tagged w/ Hugo Chavez
-
Why are so many people so scared? Maybe it's because of our rulers' enormous "fear machine." So says Eduardo Galeano, in this rare and charming interview. But there is reason for optimism. Find out just why, back in April, Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez gave Barack Obama a copy of Galeano’s book, Open Veins of Latin America. Eduardo Galeano is the author most recently of Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone, published by Nation Books. His poignant, poetic stories -- several of which he reads aloud here -- reveal history while inspiring more.Why are so many people so scared? Maybe it's because of our rulers' enormous... more
-
-
GRITtv
-
added this
-
2 years ago
- |
-
CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez is threatening again to shut down Globovision, the sole television channel in Venezuela that regularly criticizes him — saying it had stirred panic for reporting an earthquake before the government announced it.
"We're not going to tolerate a crazy man with a cannon shooting it at the whole world," Chavez said on his weekly television and radio show Sunday, referring to Alberto Ravell, the Globovision general manager. "Enough! . . . This has to end or I'll stop calling myself Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias."
"You are playing with fire, manipulating, inciting hate and much more. All of you: television networks, radio stations, papers," he said. "Don't make a mistake with me."
--------
The question is, what is going to happen he day that Chavez eliminates all ways of opposition? Who is he going to blame them?CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez is threatening again to shut down... more
-
-
The IMF and World Bank are knocking on Latin America's door. A headline in Tuesday's Washington Post reads, "Latin America Appears to Warm to IMF." But that is not what Bolivia's Evo Morales--the country's first indigenous president--said last week when he spoke in front of the United Nations on Earth Day. Morales told reporters that the IMF had "blackmailed" his country and that privatization of basic services and natural resources was not an option.
GRITtv had a chance to sit down with Morales and discuss his equality agenda, socialism, and the Bolivian banking system.The IMF and World Bank are knocking on Latin America's door. A headline in... more
-
-
GRITtv
-
added this
-
3 years ago
- |
-
Journo Michael Tomasky asks whether Barack Obama has weakened the US by happily shaking hands with Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?Journo Michael Tomasky asks whether Barack Obama has weakened the US by happily... more
-
-
One of Venezuela's main opposition leaders, who is facing a corruption trial in his own country, has arrived in Peru, Peruvian officials say.
Manuel Rosales, who ran against President Hugo Chavez in the 2006 presidential poll, has said the charges against him are politically motivated.
He had been in hiding since charges were filed last month.
Peruvian officials said Mr Rosales was in Lima as a tourist and had so far not requested asylum.
Mr Rosales, who is mayor of Venezuela's second biggest city, Maracaibo, is facing multi-million-dollar corruption charges relating to his time as the governor of Zulia state.
Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde said Mr Rosales and his family had arrived in Lima at the weekend as tourists and could therefore stay up to 180 days.
He told Colombia's Caracol Radio that if Mr Rosales wished to seek asylum, he would have to follow all the procedures and the Peruvian government "would evaluate if there was cause to grant it".
The head of Mr Rosales's A New Era Party (UNT), Omar Barboza, confirmed that the opposition leader was in the Peruvian capital.
"Rosales took the decision to use the right of asylum to protect his personal integrity and his political rights," Mr Barboza told BBC Mundo.
One of Mr Rosales's lawyers in Venezuela, Alvaro Castillo, told the Associated Press his client had left the country because "he wasn't going to have a fair or clean or impartial trial."
Opposition activists in Venezuela say President Chavez's government is conducting a witch-hunt against their leaders in a bid to undermine their victories in last year's local elections.
The authorities deny that opposition figures are being politically persecuted and say any charges against them have been filed in accordance with the law.
Mr Rosales has long been a vocal critic of President Chavez, running against him in the 2006 presidential election.
Government supporters accuse him of taking part in the short-lived coup against Mr Chavez in April 2002.
Mr Rosales has insisted that it was an honest mistake in the confusion that followed the announcement of the president's resignation.One of Venezuela's main opposition leaders, who is facing a corruption trial in... more
-
-
Full Article: http://linkbee.com/StrengtheningUSA
Defending his brand of world politics, President Barack Obama said Sunday that he "strengthens our hand" by reaching out to enemies of the United States and making sure that the nation is a leader, not a lecturer, of democracy.
Obama's foreign doctrine emerged across his four-day trip to Latin America, his first extended venture to a region of the world where resentment of U.S. power still lingers. He got a smile, handshakes and even a gift from incendiary leftist leader Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and embraced overtures of new relations from isolated Cuban President Raul Castro.
"The whole notion was that if we showed courtesy or opened up dialogue...(Continue Story: http://linkbee.com/StrengtheningUSA)Full Article: http://linkbee.com/StrengtheningUSA
Defending his brand of world... more
-
-
Viper7
-
added this
-
3 years ago
- |
-
By Elias Nawas, Southern Methodist University Graduate Student, Dallas TX – Sat Apr 18, 9:28am CT
With all modesty, whilst still engrafting a delicate tone of humor, President Barack Obama reached out to the various United States' diversified neighbors, and to particularly one nation's president — who also happens to be an abrasive US critic — offering the fiery leftist Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, a once 'Cold War' opponent, with a speedy grasp and grin the hope of a "fresh beginning".
President Obama, during his 'Summit of the Americas' in the island capital of Trinidad — Port of Spain, also conveyed his readiness to engage in talks with Cuban President Raul Castro on matters that were completely off table for the Havana state — especially that including the communist governments' political prisoners' upholding.
This goodwill and friendly attitude was reciprocated with a gesture from President Chavez when he presented President Obama a book, "Open Veins of Latin America — Las Venas Abiertas de America Latina, written by Eduardo Galeano, a Uruguayan journalist in 1971.
To not only mention the positive feedback, but one also has to note that not all Latin American leaders have been impressed by the US President. Namely, Ecuadorian President 'Rafael Correa' as well as Bolivian President Evo Morales still remained skeptical (both about President Obama and US's foreign policy towards the Latin Neighbors).
My particular ideology relating to what I have previously delineated and outlined resides in what I am going to portray hereafter;
Although the Fifth Summit of the Americas during April can be regarded mostly as a failure, not only because Nicaragua, Bolivia, Dominica, and Honduras boycotted in protest of Cuba’s absence, but also because the participating Summit members “failed” to adopt an official declaration; the leaders of the participating 34 countries agreed to boost and encourage joint solutions to face the most pressing challenges and troubles facing the region, while promoting environmental sustainability, human prosperity etc...
Even though President Ortega, president of Nicaragua, delivered an acerbic and scalding fifty-minute speech denouncing US imperialism and capitalism as the root of much regional mischievousness, President Obama responded with "I'm grateful that President Ortega did not blame me for things that happened when I was three months old" to an applause and laughter from the other Summit-attending leaders, while stating that the journey “must be traveled” to make headway and overcome decades of mistrust – also, President Obama hoped to connect with Colombia, Chile, Canada, Haiti and Peru seeking individual sessions with their leaders.
Furthermore, President Obama added that he was disinterested in talking just for the sake of talking, but believed that the U.S.–Cuban relations can and ought to be moved in a new direction. Later, President Obama acted upon his words ordering ease-of-travel restrictions for Americans with relatives in Cuba, which President Castro, in return to such a step, offered his willingness to discuss ‘everything’ that divides the two countries.
To conclude, I believe that our time period right here and right now will be legendary.I base my say on this, solely on my conviction that diplomacy and open communication are good strategies for allies and enemies alike, but yet should be coupled with something deeper than casual diplomacy which primarily is, but not confined to, sincerity in these relations and talks.
To reinforce a positive mindset-approach towards foreign policy amongst all nations, I will finally quote President Obama by saying “I did not come here to debate the past, but I came here to deal with the future; we must learn from history but we can not and should not be trapped by it”.
— Elias NawasBy Elias Nawas, Southern Methodist University Graduate Student, Dallas TX – Sat... more
-
-
Viper7
-
added this
-
3 years ago
- |
-
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday called US President Barack Obama "ignorant," saying he has a lot to learn about Latin America.
The Venezuelan leader said he had been ready to name a new ambassador in Washington when Obama took office, but put that on hold after the new US president accused him of "exporting terrorism" and being an obstacle to progress in the region.Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday called US President Barack Obama... more
-
-
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's federal government seized seaports and airstrips in at least four states on Saturday, a move critics say is meant to limit the powers of mayors and governors opposed to President Hugo Chavez.
The takeover, ordered by Venezuela's socialist president last weekend and approved by lawmakers, aims to bring the country's major transportation hubs under federal control this year.
Military troops were dispatched to ports in the three Venezuelan states governed by Chavez opponents: Zulia, Carabobo and Nueva Esparta. Chavez said the takeover of air and sea ports in the state of Anzoategui, which is governed by a Chavez ally, was also under way.
The leader said his government will formulate a "strategic investment plan" to modernize the ports and to guarantee the jobs of thousands of workers in the facilities.
Chavez has defended the move as a national security issue, but critics say they target facilities previously controlled by state authorities opposed to the president.
End of Excerpt
Source: MSNBC Online
Sure, Chavez isn't becoming a dictator :sarcasm:CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's federal government seized seaports and airstrips... more
-
-
Nixon Moreno, a student who led protests against Hugo Chavez, has left the Vatican mission where he has been holed up since March 13, 2007. Moreno sought refuge in the center after being accused of attempted rape and wounding a several police officers.Nixon Moreno, a student who led protests against Hugo Chavez, has left the Vatican... more
-
-
Hugo Chavez is sick of businesses ignoring prices set by his government. He has ordered troops to immediately take over rice processing plants. "What are some of the sectors of the agricultural industry doing? They buy rice from producers, and they don't want to produce regulated rice," Chavez said. "Well, I've ordered the intervention, starting right now, of all those sectors of the agricultural industry."Hugo Chavez is sick of businesses ignoring prices set by his government. He has... more
-
-
US-Latin American relations fell to record lows during the George Bush years, and there have been hopes - both north and south of the border - that President Barack Obama will bring a fresh approach. So far, however, most signals are pointing to continuity rather than change.
Obama started off with an unprovoked verbal assault on Venezuela. In an interview broadcast by the Spanish-language television station Univision on the Sunday before his inauguration, he accused Hugo Chávez of having "impeded progress in the region" and "exporting terrorist activities".
These remarks were unusually hostile and threatening even by the previous administration's standards. They are also untrue and diametrically opposed to the way the rest of the region sees Venezuela. The charge that Venezuela is "exporting terrorism" would not pass the laugh test among almost any government in Latin America.US-Latin American relations fell to record lows during the George Bush years, and... more
-
-
Chavez seems to be building a modern day replication of Castro’s Cuba, in an era when communism was supposed to be in the dustbins of history. What is happening in Venezuela spells the same outcome wherever it occurs in the world. Chavez is building himself up as a 21st century authoritarian, and we should stop beating around the bush about what he is. Chavez has already had power for a decade, longer than I personally believe any one man should be in power.Chavez seems to be building a modern day replication of Castro’s Cuba, in an era... more
-
-
CARACAS -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez removed a key obstacle to his plan to remain in office for life, convincing voters Sunday to approve constitutional amendments designed to allow indefinite re-election.
In a national referendum Sunday, 54% of voters favored the plan, electoral officials said.
-Don't you just love Democracy? - Bansheewail, over and out.CARACAS -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez removed a key obstacle to his plan to... more
-
-
Venezuelans yesterday voted to abolish term limits for elected officials, boosting Hugo Chávez's ambition to rule the country for decades.
Electoral authorities said 54% of voters in the referendum backed a constitutional amendment allowing indefinite re-election, with 46% rejecting it – a margin of almost 1 million voters.
An exultant Chávez appeared on the balcony of the presidential palace in Caracas to address cheering supporters after the result was announced. "It is a clear victory for the people," he said. "It is a clear victory for the revolution."
The result will boost his effort to transform the Opec country into a socialist state and burnish his leadership of Latin America's "pink tide" of leftwing governments.
The president's mentor and ally Fidel Castro sent congratulations from his sickbed in Cuba.
The US made no immediate comment, but the Obama administration will be dismayed at the prospect of an emboldened foe in Caracas.
Chávez, a 54-year-old former tank commander, has been in power for a decade and plans to run for election again when his term ends in 2013. He has spoken of ruling beyond 2030.
However, plunging oil revenues are expected to hit the Venezuelan economy and the petro-fuelled Chavez diplomacy soon.
Some analysts predict stagflation and devaluation of the bolivar currency – the kind of grim cycle that undid previous Venezuelan leaders – and there was speculation that Chávez had rushed through the referendum before the crisis hit.
The unexpectedly wide margin of victory prompted rapturous celebrations among "chavistas", who credit their charismatic leader for poverty-alleviating social programmes, notably free health care and discounted food.
"We did it, we won – this is a great night," Freddy Ramirez, a 48-year-old security guard, said.
Fireworks lit up the night sky and cars filled with flag-waving supporters drove around the capital.
However, not everybody celebrated. "Chavez has screwed this country enough already," Ricardo Torres, a 56-year-old courier, said.
He blamed the president for crumbling infrastructure and high crime and inflation.
Voters had narrowly rejected a referendum to abolish presidential term limits in December 2007.
---------------------------------------------------------
Is this good or bad for Venezuela?Venezuelans yesterday voted to abolish term limits for elected officials, boosting... more
-
-
Hugo Chavez has won the right to remain in power in Venezuela for as long as he keeps being elected. Chavez's current term ends in 2012.Hugo Chavez has won the right to remain in power in Venezuela for as long as he keeps... more
-
-
Venezuelans took to the polls to decide on a consitutional change that would allow elected officials to run for office indefinitely. A similar measure was narrowly rejected in 2007. If the amendment passes, Hugo Chavez could run for his third consecutive six-year term in 2012.Venezuelans took to the polls to decide on a consitutional change that would allow... more
-
-
Marxist guerrillas in southwest Colombia are believed to have killed a second group of Indians the rebels accused of helping the government, a state governor said.
At least 10 Awa Indians were killed this week in Narino state, Gov. Navarro Wolff said late Wednesday. A day earlier, Wolff had reported that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, better known as FARC, had killed at least 17 Awa last week in another remote village.
"I don't have more information than what they gave us by cell [phone], but they gave us ... a list of names," Wolff said about the latest killings.
He said in an interview on CNN affiliate Caracol TV that villagers told him they cannot be certain that the FARC committed the killings because it was dark. But the governor and others say all indications point to the guerrillas.
The killings happened in two villages about a one- to two-day walk apart, he said.
Some Awa killed this week were fleeing the FARC because of last week's assassinations, said Luis Evelis Andrade of the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym ONIC.
The FARC have targeted the Awa because the Indians don't want to get involved in the armed struggle and refuse to reveal information on government troop actions, Andrade said on Caracol.Marxist guerrillas in southwest Colombia are believed to have killed a second group of... more
-
