With due respect to the United States Department of State and Secretary Clinton, in regards to economic sanctions leveled under CISADA on Venezuela and six other foreign entities. Among the affected countries, only Venezuela is a nation in abject poverty. Oil is its primary export and the exceptionally devastating impact upon its people should be of specific consideration. There has been a systemic barrage of misreporting and context-shifting within the U.S. media and espoused by many U.S. Representatives relative to Venezuela and its democratically elected President Hugo Chavez.
The American people have grown accustomed to hearing the Venezuelan president referred to as a dictator, not only by media representatives but by members of the leadership in both parties. This is a defamation, not only to President Chavez, but also to the majority of Venezuelan people, poor people who have elected him president time and time again. This is not a dictator supported by the wealthy classes, but rather, a president elected by the impoverished and at the service of the Venezuelan constitution, a document not unlike our own. He is a flamboyant, passionate leader. And while our own cultural and constitutional conditioning would lead us to serious concerns in the powers of his office, there must be an informed adjustment to give our analyses a context that may extend beyond our borders.
The current environment of passive U.S. citizen response provided by this lack of understanding and misleading information is one where the essential oversights of public opinion are effectively defaulted upon, and in exchange, a predisposition to accept U.S. intervention in Venezuela exists. Furthermore, lobbyists of the fringe right exploit a void of direct diplomatic communication between the United States and Venezuela, and inflame a division affecting both countries with enormously shared interests. It is upon the USG and the American people to carefully and publicly consider any economic intervention upon a foreign nation, in particular those plagued by poverty. The United States, and indeed, all capitalist nations, engage in largely unrestricted trade with numerous nations, both secular and theocratic, traditionally associated with social and political oppression, and indeed contributors (suspected or acknowledged) to nuclear proliferation. While it is noted that Iran is such a nation, and that it is due to Venezuela's oil trade with Iran (actual or alleged) that they have been listed, it should also be noted that an entity in the state of Israel has also been named among the seven sanctioned.
The potential for overreach of CISADA's "energy" classification may be reminiscent of restrictions and prohibitions on exports prohibited in pre-war Iraq, specifically when non-weaponized materials such as x-ray machines, entirely inadaptable to weaponization were characterized as "dual use" materials, the only significant result of that policy was to deprive sick Iraqi civilians of basic care. That it is assumed in the State Department's announcement, that by Venezuela supplying its single lifeline export to a country suspected of developing instruments of proliferation, therefore it is an action-worthy compromise of CISADA, risks precedent and abuse that must be scrutinized and balanced in full context and in full view. While the State Department has reported its investigations into overall impacts on oil markets, no such comprehensive study has been offered in balance with the human impact on countries sanctioned.
On this basis, the American people should call for a moratorium on the CISADA sanctions of Venezuela until such time as a congressional hearing may be convened and strategic benefits evidenced in balance with the historic effects of similar sanctions in other developing and impoverished nations. With the recent actions of mediation taken by Venezuela in collaboration with Colombia for the reintegration of Honduras into the OAS, President Chavez and Venezuela have demonstrated a will toward diplomatic harmony, and the sanctions themselves should serve to initiate high level interaction that has for too long suffered the prejudice of profile and anti-Venezuelan political lobbying.
Your Love Affair With Hugo Makes Foolish..
You should stick with acting; because your ideas on foreign policy is clouded by your love for Hugo.
Warm regards,
Michael Winters
As for the elections, I don't doubt he was trully elected by the people in '98, but in the referendum to amend the constitution so he could stay in power indefinitely, was highly manipulated and he still lost with 51% voting no. And he has been slowly losing support. If he stays in 2013, then we can call him a dictator
You fail to notice that there were another referendum in 2009 and he won with 55%.. He can be losing some support but that's normal in democratics countries, the support fluctuate thru the years... If he wins in 2012 it will be because the people will vote for him more that the other candidate, plain and simple.. Or there's a expiration date for people's support?..
You have to take into account the opposition too.. They have no leader, most of their candidates are the same that promoted the coup in 2002, so it's natural that they will lack of support in an election against Chavez..
The west won't tolerate that.
Kaddafi demanded tough terms from the western oil companies.
So noble of us freedom lovers.
:)
Because big business controls the media and the politicians here. We are governed by big business. Chavez is dictated to by the needs of the people. God help the CEOs and lobby cadres if WE The People have any control over the govt.
even worse is that people talk about poverty in Venezuela as if Chavez invented the poverty, unemployment, lack of educational opportunities, structural racism that occurred in Venezuela prior to 1998... not to mention the various US supported coups in Venezuelan history..but its easier to mimic what the press says
Yes, Georgia is a very unique democracy. It manages to have unconditional support from US in terms of money and military aid. At the same time it manages to almost entirely jail the whole of Georgian opposition, and close their newspapers. It can shell civilians from artillery and drive over them in tanks. It can also break up peaceful demonstrations demanding the resignation of Saakashvilli with riot police, causing numerous injuries and fatalities. And yet all of this is completely overlooked. Instead the media fabricates news out of places like Libya where NATO and Al Qaeda rebels are slaughtering civilians. Perhaps the media should focus its attention on places US sponsors that constantly violates its citizens rights, like Georgia.
Errrr ahhhhhh I guess Penn just redefined Democracy
While we can question the 'fairness' and validiity of V's elections (heck our own as well),
if you listen to Chavez's speeches - he is a thoughtful man who does seem to have his people's interests in mind.
He doesn't think that capitalism and democracy go hand in hand - because the one's with the most capital own the elections and office holders.
Have you been asleep for the last 30 years or so?