Friday, September 16, 2005
Who is Hugo Chavez?
I wrote this for a friend but thought others may find it interesting:
I saw an article today about Hugo Chavez and it took me back to our conversation where I told you I really didn't know much about him. Well, I've now done my homework and I still see nothing wrong with the guy. I've read the text of the new constitution that he helped pass in Argentina and see nothing wrong with it either. In fact it protects the people's right to overthrow their government if necessary far better than ours does. Anyway, here's the quick and dirty that I found:
(This is a copy/paste from Wikipedia)
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Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (born July 28, 1954) is the President of Venezuela. A former paratroop lieutenant-colonel who led an unsuccessful coup d'état in February 1992, he was elected president in 1998. His presidency has seen sweeping changes throughout the country, including a new constitution, many new social programs, and a new foreign policy distancing Venezuela from the United States.
Since his election in 1998 on promises of helping the poor, Chávez's influence over Venezuelan politics has grown. One year after a majority of Venezuelans voted to keep him in office, the popular leader consolidated his power, striking a harsh anti-USA tone. He is up for re-election in 2006, and recent polls suggest he has about 70 percent popularity.
Chávez and his administration have been opposed through confrontational methods by some established sectors in Venezuela, including the business federation Fedecámaras and labour union federation CTV, resulting in a coup d'état, general strike/lockout, and recall referendum, all of which failed to remove him from office. Although the opposition charged that there was widespread fraud in the recall vote, international observers said the official results matched their counts at polling sites. Subsequently Chávez and his allies have won consistent political victories, occupying the vast majority of elected municipal, state, and national posts, as well as majorities in the supreme court, national electoral council and national assembly.
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(This is copy/paste from an opinion piece in the NYTimes, of course it is just opinion with no validating references.)
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Since winning a presidential election in 1998, Castro's Venezuelan protégé, President Hugo Chavez, has pursued precisely what the Russian researchers in Santiago described: the methodical consolidation of absolute authority under the guise of "democracy." Along with paramilitaries and community snoopers, the Chavez power grab has entailed converting the congress into a unicameral body, rewriting the constitution to enhance his rule and purging potential opponents in the military.
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There is also this National Review article, though the National Review is a known propagandist magazine for the GOP and has been known to completely fabricate stories. The book "Blinded by the Right" is by one of their former authors who was one of the people fabricating those stories, which is what the book is all about. Anyway, here's the article link: http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/mannes200412140820.asp
Anyway, those were the only two contradictory items that I could find in 10 pages worth of Google results. Everything else supported what Wikipedia has or was not relevant (like talking about Pat Robertson).
I saw an article today about Hugo Chavez and it took me back to our conversation where I told you I really didn't know much about him. Well, I've now done my homework and I still see nothing wrong with the guy. I've read the text of the new constitution that he helped pass in Argentina and see nothing wrong with it either. In fact it protects the people's right to overthrow their government if necessary far better than ours does. Anyway, here's the quick and dirty that I found:
(This is a copy/paste from Wikipedia)
--------------------------
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (born July 28, 1954) is the President of Venezuela. A former paratroop lieutenant-colonel who led an unsuccessful coup d'état in February 1992, he was elected president in 1998. His presidency has seen sweeping changes throughout the country, including a new constitution, many new social programs, and a new foreign policy distancing Venezuela from the United States.
Since his election in 1998 on promises of helping the poor, Chávez's influence over Venezuelan politics has grown. One year after a majority of Venezuelans voted to keep him in office, the popular leader consolidated his power, striking a harsh anti-USA tone. He is up for re-election in 2006, and recent polls suggest he has about 70 percent popularity.
Chávez and his administration have been opposed through confrontational methods by some established sectors in Venezuela, including the business federation Fedecámaras and labour union federation CTV, resulting in a coup d'état, general strike/lockout, and recall referendum, all of which failed to remove him from office. Although the opposition charged that there was widespread fraud in the recall vote, international observers said the official results matched their counts at polling sites. Subsequently Chávez and his allies have won consistent political victories, occupying the vast majority of elected municipal, state, and national posts, as well as majorities in the supreme court, national electoral council and national assembly.
--------------------------
(This is copy/paste from an opinion piece in the NYTimes, of course it is just opinion with no validating references.)
--------------------------
Since winning a presidential election in 1998, Castro's Venezuelan protégé, President Hugo Chavez, has pursued precisely what the Russian researchers in Santiago described: the methodical consolidation of absolute authority under the guise of "democracy." Along with paramilitaries and community snoopers, the Chavez power grab has entailed converting the congress into a unicameral body, rewriting the constitution to enhance his rule and purging potential opponents in the military.
--------------------------
There is also this National Review article, though the National Review is a known propagandist magazine for the GOP and has been known to completely fabricate stories. The book "Blinded by the Right" is by one of their former authors who was one of the people fabricating those stories, which is what the book is all about. Anyway, here's the article link: http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/mannes200412140820.asp
Anyway, those were the only two contradictory items that I could find in 10 pages worth of Google results. Everything else supported what Wikipedia has or was not relevant (like talking about Pat Robertson).
