Post-Chavez Venezuela Would Be U.S. Ally -Opposition

[Khephra]

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela will restore friendly ties with its main oil client, the United States, and scale back relations with Cuba if opponents of President Hugo Chavez win a referendum on his rule and elections, an opposition leader said on Thursday.

Alejandro Armas said the opposition, if elected to govern following a defeat for left-winger Chavez in the Aug. 15 recall vote, would reshape his foreign policy, which has distanced Venezuela from the United States.

"Our political relations with the United States cannot be at odds with our economic relations," Armas told Reuters.

The opposition's blueprint for a post-Chavez government will be formally presented on Friday. It calls for a foreign policy that "helps to restore confidence in Venezuela as a democratic nation and as a political and commercial partner."

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5623544

[IndianaGreen]

1. Turning Venezuela into another Iraq?

More people "dancing" in the streets?

The Chavez "opposition" are as representative of the Venezuelan people as Chalabi and his goons are of the Iraqi people.

So sad that both Bush and Kerry favor a US led Pinochet-style coup in Venezuela, with similar results for progressives and the people.

No matter who wins in November, there is going to be a "Yanqui imperialista" coup!

[jpgray]

4. We might have to air-drop a Chavez statue this time for the photo op (nt)

[jpgray]

5. And also

Please send Kerry mail about this. Knowing his foreign policy advisers, his position doesn't surprise me, but I try to send something or call every week about Venezuela and Palestine.

[Imperialism Inc.]

15. You can also forward this open letter from another group:

I'm sure he has seen this many times, but it can't hurt for Kerry and his advisors to know that another supporter is aware of this group and their letter.

http://cybercircle.org/english/kerry2.html
Open Letter to John Kerry from the Bolivarian Circles-- USA

Dear Mr. Kerry,

The US citizen members and supporters of the International Bolivarian Circles of the US would like to openly express our support for your candidacy, and assure you that we will go to the polls this November to welcome you into the Whitehouse. As you stated so clearly in your May 27, 2004 statement on Venezuela “< the Bush administration’s > tacit support for the ill-conceived April 2002 military coup against Chavez” determined this long ago.

Our members will be voting for John Kerry. Those who have been following your statements on Venezuela may find this odd considering that you have made some pretty harsh accusations against President Chavez. Those who have read your May 27 statement may even find our support shocking given that you claimed “ has undermined the constitution and used his Bolivarian Circles to repress peaceful dissent….” While we refute this statement, we understand that you have been ill informed about what is going on in Venezuela today, what the constitution includes, and what the Bolivarian Circles are and do.

(much more)

[mom cat]

6. More like Haiti...imho

[Imperialism Inc.]

14. Did you see the blog entry from Al Giordano

Talking about his June 26 statement, which was an improvment over previous ones.
http://www.bigleftoutside.com/archives/000425.php

Kerry:
Stay Neutral in Free Elections: When the United States picks favorite candidates, we weaken the integrity of those political processes - and as often as not, our support can cause a backlash within a populace hypersensitive to meddling by the United States, as it did in Bolivia. -- Support Democratically Elected Leaders: Governments that uphold democratic principles deserve our support We should not countenance mob rule nor military force or inaction to oust an elected president, even an imperfect one such as Aristide in Haiti or Chavez in Venezuela. Instead, we should exercise our considerable diplomatic and moral force in support of democratically elected leaders.
--
This seems to bolster the idea that he is pandering for votes with his more critical statements. We may have to just wait and see what happens once he is elected.

He also recently released a plan for Latin America.
statement:
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0626.html
and the actual plan:
http://www.johnkerry.com/pdf/pr_2004_0626.pdf


Here is a link to a discussion on Nacro News about the above statements:
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2004/6/23/194224/927#6

[HuckleB]

2. This is news?

No offense. It's just what anyone would figure.

Besides, didn't Chavez look good in recent polls? I suspect today's announcement regarding Mercosur will only help him more.

[AP]

3. Don't forget to order Chavez's book on Amazon (it's out on Aug 1)

Chavez : Venezuela and the New Latin America
by Hugo Chávez, David Deutschmann (Editor), Javier Salado (Editor)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1920888004/ref=wl_it_dp/002-3666528-3809629?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=I2IGBVQ2AKPN3Z&colid=2YRWDUP4MTFCM

[Judi Lynn]

7. Thanks for the tip...............

From the Amazon link:

Soviet power has collapsed but that does not mean that neoliberal capitalism has to be the model followed by the peoples of the West... This world cannot be run by a universal police force that seeks to control everything." -President Hugo Chávez(snip)

More power to this man and everyone who yearns not only for a better life for his own fat ass but also for his neighbor, knowing you can't be really happy at someone else's expense.

Colonialism has raped and plundered this hemisphere, and its inheritors swagger about in Venezuela, buying up all the media and putting forward their position as the only one which exists, while the rest of the country, largely NON-EUROPEAN in descent struggles without hope. Shame on them.

[AP]

9. As John Edwards says, "we all do better when we all do better."

And as FDR said, "We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals. We now know that it is bad economics." (Unfortunately, he said that 60 or 70 years ago and about 30 years ago we stopped believing it.)

[Judi Lynn]

10. Amazing! Never heard either remark before. Wonderful. True. n/t

[AP]

12. The FDR quote is in Clinton's My Life, pp 223-4. It's a great quote.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

17. no way I'm reading that - the guys a pompous windbag!!!

[MasonJar]

8. We are going to be toast when China, EU and South American

countries and India take over the world (that is, of course if the Shrub leaves a world.) All our arrogance and greed will destroy us.

[AP]

11. I'm not afraid of competing with them on a level playing field.

I'll put America's educated and opportunity-rich middle class up against anyone's.

What I'm afraid of is if the fascists come to power in the US and we have to compete with the world with an uneducated middle class, and I'm worried (but not afraid) of fasicsm abroad -- but I'm sure, just as in WWII, democracy can beat fascism wherever it raises its head.

America will not lose in a world free of fascism. We might not win all the time, but we'll be better off from competing on a level playing field with wealthy, happy middle class countries all over the world.

[Judi Lynn]

13. Interesting the "opposition" decided to make this play today

when Hugo Chavez is celebrating getting Venezuela into Mercosur!

South America trade bloc expands

By Elliott Gotkine
BBC correspondent in Buenos Aires



Oil-rich Venezuela is set for an energy alliance with Argentina
The South American trade bloc, Mercosur, has accepted Mexico and Venezuela as associate members.

The announcement came on the final day of Mercosur's presidential summit, which was held this year at the Argentine resort of Puerto Iguazu.

Trade agreements were also reached with India, South Africa and Egypt.
(snip)

Among the most important agreements was the decision to accept Mexico and Venezuela as associate members of Mercosur, a status already enjoyed by Chile, Bolivia and Peru.
(snip/...)

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040708/wl_afp/mercosur_summit_040708222438


Kirchner and Chavez.

It was really a VERY big day for Venezuela, and all accomplished WITHOUT THE OPPOSITION.

[PATRICK]

16. Kerry and Holbrook

Well at least this one adviser thought, in wide eyed positive fashion that Plan Columbia was decent effort to solve the drug problem. Maybe as implemented by Bush it turned out not to be the case, but in fact the whole venture and its philosophy was dangerously rotten- suggesting once that not all experts and vaunted brains should be trusted 100% in matters of life, death and democracy.

This was a panel discussion lauding Plan Columbia on TV. A lot of these ideas are common to all power circles, both parties and create a moral crevice into which the Bushistas easily wedge with total immunity and even enthusiastic support. Pragmatism, toughness, strength... all these notions have to be rethought, all predestined horrors have to viewed with something less than discredited idealism and shrinking US military might.

I don't know who advises Kerry directly, but as with Iraq joining Bush in dangerous territory quickly becomes a quagmire of serious crimes against humanity- the old games are kaput.

And highly visible to many many people who are NOT gurus of foreign policy.

[IndianaGreen]

18. Plan Colombia was Clinton's contribution to genocide

Plan Colombia is nothing less than a counter-insurgency program to support the Colombian elites against the peasants and workers. Why do you think Clinton did not close the School of the Americas, the school for assassins at Fort Benning?

The endless war on drugs is another sham like the war on terrorism!

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

19. Absolutely.

It is, IMHO, his worst legacy tho' its not his legacy alone, of course

[Minstrel Boy]

20. "Post-Bush US Would Be Venezuela Ally" - not holding my breath

to see that headline. But God, wouldn't that be nice?