Leaked phone calls: Capriles just wanted to make a scandal

[ocpagu]

Phone calls between members of the opposition show they are conscious that they lost the election. In the video below, Dr. Luis Ugueto Arizmendi, an engineer, economist and former Minister of the Finance, "one of the closest advisers to Henrique Capriles, who takes part in meetings that happens every Monday in a place they call "La Peña", recognizes that Capriles lost election.

---------------------
Presentator:

"They know quite well that they lost. You want to know why I say that? (...) one of the closest advisers to Henrique Capriles, who takes part in meetings every Monday in a place they call "La Peña" (...) They know and they say that the opposition lost. Lost the election. Now they are inventing this (points to newspaper), and remember that we said, right here, they were going to claim fraud. People said "paranoid", "always saying that"... They claimed fraud. They were already claiming fraud before April 14. (...)

---------------------
Phone calls:

Dr Luis Ugueto Arizmendi = LUA

Unidentified man: And what do you think about not recognizing (the results)?

LUA: Of recognizing it, because they have to make the counting, it seems to me that now we have to get as boastful as we can since they have been kicking us all this time, right?

Unidentified man: Well, this is true indeed.

LUA: So, I believe that's ok.

Unidentified man: And did you hear something about it being true that it's false, if it's true that the numbers are false or something?

LUA: It's already recognized, there's already an issue (decision) by the National Electoral Council.

Unidentified man: Ok, but when Capriles started saying he did not recognize it?

LUA: Because he wanted to make them recount everything.

Unidentified man: Ok. So, would you say this is the best scenario?

LUA: The best scenario? No.

Unidentified man: The best scenario after winning, of course.

LUA: No we didn't win, we lost.

--------------------------------------

Carmen Luisa: What else? How were things at the La Pena (meeting) yesterday?

LUA: Well, very busy, because the results hadn't come out yet, no one could get to Caracas, no one could pass through Caracas.

Carmen Luisa: No

LUA: Then when we saw Capriles' speech on television, people began to arrive, people, people, people filling the house again.

Carmen Luisa: What do you think Luis?

LUA: Think about what?

Carmen Luisa: Will this lead to anything?

LUA: No No, this is his own operation... to keep the interest (the attention) of his voters. So he has to stay very comfortable, not keeping his mouth shut, because he has to make a scandal, but being very comfortable with that.

Carmen Luisa: Yes, of course. But he has to do this for his elect(gets cut off)

--------------------------------------

LUA: How are things?
Unidentified man: Very good, I feel very good, very positive.

LUA: And I think you should.

Unidentified man: I think it's the best scenario, I think it's better to lose with these votes than to have won with 50,000 votes.

LUA: Losing? We won, this was an ultra win.

Unidentified man: Sure, but I still think it would be better for the future of the country if we had really won, really won with 50 thousand votes.

Source:
http://www.radiomundial.com.ve/article/asesor-de-henrique-capriles-reconoce-derrota-del-14-audiovideo

[Catherina]

1. " this is his own operation... to keep the interest of his voters" "he has to make a scandal"

How putrid does this toad get?



They KNEW he lost. He KNOW he lost but he did this all for show?

Throw his ass in jail! As governor of Miranda, Capriles is bound by the Constitution and laws of Venezuela to guarantee public order, peace and stability and tranquility to families living in the state.

Instead he got people killed. Injured. Orphaned. Destruction of property belonging to the people. And I'm sure a lot more is going to come out about who he was meeting with and accepting "aid" from.

All of this so he could make a "scandal" and have his little show? Fucking unbelievable.

And let's not forget the conversations of his chauffeur before the election, that Capriles had NO intention of recognizing the election results.

[ocpagu]

3. More than half a dozen dead...

... and more thand 60 injured so that Capriles could make his show.

Sick, sick, sick.

He really should be in jail.

[joshcryer]

4. You do realize if he goes to jail a whole lot more will die, right?

But if that's what you want.

[bahrbearian]

26. OK ,to big to Jail, look forward.....

[joshcryer]

47. Nope, that poster has been posting about political violence...

...on a regular basis (mainly to trump up this false narrative that Venezuela is descending into chaos).

[ocpagu]

65. There's nothing false about this narrative.

n/t

[joshcryer]

66. Well, maybe you'll get your wish.

The US would love for the opposition leader to go to jail, even die in custody.

[ocpagu]

69. What do you defend?

Impunity?

[joshcryer]

77. The votes.

The only way for Capriles to be punished according to his crime is to count the votes, at which point he will be politically neutered and no one will fight for him (that is, the instability will end). Correa agrees with me.

[Doctor_J]

28. Proabably the same thing would have happened if Bush & Cheney had been arrested

still would have been good for the country on the whole.

[Catherina]

8. Who's going to apologize to her that her grandson was shot in the head for a "scandal"?

She dreamed for 15 years to see her grandson Jorge Luis Herrera Galeano, 17 years old!

He left his home to celebrate and 5 minutes later his mother learned he'd been killed by a bullet to the face.

He was supposed to go see his grandmother in June, and meet the rest of his father's family.

17 years old. A bullet to the face. So that Señor could stage his "scandal".

Story here in Spanish. http://www.elmeridianodecordoba.com.co/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=30053:en-venezuela-mataron-a-su-nieto&Itemid=147

[joshcryer]

11. Who's going to apologize for the nearly 200k dead Venezuelans since 2000?

Oh, right, street crime, irrelevant.

[Warren Stupidity]

15. Wow. You've taken the low road there.

[sabrina 1]

52. Unbelievable, the 'logic' to defend the indefensible, isn't it?

I hope there is an international investigation of this. Venezuela should go to the UN because it's imperative to find out who, from the International Oil Cartel nations is interfering in these elections.

Or they should take it to one of the Latin American organizations.

[ocpagu]

68. They have been planning this for a long time.

Possibly since Chávez got sick.

I'd say this falls into the same category of transnational organized political crimes that have been going on in Latin America for decades, with the blessing of big media, the US government, and ignored by international law.

Hope Latin America can articulate a way of preventing this in the long run.

[sabrina 1]

72. It definitely seems that way. It has the unsettling feeling of a return to the old

criminal actions against Latin America. This is why I think the whole thing should be exposed and anyone involved in, eg, taking outside money to try to destabilize their country should be charged with treason.

All Latin American countries should have a law forbidding the influx of foreign money for the purpose of undermining democratically elected governments. I'm sure it wouldn't stop them, but at least it would provide the legal means to go after them when it is proven this is what they are doing.

[joshcryer]

75. They've been planning for the CNE to be corrupt and to call it out?

[ocpagu]

79. Nope.

They had been planning not to recognize the elections to cause destabilization, as Catherina showed even before the elections.

[joshcryer]

95. Sure. But Maduro made it actually viable.

By losing 10% of the vote.

[frylock]

67. epic fucking fail

[Ken Burch]

103. No way to have prevented it.

It would only have served the rich to use the Newt Gingrich approach and hire tens of thousands of more cops.

[joshcryer]

106. Hiring cops wasn't the problem.

Not firing corrupt cops was.

[Coyotl]

35. Thanks for posting this

[ocpagu]

2. This video...

... is pretty much the solid proof that the opposition is not being genuine, let alone honest, in their whining for recounting. They know they lost, they don't think a recount would change that. They just want an excuse to destabilize the country.

[joshcryer]

5. Lua confirms one thing, Capriles is crazy.

[Catherina]

6. I'm beyond disgusted.

Every time I think that toad can sink no lower, he manages to sink even deeper in his own filth.

And this is the man the US wants. Anyone wonder why?

This is a man so comfortable with lies that he'd have no problem letting his friends loot the country as his supporters cover for him with some bullshit about google-dimensional chess.

I thought it was crystal clear too that his main goal was to destabilize the country.

The good thing is Maduro isn't stupid.

You remember the attaches that got thrown out right after Chavez died? The ones he caught contacting Venezuelan military officers? 2 + 2 = coup d'etat. The US probably already had a plane ready to swoop in and grab him out of there like they did with Aristide and Zelaya.

I can hear Chavez right now

[joshcryer]

7. Maduro is stupid as long as he doesn't count the votes.

49% of Venezuelans aren't going to sit idly by as Maduro goes off the deep end with his proclamations and maneuvering.

Jets and helicopters were flying over Caracas today and tanks are being mobilized. Maduro would be an idiot to do anything, an idiot beyond reproach.

[djean111]

12. Since Capriles seems to already know he has lost - what is the point of a recount?

Looks to me like Capriles is stirring up trouble and demanding a recount because perhaps some boxes of paper votes have disappeared or something. Why else still bleat for a recount if he knows he lost?
What does he have to gain?
And I don't see all 49% of the people who voted demanding a recount.
This has the earmarks of a failed election for Capriles, so now he is getting help from the United States in order to destabilize.
There is historical precedent for that sort of thing.
Have ANY other countries questioned the results? (The UK doesn't count, if they did.)
Are you suggesting that since you believe Maduro to be crazy, Capriles should be installed as president even though he lost the vote? What is your wish here?

[joshcryer]

13. The opposition has dealt with "irregularities" for years.

But the opposition for its survival couldn't complain about the irregularities. Capriles wants it to see the light of day. And it would be good of him to do that. I documented the CNE claims last elections, and even the Carter Center documented the claims, but generally nothing was done about them, and to be clear, Capriles and the top opposition leaders didn't complain about them.

I do know that Capriles' 'reasons' are completely and utterly irrelevant. If there are allegations of fraud the CNE and Supreme Court should take it seriously. Not dismiss it as Maduro, Tibi, and Supreme Court Luisa Estela have done without one formal request. Think about it this way. Protesters protested for a recount in FL. What would you say if the election head, Katherine Harris, said she wasn't going to recognize a recount? Well, that's actually what happened in FL! What would you have said if, before any formal complaint was issued, the Supreme Court then said they wouldn't do a recount? It's absurd.

2006 in Mexico is your damn historical precedent for a recount with allegations of fraud. Which Chavez, among many other in Latin America, called for, twice.

Allegedly 700k votes were counted without observers present. The vote in those polling stations should be investigated.

[joshcryer]

19. BTW, I did not call Maduro crazy, I called Capriles crazy.

Why is Capriles crazy? Because it sounds like he's basing his entire position on the fraud that the opposition has overlooked all these years. Chavistas being allowed to wear campaign regalia at polling stations, chavistas using cadenas / emergency Broadcast System style chains to drown out opposition rallies and speeches, chavistas making up a butterfly ballot in 2012 where thousands of Capriles votes went to (didn't matter then, because Chavez won by so much). These things are documented. The Carter Center has them listed in its 2012 report (PDF). It is not a lie, the Carter Center agrees with me.

But Capriles never complained then so why would he complain now and why would the CNE take it seriously? They don't have to nor will they. They simply don't care about those allegations even though progressives like myself and the Carter Center observed those things happening!

I do not think Capriles won, which is why I am calling him crazy, I think though that the CNE should investigate the claims of fraud, and I think Capriles lost by a narrower margin (he may have 'won' if those polling stations votes were annulled but Venezuela has revotes, they don't annul results, and a revote ain't happening).

[sabrina 1]

81. They've been exposed, now watch the twisted, pretzel logic we will hear from the right wing

defenders of these criminals. Not the first time they failed through stupidity and the stupidity of their backers in the West. I remember the attempted coup against Chavez very well, a time when the entire left in the US was outraged over our role in it. Now of course the 'left' in the US has been infiltrated and after 2004 you began to see the bought and paid for anti-Chavez right wing propaganda we only saw on right wing forums, creeping on to Democratic forums. It's been fascinating to watch.

Fortunately I think Latin America has enough time, while the US was bogged down in the ME, to strengthen itself against a return to the old Us friendly Dictators we love so much here apparently.

[ocpagu]

88. An audit was already made

An audit of more than 50% of all votes, in front of members of all parties and international observers. What he is saying is that he doesn't trust neither the results nor the audit.

So... he's clearly not interested in a third audit, he's interested in riots. I don't know why CNE should play his game.

[joshcryer]

93. That's not the damn allegation.

The allegation is that observers weren't allowed to watch the audit in polling stations representing 700k votes.

How many times do I have to repeat this? Damn.

edit: btw, the fact that the PSUV still hasn't posted their actas indicates that is possibly the case, maybe it's not true, but every observer signs the actas, and the PSUV claimed they were going to post them but have yet to do it. Why? Because if they post unsigned actas that will be the smoking gun!

[reorg]

101. not a single one of those fake allegations can be proven

or disproven by a full audit. That's why the request to "count every single vote" is disingenous and fake.

They complain that they saw "violence" and "proselytizing" outside of polling stations, and instances of "assisted votes". Regardless of whether or not these incidents were entirely benign and legal, as seems likely from looking at the few pictures presented as "proof", a handcount doesn't show if voters felt in any way affected.

As to observers not being present, you have claimed yesterday that the opposition chose not to send observers to 10-15% of polling stations. I still can't believe they are really that stupid to completely write off 10-15% of stations, but if there is any truth to your claim (not that I would count on that, LOL), the lack of some signatures would prove exactly nothing.

More likely, though, no signatures are missing and we'll see yet more proof of a campaign of lies in which you among others have been participating.

[Bacchus4.0]

9. did he come to you as a little bird?

tweet tweet

[Catherina]

10. Only reconfirming what a total jerk you are.

A trait shared with rightwingers.

Of course since you spent every waking hour of your "1,684 posts" littering DU with rightwing talking points and support of that vile Capriles, it's no surprise that all you can manage to warble is "tweet, tweet". Ironically, it's actually one of your more intelligent posts.

This conversation is over. If you need to have a last bird-brained "tweet", don't expect an answer. I don't talk to bird-brains and I don't talk to toads who support destabilizing Venezuela.

[Puglover]

17. +1000!

[Bacchus4.0]

27. adios mi pajarita comemierda n/t

s

[bahrbearian]

29. "Goodbye my bow tie eating grin" ?

[Bacchus4.0]

31. lol, whatever you say n/t

s

[idwiyo]

42. Care to translate to English? Come on, you are not afraid, are you?

[Coyotl]

43. Shit-eating bird

Someone needs to get a life and an etiquette education.

[idwiyo]

48. Thank you. I wonder if the poster themselves would like to translate, instead of hiding.

[Bacchus4.0]

51. shit eater would be the literal translation but not the meaning of the expression itself n/t

s

[Catherina]

73. Bullshit. But it's clear you were looking in the mirror when you said it. n/t

[Coyotl]

36. ^^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^^ +1000000000000000

[sabrina 1]

82. Excellent comment, Catherina. I am happy though to see Caprilles finally exposed for what he is.

A right wing patsy for the Western powers who miss their former Dictator friends.

[Catherina]

87. Was there ever any doubt?

Though I must say, I', *amused* at those who write everything off as a false flag of paranioia. The general attitude of some here is to put perfume on a turd (a saying where I am) because all these facts are a distraction from Capriles' birthright to loot the country with his friends.

And the propaganda is in full swing. They're not going to pull this latest neocon "Spring" or neoliberal "Color Revolution" as easily as they did in Libya and Syria. The only way their right wing patsy will make it into Miraflores is over the blood of millions of Venezuelans and their Latin American brothers are closing ranks around them.


Castro tried to get Obama to *think*. But does he pay even the slightest heed? Even reflect? No....

The enemy knows the features of his character and is currently multiplying its efforts with the purpose of slandering and attacking President Chávez. I, for one, do not hesitate in stating my modest opinion –which emanates from more than half a century of struggle – and that is that the oligarchy will never again be able to govern that country. That is the reason why the US government’s decision to promote the overthrow of the Bolivarian government under such circumstances becomes a source of concern.

Besides, insisting on waging a slanderous campaign, claiming that there is a desperate struggle within the leadership of the Bolivarian government to take control of the revolutionary government in the event that the president is unable to overcome his illness, is nothing short of a huge lie. On the contrary, I have observed the greatest unity among the leaders of the Bolivarian Revolution.

Under such circumstances, any mistake made by Obama could provoke rivers of blood in Venezuela, and Venezuelan blood is also Ecuadorian, Brazilian, Argentinean, Bolivian, Chilean, Uruguayan, Central American, Dominican and Cuban blood.

It is necessary to bear in mind this reality when analyzing the political situation in Venezuela.

Is it now understood why the workers’ anthem urges us to change the world by destroying bourgeois imperialism?

http://en.cubadebate.cu/reflections-fidel/2012/04/28/what-obama-knows/

[hifiguy]

91. How i wish I could recommend this post.

[joshcryer]

14. Heh

[byeya]

16. The sicko interventionists are grumpy this morning. Very sad.

[Starry Messenger]

18. Pathetic.

It sounds like the counter-revolution is trying to stir up a civil war.

[joshcryer]

20. I never asked you, but do you think fraud allegations should be looked at by CNE?

Or should they be dismissed because they're coming from "right wingers"?

[Starry Messenger]

22. Does one take an Orly Taitz seriously?

This seems like Birther levels of rat-fucking. Teabaggers cry fraud over Obama's election too. This just seems similar to me.

[Doctor_J]

25. Excellent analogy

Obama should roll out these transcripts and say, "Well, Capriles and his advisors have admitted they lost. Case closed. let us move on to jobs for Americans."

Of course if that happens there will be pigs flying over my house while I have sex with Norah Jones.

[joshcryer]

45. Capriles didn't say that.

Which is why he's crazy. He said the exact opposite without hard proof for it.

Then again maybe he assumed that he'd get support from those in Latin America who support fraud allegations into elections, which was an absurdly false assumption, when you look at the response.

[joshcryer]

44. Orly Taitz's objections were answered.

Were they not?

[Zorra]

54. "Birther' leader Orly Taitz ordered by Supreme Court to pay $20,000 fine for 'frivolous' lawsuit"

Tee-hee! Yep, I reckon they were answered. Resoundingly.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/birther-leader-orly-taitz-ordered-supreme-court-pay-20-000-fine-frivolous-lawsuit-article-1.205638

Why bother wasting time with the childish Machiavellian machinations of silly, frivolous RW fools of proven low character such as Capriles?

President Maduro already has his hands full with serious, pressing issues, and issue #1 isprotecting his new administration and the people of Venezuela from a US sponsored fascist coup.

[joshcryer]

55. If the allegations are investigated and proven to have been false...

...then, well, obviously that would be cause for punishment.

But the CNE has not had a formal complaint (the opposition has 20 days to submit it).

I think comparing the votes of 700k people to Orly Taitz is really a straw man but I would've wished Starry Messenger to rather think beyond right and left and more about democracy and justice.

[Zorra]

63. The fact is, most of us know that corporatists are always going to use any means possible

to take control of any government in order to use the government and people of that country to maximize profits for multinational corporations.

So, yeah, generally we dismiss the right wing out of hand, because history has shown us that they are inevitably full of shit and that their intentions are never anything but nefarious, and subsequently, we recognize that democratic governments everywhere must be eternally vigilant in order to protect themselves and their people from malicious RW corporatist intervention and manipulation.

Look at the conservatives in the US. They do absolutely nothing that is good for our country. They have been destroying our country and our democracy for generations, and this destruction continues on a daily basis right now.

Look at how they compromise the government of our country right now. It's disgusting. The lobbying of politicians in the US is an abomination.

You really believe that they are not going to do everything possible to take over Venezuela's government (and oil) in order to establish a permanent corporatist system in Venezuela? If you believe that, with all due respect, I have this really nice bridge for sale at an amazing price....

Maduro won the popular vote (50.66%) against Henrique Capriles' (49.07). If Obama had won the election of 2012 by a margin of over one and one half percent, and republicans were screaming for a recount, would you say they were justified in doing so, and also be calling for a recount? Conservatives will always lie and cheat to get what they want. And what corporatists in Venezuela want by demanding this audit and herding RWers into the streets is to destabilize the government, and the country, in order to increase the possibility of a RW corporatist coup. Of course they are going to contest the election results with any means possible. Using false propaganda contrivances, and trying to incite riots for nefarious purposes, is what most any disrespectable conservative would do under the circumstances.



Capriles Falsifies Evidence in Order to Claim Fraud in Venezuela’s Elections

The global power of the financial centers is so great, that they can afford not to worry about the political tendency of those who hold power in a nation, if the economic program (in other words, the role that nation has in the global economic megaprogram) remains unaltered. The financial disciplines impose themselves upon the different colors of the world political spectrum in regards to the government of any nation. The great world power can tolerate a leftist government in any part of the world, as long as the government does not take measures that go against the needs of the world financial centers. But in no way will it tolerate that an alternative economic, political and social organization consolidate. For the megapolitics, the national politics are dwarfed and submit to the dict ates of the financial centers. It will be this way until the dwarfs rebel . .
~ Marcos

The dwarfs are rebelling in South America.

godspeed.

[joshcryer]

71. Well, I consider chavismo right wing.

And it's mainly due to things like dismissing things like recounts off hand. When the left wanted a recount in Mexico in 2006 the margin of victory for the right winger was larger than Maduro's in Venezuela. Chavez called for a full recount, twice. The US accepted the right wing victor off the bat.

It seems more that people are doing the opposite of what the US says, as opposed to thinking rationally about a given situation and understanding the facts.

The image you post of the tyranny at the FL elections only underscores the point. The allegation by the opposition is that observers were forcefully removed from polling stations representing 700k votes. That is a very big allegation if true. If the opposition can document it I see no rational reason to dismiss it off hand as you are doing here. Even if you did perceive them as right wing. Bush beat Kerry by 2 points. A much wider margin than Maduro did Capriles. I still wanted the Ohio fraud allegations investigated. If the margin was as close as Maduro v. Capriles I would've been pissed off if Kerry didn't fight for the Ohio vote.

Generally I don't think of progressives as people who crush people through violent suppression and intimidation tactics. And as far as I see Maduro is the one who banned the protests, Capriles is the one who called them off and repeatedly calls for no violence. Maduro is the one saying he'll use a "firm hand" and that he'll "radicalize" the 51%. Capriles is the one who calls for pot banging and peaceful redress. Maduro's people are the ones who unilaterally say, without even getting a formal request, that they won't even consider said requests (so the investigations I mentioned? They already said, without seeing one piece of paper in writing, that they won't do anything about it; just like Katherine Harris about the FL recount).

I'm going to get bored of this soon but I have a feeling that the good always beat out the bad, and in the end the homophobic bigot Maduro is going to have a serious karma withdrawal.

[ocpagu]

90. Really? Right wing?

The US opposing a right-wing government in Latin America?

You understand that would be the first time in history, right?

Have no idea of how you came to that conclusion. Why don't you try to convince us that chavismo is right wing? I think it would be funny.

Oh...THERE WAS AN AUDIT ALREADY. + 50% of the votes were recounted. In front of the thugs from Capriles' party and international observers. And they didn't say anything.

[joshcryer]

92. Going in circles.

I think the US wants unrest so that Venezuela goes like Chile or Colombia, I do not think that it actually wants Capriles to succeed and inact Brazil-like or Peru-like reforms.

[Starry Messenger]

98. There's a lot of things I wish too Josh. No need to get personal.

I'm a left-winger because I care deeply about democracy and justice. I don't know why you'd assume otherwise just because I don't share your opinions about some things. Not everyone has to think like you, as I tell my students.

[joshcryer]

99. I thought it was unfair to compare to Orly Taitz.

Even though it was a crappy comparison she was allowed to screw up the court systems for awhile until she was shut down. Some of us even thought Obama should release the birth certificate just to make her look like an idiot (not actually doubting the certificate, but knowing that it would ruin her). In this vein I wonder why you wouldn't want to see the votes counted.

Orly Taitz did not not represent 700k votes allegedly compromised. She was a shrew who just barely knew how to fill out a form at the court house. The magnitude of what they represent is massively different.

I'm not saying Capriles' allegations are true or proven, btw, but the fact that the PSUV hasn't released their actas suggests to me that something is up, since they'd help prove his case because they'd be unsigned. I don't rule out the possibility that they're slow about it despite having a conference saying they'd be posted yesterday. Unsigned actas would be direct proof that opposition supporters weren't available for the hot audit. Counting the ballots and comparing to the PSUVs actas would reaudit them.

[Starry Messenger]

100. Well, that's what happens when you ask me a question before I have coffee at 6 am.

Sorry I ruined your whole day.

I disagree with you on several points, as I often do. But it's only a discussion board. You feel very deeply for your position, and I for mine. That is life.

[joshcryer]

107. Well, the audits are being done, so my grievences end there.

My entire premise was to count the votes. Correa agreed with me. I'm just glad the Carter Center is there and, imo, will probably stick around, and look forward to their analysis since the agreed with all of my objections here on this forum in 2012.

[Starry Messenger]

108. I don't think it was ever in doubt that the vote would be audited.

Maduro's camp agreed to an audit yesterday:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-18/chavez-heir-agrees-to-audit-venezuela-vote-ahead-of-inauguration.html

Venezuela’s President-elect Nicolas Maduro, who will be sworn in tomorrow, agreed to a full audit of the votes cast in the country’s closest election in 45 years as the opposition contests the results.

Maduro’s campaign chief, Jorge Rodriguez, made the announcement yesterday after opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski called off a march to protest the results of the April 14 presidential election. Capriles, who requested a manual recount of the 15 million votes, acted after Maduro said he would come down with a “firm hand” on opposition supporters and political violence led to eight deaths.

“That there be new technical audits, we agree 100 percent with that,” Rodriguez said, without providing more information.

<snip>

First Step

Maduro has taken a first step to resolving the impasse even if his offer to audit the votes electronically doesn’t go as far as the manual recount demanded by Capriles, said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington.

“At least they’ll begin to have some communication that could help overcome this crisis,” Shifter said in a phone interview. “It has to be interpreted as an encouraging development and I think Capriles will see it that way.”


<snip>

I'm sure any concerns the Carter Center has will be resolved, since they noted that citizen confidence in VZ election process is the highest it has ever been in the 2012 elections.


I wonder how the recall vote will do in Miranda?

[joshcryer]

109. The level of the audit was always in question.

At first Maduro called for a full recount. Then they said there would be no recount at all. When they finally said they would do it it originally was simply an audit of the machines, now they will do a hand count of the rest of the ballots. This is dramatically different from what was initially proposed (no count at all).

You should check out that full report, it talks about all the issues I had with the elections, from the unnecessary fingerprinting (pre-vote checks), to the fact that Chavez used chains and dominated the media, to the butterfly ballot that they used which costed Capriles a few thousand votes to the fact that chavistas were allowed to use campaign regalia at the polling stations.

A recall in Miranda would be fascinating to watch.

[Starry Messenger]

110. Unless I missed something (perfectly possible)

a hand recount was always impossible because the votes are computerized.

http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/determined-capriles-demands-recount-1.1502545#.UXDociuY6hY

Maduro, who had been declared the winner of the elections by 50.8 percent to 49 percent, said he would support “totally and fully” whatever the election council decides.

Earlier, Chief Justice Luisa Estela Morales said the opposition request for a recount was “an impossibility”, because Venezuela's computerised voting system does not allow for the kind of vote-by-vote recount demanded by Capriles.

I did check out the full report. It was overwhelmingly positive, imo. It highlighted the fact that Capriles and his camp were satisfied going in that things would be fair.

"Repeated calls by both candidates for citizens to vote, as well as extensive participation of political party representatives in both pre-election preparations and audits of the automated voting system programmed by the National Electoral Council (CNE), contributed to citizen confidence in the voting system. Even so, isolated claims of fraud surfaced after the vote. Nevertheless, the whole opposition leadership, including, most importantly, Capriles himself, unequivocally rejected those claims, stating that the
results reflected the will of the electorate."

"Security of the Voting Machines
In the most open process to date, according to opposition technical experts, political party and domestic observer technical experts participated in the 16 pre-election audits of the entire automated system and the postelection audit, including hardware and software as well as the fingerprint databases.
MUD experts who participated in the audits repeatedly stated they were confident about the security mechanisms and the secrecy of the vote."

"On the Campaign Trails
The campaign featured two candidates in structurally different positions. The striking contrasts between their campaign strategies were to be expected. The popular 57-year-old president-candidate was governing for the 13th year and seeking his third,
consecutive, six-year term after being diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer.14 In firm control of the state and riding a moderate economic recovery by the time the campaign began, Chávez campaigned as the embodiment of his movement and indeed the nation, using the saying, “Chávez, heart of the fatherland.”

Capriles, by contrast, was not very well-known around the whole country, as he was running for national office from a governor’s post. Moreover, he was a youthful 40-year-old from a well-heeled background with weak oratory skills and a campaign organization with resource limitations and internal tensions. He needed an effectively designed campaign strategy and a perfectly executed campaign trail performance to stand a chance. He achieved those objectives, but they were not enough.'"

http://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/news/peace_publications/election_reports/venezuela-2012-election-study-mission-final-rpt.pdf

Of course, the recall might be moot if Capriles doesn't resume his post as Governor tomorrow. He will simply be removed. It must be tough trying to perform the duties of office while running for higher office for most of the year. Edit to ask, did he win his own state this time for President? I haven't been able to find if this is so.

[joshcryer]

111. The thing about the Carter report...

They highlighted a lot of stuff I pointed out here basically every problem I had with the elections, they noted. I got called a right winger at the time for noting them (I really wish kicking a post would bring it to the top but the archive doesn't work that way, or I'd prove all the slanders wrong). Capriles should've rightly complained about those issues at the time but he knew complaining would do no good. I frankly wish he did complain at the time because not making complaints in one election and making them in another is odious to the core. I understand why they didn't, though. Had Capriles won this time he could've pulled a Maduro and not wanted a recount or said "The system is perfect! It's unassailable!" But that would've been a lie, of course! No system is "best in the world"! In theory, if all constraints are met, yes, Venezuela's voting system is the best electronic system in the world (but I prefer paper ballots and will always consider them superior, like most other Latin American states).

In any event, the system is not "completely computerized." There are paper ballots for every single vote that is made. After they vote they do a "hot audit" of 54% of the votes, that is, they take the printout from the machine and compare it to a random sampling of the votes. I have been on record saying this is the best way to ever do electronic voting (it is simply impossible to game such a system if the hot audit is observed completely). However, it only works if you have observers there to look at the tally from the machine printout (called actas, which literally means "tally sheet" in Spanish). Otherwise the system can be gamed, trivially. It is, after all, an electronic voting system, where votes are virtual, and a flip of a bit can be coded without effort.

The Capriles camp alleged that they didn't have actas from polling stations representing 700k votes. I believe them when they say that. They could be lying, and if they are, I'd be the first to condemn it. But it makes no sense for them to make such a claim without there being proof of it (the proof being unsigned actas). And the PSUV didn't post the tally sheets (actas) to their website after saying they would which only leads me to believe it further. See, when you do the hot audit of 54% of the votes observers from both sides sign the tally sheets. Basically saying, "I agree that this tally sheet matches the hot audit of 54% of the votes." An unsigned tally sheet would be absolute proof that a given observer wasn't there to sign it (on either side).

Now, why they didn't have observers? They claim that they were kicked out. That I can believe to an extent because of the chavista polarization that permeates their politics. If I'm an opposition member and I want to observe something, they see me wearing colors of the opposition, one might not trust me to be there (not that it would matter since I'm simply observing). They might think I'm there to cause trouble or to claim fraud or to just be polarizing. On the other hand, it could've simply been a complete fail on the part of the campaign, that is, they didn't have volunteers to go into those polling stations and observe the hot audit.

Regardless, if the hot audit is not observed, the veracity of the votes can legitimately be called into question. Which is what Capriles did. Now, Capriles, being a crazy fucker, decided to double and triple down and claim illegitimacy of the President and at one point said he won if certain constraints were met (counting foreign votes and the implication of annulling votes in voting stations where observers weren't there; likely majority chavista polling stations).

I know what you're thinking. Why not just purposefully not allow observers in a polling station and then afterwards claim fraud. That may have happened! And that is why electronic voting is a farce, because it does allow such a thing to happen! And it allows crazy fuckers like Capriles to claim fraud in said event, because, logically, philosophically, and rationally, said electronic voting machines can't be trusted if all parties don't sign off on the tally sheets. That's why non-paper electronic voting machines are bullshit. In fact, in some areas (in the USA) they don't even have a VVAT (paper trail verification) for the machines, and when races are close? The recount is simply looking at what the machines say, there's no proof one way or another, in the form of humans actually printing out or signing a ballot.

Anyway, Capriles won Miranda against Maduro by almost 100k votes, which is a lot better showing than when he ran for governor where he won by I think 30k or so (back in Dec. of 2012). A recall would be fascinating there for me because it'd be interesting to see whether his crazy vote counting tactic paid off or was a disaster. At the bare minimum by counting the votes Maduro and the chavistas have diffused the situation.

[idwiyo]

50. +1 !

[sabrina 1]

89. Lol, that's a perfect analogy. Orly Taitz.

[bahrbearian]

30. I think all voter fraud allegations should handled by the USSC.

[zeemike]

23. With a little help from the CIA I am sure.

And legitimized by our SOS calling for a recount...(oh the irony of that)
The big oil companies what their country back...and our government will help.

[Exultant Democracy]

21. We shouldn't be surprised. Capriles is basically a Ven version of the Koch brothers

He isn't interested in Democracy just in putting money back into the plutocrats pockets.

I hope his DU supporters start to get the picture on this menace.

[Doctor_J]

24. Rove is advising the fascists down there

Hopefully the Venezuelan populace has enough gumption to fight back (unlike the Hoi Polloi in the US).

when I think that our president is taking the side of Rove and Capriles in this caper, my respect for him goes to zero.

[limpyhobbler]

104. That figures.

[polly7]

32. Sick freaks. I hope they're jailed for the rest of their lives.

Justice for those who died.

[Bacchus4.0]

33. thanks, just further proof they are spying on Capriles

chavista pricks.

[joshcryer]

46. I had it on good authority that political spying was OK on these forums.

[Coyotl]

34. And Secretary of State John Kerry is on this bandwagon because ???

Big Oil rules!

[flamingdem]

37. Kerry inherited Clinton's policies

Shame on him giving into it so quickly. Is he another one in the administration who knows little about Latin America?

[flamingdem]

39. I should add: knows little and cares even less nt

[Judi Lynn]

96. He may have learned a lot from his wife, Teresa, who inherited her former husbands Heinz Ketchup.

Years ago I heard Teresa's first politician husband, the Heinz heir, owned ketchup factories in Venezuela. I heard about it repeatedly since then.

Checking google quickly:

Speaking of ketchup… the Heinz Kerry’s also has a vendetta against Venezuela for nationalizing some of their Heinz factories… so don’t be surprised to see more destabilization actions against Venezuela. Obama could not have picked a worse person for this position.

http://deadlinelive.info/tag/teresa-heinz-kerry/

[center]~ ~[/center]

Venezuelan Authorities Seize Idle Heinz Ketchup Plant
By Gregory Wilpert – Venezuelanalysis.com

Caracas, Venezuela, September 9, 2005—Venezuelan military seized a Heinz Ketchup plant in Venezuela’s Monagas state last Monday. Heinz company representatives complained that the seizure represented, “a violation of property rights and free trade as well as due process.” Venezuela’s Minister for Agriculture and Land, Antonio Albarrán, argued, though, that 80% of the plant actually belongs to the workers and that Heinz bought the plant illegally in 1996. The plant has been closed for nearly a decade, according to Albarrán.

The take-over of the Heinz plant in the town of Caicara, Monagas, was carried out by Venezuelan troops at the request of the pro-Chavez state governor, José Gregorio Briceño. The move comes at a time that the Chavez government is investigating over 700 closed enterprises, evaluating them for their suitability for worker takeovers, via expropriation.

Workers at many other factories and businesses have begun taking matters in their own hands, not waiting for the government to act in the expropriation of idle factories.

The president of the anti-Chavez industrial business federation Conindustria, Juan Francisco Mejías, said that he hopes that the government will “rectify” its action in the case of the Heinz tomato processing plant.

http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/1352

[center]~ ~[/center]
Heinz Calls on Venezuela to Give Back Seized Ketchup Plant
By Alex Kennedy - September 6, 2005 23:20 EDT

Sept. 6 (Bloomberg) -- H.J. Heinz Co., the world's largest ketchup maker, called on Venezuelan authorities to give back a plant seized yesterday by a state governor.

Heinz bought the ketchup plant in eastern Monagas state in 1996 and shut down operations for the last few years because of a dispute with local tomato suppliers, the company's Venezuelan unit, Alimentos Heinz, said in a statement. Pittsburg-based Heinz was trying to sell the plant when Monagas Governor Jose Briceno seized it, the company said.

``We're concerned at the actions of the authorities to seize the property,'' the company said. ``We hope this situation will be cleared up shortly and the property will be returned.''

President Hugo Chavez signed executive orders in January that established the legal framework for the government to seize private properties it considers unused, and to distribute them to poor farmers and workers. Briceno seized the plant in order to reopen it, the government's Bolivarian News Agency said on its Web site. Briceno did not immediately return a message left at his office.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aW_DUNguG1FU

[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]
However, it's a Venezuelan US opposition group in Tampa, Florida which actually boasts and takes credit for Kerry's position on Venezuela these days!

Published: Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Bylined to: Curtis Reed

Tampa-based Free Venezuela, Inc: Our goal is regime change in Venezuela

Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 17:39:42 GMT
From: Curtis Reed [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Error: It was Venezuelans in TAMPA

In David Coleman's article "Venezuela's relations with USA to improve if Bush 2 loses election this fall" you stated that Senator Kerry's statement regarding the Chavez regime amounted to "Parroting anti-Venezuelan Miami Herald propaganda."

In fact, the Kerry position statement was the result of the effort of Venezuelan-Americans from the Tampa area who contacted his camp and conducted an education campaign to be sure that Kerry understood what a threat the Chavez regime represents to US interests, regional stability, and how it endangers democracy across the hemisphere.

We have been working constantly over several years to establish good contacts with our representatives, and it was through those contacts that we made direct contact with John Kerry and delivered to him the message you will find below.

We are now in the process of publishing more Op-Ed articles, organizing round table discussions about the Chavez regime, and speaking out on nationally syndicated radio shows. Let there be no confusion: the "Miami Mafia" had nothing to do with this. It was the result of hard work by US citizens and Venezuelan expatriate organizations like FREE VENEZUELA that we influenced Kerry, and we will continue to push US policy until we achieve our goal.

Our goal: regime change in Venezuela.

Finally, let your communist friends know that their propaganda machines are failing, and the tide has turned against the Chavez dictatorship. We have convinced Democrats and Republicans alike that Chavez and his criminal henchmen are the antithesis to Democratic principles.

Have a nice day.

Curtis Reed
[e-mail]

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=16656
(Free registration required)

[flamingdem]

97. Oh no! Another family tie situation

Heinz is very unhealthy stuff as is believing oligarchs and their descendants about the truth of countries South of the border!

If this is the case then it's odd he's known as anti-embargo, maybe he's just not 100% hawk.. that is until Hillary spoke with him on the topic.

[naaman fletcher]

38. Just imagine the uproar

If the FBI was monitoring John Kerry campaign calls and leaking them in 2004.

[flamingdem]

40. Okay but what do you think about the tactics used by Capriles? nt

[naaman fletcher]

41. I don't like them at all

he knows he lost and he should admit that to stop the violence.

[joshcryer]

57. I'm supportive of the count the vote tactic.

Even if advisers for the guy saying count the vote doesn't think he'd win and thinks he's trying to cause controversy.

[Coyotl]

49. They are stirring the cauldron of violence, hoping it will boil over.

[ocpagu]

84. Great pic.

Maduro needs to be really careful. The 'minority half' wants to transform the country in a huge minefield.

[reorg]

53. a little birdie came to Capriles and said

okay, we lost again, but what we need to do now is to seize the moment and embarrass the government as much as we possibly can.



At least that's what Capriles' German advisors from the right-wing Adenauer-Stiftung (CDU) say (rough translation):

It seems rather unlikely that a manual recount will yield a substantially different result. The system had its weaknesses in the past, but there was never deception in the tallying of the vote. The overall result was always in line with what the documents in the polling stations said. The CNE was applauded for this, even by European diplomats.

The opposition has developed great expertise in controlling the election process ... 120,000 activists act as election witnesses ... there is no room for manipulation in the tallying of the votes.

With their call for a manual recount, Venezuela's opposition does not aim for a different result which would grant them victory. It is about exposing the government's lack of legitimacy.

--- --- --- ---

Es erscheint jedoch eher als unwahrscheinlich, dass die manuelle Auszählung ein wesentlich anderes Ergebnis nachweisen wird. Die Schwäche des Wahlsystems bestand in der Vergangenheit nicht darin, dass beim Zusammenzählen der Stimmen getäuscht wurde. Das Gesamtergebnis stimmte regelmäßig mit dem Inhalt der Wahlakten im einzelnen Wahllokal überein. Dafür erhielt die Wahlbehörde sogar Applaus von Seiten europäischer Diplomaten.

Die Opposition sah sich über die Jahre gezwungen, eine wahre Meisterschaft in der Kontrolle des Wahlprozesses zu entwickeln, bei der von Wahlgang zu Wahlgang mehr als 120.000 demokratische Aktivisten beteiligt sind, die als Wahlzeugen fungieren und ein eigenes System der Dokumentation der Ergebnisse und der Verstöße gegen das Wahlgesetz aufgebaut haben. In einer gigantischen gemeinsamen Anstrengung der in der "Mesa de Unidad" (Tisch der Einheit) zusammengeschlossenen Oppositionsparteien werden die im Wahlgesetz vorgesehenen Kopien der Wahlakten landesweit von den Wahlzeugen eingesammelt, dezentral in der Wahlnacht gescannt und für eine parallele Auszählung auf einer Datenbank zusammengeführt. Deshalb besteht für eine Manipulation der Stimmenauszählung wenig Raum.

Mit ihrem Bestehen auf einer manuellen Auszählung zielt Venezuelas Opposition also nicht primär auf die Verkündung eines anderen Wahlergebnisses, das ihr den Sieg zuspricht. Es geht vielmehr darum, die fehlende Legitimität der Regierung bloß zu stellen.

http://www.kas.de/venezuela/de/publications/34075/

[joshcryer]

56. Yes, Capriles is exposing the stuff the Carter Center found.

To the world stage.

This, BTW, is what makes him crazy.

[Catherina]

58. Kicked, Recommended, Copied because I need this in my journal.

Fantastic post reorg!


a little birdie came to Capriles and said



"okay, we lost again, but what we need to do now is to seize the moment and embarrass the government as much as we possibly can."


At least that's what Capriles' German advisors from the right-wing Adenauer-Stiftung (CDU) say (rough translation):

It seems rather unlikely that a manual recount will yield a substantially different result. The system had its weaknesses in the past, but there was never deception in the tallying of the vote. The overall result was always in line with what the documents in the polling stations said. The CNE was applauded for this, even by European diplomats.

The opposition has developed great expertise in controlling the election process ... 120,000 activists act as election witnesses ... there is no room for manipulation in the tallying of the votes.

With their call for a manual recount, Venezuela's opposition does not aim for a different result which would grant them victory. It is about exposing the government's lack of legitimacy.

--- --- --- ---

Es erscheint jedoch eher als unwahrscheinlich, dass die manuelle Auszählung ein wesentlich anderes Ergebnis nachweisen wird. Die Schwäche des Wahlsystems bestand in der Vergangenheit nicht darin, dass beim Zusammenzählen der Stimmen getäuscht wurde. Das Gesamtergebnis stimmte regelmäßig mit dem Inhalt der Wahlakten im einzelnen Wahllokal überein. Dafür erhielt die Wahlbehörde sogar Applaus von Seiten europäischer Diplomaten.

Die Opposition sah sich über die Jahre gezwungen, eine wahre Meisterschaft in der Kontrolle des Wahlprozesses zu entwickeln, bei der von Wahlgang zu Wahlgang mehr als 120.000 demokratische Aktivisten beteiligt sind, die als Wahlzeugen fungieren und ein eigenes System der Dokumentation der Ergebnisse und der Verstöße gegen das Wahlgesetz aufgebaut haben. In einer gigantischen gemeinsamen Anstrengung der in der "Mesa de Unidad" (Tisch der Einheit) zusammengeschlossenen Oppositionsparteien werden die im Wahlgesetz vorgesehenen Kopien der Wahlakten landesweit von den Wahlzeugen eingesammelt, dezentral in der Wahlnacht gescannt und für eine parallele Auszählung auf einer Datenbank zusammengeführt. Deshalb besteht für eine Manipulation der Stimmenauszählung wenig Raum.

Mit ihrem Bestehen auf einer manuellen Auszählung zielt Venezuelas Opposition also nicht primär auf die Verkündung eines anderen Wahlergebnisses, das ihr den Sieg zuspricht. Es geht vielmehr darum, die fehlende Legitimität der Regierung bloß zu stellen.

http://www.kas.de/venezuela/de/publications/34075/

[ocpagu]

80. Wonderful information, reorg.

Thank you!

"With their call for a manual recount, Venezuela's opposition does not aim for a different result which would grant them victory. It is about exposing the government's lack of legitimacy."

Right there.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

59. Imagine if Romney supporters rioted....

I'm not talking peaceful protests either. I'm talking setting fire to hospitals over "Obamacare" and burning stores that sell mobiles over "Obama phones" as well as destroying Obama campaign offices and various government offices that help the poor. Then imagine if there were people shooting Obama supporters for celebrating his win.

That's what happened in Venezuela when the right wing thug lost.

[joshcryer]

60. That is incorrect.

The violence is highly overstated because there are elements that want to cause it. I have posted videos and images of the protests. They have been 99% peaceful. A lot of the deaths appear completely random and some of them appear to be everyday murders (crime in Venezuela is out of this world). Indeed, when crackdowns were threatened the opposition called off their peaceful protests.

Below are my documentations of the "rioting" in Venezuela:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110813978

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110813652

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110813633

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110813647

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110813247

You are looking at news and data that is simply not reflective of the peaceful nature of the election fraud allegations. Your arguments are akin to the arguments used against OWS or the Wisconsin protesters (and the many protesters during 2011 over the public employee protests).

The clinic fires were a lie. And Obama did have campaign offices attacked. In the event of the campaign offices in Venezuela both sides did it to one another, mainly idiot hooligans, and neither side encouraged it, though Maduro called for "radicalization" and a lot of people here cheer the armed chavista groups.

Kind of tired of this meme that 49% of Venezuelans are violent thugs wanting to impose fascism.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

61. Kind of tired of the choice being presented as either Stalin or Hitler...

Our media acts like ANY wealth from a natural resource going toward the public good is COMMUNISM!!!

Central and South America have suffered far too long under the Monroe Doctrine. The biggest threat Chavez posed was the notion that those nations don't NEED the United States. They can stand on their own two feet.

[joshcryer]

64. I have never presented that.

I have admired Chavez.

I have defended Capriles from irrational knee-jerk bullshit.

I have also criticized Capriles and I have even come out and said he's crazy (other words, suicidal, idiotic).

I am a libertarian socialist who doesn't like repression and who believes if the choice is between populist or social democratic, the latter is the better solution, because making a society about one man or ideology is destructive.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

70. Our MEDIA does that. To them it's all about the leader, not the cause....

Just look at how the media is acting like Obama is an anomaly.

They are acting like his followers will fade away as soon as he can't run again.

[joshcryer]

74. No, our media does not do that.

That is just silly. The discussions on Latin America on these forums always and irrevocably become about the people.

We're already talking about the people and not the policies or the ideas.

This is the most frustating thing on these forums (the Lat. Am. subforums) because I cannot have a substantiative discussion with the people here. Hell, my ignore list grew by 4 just because people don't like objective facts (which generally, when I'm not speculating, I stick to).

Practically all of my issues with the O7 elections, for example, were reflected in the Carter Center's report. Back during O7 as I made my problems known with the elections I was slandered here continually as a right winger. Boy would I love to be able to kick those threads and quote my posts and quote the Carter Center agreeing with me!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

78. You know as well as I do most people in Central and South America don't participate...

They don't believe voting matters because elections are rigged to keep the guys in power who have been bought off.

The people just live their lives and try not to be noticed.

[sabrina 1]

85. We're talking about an exposed 'fraud'. That fraud is committed by PEOPLE necessitates

mentioning the perps by name. I know it is disturbing to those who denied that Caprilles was a right wing tool, but facts are facts. Your 'facts' have never been 'objective' they have been consistently opposed to the Venezuelan people's choice of government. When confronted with disagreement on your 'facts' you have resorted to nastiness. THAT is why people put you on ignore.

[joshcryer]

94. They will in the FORMAL REQUEST.

WTF is this, the court of public opinion? They are listing the witnesses to the acts.

[Arctic Dave]

62. Very interesting.

A more violent version of the "Brooks Brother Riots".

[Catherina]

76. Precisely n/t

[Dawson Leery]

83. Venezuelan right wingers are openly more violent than American ones.

Surprising. I would not have expected this. The IMF/Goldman Sachs really want to steal the natural resources of the Southern Cone.

Romney's supporters did not riot and burn down hospitals after he lost. In some states, it was close.

[sabrina 1]

86. Well, you have to wonder who is instigating the violence. There is long history of that kind of

violence in Latin America, a lot of instigated by Western influences, such as the 'death squads', an 'option' approved right here in the US. I sure hope they don't resort to that again. It's clear that the death of Chavez gave hope to old Oil Cartels and now they are very, very disappointed that their guy didn't win.

[pa28]

102. Looks like Capriles mask fell off.

Interesting how his team knew he lost yet they solicited and received help from their "uncle". If Capriles had won by a single vote I'll bet the US ambassador would have been Johnny on the spot to congratulate him and warn Maduro against any kind of contest.

Venezuelans who switched parties in this election might rightfully wonder if Capriles was the really the moderate pragmatist they were sold. More and more he's looking like a man who would be all too happy to overturn a free and democratic election for the chance at being a plantation manager.

[limpyhobbler]

105. Some right wing oligarchies just can't take a hint.

[Catherina]

112. Kick for the priceless arrogance of the Henrique Capriles n/t

[Daniel537]

113. Lol, what a douche.

The wing-nuts just can't stand losing, democracy and will-of-the-people be damned.