The Latest: Venezuelan media not covering opposition events

[Bacchus4.0]

http://news.yahoo.com/latest-kerry-congratulates-venezuela-185932434.html

Opposition leaders spent the day in front of cameras giving election updates and outlining their plans for the new congress.

But Venezuelans had to go to YouTube to find them. No national channel was broadcasting the opposition's statements.

Venezuelan media have almost completely blacked out opposition events. In response, anti-government parties created a special YouTube channel for the elections.

On Sunday night, after the opposition swept the polls in an unprecedented victory, state television briefly broadcast the celebratory press conference. But then it was back to pro-socialist party roundtables and reality TV shows about social safety net programs

[MADem]

1. Who's surprised, really?

It's a good thing Venezuelans are so On Trend with the internet--they no longer need the shitty TV to tell them the news. People are getting sick of the 'Manuro' they're being handed! When die hard Chavistas are voting for the opposition, then you know the Chavez ship has sailed, and the Maduro one is wrecked on the rocks.

[COLGATE4]

2. Look for the Chavistas to do their best to sabotage the

electoral victory of the Venezuelan people by all means, fair and foul. This is just the beginning of guerilla war against the newly elected Congress and the majority of Venezuelans it represents. Look for Presidential Decrees hamstringing the new Congress.

[MADem]

3. I agree with you. The way they falsely characterize the opposition is the least of their perfidy.

The government kept the polls open an hour after closing time when there were no people waiting to vote. I think they tried to bully people into voting at the last minute but it didn't work out for them.

[COLGATE4]

4. Anyone who believes that Maduro and his compinches

are going to willingly give up power is kidding themselves.

[MADem]

5. The question is this--with whom will the MILITARY align?

A lot of the military is infiltrated by the Cubans, who have recently rapproached with USA. Diosdado Cabello and Hugo were old Army buddies who went way back.

Maduro really doesn't have many friends in the military.

[COLGATE4]

6. That's the $50 question right now. Cabello is

apparently out. Next move is up to the military.

[Marksman_91]

7. I think the military is perhaps the ones to credit for the opposition win

Rumor has it that Padrino Lopez, the current chief of the armed forces appointed by Maduro himself, was the one who in the end decided to accept the opposition win before Cabello. As the votes for being counted and ultimately gave the MUD a landslide victory, Cabello did not want to accept the result but Padrino López went against that order. And I feel that the Castros themselves realize that Chavismo is totally hopeless now, hence why they decided to reestablish relations with the US. They know they can't keep depending on Venezuela anymore, so now they're just considering Maduro as expendable. And the other factor is that the military itself is also tired of the bullshit coming out of the PSUV leadership. They're not idiots, they understand very well that the country's situation was the PSUV's doing. Do you think many in the military don't suffer the consequences of the crisis Venezuela is going through right now? They certainly do, and Padrino López knows that if he keeps aligning himself unconditionally with the PSUV, he will be convicted just like every one of their leaders once Chavismo is out of power in the presidency, and doing this gesture of accepting an opposition victory is his attempt to save some face when all main Chavista leaders are prosecuted.

[joshcryer]

8. They can pack the courts...

...but don't get ahead of yourself, anything they try in the short term will be resisted by mass rioters, and the long game has few outs. Any improvement will come by the opposition and be recognized.

The courts are probably their last move, they'll cede the political prisoners (not Lopez), and wait it out.

(though attempt at referendum will lead to assassinations)

[COLGATE4]

9. Hope you're correct. I'm not convinced that Maduro and gang

have decided to simply quietly accept the results of the election and fade away into the sunset (although it is reassuring to hear that the Army told them to forget about its help in denying the electoral win). The problem now is that the same masses that (finally) voted these incompetent morons out is unlikely to be very patient in expecting major changes. Those are unlikely to take place at a pace that will satisfy voters who have been taken down this long, long road to economic chaos. If voters are fickle...