Read more: http://english.eluniversal.com/2007/11/26/en_refco_art_one-person-killed-in_26A1221039.shtml

[Robbien]

1. It is obvious this is the opposition paper

It puts this violent hoard of outside paid agitators in such a sympathetic light. The paper reports these agitators are so very desperate because they are hopeless so we must overlook their killing of citizens.

Our covert activities are so very frustrating to watch.

[ret5hd]

2. I predict a change (for the worse) in the tone of the tactics used by the oppo...

i hope i am wrong.

[EFerrari]

4. I have been very worried, too. n/t

[leftchick]

3. Deutsche Presse-Agentur

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/americas/news/article_1376550.php/Clashes_in_protest_against_reform_leave_1_dead_in_Venezuela


Caracas - One person was shot to death in the central Venezuelan city of Valencia during a protest against constitutional reform proposed by President Hugo Chavez, the authorities said Monday.

Eighty people were arrested in Valencia and in Maracay, in protests held on Sunday, Venezuelan Vice President Jorge Rodriguez said.

The constitutional changes promoted by Chavez propose a socialist form of government and allow the unlimited re-election of the president and will be put to a referendum on Sunday.

Rodriguez said demonstrators intended to block streets, burn tyres and 'cause unease in the population.'

'For how long are we going to allow a few unbalanced murderers to try to twist the will of the great majorities, the will of all the people of Venezuela to live in peace, in a democracy?' he said.

[Peace Patriot]

5. I suspect this is not a random shooting, but planned destabilization.

The idea is to make real democracy with transparent vote counting in honest elections seem violent and chaotic, and to slander the Venezuelan people as a whole, as a sort of mob or "dictatorship of the proletariat." That has been the gist of all corporate news monopoly reporting and opinion on Chavez and the peaceful, democratic Bolivarian Revolution. They fear it very deeply, just as they fear the great peace-minded, justice-minded, progressive American majority, and collude in corporate/fascist theft of our elections.

This shooting could be just an exemplar of the rightwing opposition, which has already shown its desire to rule by force. Or it could be a lone nut. Or--I think most likely--a planned random execution, to create anger and chaos, in support of other Bush/rightwing plans, short term or long term, to topple this democratic socialist government. They probably want to also cause a reaction by the Chavez government of curtailing these rightwing protests, to feed their disinformation "talking point" that Chavez is a "dictator." We've seen this pattern in U.S. Latin American policy, time and again. All the signs are there of another Chile or Argentina, although I think Chavez and his government are a lot stronger and more bull-headed, and also smarter, than those governments were. They know what they're up against. They have no illusions about it. And the Venezuelan people have also learned their history, and have already peacefully defeated one rightwing coup attempt.

My thoughts and prayers for the family of this poor man, who got in the way of rightwing protesters, rioters and thugs. I hope the murderer gets caught, and fesses up to who paid him to do it, if that's what happened.

[bemildred]

6. Well, it would not be the first time. nt

[Judi Lynn]

8. You're so right, we've seen the pattern over and over. Only those with short attention spans haven't

noticed.

Everything leading up to the violent attack on the Presidential Palace in Santiago, Chile on September 11, 1973 has happened!

Only decades later did we learn Richard Nixon plowed millions and millions of taxpayers' money, with the CIA's help, in the Chilean newspaper, El Mercurio and the radio and tv stations owned by Augustin Edwards, and using them as 24/7 megaphones for U.S. anti-Allende propaganda, starting BEFORE Allende even was elected, then continued to revile him around the clock after that, trumpeting his failures during the time Nixon had ordered his people (as recorded in declassified documents) to "make the economy scream."

They continued to use these "news" outlets to mold public perception to favor their puppet dictator, Augusto Pinochet, for years, and years, and years. The media owner, Augustin Edwards, and his son are both involved in a regional (Latin America) media organization headquartered in South Florida, right now, as well as continuing to run their own "news" media.

It all looks the same. All of it.

People who get whipped up by this just haven't been thoughtful enough to do their homework, and learn that it has happened before, and it all starts right here.

I hope you are right to think maybe Chávez and his administration may have studied what Nixon did to Allende, and to have taken measures to protect against some of the same things. It would be a tragedy if _Bush finally got him killed, no matter what our idiot, #### for brains right-wingers pray.

[rmgarrette64]

11. There are other patterns we've seen over and over too

And Chavez is following those too...

If Venezuala goes socialist, within a generation they will have a million or more dead, at the hands of their government. This is as close as a bet comes to a sure thing.

If Bush is behind attempts to stop this from coming to pass, then I find myself reluctantly supporting him. In the end, though, I do not think he is. I don't think he thinks or cares about anything south of Mexico.

R. Garrett

[Judi Lynn]

13. Would you post a link to a source which will indicate which socialists would kill

a lot of Latin Americans? It would be important for D.U.'ers to be able to read it.

So far, it has been the socialists, and imagined leftists which have been slaughtered all over South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

I'm sure we could benefit from some good information.

[rmgarrette64]

14. I thought it was clear that was a prediction

Then again, perhaps not. So let me be clearer.

Based on history, when a country goes socialist or communist, death and disaster follows. People are, to put it bluntly, human. When given absolute power, and convinced that they are acting in the ultimate good of their people, they mow over anyone who disagrees with them. By definition, if the socialists are acting in the name of the people, anyone who opposes them must be against the people. We've seen this in Europe, we've seen this in Asia, and we've seen this in Central America.

In terms of sheer death and human misery, socialists and communists are the best.

To date, Chavez appears to be following patterns set many times over.

I stand by my prediction, and no, there's clearly no link proving that something will happen in the future.

R. Garrett

[Judi Lynn]

15. Referring, of course, to a link indicating socialists do a lot of murdering.

In the Western Hemisphere, it's the socialists, and people the US-supported right-wing dictators imagine are socialists who get thrown out of airplanes, tortured in soccer stadiums, thrown into rivers, flung from helicopters, and disappeared in huge numbers.

Many DU'ers are aware of what has happened in the Western Hemisphere, and how it happened.

As I said, you should provide a link to a decent reference which will support and illustrate your ideas about socialists as violent, murderous people.

The fact that there has been a lot of death in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, etc., etc. targets the vast numbers of LEFISTS and SUSPECTED LEFTISTS or people who just got in the way when the right-wingers were trying to slaughter them.

You're not going to sell any Democrats on that garbage here. Perhaps your link could do it for you.

[rmgarrette64]

16. Ah, OK, that makes more sense

And you specify western hemisphere, so here goes.

Che Guavara
Fidel Castro

What I was really looking for is the Black Book of Communism. But, as this is not on the web, I hope you'll forgive a simple link to a Wikipedia article about the book.

As to selling Democrats on it, well, I'm sold. I'll admit to being unusual here, in that I'm one of the odd religious Democrats, but we do exist. I'd like to see us provide a greater safety net, and smooth a few more of the "rough edges of capitalism," but by no means do I want to see us become socialist.

Anyway, I hope the links meet your needs. The Black Book puts the Latin American death total due to socialism at about 150,000, which is much lower than in other areas of the world.

R. Garrett

[Judi Lynn]

18. You linked to two Cuban revolutaries (one from Argentina, fought in Cuba, obviously)

who fought against Fulgencio Batista, who slaughtered his own people, and ruled by force. Here's a brief description:

FULGENCIO BATISTA
President of Cuba
Cuban Army Sergeant Fulgencio Batista first seized power in a 1932 coup. He was President Roosevelt's handpicked dictator to counteract leftists who had overthrown strongman Cerardo Machado. Batista ruled or several years, then left for Miami, returning in 1952 just in time for another coup, against elected president Carlos Prio Socorras. His new regime was quickly recognized by President Eisenhower. Under Batista, U.S. interests flourished and little was said about democracy. With the loyal support of Batista, Mafioso boss Meyer Lansky developed Havana into an international drug port. Cabinet offices were bought and sold and military officials made huge sums on smuggling and vice rackets. Havana became a fashionable hot spot where America's rich and famous drank and gambled with mobsters. As the gap between the rich and poor grew wider, the poor grew impatient. In 1953, Fidel Castro led an armed group of rebels in a failed uprising on the Moncada army barracks. Castro temporarily fled the country and Batista struck back with a vengeance. Freedom of speech was curtailed and subversive teachers, lawyers and public officials were fired from their jobs. Death squads tortured and killed thousands of "communists". Batista was assisted in his crackdown by Lansky and other members of organized crime who believed Castro would jeopardize their gambling and drug trade. Despite this, Batista remained a friend to Eisenhower and the US until he was finally overthrown by Castro in 1959.
(snip/)

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/US_ThirdWorld/dictators.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He used death squads, like Masferrer's Tigers, to terrorize the population, and he threw open the doors to the American Mafia, bringing such dirtballs to Cuba it was deemed internationally as the "Whorehouse of the Caribbean."

I've noted previously your author co-authored with Carlos Alberto Montaner, a Cuban "exile," who is rabidly right-wing, just like the slime that washed up in Miami, immediately after the revolution, the politicians and oligarchy who feared what would happen when Cubans got the chance to get back at them for their ruthless actions.

As for your "TheRealCuba," you'll not find too many buyers anywhere outside Miami with that one. It's grotesque, and it's a reactionary right-wing Cuban "exile" creation, designed to sell their point of view.

You've come a long way to try to sell a right-wing package to leftists. Maybe you'll get lucky.

Don't need to try to drag religion into anything. It has little to do with politics, or, it SHOULDN'T.

[David__77]

7. Settle accounts after the election - maintain discipline until then.

It's clear that the fascist opposition will resort to armed tactics increasingly as they feel their privilege slipping away. There is no material basis for a Nicaragua-style contra war in the countryside, so they will resort to urban bombings and assassinations. I don't think they'll succeed though, and the main culprits will be arrested and locked away, or will flee abroad.

[EFerrari]

9. They're doing a good job so far of keeping order.

I hope the casualties of this struggle are kept to a minimum and I wonder how much of our US tax money is going into this destabilization effort.

[leaninglib]

10. The round mound from Caracas town has redefined democracy

as mob rule in a coat and tie; thus, there will surely be more violence.

Chavez is such a pathetic little bastard.

[MetaTrope]

12. I think we've got a photo of the protestors

[Pastiche423]

17. I think you're right