Simón R. writes: “The theory according to which US attacked Venezuela and because of that it became an authoritarian regime is simply false. The US endorsed a coupt [sic] attempt in 2002 and a bosses' lock out in 2002-2003. But Chávez did not apply a state of exception... It was Maduro who in 2015-2016 implemented a state of exception… clearly not in response to the 2002-2003 coup.”
No, Maduro didn’t apply the 2016 state of exception in response to the long-past coup & lockout of 2002-2003. He was responding to unrelenting US attacks on himself & Venezuela from 2003 on. In 2006, after attending a UN session in NYC, Maduro was grabbed by Homeland Security at the airport, his passport taken, told to spread his arms and legs and be frisked. From 2006 on the US cited Venezuela every year for not cooperating with the war on terror, and banned arms sales to the country. In 2008 the US sanctioned individuals and travel agencies for supporting Hezbollah, and blocked their assets. Starting in 2014 Congress & Obama targeted government officials, seizing their assets. US theft and lawfare—“Make the economy scream”—continued nonstop for over a decade before Maduro cracked down. He wasn’t voted out in 2015-2016, but his party lost as Venezuela suffered hyperinflation stemming from low oil prices. Should he have stepped back, watched every gain won for the poor be lost, then shot himself like Allende? US media call Maduro a “dictator.” Compare how they treat France’s Macron. Though his party lost in 2024 to leftists, he refuses to allow a new government, despite huge & continuing protest and the resignation of 5 prime ministers just this year. But Macron’s never even called “authoritarian,” much less a “dictator.” No, he’s a “ centrist president” (Reuters). You have to be brown and sit on a lot of oil to be a dictator, like Maduro, Ghaddafi, Saddam. Many of John R.’s criticisms of Jeffrey Sachs are valid. Still, he was no shock therapist. He called for the West to send lots of cash to Russia, and for Russia’s government to “remain large and active, focusing on public services, infrastructure, and social protection” (AI). I’ve watched Sachs speaking to EU bodies & other audiences around the world. He always counsels them to develop independent policies that suit their own needs, not policies imposed from outside. John continues, “ Now, [Sachs]defends the counterrevolutionary and imperialist Russian government's war against the people of Ukraine.” That phrase, “the people,” should be retired. It always means “the people on my side,” or “the people that make my point.” In fact, people in Ukraine are divided. The Russian speakers in the East saw their rights threatened and their language lose official status. Crimeans then voted peacefully to secede. There are only people, not “the people.” -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#39318): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/39318 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/116291555/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
