Chávez on to a winner with referendum gamble
Hugo Chavez's gamble in Venezuela appears to have paid off with it looking like he has won a narrow victory to abolish presidential term limits and allow him to serve as President as long as he continues to win elections.
Two government exit polls suggested most voters approved sweeping revisions to abolish presidential term limits and enshrine socialism. The opposition was sombre but did not immediately concede defeat.Of course the CIA are reported to have plans to undo all of this in the near future.
Turnout appeared to be low despite claims from both sides that a yes vote would mark a radical acceleration towards what Chávez terms "21st century socialism". The 53-year-old president said last week he would rule until 2050, as long as he continued winning elections.
On a scarier note, an internal CIA memorandum has been obtained by Venezuelan counterintelligence from the US Embassy in Caracas that reveals a very sinister - almost fantastical, were it not true - plan to destabilize Venezuela during the coming days. The plan, titled "OPERATION PLIERS" was authored by CIA Officer Michael Middleton Steere and was addressed to CIA Director General Michael Hayden in Washington.The Largest Minority cover just what exactly the CIA plan consists of:
The Largest Minority also have a video page regarding Venezuela which gives great details of the CIA plan to undermine any victory that Chavez may have by claiming voter fraud.How is this to be done?
In the memo, the CIA proposes the following tactics and actions:
- Take the streets and protest with violent, disruptive actions across the nation
- Generate a climate of ungovernability
- Provoke a general uprising in a substantial part of the population
- Engage in a “plan to implode” the voting centers on election day by encouraging opposition voters to “VOTE and REMAIN” in their centers to agitate others
- Start to release data during the early hours of the afternoon on Sunday that favor the NO vote (in clear violation of election regulations)
- Coordinate these activities with Ravell & Globovision and international press agencies
- Coordinate with ex-militar officers and coupsters Pena Esclusa and Guyon Cellis - this will be done by the Military Attache for Defense and Army at the US Embassy in Caracas, Office of Defense, Attack and Operations (DAO)
Bang on cue, the opposition have begun to make claims that there has, indeed, been fraud at the ballot box:
"In my opinion, these are not the (real) numbers. The government is wrong," claimed Delsa Solorzano, a member of the New Time party at the opposition's referendum headquarters in Caracas. Earlier, Mr Chavez said voting was going well. "We're going to accept the results, whatever they are."Chavez continues to be portrayed as a dictator within the US media, no doubt to make his overthrow seem like the height of democratic reform, when - in fact - nothing could be further from the truth.
The word “Chavez” and “dictator” are usually not spaced too far apart from corporate media coverage of the events in Venezuela. Little mention is given to the fact that the people of Venezuela have voted in favor of Chavez and his reforms on no less than 11 occasions, which in many books makes him the most heavily elected official on the planet, or at least creates a very strange definition of the word “dictator”.So, is George Bush, the man who wants to export democracy around the world, about to overturn another democratic election result because - once again - the electorate have foolishly chosen the wrong party? If he is, it really does make a mockery of his supposed love of democracy.
UPDATE:
The BBC are now reporting that Chavez has actually lost the referendum and has swiftly conceded defeat.
Click title for full article.Mr Chavez swiftly conceded and urged the opposition to show restraint.
"To those who voted against my proposal, I thank them and congratulate them," he said. "I ask all of you to go home, know how to handle your victory."
He insisted that he would "continue in the battle to build socialism".
"Don't feel sad," he told his supporters, saying there were "microscopic differences" between the "yes" and "no" options.
He said the reforms had failed "for now" but they were "still alive".
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5 comments:
I'm tired of all these so-called "close votes" around the world. If a "close vote" is not just the perfect way to a) make an election look legit and b) divide people, I don't know what is. (I'm still an atheist when it comes to voting, hee hee...)
I'm also very tired of all this "democracy". Gimme a dictator.
And, of course: Hi Kel!
One other fun fact: the distinctive scents of Parmesan cheese and vomit are both caused by the same chemical, butyric acid. Oddly, one smells good, the other does not.
21st-century "democracy" and 21st-century dictatorships should be viewed with equal amounts of suspicion and resentment.
Note: I received the news of Chavez's loss via an automated New York Times email dispatch; I immediately headed over to your blog for your perspective. Great work, as always. I am sure he would have won the referendums were it not for all this "democracy" getting in the way of people's will.
That's all for tonight. G'night, Kel!
Will,
What I find interesting is how Chavez immediately accepted that he had lost the referendum and yet, had it gone the other way, the CIA had plans to claim that the vote was fraudulent etc. And yet Chavez is the man portrayed as a dictator and the Bush regime are the "exporters of democracy?"
The CIA were only going to support this referendum if it delivered the result they wanted, Chavez was going to respect it no matter what it said. So which of them is the party that actually supports the democratic ideal?
I hear you, man.
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