-- the Christian Science Monitor said "Venezuela's Chavez Defiant, Despite Defeat....few believe the results will cause (him) to alter his course,"
-- the Financial Times in a "Chronicle of a defeat foretold" sees Chavez's support among the poor eroding as "Venezuelans are seeing things with greater realism;"
-- the Economist sees his "aura of invincibility....forever damaged, the battle for succession seems bound to begin soon (and) Survival strategies no longer....involve unquestioning loyalty to the 'commandante.' The fighting back is just beginning;"
-- CNN was also at the forefront of what Chavez at a post-election press conference called its manipulation campaign. He said Defense Minister Rangel Briceno was "very angry by (CNN's) manipulating campaign....all over the world," he's preparing to sue the cable network, and "behind (it) is the evil face of the United States;"
-- the BBC is notorious as a "guardian of power;" it headlined "White House....welcomes the defeat of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's controversial reform....referendum....(and said) the people spoke their minds....that bodes well for the country's future and freedom and liberty....(Venezuelans didn't) want any further erosion in their democracy and their democratic institutions;" pro-Chavez voices or a clear explanation of the issues were nowhere in sight pre or post-election;
-- the Chicago Tribune headlined "Chavez chastened, hardly capitulating (as) political leaders and analysts said it is too early to say whether the slim defeat....represents just a bump in the road....or the awakening of a durable and vibrant opposition;" and
-- the London Guardian's Seumas Milne headlined Chavez was "Down but not out in Caracas" in writing for a paper with a long history of pro-state support and too little of it for its people. Milne, on the other hand, struck another note saying Bolivarianism suffered a setback (but) "it's far from finished (and) Sunday wasn't a crushing defeat." It also "discredit(ed) the canard that the country is somehow slipping into authoritarian or even dictatorial rule....The referendum was a convincing display of democracy in action....The revolutionary process underway in Venezuela has delivered remarkable social achievements." Halting or reversing them "would be a loss whose significance would go far beyond Venezuela's borders (but) Chavez's comments and commitments (show) there is no mood for turning back."
Chavez is resilient and will rebound from one electoral setback. Don't ever count him out or underestimate his influence over what co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Mark Weisbrot, says is "A historic transformation....underway in Latin America (following) more than a quarter century of neoliberal" rule. Long-time Latin American expert, James Petras, puts it this way: "The referendum and its outcome (while important today) is merely an episode in the struggle between authoritarian imperial centered capitalism (Chavez opposes) and democratic workers centered socialism (it's hoped Bolivarianism will deliver)." The spirit of democracy thrives in Venezuela, and one electoral setback won't derail it.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Steve Lendman News and Information Hour on TheMicroEffect.com Mondays at noon US central time.
I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.
My take on the outcome of the Venezuelan election was that it proved that elections in Venezuela have more credible outcomes than presidential elections in the United States. Perhaps some of this opinion is owed to the fact that I put no more trust in the main stream media here in the States than I do in a Rovian election.
It is clear, however, that the Venezuelan People have the government that they vote for. We have thin hope for such a thing in our country.
by
John Sanchez Jr. (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 1176 comments)
on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 12:26:08 PM
1 comments
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