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highly monitored elections on earth (hundreds of international monitors, with free run of the place, from the OAS, the EU, the Carter Center).
One of the interesting things that happened is that Rosales immediately conceded the next day--and not just because he had been so badly beaten. In his concession, he distanced himself from the USAID-NED-Penn crowd, who had tried a violent military coup, a crippling oil professionals' strike and a wasteful and absurd recall election (which Chavez handily won by 60%), to unseat Chavez, and who were likely planning riots, based on Penn's false polls, along with the collusive corporate news media and involvement of the military, to try to unseat Chavez again. And Rosales balked. He refused to do it. He promised to provide the country with a RESPONSIBLE opposition and to offer the Chavez government constructive criticism.
Well, knock me over with a feather. My opinion of Rosales went up about a thousand notches. I was ready for more US taxpayer-funded trouble-making in Venezuela. And he wouldn't do it!
I like Chavez--but I think the story of Venezuela is the story of its people and their passionate commitment to social change and to democracy. Chavez is an expression of them. He is not some "strong man" who has taken over. That is an insult to the Venezuelans, who have made democracy work--from re-writing their Constitution, to hard work on transparent elections! (They handcount FIFTY-FIVE PERCENT of the vote in Venezuela, cuz they don't trust the electronic voting machines. Get that, my stupido fellow and sister North Americans? 55%!! Know how much WE hand-count? 0 to 1%!)
Anyway, Chavez and his government NEED a decent opposition--say, responsible, patriotic, well-intentioned businessfolks who can help integrate the capitalist/socialist economy that the majority has in mind. It's not an easy task. And the US-funded opposition has been into whining and getting handouts from Bush (our tax dollars) and throwing temper tantrums, and plotting coups--and expecting the country to tip over and pour all the oil profits into their pockets, as before. They are ridiculous. And, given what-all they've done to destabilize their own country, the Chavistas have ended up with all the power in the government--sometimes inadvertently. For instance, before the last midterms for the National Assembly, the election commission asked the opposition what they wanted. (They are always complaining--and this time they were threatening to boycott the elections.) They said, the fingerprint ID was being misused--get rid of it. The election commission complied--and STILL this rich oil elite opposition BOYCOTTED the midterms. So they ended up with fewer seats than they should have. They probably did this because they were losing. But still, it ended in a lopsided Chavista National Assembly. Now, I don't have any objection to the vast poor population and other leftists having good representation in government. They are the majority. But ANYBODY, and I mean anybody, can take advantage of a situation of power, and start making mistakes, and fail to think things through, and even become corrupt and entrenched. And the leaders can get big heads. Even if they ARE the majority, they can misuse their power and become corrupt, if they don't have strong and thoughtful criticism, and oversight. Democracy lesson #1: Every government needs oversight. And I don't mean the tweedle-dee/tweedle-dum Dem/Repub thing we've had here for so long. Chavez & Gov't have been getting criticism from the left. (Chavez is actually a moderate on economic issues.) But there ARE businesspeople in Venezuela, of all shapes and sizes, and a middle and professional class, and some more cautious and conservatives types (I don't mean raving lunatic freepers), who need representation and need to be heard--for the sake of democracy, and for the sake the majority succeeding in its progressive program, to the benefit of all.
And I am very glad that Rosales has decided to represent THEM, and not George Bush and his bought and paid for rich oil elite parasites and trouble-makers. It is a good day for Venezuela.
I never thought I'd be arguing for a conservative point of view. But I'm actually a conservative in some ways. You wouldn't think it from some of my beliefs. For instance, I think we need to bust up all the major corporations in the US. I'm for small, competitive business and trade--and against monopolies. That, to me, is conservatism. And you can have socialist monopolies that are not healthy. ANY monopoly tends to become corrupt. In Venezuela, they're trying to feed extremely poor people--an act that I certainly approve of. But to do it, they created government-subsidized grocery stores, where the very poor can buy food very cheaply. I read an article about a small grocer who was being driven out of business by this gov't monopoly (by undercutting her prices). Now that's where a responsible businessperson could provide constructive criticism. Do you want a big state monopoly on food? How do you feed the poorest of the poor, but in a way that promotes trade, innovation and adequate production of good food? Or maybe you can't. Maybe you just have to feed the very poor, period--as a handout. In that case, what can you do for the small grocer, in her plight? And, what controls do you need to prevent corruption and mismanagement in the food supply?
Socialist policies NEED criticism--and the maverick, creative, self-reliant, business-type perspective is essential to any socialist enterprise. It's only when either thing--capitalism or socialism--gets out of control that you have problems. Communism tends to let things get corrupt and out of control (at least historically). Soviet Russia became a hogpen of corruption, as dirty as Washington DC. And predatory capitalism certainly tends to corruption--look at this predatory capitalist mess the Bushite Republicans have created here! If you define capitalism as the human desire to trade--not the ugly, bloated monstrosity we see around us today, in these long-lived corporations that gobble up wealth and power--but rather as the adventurous and creative spirit, that likes to make things, and likes to go sailing, seeking new trade routes and unusual products, and needs a bit of capital for the venture, or the spirit that creates colorful marketplaces, and centers of business and cultural interchange, I'm all for capitalism. I think it is a deep human need. And socialism--basically sharing, so that no one is in want, and so that everyone has a chance for a good life--is also a great human desire and need--our motherly side. We don't abandon the elderly and the young and the sick. We extract a fair tax from everyone, for the common good. With that, we build a decent society.
Rosales now has a chance to help Venezuela become a decent society, and to avoid the pitfalls of an overly controlled and centralized economy. I hope this is what his quick concession means--that Venezuela will now have the energies and cooperation of all its people, in maintaining good government, strengthening is democracy, and contributing to the awesome trade group that Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile are going to make (eventually adding Peru, and even Colombia and Paraguay). South America is on the rise!
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