by Greg Palast :Why Venezuela has Voted Again for Their 'Negro e Indio' P

[mom cat]

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Published on Monday, August 16, 2004 by CommonDreams.org
Dick Cheney, Hugo Chavez and Bill Clinton's Band
Why Venezuela has Voted Again for Their 'Negro e Indio' President

by Greg Palast

There's so much BS and baloney thrown around about Venezuela that I may be violating some rule of US journalism by providing some facts. Let's begin with this: 77% of Venezuela's farmland is owned by 3% of the population, the 'hacendados.'

I met one of these farmlords in Caracas at an anti-Chavez protest march. Oddest demonstration I've ever seen: frosted blondes in high heels clutching designer bags, screeching, "Chavez - dic-ta-dor!" The plantation owner griped about the "socialismo" of Chavez, then jumped into his Jaguar convertible.

That week, Chavez himself handed me a copy of the "socialist" manifesto that so rattled the man in the Jag. It was a new law passed by Venezuela's Congress which gave land to the landless. The Chavez law transferred only fields from the giant haciendas which had been left unused and abandoned.

This land reform, by the way, was promoted to Venezuela in the 1960s by that Lefty radical, John F. Kennedy. Venezuela's dictator of the time agreed to hand out land, but forgot to give peasants title to their property.


http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0816-03.htm

[Cha]

1. A-Freakin'-mazing!

I can see now why the bushies would want a coup at all costs. And I don't even know about the oil part, yet.

And the wenches in their high heels slippers didn't get theit way yesterday, either!

Way to break somes rules and wtite about this Chavez phenomena, Greg.

[peacetalksforall]

2. I just heard an interview from V on NPR - it was horrible. The answer the

journalist gave to the question asking the reason people don't like Chavez was incredibly tilted to the right wing agenda. I'm stil fuming.

Why can't they get it right? Chavez wants to use some of the riches of the country to help the people. So he is a communist and a socialist according to the right.

Everything that is wrong with the agenda of the right can be witnessed in V in this election and all the attempted coups.

Shame, shame on the United States of America for coordinating these coups against a duly elected representative of the little people.

By the way, does anyone know how many Cuban-American and DeLay 'coup troops' are in V?

[Moderator]

3. Locking as duplicate. Please continue discussion here.

It is the same article from different sources, thus l for the interests of keeping the discussion in one place on this important topic I am consolidating in this thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=103