Venezuela: Resistance or disintegration?

[Luis Miguel]

It's a very interesting and sad situation both for the Bolivarian Revolution and the Venezuelan people, most people out there find difficult to make sense about this situation and unfortunately they just go with the propaganda without considering all the years of economic war, sponsorship of the opposition and political interference. Chavez fought to maintain the economic stability, and sovereignty of Venezuela and its resources with great results. But now, the circumstances changed since the US came up with a new strategy on steroids to get rid of the "progressive" governments in LatAm, starting with Brazil and Argentina. Of course they cannot leave Venezuela standing, it's a reminder to other LatAm counties that extreme globalism is not the way to go.

Things got very difficult to Maduro's administration, and they indeed tried their best to get out of the claws of the US, but almost every strategy has been used against them with less than optimal results, for the government and the people. Now, because of the pressure, they are resourcing to less effective strategies, and deceitful maneuvers (some now are saying that the elections were ridged because of the amount of positive votes, that not even Chavez got) that are becoming more obvious to external eyes; that again, can be used against them. Of course it's not the same, but see the Rouseff impeachment and the prosecution Lula and charges of corruption against Kirchner. The pathocrats always smell this kind of stuff from miles away, it's their way of life and they know how to amplify and use that against others that are not even pathological as them.

Now comes the dilemma, because it's true that the US has been interfering with the Bolivarian Revolution since the beginning, now, under Maduro's administration, things are getting pretty bad for a lot fo people. 'One cannot be neutral in situations of injustice', but there are things to report from both sides and needs to be done in a way that do not diminish the US interference and foul play, or that's what i think. The issue is that most people do not take the time to really study the situation and JUST get the headers of the mass media or easy to read propaganda against Maduro's administration.

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality. Desmond Tutu

On another related topic, we have a couple of interesting examples of seeking different strategies to maintain protectionist policies without selling you soul to the "devil"; The latest economic strategies of Bolivia and Ecuador that most viewed as opening the doors to the empire and it's corporate minions, were not that bad IMO, maybe it was not an open door, but a small window that they opened, that helped them to maintain their sovereignty and structure without risking falling into the pit as other countries in the area.

Part of the problem IMO, is when ideologies -or political/economical systems- become "dogmas", if that happens, with time, you start to worry about defending that abstract idea instead of the people wellbeing and real sovereignty of the country. Ideologies, as paradigms and political/economical systems, are tools, and that's it, if you have a pragmatical approach to them with the best interest of people in mind, you can see that maybe just embracing one is no the Answer, but selecting different aspects of each that work and get well together. Countries can become "possessed" by ideologies and things start to go south. At some point, people on the government and their followers stop standing for the actual wellbeing and proper function of the system, they start defending a human abstract idea elevated at the the level of "god".

Paradoxically, in some cases, people care little about abstract concepts as sovereignty when things start to get rough (The US has and still use this in its favour), so maybe, when food and basic needs start to become a problem, the actual government could start using other tools, change the course a little bit, to maintain the state and social structure.

We have the example of Russia, once Putin said that they were using 'Capitalism for Russia, not Russia for the Capitalism" Which is something quite innovative and refreshing given the global tendency to take ideologies, or X political/economical system as inmutable banners of X administration, instead of taking what really works for any given moment and context.

Russia also started to diversify its economy in the face of the increasing external pressure as the sanctions; Venezuelan economic stability is almost entirely dependant in the oil, that's also why things started to get ugly with the manipulation of the oil prices.

I know that Maduro's administration is not Putin's administration, the contexts are indeed different, i'm just sharing some thoughts about the situation.

 

[angelburst29]

The Chilean foreign minister said that a judge from Venezuela’s alternative top court took shelter on Thursday at the Chilean Embassy in Caracas, which already hosts four his colleagues and an opposition leader.

Venezuelan Judges, Opposition Leader Flee to Chilean Embassy
https://sputniknews.com/latam/201708041056169458-venezuela-judges-opposition-flee-chile/

A judge from Venezuela’s alternative top court took shelter on Thursday at the Chilean Embassy in Caracas, which already hosts four his colleagues and an opposition leader, the Chilean foreign minister said.

Judges began fleeing to the diplomatic mission after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro threatened to jail 33 Supreme Court justices sworn in on July 21 by the opposition-controlled parliament.

Lawyer Luis Marcano came to our residence asking for Chile’s protection. With him, six people are [hiding] at the Chilean Embassy," Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz tweeted.

The mission is also sheltering judges Suleima Gonzalez, Elenis del Valle Rodriguez, Beatriz Ruiz and Jose Nunez, and Roberto Enriquez from the opposition COPEI party, who requested diplomatic protection.

 

[angelburst29]

US Occupation Has Already Begun and Is Being Conducted by ExxonMobil July 27, 2017
_http://misionverdad.com/mv-in-english/us-occupation-has-already-begun-and-is-being-conducted-by-exxonmobil

It takes a lot for anything anybody in the Insane Clown Trump administration says to get my attention these days. The longtime Exxon-Mobil CEO and current United State Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did the trick with these 48 words two days ago:

Venezuela: RExxon Tillerson’s Petro-Imperially Perfect Regime Change Threat, “By Direct Military Force”?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/venezuela-rexxon-tillersons-petro-imperially-perfect-regime-change-threat-by-direct-military-force/5602574

“We are evaluating all of our policy options as to what can we do to create a change of conditions where either Maduro decides he doesn’t have a future and wants to leave of his own accord or we can return the government processes back to their constitution.”

That is the United States’ top “diplomat” saying that a democratically elected head of sovereign state, Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro, must leave office or “we” – the U.S. government that is – will reserve the right to remove him (absurdly described as “return[ing]” the Venezuelan government “back to their constitution.”) It is a declaration of the United States’ presumed entitlement to conduct internationally criminal regime change, confident that it is exempt from global sanction or prosecution. Because we own the world and what we say goes – especially in our hemisphere. Capisce?

Nobody should doubt that Tillerson is signaling Washington’s willingness to carry out a coup in Venezuela. The Bush administration tried and failed to do precisely that in April of 2002 – and Washington has never stopped waiting for its next best moment to depose the democratically elected socialist government there. That moment is now, perhaps, with Venezuela weakened by low oil prices and years of economic poaching and sanctions, and with U.S-fueled street protests led by a fanatical right wing racist and upper-class opposition to the Bolivarian Revolution.

Latin Americans know all too well about Uncle Sam’s penchant for regime change and other forms of interference in their not-so sovereign political “processes.” Here are just some of the worst highlights of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America over the last six plus decades:

1954, a CIA-orchestrated coup removed the democratically elected Guatemalan and Left government of Jacobo Arbenz. Over the next four decades, U.S.-backed right-wing Guatemalan regimes killed tens of thousands of peasants, workers, students, and activists.

The U.S. responded to the 1959 Cuban Revolution with what historian David Boring called “years of futile covert programs under three different American presidents to depose Castro. U.S. efforts included every arrow in the covert quiver, from organizing and supporting a proxy exile invasion to economic and political destabilization, from sabotage and propaganda to psychological warfare and assassination plots.”

In 1973, a CIA-engineered coup overthrew the democratically elected socialist government of Chilean president Salvador Allende and replaced him with the fascist butcher and close U.S. ally General Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet’s regime killed 30,000 workers, students, peasant, intellectuals and activists killed while introducing U.S.- (University of Chicago-) imported economic policies during the 1970s and 1980s.

A U.S.-sponsored and U.S.-assisted fascist regime and allied death squads in Argentina killed as many 30,000 workers, students, intellectuals, and activists in that country between 1974 and 1983.

US-sponsored authoritarian and death-squad regimes in Central America killed over 300,000 people during Ronald Reagan’s two terms. Lavish funding, training and equipment from Washington fueled this epic bloodshed. Victims were murdered and maimed as punishment for—and warnings against—participation in popular struggles to redistribute land and improve working and social conditions for peasants and workers in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

In the early summer of 2009, the right-wing Democratic Party presidency of Barack Obama, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the lead, helped the Honduran business and military elite carry out a coup against Honduras’ democratically elected president Manuel Zelaya. Zelaya had angered Washington by joining with Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador in advocating social democratic reforms and national independence from U.S. direction in Latin America. Thousands have been killed since by the right-wing Honduran regime.

Why does the U.S. want to overthrow the Maduro government in Caracas, threatening now to do so by direct military force? Washington’s claim of concern for hardship and oppression in Venezuela should not be taken seriously. Uncle Sam has been fueling poverty in Venezuela with economic sanctions and coordinated political disruption for years. Washington has just cut another in its long line of giant arms deals with its longtime oil-rich client and ally Saudi Arabia, the single most reactionary government on Earth. The United States’ alliance with the Saudis, other absolutist Persian Gulf oil monarchies, and numerous other authoritarian rulers and regimes around the world gives the lie to its pretense of worry for the causes of democracy and justice. When will Tillerson call for the departure of the rotten right-wing rulers of Honduras, Columbia, and now Brazil, not to mention those of the Persian Gulf, Indonesia, the Philippines, Ukraine?

“The situation from a humanitarian statement is already becoming dire” in Venezuela, Tillerson said.

Right – as if the Trump administration or Washington more broadly could care less about people’s lives in other countries. An ongoing U.S.-funded and assisted Saudi-led bombing campaign has recently devastated much of Yemen’s basic infrastructure, putting seven million Yeminis at risk of famine. A 19th century disease, cholera, has gone epidemic there, thanks to the collapse of water sanitation. Cholera has already killed nearly 2000 Yemini civilians; 300,000 Yeminis are currently infected. A child dies from preventable causes on the average of once every ten minutes in Yemen now. Wolfgang Jamann, head of the human rights organization CARE, recently took a five-day trip to Yemen. “We are now in the 21st century and the current situation is an absolute shame on humanity,” Jamann told reporters.

The Trump administration has increased direct U.S. attacks on Yemen and has affiliated Washington more directly with the Saudis’ war on Houthi rebels there.

U.S. troops will not be heading anytime soon down to Honduras to overthrow the vicious government that stands atop a nation where nearly two-thirds of the rural populace lives in abject poverty and where :

“Too many… children live on the streets because their families cannot provide for them. Their homes – often made of cardboard and tin pieced together – offer no space or running water, and little hope of a better future. Usually it is just one room, sometimes with a wood burning stove in the middle, which of course, adds smoke and pollution to the room. There may be a latrine outside but not necessarily close by. The latrine may be shared by several families. There may be only one bed with other family members sleeping on the floor. There is little, if any, furniture. Despite the many children who may be living there, one rarely sees any toys or books. Some homes do have electricity in the form of bare bulbs and exposed wires hanging overhead often covered with duct tape.”

The U.S. considers the regime that enforces this misery in Honduras part of the democratic and “free world.” Honduras’ mass of brown-skinned poor are technically unworthy victims in the reigning U.S. media-politics culture. Not so the wealthy and lighter-skinned Venezuelan elite, who are enraged by the Venezuelan revolution’s effort to raise millions out of poverty.

In Washington’s view, Venezuela’s left government must be punished for the twin sins of national independence and egalitarian social-democracy – the same transgressions that doomed Arbenz, Allende, and allied left leaders and forces across Latin America and the world (think Lumumba, Sukarno, Mossaddegh) in past episodes of U.S. “democracy promotion.”

How perfect is it that RExxon Tillerson is the petro-imperial mouthpiece for the threat of regime change in Venezuela? The climate-wrecking transnational super-corporation he headed for many years has sought through a World Bank Tribunal to extract $1.6 billion as compensation for properties nationalized when the great Venezuelan populist Hugo Chavez (the man Bernie F-35 Sanders dismissed last year as “just a dead communist dictator”) acted to take back control of Venezuela’s oil wealth to (imagine) channel the profits into social programs at home rather than profits for multinational companies.

Nobody should be surprised by Tillerson’s chilling message given this history and Tillerson’s statement during his confirmation hearings for Secretary of State:

“If confirmed, I would urge close cooperation with our friends in the hemisphere, particularly Venezuela’s neighbors Brazil and Colombia, as well as multilateral bodies such as the OAS, to seek a negotiated transition to democratic rule in Venezuela,”

The translation for “transition to democratic rule”: overthrow of the Bolivarian socialist Revolution and the restoration of the U.S.-friendly Venezuelan business elite to oligarchic power.

Washington is irked by Maduro’s call for a Constituent Assembly to re-draft the Venezuelan constitution. How ironic. The ancient and explicitly un- and even anti-democratic U.S. Constitution of how and why the United States itself is a corporate oligarchy. The United States itself is in dire need of a revolutionary movement that must demand among other things a Constituent Assembly to draft a new U.S. Constitution consistent with the ideal and practice of the U.S. Founders’ ultimate nightmare – popular sovereignty.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan crisis may provide a useful yardstick for helping sort out those who understand the need for such a movement from those who don’t. If you want to know the dividing line between actual Leftists and the neoliberal Resistance masquerading as a Left in the Age of Trump, take statements or non-statements on Venezuela as a litmus test. Venezuela can help us expose the U.S. fake Left, showing us the richly imperialism that lurks behind the label of Resistance.

The newly-elected National Constituent Assembly, which is expected to prepare changes to the constitution and the country's governance system, began work on Friday in Venezuelan capital, Caracas, according to Venezuela's state television.

New National Constituent Assembly Holds 1st Session in Venezuela
https://sputniknews.com/latam/201708041056194037-venezuela-session-assembly/

The newly-elected National Constituent Assembly, which is expected to prepare changes to the constitution and the country's governance system, began work on Friday in Venezuelan capital, Caracas, according to Venezuela's state television.

According to the real-time broadcast, the opening of the first session takes place in the building of the National Assembly. In the hands of the 545 members of the assembly are portraits of former president Hugo Chavez and Venezuelan national hero Simon Bolivar.

Thousands of government supporters gathered around the parliament building, welcoming the opening of the assembly. The opposition, which does not agree with its convocation, is expected to start soon a wide-spread protest action.

Venezuelan ex-Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez was appointed the Constituent Assembly's president, whereas the state’s former vice presidents Aristobulo Isturiz and Isaias Rodriguez were designated the first and the second vice presidents of the Assembly, respectively, according to Las Ultimas Noticias newspaper.

Earlier in the day, the Vatican called on the Venezuelan government to refrain from convening the Constituent Assembly as it was escalating the crisis in the Latin American country.

Venezuela’s National Assembly will hold an urgent meeting next week after Nicolas Maduro inaugurated a controversial Constituent Assembly.

Venezuela Parliament Calls Urgent Meeting After Maduro Installs Rival Super-Body
https://sputniknews.com/latam/201708051056201603-venezuela-parliament-urgent-meeting-maduro/

Venezuela’s National Assembly said Friday it will hold an urgent meeting next week after President Nicolas Maduro inaugurated a controversial Constituent Assembly with broader powers.

The NA informs that the parliamentary board has called a meeting of the advisory committee for 10 a.m. on Monday and a special session for 2 p.m. at the Federal Palace," the legislative body tweeted.

The historic Federal Legislative Palace in Caracas has been the seat of the opposition-controlled parliament. The new legislature will convene in a chamber in the same building.

 

[caballero reyes]

Continuing the harsh criticisms of the Government of Mexico.

A N news August 3, 2017 8:29 pm

Peña Nieto is a "coward", "an employee mistreated" by Donald Trump: Nicolás Maduro
The Venezuelan president questioned the president of Mexico for messing with Venezuela but
not touching "with the petal of a rose to Donald Trump."


Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro spoke on Thursday about the transcript of the call

between the Mexican and United States presidents, Enrique Peña Nieto and Donald Trump,

revealed by The Washington Post.

During a message broadcast on television and via social networks, Maduro said: "It's

embarrassing, Peña Nieto. Listen to me from Venezuela. It's a shame that you let yourself be

treated like this, as a mistreated employee. Because I see Peña Nieto as an abused employee,

abused by his boss, Donald Trump. "

The Venezuelan president criticized Peña Nieto saying "ah, with Venezuela, you get in,

right? But Donald Trump can not lift a petal of a rose, touch it with the petal of a rose to

Donald Trump. "

Maduro said, erroneously, that the president of the United States had given to Peña Nieto

this Thursday "a public order" to stop saying that Mexico will not pay for the border wall

that Trump intends to build.

What was published this Thursday was the transcription of a telephone call between the

presidents of Mexico and the United States, which occurred in January of this year.

"If I were president of Mexico, I would go with the people of Mexico and a Mandarria and I

would knock down all the walls that separate me with the United States and would not allow

the construction of that wall, but head on, with courage, as Emiliano would Zapata, as would

Pancho Villa, as Lázaro Cárdenas would and not this coward who is president of Mexico, Peña

Nieto.

 

[Windmill knight]

A company that provides electronic voting machines to Venezuela has accused the government of manipulating the figures. The government says the company doesn't even have access to the data.

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Venezuela-Election-Head-Smartmatic-Allegations-Have-No-Basis-20170802-0036.html

Venezuela Election Head: Smartmatic Allegations Have 'No Basis'

"Smartmatic is responsible for technical services and nothing else," she added.

The president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena, hit back at SmartMatic after the head of the company claimed the July 30 National Constituent Assembly (ANC) vote was "manipulated."

"It is an irresponsible assertion based on estimates without any basis in the data that is exclusively managed by the Electoral Authority. But even more serious, Smartmatic participated in all (pre-election) audits," Lucena said.

"SmartMatic's allegations represent an unprecedented view of a service-only company ... Smartmatic is responsible for technical services and nothing else," she added.

The statements come after Smartmatic director, Antonio Mugica told a press conference that they had detected "manipulation of the participation data" during the ANC vote, where the CNE says over 8 million Venezuelans voted.

Smartmatic, a Venezuelan-based multinational that has provided the technological platform for voting and services for the Venezuelan elections since 2004, claim to have identified "a difference between the announced figure and the number produced by the system is at least one million voters."

Mugica confirmed Smartmatic had not discussed the allegations with the Venezuelan government and the electoral authorities prior to holding their press conference Wednesday. The company executive did not specify the basis for their numbers, or how these were obtained.

In 2013, Mugica told CNN that it was "virtually impossible" to manipulate votes using his company's technology.

On Sunday millions of Venezuelans turned out to vote for the 545 members of the Constituent Assembly who will be charged with drafting the text for a new constitution that will require approval by popular vote.

The opposition MUD coalition, which has been leading violent street demonstrations since early April, vowed to stop the vote through a boycott and called on supporters to block roads so as to stop others from voting.

Lucena said electoral authorities had to relocate 1,200 voting centers as a result, and some 200 polling stations were attacked.

The U.S. government responded to the Constituent Assembly vote by placing further sanctions on Venezuela, including on President Nicolas Maduro.

"By sanctioning Maduro, the United States makes clear our opposition to the policies of his regime and our support for the people of Venezuela who seek to return their country to a full and prosperous democracy," said Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin. he added.

This other link says:

_http://www.tampabay.com/news/world/all-powerful-venezuelan-assembly-opens-amid-protests-wvideo/2332762

All-powerful Venezuelan assembly opens amid protests (w/video)

CARACAS, Venezuela — Defying criticism from Washington to the Vatican, Venezuela's ruling party on Friday installed a new super assembly that supporters promise will pacify the country and critics fear will be a tool for imposing dictatorship.

The constitutional assembly's first order of business was selecting its head — former Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez, a loyal follower of President Nicolas Maduro.

The nomination was approved unanimously by the 545 delegates, who marched to the neoclassical legislative palace led by socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello and first lady Cilia Flores and accompanied by hundreds of red-shirted government supporters carrying roses and portraits of the late Hugo Chavez, Maduro's predecessor and mentor.

Some shouted, "He's returned!" as a jab at the opposition, which had ordered images of Chavez removed from an adjacent building when it won control of congress in 2015.

The assembly was scheduled to meet again today, and Rodriguez pledged it would be taking action against Maduro's political opponents.

"Don't think we're going to wait weeks, months or years," she said. "Tomorrow we start to act. The violent fascists, those who wage economic war on the people, those who wage psychological war, justice is coming for you."

The installation of the all-powerful constitutional assembly is virtually certain to intensify a political crisis that has brought four months of protests that left at least 120 people dead and hundreds jailed. Maduro vows the assembly will strip opposition lawmakers of their constitutional immunity from prosecution, while members of congress say they will only be removed by force.

"It doesn't matter where they meet, they're installing a fraudulent institution," declared Freddy Guevara, the National Assembly's first vice president, at an opposition demonstration in eastern Caracas that drew only a few hundred protesters, one of the smallest in months.

An increasing number of foreign governments have sided with the opposition, refusing to recognize the constitutional assembly and further isolating Maduro's government.

On Friday, the Vatican urged Maduro to suspend the new body, expressing "deep worry for the radicalization and worsening" of the turmoil in Venezuela.

Foreign ministers from several South American nations said they will gather today in Brazil for an emergency meeting amid speculation they could decide to evict Venezuela from the Mercosur trade bloc for violating its democratic norms. Venezuela was suspended from the group in December.

The opposition boycotted Sunday's election of the constitutional assembly, saying the rules were rigged to further entrench Maduro's "dictatorship."

The results have come under mounting scrutiny after the international company that provided the electronic voting machines said that "without any doubt" the official turnout had been tampered with — a charge dismissed by Maduro and the National Electoral Council.

"There has been a gradual erosion of democratic practice and this is a significant line that has been crossed," said Michael Shifter, president of the Washington-based think tank Inter-American Dialogue. "To attach the term democracy to Venezuela with this new constituent assembly is on very weak ground."

The U.S. State Department said Thursday the assembly was illegitimate, reiterating a call by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for Maduro to leave office or face unspecified actions to "return the government processes back to the constitution."

The constitutional assembly will be made up an array of pro-government trade unionists, students and even representatives of Venezuelans with physical disabilities. But the agenda is expected to be set by bigger-name loyalists, including Maduro's wife, son and several ministers who resigned their posts to join the body.

Cabello said that in one of its first tasks, the assembly plans to target the opposition-controlled congress, known as the National Assembly, and the chief prosecutor, Luisa Ortega Diaz, a longtime supporter of Chavez who recently broke with Maduro.

I don't see how this situation could have a happy ending.

 

[Windmill knight]

This is crazy. A bomb explodes on a police convoy during the elections; clashes on the streets. Venezuela is turning into Ukraine.

http://<iframe width="560" height="...gM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://<iframe width="560" height="...54" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Laura]

I guess people should pay close attention to what is going on in Venezuela because it looks like the same thing could come to the USA.

 

[Windmill knight]

I guess people should pay close attention to what is going on in Venezuela because it looks like the same thing could come to the USA.

Julian Assange made the same observation on twitter recently. It's true, especially considering that the US Congress just made a coup of sorts on the executive branch (Trump), so the executive branch may decide to take drastic measures to take control back in its own hands. This is sort of what Maduro is trying to do with the Constitutional Assembly, which apparently is preparing to invalidate the National Assembly, currently under the control of the opposition and which obviously does all in its power to block Maduro.

So now that Trump knows he can't do anything without Congress overriding him if they choose to, how is he going to react?

 

[Gaby]

Venezuela is turning into Ukraine.

Literally. And it is amazing to see what passes as news on Spanish mainstream media. You would think that Venezuela is under the most evil dictatorship and that Maduro is more evil than Satan himself.

 

[Gaby]

Venezuela is turning into Ukraine.

Literally. And it is amazing to see what passes as news on Spanish mainstream media. You would think that Venezuela is under the most evil dictatorship and that Maduro is more evil than Satan himself.

According to journalist Ernesto Villegas Poljak, Minister of Communication and Information of the Venezuela's government, "a mega 'fake news' is being produced in Venezuela, where a recharged Ukrainian recipe is being tried."

https://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/246162-venezuela-fake-news-constituyente

 

[Laura]

Venezuela is turning into Ukraine.

Literally. And it is amazing to see what passes as news on Spanish mainstream media. You would think that Venezuela is under the most evil dictatorship and that Maduro is more evil than Satan himself.

I reckon a lot of us ought to start comparing Trump to Maduro on twitter and see what happens. People really ought to think about it.

 

[Alejo]

Venezuela is turning into Ukraine.

Literally. And it is amazing to see what passes as news on Spanish mainstream media. You would think that Venezuela is under the most evil dictatorship and that Maduro is more evil than Satan himself.

I reckon a lot of us ought to start comparing Trump to Maduro on twitter and see what happens. People really ought to think about it.

They certainly do get the same treatment by the media. However, Maduro has been there for years resisting the pressure from outside in what to me looks like a poor way. Allowing for openings in his behavior (and that of his government) that make it easy for outside forces to continually increase the pressure.

This has sadly created a very marked polarization of the population which makes it impossible for people to talk to each other and find a way out of it.

So i concur that the US could be headed in this same direction if all this propaganda doesn't get navigated carefully, which it doesn't look like it's happening.

 

[Laura]

They certainly do get the same treatment by the media. However, Maduro has been there for years resisting the pressure from outside in what to me looks like a poor way. Allowing for openings in his behavior (and that of his government) that make it easy for outside forces to continually increase the pressure.

Well, Trump HASN'T been there for years and exactly the same conditions prevail in the US.

This has sadly created a very marked polarization of the population which makes it impossible for people to talk to each other and find a way out of it.

Exactly as in the US with the Soros driven "color revolution". Pretty much what happened in Ukraine and Syria, too.

So i concur that the US could be headed in this same direction if all this propaganda doesn't get navigated carefully, which it doesn't look like it's happening.

Exactly. These comparisons need to be made in order to be able to see through the smoke and mirrors.

 

[angelburst29]

I guess people should pay close attention to what is going on in Venezuela because it looks like the same thing could come to the USA.

Julian Assange made the same observation on twitter recently. It's true, especially considering that the US Congress just made a coup of sorts on the executive branch (Trump), so the executive branch may decide to take drastic measures to take control back in its own hands. This is sort of what Maduro is trying to do with the Constitutional Assembly, which apparently is preparing to invalidate the National Assembly, currently under the control of the opposition and which obviously does all in its power to block Maduro.

So now that Trump knows he can't do anything without Congress overriding him if they choose to, how is he going to react?

From my perspective, Laura "hit it on the mark"! I've been noticing the same political similarities between Maduro and Trump and what's transpiring in governmental legistrative bodies exceeding their Countries Constitutional Laws and over riding Presidential Authority. In both incidences, both situations exhibit the hallmarks of "a full blown Coup in progress". Maduro might be a few steps ahead of Trump in the process but Trump is heading in the same direction if he chooses "to stand his ground" and use the legal means at his disposal in Constitutional Laws to over ride Congress?

In Maduro's case, the opposition ran to the Chilean Embassy for diplomatic cover - to protect their butt's! Considering most of the U.S. Congress has dual Israeli citizenship, my bet is they would head straight to an Israeli Embassy, if conditions warrant it?

I admire Russia for using "history" as one of their guides in their decisions and reading current political climate. Russian Ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, who has just finished his mission, in a recent statement referred to the U.S. Congress as "The US parliament" mirroring the situation in Venezuela. Considering the staged protests and Hillary's melodrama's after Trump was named Victor, I imagine Russia suspected "a Coup" of sorts would follow and has taken steps to protect itself and it's interests.

]Venezuelan Judges, Opposition Leader Flee to Chilean Embassy
https://sputniknews.com/latam/201708041056169458-venezuela-judges-opposition-flee-chile/

Venezuela Parliament Calls Urgent Meeting After Maduro Installs Rival Super-Body
https://sputniknews.com/latam/201708051056201603-venezuela-parliament-urgent-meeting-maduro/

Venezuela’s National Assembly said Friday it will hold an urgent meeting next week after President Nicolas Maduro inaugurated a controversial Constituent Assembly with broader powers.

Trick Used by Congress to Make Trump Sign Anti-Russia Sanctions Bill Revealed
https://sputniknews.com/politics/201708051056212076-congress-tricks-trump-sanctions-law/

The US parliament has limited President Donald Trump's capability to counteract the anti-Russia sanctions bill by including restrictions against Iran and North Korea into the document, Sergey Kislyak, who had just finished his mission as a Russian ambassador to the United States, said Saturday.

On Wednesday, Donald Trump signed into law a new bill imposing additional sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea. The sanctions target Russia's defense, intelligence, mining, shipping and railway industries and restricts dealings with Russian banks and energy companies. The law also limits the US president's ability to ease any sanctions on Russia by requiring Congressional approval to lift any restrictions.

I think that the fact that we were included in one [sanctions] bill together with other countries, characterizes the US political practice more than anything else. Because the US president [Donald Trump] totally supports the sanctions against Iran and North Korea. That is why, by placing everything in one legislation, you are narrowing [Trump's] capabilities to oppose the bill as a whole, while there are certain things he may not agree with," Kislyak told the Russian Rossiya 24 broadcaster.

On Thursday, Trump blamed the Congress for "an all-time & dangerous low" in relations between the United States and Russia, apparently referring to the sanctions bill. The Kremlin agreed with the US president's assessment.

Venezuela's Attorney General was removed from office on Saturday.

Venezuela's Constituent Assembly Removes Attorney General From Office
https://sputniknews.com/latam/201708051056215272-venezuela-attorney-general-constituent/

Venezuela's Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz was removed from office by the decision of the country's Constituent Assembly on Saturday.

The decision was taken unanimously by the members of the assembly during the authority's first session after the election of the delegates to the assembly on July 30, the Venezuelan state-run TV broadcast showed.

The Constituent Assembly replaced Ortega Diaz, known for her disagreement with the actions of the country's executive, with Venezuela's Human Rights Ombudsman Tarek William Saab.

 

[latulipenoire]

And today Mercosur has suspended Venezuela indefinitely:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-mercosur-idUSKBN1AL0IB

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - South American trade bloc Mercosur suspended Venezuela indefinitely on Saturday, adding to international pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to dismantle a newly created pro-government constituent assembly and restore democracy.

Foreign ministers of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil announced the decision in Sao Paulo, urging Maduro to release prisoners and immediately start a political transition.

"We are saying: Stop with this! Enough with the deaths, enough with the repression. It is not possible to inflict such torture on the people," Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes said after the meeting.

As the suspension was announced, the constituent assembly removed dissident state prosecutor Luisa Ortega from her job. Asked to comment on Ortega's dismissal, Nunes replied with a Latin proverb: "Whom the gods would destroy they first drive mad."

The decision was announced in São Paulo, Brazil, by a government that has less than 5% of approval of its citizens. It's really sad to see what the media and our corrupt governments will do to slander someone, saying (and lying) that they are worried about the venezuelans.