International Venezuela, The Socialist Dystopia, v2: The region's worst humanitarian crisis in decades

[Arkain2K]

CARACAS (Reuters) - Leaders of Venezuela’s opposition coalition appeared likely on Monday to decide on a boycott of the April presidential election, believing authorities have rigged it for President Nicolas Maduro and his ruling socialists.

Maduro, the 55-year-old successor of Hugo Chavez, is seeking re-election in the April 22 vote despite his unpopularity and a crushing economic crisis. But critics say the election is a farce, with Maduro’s main rivals barred from standing and a compliant election body bound to favour the socialists.

Leaders of the main parties in the Democratic Unity coalition have for days been considering whether to participate or not in the vote. Some believe a boycott is a self-destructive free pass for Maduro, while others say participation would be doomed to failure and merely legitimate his “dictatorship.”

The coalition was due to meet at 4 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Monday, politicians said. One senior member of the Justice First party told Reuters it would formalise there a decision to boycott the vote in protest at unfair conditions.

“We’re not going to the election,” added another source in the Democratic Action party.

“They’ll explain why at the end of today or tomorrow. It’s a big mistake in my view, but that’s the decision.”

Another major opposition party, Popular Will, led by protest leader Leopoldo Lopez, who is under house arrest, has already unilaterally announced it will not take part in the election.

The opposition’s two most popular figures - Lopez and former governor Henrique Capriles - are both prohibited from standing. Lopez is detained on charges of stirring violence during anti-Maduro protests in 2014, while Capriles has been accused of “administrative irregularities” while governor of Miranda state.

The national election board, which is widely perceived by Venezuelans as pro-government, has also banned Democratic Unity and several of the major opposition parties from formally participating in the vote.

The board says the parties did not comply with election rules including a signature drive to re-legalize their status.

Government officials say some opposition parties are fronts for violent coup-plotters, and accuse anti-Maduro leaders of being in league with a U.S.-led, right-wing conspiracy to topple socialism in the South American OPEC nation.

Maduro has repeatedly denied any flaws in Venezuela’s election system and reacted angrily to international censure of the calling of a snap election in April.

Some anti-Maduro figures, however, are set to stand, with opposition leader and former Lara state governor Henri Falcon having announced his intention to run, and a little-known evangelical pastor entering the race on Sunday.

 

[Arkain2K]

 

[Arkain2K]

GENEVA (Reuters) - Sanctions should be stepped up against Venezuela’s leaders and oil sector in response to the country’s repressive political climate, the head of the Organisation of American States (OAS) said on Tuesday.

Under President Nicolas Maduro, “dictatorship has become more tyrannical” and the suffering of its 30 million people has increased amid dire shortages of food and medicine, said Luis Almagro.

“Sanctions have to become harsher, this is the way to move forward. Those against dictatorship should unite,” the secretary general of the 34-member OAS told a Geneva human rights forum organized by UN Watch, a non-governmental organization.

“We must apply sanctions, harsher ones. We must starve the regime financially.”

Sanctions have so far focused on individual members of Maduro’s government and a ban on buying new Venezuelan debt.

Restrictions on Venezuela’s all-important oil industry would represent an escalation of financial pressure on the OPEC member state.

Almagro, asked by Reuters to elaborate on his remarks, later told reporters: ”The sanctions should be not only personal sanctions, but sanctions also against the regime itself.

“That makes it necessary of course to target oil production, it makes it necessary to target the family of the dictators, it makes it necessary to target money-laundering.”

Maduro will stand for re-election in April in a ballot opposition leaders plan to boycott. Critics say it is a farce, with his main rivals barred from standing and a compliant election body bound to favor the ruling socialists.

Maduro denies the system is undemocratic and calls the OAS a pawn of U.S. policy.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said two weeks ago at the end of a five-nation tour of Latin America that the United States was closer to deciding whether to impose sanctions on Venezuelan oil.

Irwin Cotler, a former Canadian minister of justice serving on an OAS panel investigating alleged crimes against humanity in Venezuela, said it would report its findings next month.

“We heard compelling witness testimony and we received documentary evidence of extrajudicial executions and widespread systematic attacks on civilians as a matter of state policy,” Cotler told the forum.

He cited cases of torture, rape, and arbitrary detention.

“We are witnessing a dismantling of democracy, an assault on the rule of law and on the independence of the judiciary,” he added.

Rights groups have said than 125 people died in anti-government protests last year.

Venezuelan authorities have previously dismissed reports of such rights abuses as baseless.

 

[12ga.]

Thats not socialism thats a military dictatorship who owns all the means of production similar to USSR. Last place Socialism was tried was Inca empire.

 

[lifelessheap]

We all love hard numbers before elections, don't we?

Feel the Bern!

 

[lifelessheap]

Thats not socialism thats a military dictatorship who owns all the means of production similar to USSR. Last place Socialism was tried was Inca empire.

 

[The Penetrator]

Thats not socialism thats a military dictatorship who owns all the means of production similar to USSR. Last place Socialism was tried was Inca empire.

I lived in a socialist country, and it wasnt Inca empire :O

 

[moreorless87]

Madero is obviously highly questionable in competence as a leader but the Venezulian "opposition" includes some very dodgy criminals and extreme right wingers, I wonder just how many people would "disappear" if they ever gained power ala other US backed revolutions in south America like Chile, Argentina, etc? much of the violence were seeing at the moment is already down to their militias.

 

[DespicablePeep]

Brazil border is screwed loads of Venezuelans crossing to Roraima.

40K so far

https://brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2018/02/16/politica/1518736071_492585.html

Madero is obviously highly questionable in competence as a leader but the Venezulian "opposition" includes some very dodgy criminals and extreme right wingers, I wonder just how many people would "disappear" if they ever gained power ala other US backed revolutions in south America like Chile, Argentina, etc? much of the violence were seeing at the moment is already down to their militias.

really?

 

[HockeyBjj]

Thats not socialism thats a military dictatorship who owns all the means of production similar to USSR. Last place Socialism was tried was Inca empire.

Literally you right now. Although, I can't tell if you're trolling or not. I pray you are, and not simply that dumb. Not familiar with your username

 

[ShinkanPo]

Another rapefugee crisis.


On a more serious note I really feel for the Venezuelana specially the younger generation their future is in danger.


No one deserves a childhood like that.

 

[DespicablePeep]

What are you basing this prediction on?

Venezuela's elections during the Chavez era were overseen and approved by international voting groups.

It's ridiculous how ignorantly Americans feel that they can arbitrarily undermine the legitimacy of foreign governments because those governments' interests are supposedly diametrical to theirs.

hahahahahah jesus, as a South American I can say you are clueless. As much as America fucked with South America I can clearly say that Chavez ruined Venezuela and used anti-US propaganda do hide all his crimes. With him and Maduro its always about how the US wants to control their riches, how they will take their OIL and so forth....

You could at least read up Arkain past threads, Chavez basically became filthy rich, divided his country, took all resources from private owners and made his, was so incompetent that OIL production dropped heavily in his tenure. If that was not enough he closed TV stations not renewing broadcast rights to media that was critical of him, bunch of rivals were arrested on bogus charges.

All during elections his rivals had about 3 minutes of air time, while he ran propaganda 24x7, he closed Miami embassies so they could not vote, just have a read...

https://www.cato.org/blog/did-chavez-win-elections-venezuela-democracy

 

[JadeOwl]

Brazil border is screwed loads of Venezuelans crossing to Mato Grosso do Sul.

Where did you read that?

Matto Grosso do Sul is, as it's name indicate, in the south of Brazil, and border Paraguay and Bolivia.

Venezuela:

Matto Grosso do Sul

 

[DespicablePeep]

Where did you read that?

Matto Grosso do Sul is, as it's name indicate, in the south of Brazil, and border Paraguay and Bolivia.

Sorry my dumb mistake, in Roraima, 40.000 have crossed over to Brasil. Much less than Colombia though

 

[cottagecheesefan]

Peru, Brazil and Colombia got it easy. South FL and Texas have more than those 3 combined

 

[Scerpi]

It's incredible that it's gotten to this point in Venezuela.

How has the country's citizens not just stormed the capital in open revolt. What else to they have to lose?

I know it's easy to say.

Is there any chance that the leaders of the military take matters into their own hands?

 

[JadeOwl]

It's incredible that it's gotten to this point in Venezuela.

How has the country's citizens not just stormed the capital in open revolt. What else to they have to lose?

I know it's easy to say.

Because the Chavistas have the army in their pockets.

And it's just what Maduro would want, an excuse to massacre all the opposition leaders and claim they were instigating a violent uprising.

Is there any chance that the leaders of the military take matters into their own hands?

Not as long as they keep getting their cut.

 

[KantoTerror]

It's incredible that it's gotten to this point in Venezuela.

How has the country's citizens not just stormed the capital in open revolt. What else to they have to lose?

I know it's easy to say.

Is there any chance that the leaders of the military take matters into their own hands?

The problem with the Venezuelan situation is that they have all aligned themselves on one side...vs.. the people...The country is borderline dangerous to the citizens like NoKor right now...there is no regard for the safety and well being of the citizens...any form of protest, Maduro simply blows his wad that it's opposition trying to instigate shit and the Army is still backing him.

 

[Scerpi]

Because the Chavistas have the army in their pockets.

And it's just what Maduro would want, an excuse to massacre all the opposition leaders and claim they were instigating a violent uprising.



Not as long as they keep getting their cut.

The problem with the Venezuelan situation is that they have all aligned themselves on one side...vs.. the people...The country is borderline dangerous to the citizens like NoKor right now...there is no regard for the safety and well being of the citizens...any form of protest, Maduro simply blows his wad that it's opposition trying to instigate shit and the Army is still backing him.

So basically, it'll have to get to the point where's not enough left to pay off the military leaders for anything to happen.

The money is already worthless there anyway, what is Maduro paying the military with? Chickens?

 

[moreorless87]

really?

Yes really, lets not pretend the whole situation in Venezula since Chavez hasn't been your typical case of the US trying to squash any kind of popularist shift to the left in latin America, its common knowledge it was behind the coup attempt on him. Much of the situation the country is in now ultimately comes down to over a decade or US economic warfare and indeed the mismanagement pre Chavez whoring the country to US interests.

That said of course Maduro really doesn't look up to the job of leading the country the way Chavez was and has allowed himself to be drawn into the US funded violence trying to cover this.