President Hugo Chavez Frias orders Venezuela's armed forces on 24/7 alert

[Judi Lynn]

Posted: Thursday, November 13, 2003
By: David Coleman


President Hugo Chavez Frias orders Venezuela's armed forces on 24/7 alert

President Hugo Chavez Frias ordered Venezuela's armed forces on 24/7 alert, warning of opposition plots for violence and electoral fraud during the upcoming signature campaign petitioning referenda on his rule and that of 38 elected opposition officials. The opposition has responded with accusations that it is the government that is itself planning violence over the 4-day campaigns.

Chavez Frias says he has conclusive evidence that a group of Venezuelans "are still thinking of a coup adventure ... I call on the Armed Forces to be alert 24/7." Speaking to military police in Caracas, the President did not identify the groups and/or their international allies ... but the latter reference is clearly specific to continuing attempts by Washington D.C. to interfere in Venezuela's domestic political affairs.

Chavez' opponents accuse him of ruling like a dictator and say the government is fabricating plots to frighten voters away from supporting the call a referendum against him. They highlight increased security measures and the recent creation of army reservists as a clear indication of the President increasing his military power base.

(snip) Varying opinion polls predict that Chavez Frias maintains broad support among Venezuela's 80% poor population despite opposition claims that he will lose any referendum. Chavez Frias has grown used to opposition harassment and rejects their black-bag charges that he is a communist as falling in step with red-neck Washington dictates ... he says that his government has met with sustained opposition from Venezuela's corrupt and wealthy classes because it aims to distribute the country's oil wealth fairly. (snip/...)

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=13528

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. Dale chamo

que el pueblo esta contigo.

:grouphug:

[arcane1]

2. this shot just won't end

meanwhile, here in the US, Chavez isn't even referred to as President on the news, he's the Venuzuelan "strongman"

:grr:


Going to see The Revolution Will Not Be Televised this weekend, just in time for the sequel, it seems

:mad:

damn that Chavez, looking out for poor people and stuff...

[Judi Lynn]

6. Good point, arcane1

He was elected in a landslide, yet since it was the "poor" doing the electing, he's not legitimate, according to the Venezuelan media, owned by his opposition.

Absolutely unpardonable. Our own right-wing-pleasing media have picked up the slurs and insults to make sure they are pleasing to _Bush, whose father is the good friend of Venezuela's wealthiest, most powerful media mogul and kazillionaire, Gustavo Cisneros.

Hard to believe grown-up "professionals" would be this cheap, and whorish.

[Mika]

7. NPR refers to Chavez as 'an elected dictator'.

Don't ask questions!

[Judi Lynn]

8. I've heard this kind of thing, too

Yet right-wing radio psychotics like Bill O'Reilly continue to rage against NPR as a "left-wing" organization, which "spouts left-wing propaganda." :dunce:

Either they stopped listening many years ago, or they are deliberately misleading their listeners.

[bemildred]

3. Seems wise.

This referendum deal is the opposition's last shot, and it does not
appear to me that the opposition's position is good, so some shenanigans
should be expected. Since Hugo is trying to remove some opposition
hacks while they are trying to remove him, this could be the endgame
for the opposition.

Not that Uncle Sugar will give up, of course.

[donsu]

4. kick

nt

[Judi Lynn]

5. Venezuela gets busy and collects some taxes. This is going to be unpopular

with certain parts of the bidness community, for sure:

Venezuela Jan-Oct Tax Collection Up 21% On Year - Seniat

CARACAS -(Dow Jones)- Venezuela's Seniat tax office collected 9.4 trillion bolivars ($1=VEB1598) during the first ten months of this year, up 21% compared with the year-ago period, reported the Seniat on its Web site.

October collection reached VEB1 trillion, also up 21% compared with October 2002. October collection was 23% below the 1.3 trillion bolivar target for the month. Collection for the year through October is only 3% below target, said the Seniat.

The Seniat predicts 2004 non-oil tax collection of VEB15.2 trillion bolivars, or 8.5% of gross domestic product, according to the national budget.

The Seniat has been advancing a so-called "Zero Evasion" campaign against tax deadbeats, and the office has closed a number of large businesses that are behind on their taxes. The increase in tax collection compared to last year, curiously, comes amid a stinging recession. The economy shrank 18.5% during the first half of the year, and is expected to contract around 12% for the year as a whole.
(snip/...)

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