Representative Press Blog

What you are saying about Chavez is simply not true.

Chavez is going to be a "Saddam"? Come on! You are spreading lies and disinformation about Chavez. First of all, U.S. policymakers did not support Chavez so already that is a good sign.
Who was Saddam's backer as early as the 1950's? The U.S. funded this killer in the late 1950's. Who was involved in the coups that put the Ba'ath party into power in the first place? The CIA. "The CIA were definitely involved in that coup" US diplomat James Akins who served in the Baghdad Embassy at the time. "I knew all the Ba'ath Party leaders and I liked them," Akins said, "Sure, some people were rounded up and shot but these were mostly communists so that didn't bother us"

We have reporters in a media system who are all too willing to "play the game" Notice that the MSM did not report how the U.S. was responsible for the rise of Saddam and the Ba'ath party? (I am talking about BEFORE the 1980's) We have a very obedient press that serves powerful interests ( towing the line helps reporters' careers) Now they are getting the message to slam Chavez and you guys are lapping it up.

"No reputable human rights organization would claim that Venezuela under Chavez is less democratic that under previous governments, or compares unfavorably in terms of human rights or democratic freedoms to the rest of Latin America.

On the positive side, even Chavez' opponents concede that millions of poor Venezuelans -- the majority -- now have access to health care, education, literacy programs, land titles, and credit for the first time, as a result of the government's social programs. ( U.S. MSM ignores this and the country's unprecedented economic growth that reached 17% in 2004, the highest in the world.)

Sadly, the biggest threats to Venezuela's democracy still come from Washington, which has funded and allied itself with the anti-democratic leaders of Venezuela's opposition, including supporters of the failed coup. This funding and support has been acknowledged by the U.S. State Department. The National Endowment for Democracy, which is funded by our Congress, has also funneled millions of dollars to opposition groups. And recently-released documents from the CIA show that the Bush Administration had detailed advanced knowledge of the coup but lied about what happened: the White House tried to convince the press and other countries that it was not a coup at all, but rather a legitimate seizure of power by "pro-democracy" forces."- Political Attacks Against Venezuela Continue

"A few weeks ago, a group of almost 400 Venezuelan journalists issued a statement denouncing a "campaign" from the United States against Venezuela. The journalists argued that negative and frequent media coverage of Venezuela in the U.S., as well as the frequent comments by high ranking officials at the State Department, the CIA, and The White House, amount to a "campaign" similar to those applied against countries which were later invaded by the U.S.

At a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) held in February, Venezuela's Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez, alerted the governments of the Americas that U.S. "interventionism" in Venezuela is a "prelude to aggression."

Last February, Minister Izarra presented a report detailing an alleged "anti-Chavez bias" in recent media coverage of Venezuela in the United States. Izarra asserted that "in light of the large influx of erroneous and de-contextualized information, it is evident that the U.S. private media has joined forces with the U.S. Department of State and spokespeople of the Bush administration in an effort to launch a 'smear campaign' against the Venezuelan government."" - Venezuelan Media

What U.S. officials did to Chavez was a crime and the MSM was right there playing along with it: "On April 12, 2002, Chavez resigned his presidency It said so, right there in the paper -- every major newspaper in the USA, every single one. Apparently, to quote the New York Times, Chavez recognized that he was unpopular, his time was up: "With yesterday's resignation of President Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan democracy is no longer threatened by a would-be dictator."

Problem was, the "resignation" story was a fabulous fib, a phantasmagoric fabrication. In fact, the President of Venezuela had been kidnapped at gunpoint and bundled off by helicopter from the presidential palace. He had not resigned; he never resigned; and one of his captors (who secretly supported Chavez) gave him a cell-phone from which he called and confirmed to friends and family that he remained alive -- and still president.

Working for the Guardian and the BBC, I was able within hours of the kidnapping to reach key government people in Venezuela to confirm that this "resignation" factoid was just hoodoo nonsense.

But it was valuable nonsense to the U.S. State Department. The faux resignation gave the new U.S.-government-endorsed Venezuelan leaders the pretense of legitimacy -- Chavez had resigned; this was a legal change of government, not a coup d'etat. (The Organization of American States bars recognition of governments who come to power through violence.) Had the coup leaders not bungled their operation -- the coup collapsed within 48 hours -- or if they had murdered Chavez, we would never have known the truth.

The U.S. papers got it dead wrong -- but how? Who was the source of this "resignation" lie? I asked a U.S. reporter why American news media had reported this nonsense as stone fact without checking. The reply was that it came from a reliable source: "We got it from the State Department."" - How the American media distorted events in Venezuela beyond all recognition

Chavez is using the oil resources to help the poor, his first concern is not the profits of U.S. corporations and that is considered a crime in the U.S. All the attacks on him have to do with how he is helping the people. Some important facts slip through in the MSM: To lessen his dependence on the U.S. market, which soaks up two-thirds of Venezuela's 2.1 million barrels of average daily exports, Caracas also is investing in several major projects such as refineries and shipping terminals to cut out costlier middlemen, predominantly from the United States."

also see Venezuela Watch