By
Carlos González, The Huffington Post (Yeah, I know)
As students and the middle class protest for almost two weeks in the
streets of Venezuela, the international left remain silent. Why is this
wide swath of Venezuelan society protesting? Because of meddling from
the United States in preparation of a fascist coup, says Venezuelan
President Nicolás Maduro. Certainly lines borrowed from the Cuban/Soviet
handbook.
Venezuelans are protesting because of 56 percent inflation,
one of the highest in the world. Venezuelans are protesting because
they have one of the highest murder rates in the world, 25,000 violent
deaths last year, one person killed every twenty minutes. The murder
rate in Caracas is 122 per 100,000, numbers not seen in war zones. They
are in the streets because they don't have basic necessities such as
bread, meat, toilet paper, electricity... the list is long.
Take
former London Mayor Ken Livingston, a long time supporter of the
Bolivarian Revolution. Would he violently repress London residents if
they were out in the streets protesting a murder rate higher than
Baghdad's such as Caracas'? I don't think so, he would be forced to
resign.
Or Sean Penn and Oliver Stone, also admirers of the
"pretty revolution" as Chávez used to call it. What would they do if
President Obama shut down newspapers, TV stations, and jailed those that
opposed his views, just as President Maduro has done? I think they
would call on people in the United States to take to the streets and
protest just as Venezuelans have done.**
The Venezuelan government
has closed television stations critical of the government. It is
denying opposition newspapers foreign currency in order to purchase
printing paper, some have closed and others can only publish slimmed
down dailies. Colombian news station NTN24 was taken off the air by the
government for their extensive coverage of the protests, and four CNN
reporters in Venezuela had their credentials revoked. Are these the
actions of a legitimate democracy?
Supporters of the Venezuelan
government argue that President Maduro was democratically elected. Yes,
technically he was (and so was Adolf Hitler - SoRo). But were those fair elections? As those that
follow Venezuela closely know, the PSUV -- the government ruling party
-- uses tax payer's money to fund their campaigns, where as the
opposition has to rely on legal fundraising to a huge disadvantage.
Let's
not forget the "Tascón List" effect. In the 2004 recall referendum,
Luis Tascón, a member of Chávez's ruling party, published a list online
of all those that voted to recall Chávez. Those that worked government
jobs were summarily fired and lost their livelihood for exercising a
democratic right, so much for a secret vote. To this day, and before
each election, government workers are advised to vote for the ruling
party or otherwise face losing their jobs.
Human Rights Watched has denounced,
"the accumulation of power in the executive branch and the erosion of
human rights guarantees have enabled the government to intimidate,
censor, and prosecute its critics." As James Bloodworth points out in his brilliant article in The Independent:
"In Britain there is an ongoing debate over the use of water cannons which the home secretary wants the police to have the power to deploy during unrest. The British left is in principle opposed to water cannons, as any civilised person should be. However I have just watched a video of Venezuelan protesters being water-cannoned and I have heard not a word of condemnation from the people who will be writing angry letters to the New Statesman if the same weapon is deployed on British streets. Why the double standard?"
Mr. Livingston, can you please
explain?
Those on the international left that applaud the
reduction of poverty in Venezuela, fail to see that more advances have
been made in other Latin American countries without the huge oil wealth
that Venezuela possesses, and without eroding democratic principles.
True social justice cannot exist outside a fully functioning democracy.
It's
time for those us on the left to stop defending the undefendable, to
denounce the repressive actions of a government shooting at it's own
citizens for demanding a true democracy and a better life. Socialism
without democracy is simply a dictatorship.
President Maduro keeps
calling the students and the middle class that are protesting on the
streets fascists, perhaps he should look in the mirror.
Webster's Dictionary:
fas•cism noun \'fa-shi-zem also 'fa-,si-\
: a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator
controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to
disagree with the government.
: very harsh control or authority.
* SoRo: Where's the parrot? He absolutely, positively MUST have a parrot to be an authentic Chavista!
** SoRo: Probably very wishful thinking
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