Tag Archives: candidate

Apr
27
2012
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 4/27/12

This week: Venezuela’s stocks rise a staggering 99 percent on the speculation that Chávez’s health is rapidly deteriorating; Venezuelans go 11 days without a public statement or appearance by their president; Chávez, meanwhile, continues to shuttle back and forth from Cuba for treatment; he runs the government via twitter during his absences; a New York Times opinion writer reports that the Chávez executive branch had “the last word” on every judicial decision rendered by Venezuela’s Supreme Court; that, along with continuing allegation of bribery by drug lords, keeps the issue of Venezuela’s public-sector corruption in the news. Meanwhile, the World Bank director warns that Venezuela will suffer economically if and when oil prices fall; finally, inflation continues to soar and Venezuelans face shortages of even the most basic goods.

Chavez’s mysterious ailment fuels a run on Venezuelan stocks, The Washington Post

What is the hottest global market so far in 2012? How about socialist Venezuela — where stocks rose 99 percent between Jan. 1 and this week.

Chavez: he’s back! (again), The Financial Times

And… he’s back – again. But after a deafeningly silent 11-day absence in Havana, this time Hugo Chávez returned on Thursday from his radiotherapy to greater speculation than ever that his cancer is more serious than he has so far let on.

Venezuela’s Chavez returns home, CNN

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned home early Thursday after receiving cancer treatments in Cuba. Before landing, Chavez released a statement about coming back to his homeland.

Venezuelan politics in 140 characters or less, Foreign Policy

“Hello Venezuela! I inform you that I approved 1.95 billion bolívars for state and local governments, coming from extraordinary income! Onward!” The above is a rough translation of a tweet written by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez on April 17.

Hugo Chávez & The Supremes, The New York Times

It happened every week. On Friday mornings, Venezuela’s top prosecutor, the justice minister, the solicitor general, assorted Supreme Court justices, police chiefs and top officials would meet in the vice president’s office to review politically sensitive court cases and decide how they should be handled.

Venezuela’s judiciary: Whistle-blown, The Economist

An impeached judge says the courts are subservient and corrupt. When Hugo Chávez became Venezuela’s president, in 1999, he promised an overhaul of the country’s notoriously venal judiciary. But according to charges made by a recently dismissed supreme-court justice, the flaws Mr Chávez vowed to rectify are nothing compared with what has transpired under his rule.

The Colombian-Venezuelan border: Pick your poison, The Economist

Drug gangs now dominate where guerrillas once reigned. In the last days of Álvaro Uribe’s presidency in 2010, Colombia accused neighbouring Venezuela of letting the FARC and ELN, the two main leftist guerrilla groups, maintain camps along its border. In response Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s president, recalled his ambassador and skipped the inauguration of Mr Uribe’s successor, Juan Manuel Santos.

Accused drug dealer says paid off fugitive Venezuela judge, The Chicago Tribune

An accused Venezuelan drug lord wanted by the United States said on Wednesday he made monthly payments to a former judge who recently embarrassed President Hugo Chavez with accusations of widespread manipulation in the OPEC nation’s justice system.

World Bank director: Venezuela is not prepared for a fall in oil prices, El Universal

A World Bank director warned Tuesday that not all Latin American countries are equally prepared for an eventual fall in the price of commodities, because some of them, including Venezuela, acted “like the grasshopper of the Aesop fable” and “spent their time singing in the summer.”

With Venezuelan Food Shortages, Some Blame Price Controls, The New York Times

By 6:30 a.m., a full hour and a half before the store would open, about two dozen people were already in line. They waited patiently, not for the latest iPhone, but for something far more basic: groceries. “Whatever I can get,” said Katherine Huga, 23, a mother of two, describing her shopping list. She gave a shrug of resignation.

 
Apr
26
2012
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Chávez Allies Prepare for the Worst

vamos el 7 de octubre Chávez Allies Prepare for the Worst

At the moment, the Venezuelan presidential elections are slated for October 7. But given Chávez’s failing health, a lot could change between now and then.

In fact, the uncertainty surrounding Chávez’s health has compelled his party to start planning for the possibility that their candidate might not make it through the elections.

Behind closed doors, the so-called “Carabobo Command” has begun preparing for three scenarios they could face come October: Chávez could be severely weakened by his cancer, the elections could be suspended — or Chávez could be dead.

As part of these preparations, the campaign has created an anti-coup command, led by Diosdado Cabello, to collect intelligence on a possible coup against the government.

Wilmer Castro, the coordinator of the Planning Commission and Evaluation Command, told the party’s regional campaign managers about these activities earlier this week. This announcement came as a surprise given that the official word from Miraflores has been that Chávez is on the road to recovery and confident of a victory in October.

Responding to reports that PSUV was considering postponing the vote if Chávez is not able to run, Opposition Deputy Juan Carlos Caldera warned that failure to have an election would be unconstitutional.

“Venezuelans cannot depend on the fact that the incumbent president is running or not as candidate. The presidential election will be held on October 7, with or without Hugo Chávez as a candidate,” he said.

These developments come on the heels of an eight day silence from Chávez while undergoing cancer treatment in Cuba, during which he only communicated through Twitter messages. The lack of any appearances by Chávez had sparked rumors of a worsening physical condition and even the president’s own death.

In an effort to quell these reports, earlier this week Chávez undertook a number of activities to show his vitality to the Venezuelan people, including releasing videos, photos and calling into to state television networks.

 
Apr
17
2012
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Chavez Foreign Minister Criticizes Opposition with Anti-Gay Slurs

While Hugo Chávez bills himself as egalitarian, the progression of 2012 presidential campaign is quickly indicating that the politicians behind his government remain willing to exploit a number of prejudices to preserve their power. Soon after Venezuelan opposition candidate Henrique Capriles accepted the MUD’s nomination for president, he was subjected to a “barrage” of anti-Semitic attacks by Chávez’s allies in the government and the media. Capriles is a confirmed Catholic but is the grandson of Polish Jews who fled to Venezuela in the face of Nazi persecution.

Now, with conflicting reports of Chávez’s lead over Capriles, his allies are at it again. This time, however, the attacks come in the form of anti-gay remarks made by a high-ranking member of Chávez’s government. Foreign Minister Nicolás  Maduro, speaking at a commemoration of the 2002 failed coup attempt against Chávez, referred to Capriles’s opposition party as “little f**gots,” and “fascist.” See the video below:

His remarks were immediately denounced by the Venezuelan advocacy group LGBTI Network, but they preview the tactics that we can expect to intensify as the October 7 election nears. With the president stricken by cancer and polling numbers suggesting that Capriles has, in fact, gained ground on Chávez, the government and state-run media have sought regain their momentum by exploiting the ugliest prejudices.

“These expressions seem absolutely unacceptable, especially coming from a more senior representative of the State, simply because they detract from the constitutional commitments on human rights that the State has for sexual minorities,” said Jose Ramon Merentes Efe, a spokesman for LGBTI Network.

Given the disastrous state of Venezuela’s economy, one can hardly blame Chávez for wishing to change the subject. Yesterday, Maduro wilted to public outcry and apologized for his bigoted statements. Nevertheless, slurs such as these are likely to mark the opening salvos of an all-out attack on a challenger who Chávez perceives as a legitimate threat.