Boston Globe: The fall of Otto Reich

Boston Globe ^ | December 18, 2002 | staff

[Cincinatus' Wife]

OTTO J. REICH got a surprise when he returned from Brazil last month: He was no longer assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere. The Bush administration moved him to a smaller office because his recess appointment expired when the congressional session ended. But the administration is not signaling its intention to seek Senate approval of his permanent appointment. That's good news for anyone who wants the United States to embark on policies toward Latin American that are devoid of the archaic, reflexive anticommunism of the 1980s.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Lawmakers Want Reich's Reinstatement *** Reich, a Cuban-American and a strident anti-Communist, has irritated Democrats including former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), because of Reich's support for the Cuban economic embargo and the Nicaraguan Contra rebels in the 1980s, who fought against the Sandinista government which was later deposed.

……….Sources told CNSNews.com that Bush will probably re-nominate Reich for his old job and he will probably win Senate confirmation when the 108th Congress convenes in January because of the new GOP majority. Reich has previously served as the assistant administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development and as a special advisor to former Secretary of State George Shultz in the Reagan administration. During that time, he established and managed the interagency Office of Public Diplomacy for Latin America and the Caribbean. From 1986 to 1989, Reich was the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela and received the State Department's Exemplary Service Award and Superior Honor Award.***

Fidel Castro - Cuba

Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

Chavez Blocking Vote on His Rule*** CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - During his campaign to dismantle a corrupt political system, Hugo Chavez's favorite tool was a popular referendum. Now, the president is infuriating opponents by snubbing a petition to hold a referendum on his rule.

The drive for signatures gathered force at an eastern Caracas plaza that has been occupied for seven days by more than 100 dissident military officers and thousands of civilians demanding Chavez's ouster. Opposition political parties say more than 1.2 million people, or 10 percent of registered voters, have signed - the number required by Venezuela's constitution to petition for a referendum on "matters of national importance." They plan to deliver the signatures next week, and want the vote held in December. Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel rebuffed the petition, insisting Monday "we can easily get 10, 15, 20 percent of the people to say that they are against the referendum."

Critics say that would be taking a page out the playbook of Chavez's good friend, Fidel Castro, who scorned a petitioning drive to hold a referendum for more civil liberties in Cuba earlier this year. Instead, Castro supported a counter-petition for a constitutional reform declaring the island's socialist system untouchable. Castro's government later claimed that 8.1 million of Cuba's 8.2 million eligible voters signed the "socialism forever" petition - a typically resounding return of 98.7 percent in favor.

But Chavez doesn't plan to engage in a battle of petitions, arguing that the constitution requires petitioners to wait until August - the midpoint of Chavez's term - before demanding a vote. Unlike the referendum proposed by the opposition, the result of the August vote would be binding. Former Supreme Court Justice Hildegard Rondon de Sanso, a Chavez critic, said the president has a point in saying that the only constitutional way to oust a president is in the midterm referendum. But most Chavez opponents won't hear of waiting until next year. They say Chavez can no longer hold together a country in economic tailspin. Polarization over Chavez's leftist policies helped trigger an April coup that briefly ousted the president and left dozens dead.***

Venezuela Election Body Agrees to Chavez Referendum *** CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's election authorities agreed early on Thursday to hold a nonbinding referendum in February demanded by the opposition on whether President Hugo Chavez should resign, an option dismissed by the populist leader who refuses to step down. The consultative vote, scheduled for Feb. 2, would not legally force Chavez from office. But his foes believe a decisive rejection would deliver a political defeat that could press the president into resigning and trigger elections in the world's fifth-largest oil exporter. Alfredo Avella, president of the National Electoral Council, said the institution that oversees elections and polls agreed to stage the popular referendum on the question of whether Chavez should resign immediately from office. ***

Venezuela Court Halts Vote on Chavez - Venezuelan President's Approval Below 30 Percent *** CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's Supreme Court put the brakes on opposition efforts to force a non-binding referendum on President Hugo Chavez's presidency, quashing a decision hours earlier by the electoral council to conduct the vote. The back-to-back decisions on Thursday threw Venezuela into political turmoil. Foes and supporters of Chavez held rival demonstrations, with police keeping them apart. Opposition leaders threatened a general strike on Monday to press for the non-binding vote on whether the president should resign. ***

[RLK]

tourists want to visit the island...

[Caipirabob]

The situation with Chavez in Venezuela falls outside of the constitution, and so does the resolution.

[anniegetyourgun]

The Leftist commie-hugging tendencies of the Globe are fully throated in this article.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Yes the Globe cheers for Castro/Chavez. Disgusting.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Yes, we wouldn't want to upset tourists bringing U.S. dollars to help shore up Castro's slave state or deny professors the opportunity to indoctrinate our youth. Besides, the mindless Hollywood "personalites" are charmed by dictators. Ohhhh, they're so cool.

[anniegetyourgun]

And display such glee over the demise of the anti-communist Reich nomination.

[RippleFire]

BUMP

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bumps!!

[hobbes1]

The Boston Globe Crawls a little bit farther up Chris Dodds A$$.....

[hobbes1]

ping.

[hobbes1]

And display such glee over the demise of the anti-communist Reich nomination.

The News of Reichs demise is premature.

[ModelBreaker]

Chavez is no democrat, but unlike his friend Castro, he has not created a dictatorship in Venezuela.

Not quite, not yet. But if anyone thinks Chavez has any plans to give up power ever, they are nuts. This is Salvador Allende all over again.

[Capriole]

The News of Reichs demise is premature.

I hope you're right. Reich is a hero and just what is needed to hold the eroding ground against the forces of leftist pro-Castro agitators. I have heard even Republicans go on about how Castro really isn't so bad, and there have been articles in major newspapers about how they aren't really Marxist-Leninists over there anymore, but are just giving lip service to totalitarian doctrines. Hah! Tell that to the prisoners suffering in Castro's dungeons. Tell that to the impoverished millions in Cuba.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!!

[cloud8]

We know Chris Dodd's hatred of Otto Reich goes back at least to Sandanista days. But Dodd's not going to be able to thwart Reich's nomination any longer. My question is, what specifically does Sen. Lugar have against the Under Secretary? WSJ backed his appointment early on, describing him as experienced in LA affairs and tough on communism. Sounds to me like he's the best man for the job. Why shouldn't Reich be a shoe-in in the next Congress?

BTW the Globe's pro-populist, anti-free market drivel is a worse LA policy than Dodd's. What is needed in the Southern Hemisphere is: 1. fiscal responsibility = stable government IN and IMF & World Bank OUT; 2. trade and a free market = jobs and a more mobile class structure; 3. freedom from terror = Shining Path, FARC, marxist thugs and drug lords OUT. I am afraid, however, with Chavez and Lula in, things are going to get worse before they get better.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Opposition members protest behind a police line in Caracas, December 17, 2002. Thousands of protesters marched to demand the ouster of President Hugo Chavez in the 16th day of a strike that has crippled Venezuela's vital oil industry. A lot of people agree with you.

[ModelBreaker]

I said: This is Salvador Allende all over again.

You replied: which is a funny comment, since the detractors of the oiligarchs at the PDVSA point to them as being like pinochet.

Then they need to get their history straight. Allende was a popularly elected leader, who was preparing to subvert the next election and become dictator for life. Pinochet was a dictator who planned to and ultimately turned power over to civilians after a substantial transition dictatorship.

Pinochet's was no saint and his rule was clearly a mixed bag for Chile, while he held power. But in the end, the result of his rule was democracy. The result of Allende's (had the coup not occurred) would have been a communist totaliarian state. Big difference.

Chavez seems to me to be much much closer to the Allende model than the Pinochet model.