Broken Promises

May
3
2013
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 5/03/13

ay 108972837 e1367612866751 In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 5/03/13

Courtesy of: EPA

This week: Venezuela stumbles deeper into political chaos after a bloody brawl in Congress; Venezuela’s opposition asks for an investigation into the brawl on the floor of Congress that injured several of its lawmakers and caused at least one of them to undergo surgery; Venezuela’s government charges a US filmmaker for allegedly trying to incite anti-government violence and charges an ex-general for being critical of president Nicolás Maduro; and Maduro visits Cuba to meet with former leader Fidel Castro and re-pledge Venezuela’s allegiance to the island. The government begins a partial audit of the disputed election, though the opposition rejects the move as insufficient; unable to force a sweeping review of the disputed election, Venezuelan opposition supporters march on International Workers Day; opposition leader Henrique Capriles files a lawsuit in Venezuela’s Supreme Court to overturn the election, alleging fraud in the counting of ballots and voter intimidation; and Venezuelans become increasingly upset with daily power outages, growing food scarcities and a general fear of the government. Venezuelan debt remains severe as tensions continue to rise; homicides in Venezuela reach a record high in 2013, as nearly 58 are killed per day during the first four months of the year, highlighting a dire security situation amid political instability; and the sale of Globovisión, Venezuela’s sole television station critical of the government, hurts free speech in Venezuela even further.

Political Chaos Grips Venezuela After Legislative Brawl and Rival Marches, The New York Times

Venezuela stumbled deeper into political chaos this week as legislators brawled in the National Assembly and government supporters and opponents took to the streets for rival marches amid continuing tensions over the narrow election victory of President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuela Opposition Wants Probe of Violence, The Associated Press

Venezuela’s opposition on Thursday asked prosecutors to investigate a brawl on the floor of congress that injured several of its lawmakers and forced at least one of them to undergo surgery.

Venezuela Charges U.S. Filmmaker, Arrests Ex-General, The Wall Street Journal

Venezuelan authorities brought criminal charges over the weekend against a U.S. filmmaker for allegedly trying to foment antigovernment violence, and arrested a retired Army general who has become a vocal critic of the government.

Venezuela’s New Leader Visits Cuba, Meets With Castro, The Wall Street Journal

Nicolás Maduro met with former Cuban President Fidel Castro in Havana on Saturday, an indication Venezuela’s new president will maintain the same close relations with the Communist island nation as that of his predecessor Hugo Chávez, who died last month after a battle with cancer.

Contentious Venezuela vote audit begins, AFP

Venezuela began a partial audit of the disputed election won by the late Hugo Chavez’s handpicked successor, as the opposition rejected the move as insufficient.

Venezuelan opposition protests vote, The Washington Post

Unable to force a sweeping review of last month’s disputed presidential election, opposition supporters marched in the streets Wednesday to demonstrate their fury at the ruling party’s efforts to blunt a recount.

Venezuelan Opposition Sues to Overturn Election, The Wall Street Journal

Venezuela opposition leader Henrique Capriles filed a lawsuit Thursday with the Supreme Court that seeks to overturn April’s presidential election, alleging fraud in the counting of ballots and pre-election voter intimidation.

Venezuelans on the Brink, Putting Up With Daily Outages, Growing Scarcity and Fear, Fox News Latino

There’s an old joke about the rabbi who explained to his congregants that Adam and Eve were the first communists, because they wore no clothes, had one apple between them, and thought they lived in paradise.

Venezuelan Debt Under Pressure As Tensions Rise, The Wall Street Journal

Abating a week ago, tensions in Venezuela are fast rising again, and it doesn’t bode well for the country’s debt.

Venezuelan Homicides Reach Record High In 2013, InSight Crime

Murders in Venezuela reached a record high of 58 per day during the first four months of the year, according to police figures contested by the government, highlighting a dire security situation amid political instability.

What the Sale of Venezuela’s Opposition TV Station Means for Free Speech, The Atlantic

Globovision is Venezuela’s last-remaining television station that is openly critical of the government of Hugo Chavez, (and his chosen puppet successor Nicolas Maduro) but on April 15, the majority shareholder Guillermo Zuloaga sold his portion to businessman Juan Domingo Cordero, sending both members of the opposition and some journalist rights groups into a frenzy.

 
Apr
26
2013
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 4/26/13

ap venezuela elections 4 3 r536 c534 e1367013802989 In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 4/26/13

Courtesy of: Associated Press

This week:  After a controversial election and numerous protests, Nicolás Maduro’s presidency is off to a rocky start; shortly after his inauguration, Maduro shuffles his cabinet, keeping most of Hugo Chávez’s allies and key players; Venezuela’s electoral council and opposition leader Henrique Capriles express widely different expectations for the audit of the contested election; as a result, Capriles announces that the opposition will boycott the election audit because the Electoral Council failed to meet its demand for an examination of the “registers,” which contain voters’ signatures and fingerprints; and Capriles is threatened with jail as the opposition shows government claims of post-election violence to be exaggerated. Venezuela’s opposition accuses the government of engaging in mass arrests of protesters and harassment of government workers suspected of voting against Maduro; the government deals with accusations they exaggerated claims of opposition supporters firebombing Cuban-run neighborhood health clinics; Venezuela’s political climate and unrest worry Pope Francis, who urged politicians to reject any kind of violence and establish dialogue towards a reconciliation; and already with one of the world’s highest murder rates, political violence gets added to the mix of an already crime-ridden Venezuela. The Venezuelan government cuts off Capriles TV speech after he accused the government of robbing the election; Venezuela’s government arrests a US filmmaker, accusing him of plotting post-election instability; Venezuela’s Congressional Speaker, Diosdado Cabello, announces that government employees refusing to recognize Maduro as the legitimate president will not be paid; and Venezuela declares a 90-day electricity emergency amid unrest towards country-wide blackouts.

Maduro’s lousy start, The Economist

HUGO CHÁVEZ has been dead for more than a month, but visitors to Caracas could be forgiven for thinking that Venezuela’s bombastic former president was still alive and in power.

Shortly after narrow election victory, Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro shuffles Cabinet, Fox News

Newly elected Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has shuffled his Cabinet, putting allies of late president Hugo Chavez in positions to tackle pressing problems including widespread power outages and double-digit inflation.

Opposition, election body differ on Venezuela vote audit, Chicago Tribune

Venezuela’s opposition and electoral authority expressed on Saturday widely differing expectations for an audit of the contested April 14 presidential election, a day after Nicolas Maduro was sworn in to succeed the late Hugo Chavez.

Venezuela opposition to boycott vote audit, USA Today

Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski said Thursday his movement will boycott an audit of the election results and push the government to hold a new presidential vote.

Venezuela: Capriles Threatened With Jail As Inquiry Into Election Violence Continues, Fox News Latino

The contested presidential election in Venezuela that saw Hugo Chávez’s successor maintain control of the South American nation has shed light on the deep ideological divide within the country and raised questions over the legitimacy of Venezuela’s state-run media.

Venezuela opposition denounces arrests of protesters, AFP

Venezuela’s opposition Saturday accused the government of President Nicolas Maduro of engaging in mass arrests of protesters and harassing government workers suspected of voting against him.

Venezuelan Govt Targets Disaffected Ex-Supporters, The Associated Press

The razor-close vote to replace late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has sparked what opposition leaders and human rights groups say is a government crackdown on public employees who either didn’t back Chavez’s hand-picked successor or failed to show sufficient support for the ruling party.

Venezuela’s Political Climate Worries Pope Francis, Fox News Latino

While he no longer resides in the region, the first pope from South America says he is worried about the political unrest in Venezuela.

Political violence threatens crime-ridden Venezuela, AFP

With one of the world’s highest murder rates, Venezuela’s daily Russian roulette with violent crime now has an added spin: the threat of political violence due to the country’s election impasse.

Venezuela Cuts Off Capriles’s TV Speech Over ‘Robbed’ Election, Bloomberg Businessweek

Venezuela cut off the transmission of a speech by opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski yesterday using a system of national broadcasts known as “cadena” after he said this month’s election was “robbed.”

Venezuela Says U.S. Citizen Plotted Unrest, NYTimes.com

An American citizen has been arrested by Venezuelan authorities who said Thursday that he had been taken into custody because he was involved in a plot to destabilize the country after the recent presidential election.

Congress Speaker: Deputies not recognizing Maduro will not be paid, El Universal

During a visit to the state of Anzoátegui, northeast Venezuela, Congress Speaker Diosdado Cabello announced that any deputies failing to recognize Nicolás Maduro as the new president would not be paid.

Venezuela Declares 90-Day Electricity ‘Emergency’, Reuters

President Nicolas Maduro’s government declared a 90-day “emergency” in Venezuela’s electricity sector on Tuesday to speed up infrastructure work and equipment imports needed to prevent politically-contentious power cuts.

 
Apr
22
2013
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ICYMI: Maduro’s Lousy Start

The Economist
April 20, 2013

179882148 e1366652149467 ICYMI: Maduro’s Lousy Start

Courtesy of: Agence France Presse

Hugo Chávez has been dead for more than a month, but visitors to Caracas could be forgiven for thinking that Venezuela’s bombastic former president was still alive and in power. His image plasters the streets; his speeches fill the airwaves. The blitz was ordered by his anointed successor, Nicolás Maduro, to harness Chávez’s popularity in order to win a landslide in an election on April 14th. The plan failed.

Six months ago Chávez romped to a third term with a cushion of 11 percentage points. Polls had predicted that Mr Maduro (pictured) would repeat the feat, riding a wave of chavista sympathy. Instead he won by less than 2%, and then only after flagrantly breaking electoral rules. The result demonstrates that, without Chávez at the helm, chavismo, a noxious cocktail of populism, incompetence and repression, is a far less potent force. That is the good news. The bad news is that Venezuela’s already polarised society is now split down the middle, and seething. The country could unravel unless Mr Maduro steers a responsible course. It is far from clear that he will.

Henrique Capriles, the centrist who came second in the polls, demands a recount. During the campaign Mr Maduro enjoyed untrammelled freedom to bore viewers rigid on state television. More serious alleged breaches of electoral rules include the use of fake IDs and intimidation at polling stations. Appeals are likely to fall on deaf ears, because the electoral authority is among the institutions that lost their independence during Chávez’s 14 years in power. As Mr Maduro whipped up hysteria against the “fascist” opposition, Mr Capriles wisely called off a big rally for fear that, with seven already dead, violence would spread. There are already worrying signs that the government is ramping up repression.

There is at least some justice that the mess created during the Chávez years now falls to a fellow chavista. The economy is in ruins. Growth has stalled, the currency is digesting a 32% devaluation in February and inflation is likely to reach 30%. Price controls, the expropriation of farms and anti-business policies have created food shortages. The appearance in Caracas of sugar or cooking oil can create queues and excitement otherwise seen only in Cuba.

Chávez loyalists, of whom there are many millions, will tell Mr Maduro to be more chavista: more populist, more profligate, more authoritarian. He has already aped his predecessor, and fawned on his memory, to the point of parody. Describing Chávez as a “Christ of the Americas”, he referred to the election as “Resurrection Day”.

Yet chavismo’s bill is now due. Last year the budget deficit was 8.5% of GDP. Even with oil at over $100 a barrel, Venezuela’s public spending is unsustainable. Power cuts are frequent and roads are crumbling. Under an ineffective police force, the murder rate has soared to twice that of Mexico.

Reap what you sow

Now is the time for Mr Maduro to unite his country, not crush dissent. He should agree to recount the ballots. The state’s institutions, above all the judiciary and armed forces, need to regain their neutrality. And the weak economy will grow only if the government seeks rapprochement with the private sector and scraps controls on prices and foreign exchange. Mr Maduro’s tainted, wafer-thin victory suggests that Venezuelans want less chavismo, not more. That is certainly what their unfortunate country needs.

To read this article at The Economist, please click here.