upcoming "coup" in Venezuela?

[medeak]

With most of the polls and surveys showing that Chavez has a huge advantage in the upcoming December elections, there remains little doubt about who will win the presidential elections on December 3rd. However, the opposition candidates and opposition media in Venezuela have a habit of claiming fraud every time Chavez or his party win an election. The stage is already being set for the upcoming elections, as mainstream media in Venezuela constantly mention the possibility of fraud, and claims the elections are not transparent. The question remains; how can they claim fraud when dozens of surveys taken over the last few months show that the election won't even be a close contest? And secondly, why would the Chavez government commit fraud when it is obvious that they will easily win? The answer: it is all part of a plan to overthrow the government in the days following the December 3rd election.


The opposition parties in Venezuela have been making claims of fraudulent elections over the last few years. Often times they focus on the "captahuella" machines, which take the voters fingerprint to prevent them from voting more than once. Other times the claims center on the CNE, the national electoral body which oversees the elections. The opposition claims that this body is totally under the control of the Chavez government. All of these claims by the opposition are, of course, widely covered in the private media, and have created the feeling that Venezuela has unfair elections. So, for the December presidential elections, whether people believe it or not, this is all more of the same old story.


Last week, however, leaders of the opposition stepped up their rhetoric and discussed a "plan" for the days surrounding the elections. Prominent journalistic businessman Rafael Poleo, who was also involved in the 2002 coup attempt, announced on the cable network Globovision the opposition "plan" for December 3rd, 4th, and 5th. The plan calls for all voters aligned with the opposition to come out and vote on December 3rd. Then, on December 4th, claiming that the elections were fraudulent, the opposition voters must take to the streets to protest the Chavez victory. Referring to the "Orange Revolution," when popular protests in Ukraine overturned fraudulent elections in 2004, Poleo claims that the electoral fraud is already in place, and makes a call for all Venezuelans who are opposed to Chavez to come out into the streets and protest on December 4th. He emphasizes that Manuel Rosales, the opposition candidate, must join this movement on December 4th and claim that the elections were fraudulent. If he does, says Poleo, Rosales could become the most important person in 21st century Venezuelan history.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1878

[bullimiami]

1. i think a big part of the problem is that bushco, neocons, cia, ned and other

nefarious ngo's have it in for anyone who doesnt play ball with them and they keep supporting and egging on the venezuelan minority opposition.

the opposition doesnt try to come to terms with their minority status or work within the system partially because their powerful, democracy disrespecting friends to the north wont leave them to sort it out for themselves.

[Dr.Phool]

3. ned lamont is going to overthrow chavez?

He couldn't even take out Lieberman!






:rofl:

I know. National Endowment for Democrazy.

Just couldn't resist a bad joke.
:spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank:

[grizmaster]

2. bush already tried one failed coup in 2002

I wouldn't put it past him to try again

[Peace Patriot]

4. The Chavez revolution is grass roots based, very popular and very strong.

The economy has shown steady growth under Chavez, all indicators up. No doubt the absurd rich oil elite that keeps trying to unseat the Chavez government, by violence and all manner of nefarious means, funded with our tax dollars, are scheming to try again. I don't think their main supporters, about 20% of the population--the latte drinking jaguar owners--have enough care about politics, or fortitude, to stay in the streets for long. They are used to being empowered by coups and plots, not by hard political work or protest. And they are way, way outnumbered. In 2002, during the violent military coup (applauded by the Bush Junta), tens of thousands of Venezuelans poured into the streets, demanding the return of their elected president Chavez and re-opening of the separately elected National Assembly (which the coupsters had shut down). The Venezuelans know what they're dealing with. They are a lot savvier, and quicker to act, than we lazy-butts in the north (who think that Diebold/ES&S-controlled (s)elections are going to result in justice and an end to the war). (In Venezuela, they have electronic voting, but with OPEN SOURCE programming code! --also universal voter-verified paper trail, and fingerprint ID.)

The Bushites can cause trouble in Venezuela--and you can be sure that our war profiteering corporate news monopolies will help them do it. The news monopolies in Venezuela are just like ours, by the way--and even openly supported the 2002 coup. But I don't think they can greatly affect the awesome, peaceful, democratic, leftist (majorityist) revolution that is occurring throughout Latin America, except by massive violence, which they don't have all geared up as yet (--still working on it in Paraguay and Colombia).

And I don't think they can decapitate this movement. Too many leaders--in Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, as well as Venezuela, and large new leftist movements in Ecuador (about to win the elections), Peru (next election cycle), Mexico and elsewhere. As Evo Morales--the first indigenous president of Bolivia--has said: "The time of the people has come." It is like an ocean wave. It is people-based, not leader-based. That is its strength.

The OAS, and EU election monitors will be present (130 of them just arriving in Venezuela). And the Carter Center will likely be there as well. All three of these independent monitoring groups unanimously declared previous Venezuelan elections honest and aboveboard. I expect the same in December. And, as the article points out, Chavez has no need to steal the elections. He is enormously popular, with 60% to 65% approval ratings in all reputable polls. I wish he DID have a decent opposition. Anybody can be tempted to become full of himself and dictatorial. I have seen NO evidence of it, but it's always a danger when the opposition are such stupid parasites allied with global corporate predators and murderous Bushite fascists. The best criticism of Chavez actually comes from the left. (On any real political spectrum, Chavez is somewhere in the MIDDLE--mixed socialist/capitalist economy, strong on social justice but also on private property rights.)

So, we'll see what the rightwing minority gets up to. Personally, I think the people of Venezuela, and the people of South America, can handle it. (Lula da Silva, the former steelworker president of Brazil, recently re-elected, went out of his way to make a friendly visit to Chavez last week, for the opening of the new Orinoco River bridge. Do the Bushites really want Brazil as an enemy, too?)