Venezuela strife breeding disdain for law-Chavez:president's authority supersedes that of the courts

Boston Globe ^ | January 12, 2003 | Mike Ceaser

[Cincinatus' Wife]

CARACAS - The government says a disguised coup is taking place. The opposition accuses the government of imposing dictatorship. But the real victim, observers say, is the rule of law.

The detention of a high-ranking national guard officer in defiance of a judge's order, and the opposition's call not to pay taxes, are the latest examples of how both sides in the struggle over President Hugo Chavez's rule have flouted Venezuela's never-strong legal structure during the six-week strike. Some observers warn that the disdain for the law could push this nation of 24 million over the edge and prompt widespread violence or even civil war.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Venezuela's Chavez Firm, Foes Seek Overseas Backing***CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, already fighting to restart an oil sector crippled by an opposition strike, on Saturday threatened to take over banks which joined the six-week shutdown. In two national broadcasts on Saturday, leftist Chavez lashed out at foes he branded "terrorists" and hardened a stance that seemed certain to further inflame the political conflict over his rule in world's No. 5 oil exporter. "They will not defeat us on any battlefield," said Chavez, his face flushed as he lambasted foes in a speech peppered with revolutionary rhetoric and threats.

……………Opposition leaders, an alliance of political parties, unions and business groups, on Saturday sought to shore up international support for their campaign. They welcomed U.S. backing for a proposal that would involve other nations in efforts to break the tense stalemate. International concern sharpened after the strike helped push oil prices to two-year highs of over $30 a barrel at a time when the United States is preparing for a possible attack on Iraq. Venezuela usually supplies more than 13 percent of U.S. oil imports.

Opposition negotiator Timoteo Zambrano and union boss Carlos Ortega, a bitter Chavez foe, planned to travel to the United States on Saturday for meetings with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the State Department. "This is to explain the Venezuelan conflict, to intensify our international actions, and to make sure there is more attention to the Venezuelan problem from the international community," Zambrano told Reuters by telephone from Caracas airport before leaving.

The United States said on Friday it supports forming a group of key regional nations who could nudge both sides to an electoral solution to end their bitter impasse. U.S. officials said they hoped to bolster talks brokered by the Organization of American States that have so far failed to reach an accord. Chavez said he had also spoken with the U.N. chief to explain he was fighting against "coup mongers and fascists."***

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez holds a live national address at a high school in Caracas January 7, 2003. Chavez said he vowed to resist what he called an 'economic war' to oust him. Thousands of his foes in a march tore up income-tax forms as they added a tax revolt to a strike crippling the nation's crucial oil exports. REUTERS/Kimberly White

Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

[norraad]

He's holed up in a high school shaking his fist at the "bad mans"?

Smooth move, xlax.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

An oil leak floats on the surface of Maracaibo lake in western Venezuela, Friday, Jan 10, 2003. Dissident executives of the state owned oil company PDVSA claim 31 accidents have occurred since the nationwide strike. The government claims accidents are normal but that they have to resolve the problem. (AP Photo/Gobernacion del Zulia)

[madfly]

fyi

[backhoe]

I will cross-link this in a moment- you know I comment little, preferring to let my links speak for me, and directing readers to information I think they need to have- but this needs commentary.

The terrorist and "national liberation" movements and groups are all interlinked. Consult my links, and view the evidence- judge for yourself. They have been for decades.

There is a fire burning and growing in our own backyard:

-The Fire Down South...( Latin America--)--

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Big THANK YOU backhoe.

Bump!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

January 9, 2003 - Cuba blasts critics of Venezuelan oil deal - By Marc Frank [Full Text] HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba blasted critics of a controversial oil agreement with Venezuela Thursday, insisting it was no give-away, as the first crude arrived from the South American country since a general strike began there on Dec. 2.

The Foreign Ministry characterized as a "gross fascist lie," charges by those trying to oust Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that the World's No. 5 oil exporter sells Cuba cheap crude to prop-up the communist-run Caribbean island.

"Those with evil intentions who are putting forward the slander about Chavez giving oil to Cuba, not only fail to mention the millions of dollars paid by Cuba ... but also in a fantastic manner ignore that there is no gift at all," the Foreign Ministry said.

Chavez's praise for Cuba, and friendship with President Fidel Castro, is one reason his opponents are trying to force him from office, as they fear he plans to impose a similar workers' state on the country.

Cuba, which depends on Venezuela for more than half of its oil imports, received some relief this week from a mounting energy crisis caused by the strike and rising oil prices, when two tankers carrying Venezuelan crude arrived.

Cuba imports approximately 100,000 barrels of oil per day for transportation, agriculture and industry, the government has reported, and produces the equivalent of 75,000 to 80,000 bpd in oil and gas, mainly used to generate electricity.

Chavez's opponents called demonstrations for Thursday that include the demand he stop giving away oil to Cuba. The general strike has crippled Venezuela's oil production and exports, though Chavez insists he will break it and is restarting the oil industry.

Chavez and Castro signed an agreement in 2000 under which Venezuela exports up to 53,000 barrels of oil per day to Cuba, with up to 25 percent of the cost payable over 15 years after a two-year grace period.

The Foreign Ministry said it was on time with payments that have amounted to some $550 million since the deal was signed, adding that Cuba had sustained $200 million in damages due to disruptions in supplies caused by the political turmoil in the South American country.

A botched coup against Chavez last April led to a five-month disruption of supplies, forcing Cuba to close a refinery and purchase oil and derivatives on less favorable terms, the Foreign Ministry said, adding a similar situation had developed since Dec. 2. [End]

Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service

[backhoe]

Thanks for the thanks, Cincy.

We ignore this stuff at our own peril- the "media" fulminates for weeks over more or less harmless & careless remarks by Trent Lott, while a rag-tag assortment of revolutionaries, malcontents, and drug overlords plot anarchy due South of us...

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I guess media coverages depends on its agreement with the issue at hand.

[madfly]

Thanks for bringing so much to this forum. I've been here two years and learned a lot from you, but mostly I've learned I don't know very much. (No offense, lol) Here is a snippet about the whole gang scurrying to find oil.

http://www.iht.com/articles/83027.html

The United States is also working with Mexico and the Organization of American States to cobble together a coalition of South American governments to broker a truce. Diplomats working on the crisis are worried that the OAS, which has spearheaded negotiations, lacks the clout to get Chavez to consider concessions.

. But senior Venezuelan officials have already expressed suspicions about the administration's intentions.

. "We trust that the United States will not take a stand that will divide this country into pro-Americans and anti-Americans," Venezuela's foreign minister, Roy Chaderton, said in an interview. "It is not important to us that they see our mistakes and our defects. But we want them to respect that this is a democratically elected government."

. The Venezuelan constitution allows for a recall vote halfway through a president's term, which in Chavez's case would be August. The opposition has said that is too late. The constitution could also be amended by the national legislature to allow for earlier elections, but Chavez has rejected that idea. A third option would be a nonbinding referendum on Chavez's popularity in February. The opposition is proceeding with plans for the plebiscite, but Chavez has challenged its constitutionality.

. American officials say they do not care which electoral option is accepted, as long as an agreement is reached that ends the violence and allows renewed oil production.

. "This is an incredibly important moment in Venezuelan history," a senior State Department official said. "Things are happening now that are going to affect Venezuela for decades: its energy relationship with the United States, the structure of PDVSA, the integrity and credibility of its democratic institutions, all of these things are at stake."

. But many Latin American experts say the administration's efforts have been too little, too late. They contend that the Bush administration, distracted by Iraq, allowed Venezuela's problems to fester.

. Others say the administration committed two blunders last year that have hurt its credibility with Chavez and other Latin American leaders: in April, by appearing to endorse an attempted coup against the democratically elected Chavez government, and in December by briefly joining the opposition's call for "early elections."

. The result has been a low-keyed, unproductive effort by Washington to resolve the impasse, experts said. "The U.S. only seems able to give rhetorical calls from the sidelines in favor of a constitutional solution," said Michael Shifter at the InterAmerican Dialogue, a Washington policy group. "Washington is missing an opportunity to show some leadership." WASHINGTON The crisis in Venezuela is creating major new complications for the Bush administration's campaign to oust Saddam Hussein, causing oil shortages that would probably make a Gulf war more costly to the economy than once anticipated, American officials and industry experts said.

. A 40-day strike has virtually shut down Venezuela's oil industry, the fifth largest in the world, and proven more difficult to resolve than the administration had expected, American officials and experts said. Administration efforts to broker a truce also have been hamstrung by mistrust toward American diplomats and disagreements among Venezuela's neighbors, they said.

. Venezuela has for decades been one of the United States' most dependable sources of petroleum, and the strike has already hurt some American refineries and driven up the price of gasoline at the pump by at least 10 cents a gallon, the officials and experts say.

. Those shortages will only worsen, and prices continue to rise, if the United States attacks Iraq, the experts predicted. That means war in the Gulf could prove significantly more costly to the American economy than had been projected, if the Venezuelan standoff is not ended soon. For that reason, the Bush administration has been debating plans to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an emergency stash of nearly 600 million gallons of crude.

. For now, though, the White House has decided to defer those plans, mainly to keep oil available in case of war in Iraq, officials said.

. "A few months ago, everybody thought that if we went to war in Iraq, oil wouldn't be a major problem because there was enough spare capacity to make up for lost Iraqi oil," said Larry Goldstein, president of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation, a research organization. "But no one then was contemplating lost Venezuelan oil."

. "Now," he said, "we won't have enough spare capacity to take care of both those events."

[backhoe]

I guess media coverages depends on its agreement with the issue at hand.

It never ceases to amaze me that when you compare the stories on the web ( or what's discussed on talk radio ) with what is in print or on TV, you see how lockstep the mainstream media really is.

The way it seems to work, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the LA Times all choose about 5 stories, and everone else runs with those for the day.

[backhoe]

Thanks for bringing so much to this forum.

I appreciate that more than you may know- I really never know who I reach with links and comments. One of my goals- I suppose you could call it an agenda- is to get more people to go and get their own news, whether it's from the web, talk radio, whatever- and quit relying on the gullible, shallow, celebrity-worship "press."

If there was one single lesson to be drawn from that awful "decade of fraud(s)" that we just left in the last century, it is that the press and entertainment divisions of the media are different wings of the same corrupt bird of prey...

[livius]

Others say the administration committed two blunders last year that have hurt its credibility with Chavez and other Latin American leaders: in April, by appearing to endorse an attempted coup against the democratically elected Chavez government, and in December by briefly...

Personally, I think the blunders have been the result of not intervening clearly or obviously enough, rather than the reverse. Our silence is giving the impression that we don't really care, and can't do anything about it, anyway. (And this is without even taking into consideration the treacherous activities of the 19 Dems and independents who just sent a letter of support to Chavez).

[Free the USA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[shanec]

For more 'rule of law' bending by Chavez, look for...

Middle of THIS WEEK, possibly Jan 14, TSJ (Supreme Court, Venezuela) will announce...

- In 'Sala Electoral': Leonardo Pizani can not be member of CNE board (electoral authority), thus all recent decisions taken by the board with his participation are invalid. This blocks the non-binding Feb 2 referendum on whether or not Chavez should resign.

- In 'Sala Constitutional': The question put for referendum Feb 2 is not valid, thus Feb 2 referendum is also blocked through this way, just for redundant safety in numbers.

In addition, two more Supreme Court rulings are readied as well, but with less certain dates:

The detention of dissident G.N. general Carlos Alfonzo Martinez (without a warrant or any charges) is ruled "legal", and the general will stay under arrest.

Government intervention of private TV stations and media outlets is ruled "legal".

The situation in Venezuela can best be compared to post-colonial Africa, where the supreme courts of Marxist "Peoples Republics" allowed their ruling dictator and his party to do anything ... with the added danger to world stability that Venezuela is the third largest exporter of oil to the United States, and has billions of petro-dollars. And that the sympathetic Chavez regime, for that reason, is sought out by leftist terrorist groups and dictators as a secure source of financing and aid...

-Shane

[shanec]

"An oil leak floats on the surface of Maracaibo lake in western Venezuela, Friday, Jan 10, 2003. Dissident executives of the state owned oil company PDVSA claim 31 accidents have occurred since the nationwide strike."

Where's GreenPeace and all the other environmental gastapo? Oh, yeah, forgot, they don't go after dictators acting recklessly, just us capitalists.

-Shane

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump! Good information.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Where's GreenPeace

They are the new champions of communism.

[madfly]

bump