HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- "But Chavez, whose popularity has slipped
sharply since
he won a landslide election in 1998, has so far
refused to
suspend the laws and he bluntly
reaffirmed this stance Friday."
ed. note. This storiy is from Reutors This line about Chavez's popularity "dropping sharply,
due to his land reform legislation.
an opinion, that Reutors has chosen to print as fact and
as
news! Chavez's
popularity among the poor, the peasnts
and
most working people, who are the vast *majority* of Venezualen
society, has increased dramitly, *due* to his land reform laws, not
decreased! Of course if Reutors
only polled the rich, the bankers
and big landholders and buisness interests, I'm sure they probably
did get the answer they were looking for.
mart
----- Original Message ----- From: Jose G. Perez To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, December 23, 2001 2:24 PM Subject: [CubaNews] Chavez sees revolution as antidote to Argentine sickness By Pascal Fletcher CARACAS, Venezuela, (Reuters) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Friday
'explosive'
inequality had caused the bloody riots in Argentina
and only a
wealth-distributing revolution could defuse such a
social and
economic time bomb. In his first reaction to
what he called
'the sad events in our brother Republic of
Argentina,' the
firebrand former
paratrooper seized on the example of the
turmoil there to justify his own government's
disputed
left-leaning reforms.
He vowed to press ahead with a package of 49 laws aimed at reforming everything from the petroleum
industry
and land to finance and fisheries in the face of
strong
opposition frombusiness and labor leaders in the
world's
No. 4 oil exporter.
'We've seen a kind of 'Caracazo' there in Buenos Aires,' Chavez said after distributing state credits to small entrepreneurs and family businesses in eastern Caracas. He was comparing the Argentine disturbances, which killed 25 people and led to the resignation of
President
Fernando de la Rua, to the violent 1989 'Caracazo'
riots
in Caracas, where several hundred rioters were
killed by
Venezuelan police.
'And what causes this? Poverty, misery,' the Venezuelan president said. He added the countries of Latin America were suffering an ongoing drama in which a wealthy minority grew richer every day, while the majority fell deeper into poverty. This generates explosive forces which burst out one day,as they did in Caracas in 1989 ... and as they are
doing now in
Argentina in 2001,' Chavez said. 'The only way to gradually eliminate these explosive forces, which can carry a country to war, to disaster ...
is by
carrying out a revolution.'
Chavez, a tough-talking populist, has pledged to implement a self-proclaimed social and economic 'revolution' in Venezuela to help the majority of its 23 million people who are still living in poverty despite the country's vast oil
riches.
"ONLY PATH IN VENEZUELA IS REVOLUTION" Opponents accuse the president, who frequently condemns the evils of what he calls unbridled 'neo-liberal'
free-market
capitalism, of trying to create an authoritarian socialist state in Venezuela inspired by Fidel Castro's communist Cuba
.
The only path to save Venezuela is called the Bolivarian Revolution,' the president said Friday, invoking Venezuela's independence hero Simon Bolivar whom he has adopted as the historical inspiration for his reforming
government program.
Business and labor opponents of Chavez staged a widely supported national one-day protest strike Dec. 10 to press their demands that the disputed package of 49 reform laws decreed by him using special powers be revoked and revised. The president's critics say the laws, which include legislation to redistribute unproductive private estates to poor peasants, are unconstitutional and will destroy jobs and investment by increasing state interference in
the
economy.
Business leaders have followed up the strike, which shut down most of the country for a day, with petitions to the Supreme Court and the parliament asking that the contested lawsbe suspended, pending further public debate on
their
content.
But Chavez, whose popularity has slipped sharply since he won a landslide election in 1998, has so far
refused to
suspend the laws and he bluntly reaffirmed this
stance
Friday. "'Suspend
them? Now I'm going to hurry up so they
can be applied as quickly as possible,"' he
said.
The president, who staged a failed coup attempt six years before his 1998 election, has dismissed his business critics as a 'predatory oligarchy.' He has threatened to
nationalize
the banks and penalize the companies of those who
oppose
him.
He scoffed Friday at his opponents' attempts to
have the
disputed laws overturned in the Supreme Court and
parliament.
"I am certain that the National Assembly is not going to betray the hopes of the Venezuelan people," Chavez said.
He
added: 'I am also sure the men and women (of the Supreme Court) will choose justice for the people and their
rights.'
His veiled warnings to the parliament and Supreme Court, which are dominated by his supporters, raised doubts about how successful his opponents' efforts to block the
laws would
be.
Analysts and diplomats have expressed fears that
Chavez's
continuing uncompromising stance will further polarize the political climate and lead to more confrontation. His opponents have threatened possible further public strikes and protests and his supporters have pledged to defend his 'revolution'. ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://TOPICA.COM/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ |
