The Latin America thread

[Stu Monty]

I fail to see how the unsubstaniated claims of interference would have any impact on oil prices tanking and taking the economy with them.

You see, it's the use of the word unsubstantiated here that really should prohibit you from bring allowed access to threads where grown ups talk about geopolitics.

 

Once again we're in the bizarre fantasy land where the Latin American arms of the intelligence agencies are no longer arsed about medling in other countries affairs for their own self-interest.

 

They just play FIFA and lookout for those Brazilian Islamic Fundamentalists.

 

They are fucking with Venezuela's shit. Obviously. It's a given. Regardless of the many other factors at play there.

[Kevin D]

 

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21695391-tarnished-president-should-now-resign-time-go?zid=309&ah=80dcf288b8561b012f603b9fd9577f0e

 

DILMA ROUSSEFF’S difficulties have been deepening for months. The massive scandal surrounding Petrobras, the state-controlled oil giant of which she was once chairman, has implicated some of the people closest to her. She presides over an economy suffering its worst recession since the 1930s, largely because of mistakes she made during her first term. Her political weakness has rendered her government almost powerless in the face of rising unemployment and falling living standards. Her approval ratings are barely in double digits and millions of Brazilians have taken to the streets to chant “Fora Dilma!”, or “Dilma out!”

 

And yet, until now, Brazil’s president could fairly claim that the legitimacy conferred by her re-election in 2014 was intact, and that none of the allegations made against her justified her impeachment. Like the judges and police who are pursuing some of the most senior figures in her Workers’ Party (PT), she could declare with a straight face her desire to see justice done.

In this section

• The problem with profits
  
• The new normal


• Time to go


• Sell up, move on


• Two-nation Britain


• Bits and ballots

Reprints

Related topics

• Politics
  
• Brazilian politics


• World politics


• Government and politics


• Latin American politics

 

 

Now she has cast away that raiment of credibility (seearticle). On March 16th Ms Rousseff made the extraordinary decision to appoint her predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to be her chief of staff. She portrayed this as a shrewd hire. Lula, as he is known to all, is a canny political operator: he could help the president survive Congress’s attempt to impeach her and perhaps even stabilise the economy. But just days before, Lula had been briefly detained for questioning at the order of Sérgio Moro, the federal judge in charge of the Petrobras investigation (dubbed lava jato, or “car wash”), who suspects that the former president profited from the bribery scheme (see Bello). Prosecutors in the state of São Paulo have accused Lula of hiding his ownership of a beach-front condominium. He denies these charges. By acquiring the rank of a government minister, Lula would have partial immunity: only the country’s supreme court could try him. In the event, a judge on the court has suspended his appointment.

 

 

This newspaper has long argued that either the judicial system or voters—not self-serving politicians trying to impeach her—should decide the president’s fate. But Ms Rousseff’s hiring of Lula looks like a crass attempt to thwart the course of justice. Even if that was not her intention, it would be its effect. This was the moment when the president chose the narrow interests of her political tribe over the rule of law. She has thus rendered herself unfit to remain president.

 

 

Three ways to leave the Planalto

 

 

How she exits the Planalto, the presidential palace, matters greatly. We continue to believe that, in the absence of proof of criminality, Ms Rousseff’s impeachment is unwarranted. The proceeding against her in Congress is based on unproven allegations that she used accounting trickery to hide the true size of the budget deficit in 2015. This looks like a pretext for ousting an unpopular president. The idea, put forward by the head of the impeachment committee, that congressmen deliberating Ms Rousseff’s fate will listen to “the street”, would set a worrying precedent. Representative democracies should not be governed by protests and opinion polls.

 

 

There are three ways of removing Ms Rousseff that rest on more legitimate foundations. The first would be to show that she obstructed the Petrobras investigation. Allegations by a PT senator that she did so may now form the basis of a second impeachment motion, but they are so far unproven and she denies them; Ms Rousseff’s attempt to shield Lula from prosecution may provide further grounds. A second option would be a decision by Brazil’s electoral court to call a new presidential election. It may do that, if it finds that her re-election campaign in 2014 was financed with bribes channelled through Petrobras executives. But this investigation will be drawn out. The quickest and best way for Ms Rousseff to leave the Planalto would be for her to resign before being pushed out.

 

 

Her departure would offer Brazil the chance of a fresh start. But the president’s resignation would not, of itself, solve Brazil’s many underlying problems. Her place would initially be taken by the vice-president, Michel Temer, leader of the Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement. Mr Temer could head a national-unity government, including opposition parties, which, in theory, might be able to embark on the fiscal reforms needed to stabilise the economy and close a budget deficit that is close to 11% of GDP.

 

 

Sadly, Mr Temer’s party is as deeply enmeshed in the Petrobras scandal as the PT. Many politicians who would join a unity government, including some from the opposition, are popularly seen as representatives of a discredited ruling class. Of Congress’s 594 members, 352 face accusations of criminal wrongdoing. A new presidential election would give voters an opportunity to entrust reforms to a new leader. But even this would leave the rotten legislature in place until 2019.

 

 

The judiciary, too, has questions to answer. Judges deserve great credit for holding Brazil’s mightiest businessmen and politicians to account, but they have undermined their cause by flouting legal norms. The latest example is Mr Moro’s decision to release recorded telephone conversations between Lula and his associates, including Ms Rousseff. Most jurists believe that only the supreme court may divulge conversations in which one of the parties has legal immunity, as the president does. This does not justify the claim from government supporters that the judges are staging a “coup”. But it makes it easy for lava jato suspects to divert attention from their own misdeeds to the blunders of their pursuers.

Brazil’s war of parties and personalities obscures some of the most important lessons of the crisis. Both the Petrobras scandal and the economic crash have their origins in misconceived laws and practices that are decades old. Getting Brazil out of its mess requires wholesale change: controlling public spending, including on pensions; overhauling growth-crushing tax and labour laws; and reforming a political system that encourages corruption and weakens political parties.

 

 

These can no longer be put off. Those chanting “Fora Dilma!” on the streets would claim victory if she was ousted. But for Brazil itself to win it would be just the first step

[Kevin D]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/29/brazil-president-dilma-rousseff-closer-impeachment-coalition-partner-quits

 

President Dilma Rousseff’s hopes of seeing out her term of office have received a potentially fatal blow after the biggest party in the Brazilian congress voted to abandon her ruling coalition.

 

The vote by the Brazilian Democratic Movement party (or PMDB) could trigger a defection from Rousseff’s coalition by other smaller parties, and greatly increase the prospect that she will lose an impeachment vote in the lower house next month and be suspended from office.

 

To cries of “Workers party out!” and “Onward Brazil!”, PMDB leaders announced their decision to break up the coalition. All six remaining ministers in the cabinet will resign by 12 April.

 

Rousseff now leads a fragile minority government. Senior officials in the governing Workers party insist the president can still be saved from what they say is a coup attempt against an elected leader who still has more than half of her four-year mandate to serve.

 

But their efforts to shore up support look increasingly desperate after the PMDB – which has 68 of the 513 seats in the lower house – decided to leave an alliance that has propped up the government for more than 13 years.

 

David Fleischer, political science professor at the University of Brasília, said the defection would create a domino effect that is likely to topple Rousseff.

 

“This is her D-Day,” he said. “[Now the PMDB has left] the possibility of her impeachment increases to 90%.”

 

The president’s opponents will now have an increased majority on the impeachment committee which could give the go-ahead for a full congressional vote, most likely on 17 April, Fleischer said.

 

The departure of the PMDB marks a new low in a protracted political crisis triggered by efforts to unseat Rousseff following the Operation Lava Jato (Car Wash) revelations of money laundering, price fixing and bribery at the state-run oil company, Petrobras.

 

Rousseff’s enemies are attempting to launch impeachment proceedings on several grounds, including ongoing investigations into alleged budget irregularities and campaign finance violations.

 

 

Dilma Rousseff defiant amid calls for resignation over corruption scandal

 

 Read more

 

The president has insisted there is no legal basis for impeachment, telling reporters last week that any attempt to remove her from power without legal justification would represent a “coup”.

 

The political trench warfare has paralysed decision making in Brasília, worsening an economy that is deep in recession and heightening public anger. More than a million protesters took to the streets earlier this month in a huge anti-government demonstration.

 

If 342 of the 513 deputies approve, the impeachment process would move to the senate and Rousseff would be suspended for 180 days while Brazil’s vice-president, Michel Temer – leader of the PMDB – would become interim head of state. A final decision on whether to formally remove her from office would then be taken sometime around October.

 

Advertisement

 

Carlos Pereira, a political scientist at the Brazilian School of Administration, concurred that the chances of the president’s removal have increased considerably.

 

“The exit of PMDB will fatally encourage other smaller parties to abandon the coalition, bringing the Dilma government to a state of political isolation,” he said, predicting the vice-president would reap the benefits ahead of the next election in 2018. “The potential Temer government would be a sort of government of national salvation in the sense that virtually all the political forces will most likely support him. It will be a transitional government and so will have a narrow margin for error.”

 

A party of influence brokers rather than ideologues, the PMDB has steadily increased its presence in the government even as it has wavered in its support. Until Monday, it held seven ministerial posts as well as the vice-presidency.

 

But it has long been divided about its loyalties to the administration. Since last year, PMDB member and lower house speaker Eduardo Cunha has openly plotted against Rousseff. In December, he gave the green light to impeachment proceedings based on accusations that the government window-dressed its accounts before the last election.

 

The party is now pushing to secure power for itself, though it is unlikely to be any less vulnerable to corruption allegations. Cunha and other senior PMDB figures have been implicated, along with politicians of all stripes, in the Petrobras scandal.

 

PMDB defections from the ruling camp have increased steadily. The most recent to go was the tourism minister, Henrique Eduardo Alves, who quit on Monday. Even before Tuesday’s vote, domestic newspapers carried leaks of the policy agenda, including welfare cuts, that the PMDB plans to carry out if it takes power.

 

The consequences and repercussions of such a move could be tumultuous. Political tensions are already high. None of the potential replacements for Rousseff have clean hands. Senior Workers party officials say the impeachment charges are trumped up by opponents who were unable to accept election defeat.

 

 

Lula says 'Big Brother' bribery inquiry is turning Brazil politics into reality TV

 Read more

 

 

Former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the attempt to unseat Rousseff was a coup, similar to those used in recent years against leaders in Paraguay and Honduras. He warned on Monday that Brazil’s 31-year-old democracy was at risk.

 

“It seems to me the opposition have tried to make it impossible for her to govern Brazil,” he said. “They should allow her to have her time to rule this country. Let voters be the judges at the end of her term. If she doesn’t do well, we will respect the decision of electorate.”

 

If Rousseff is removed, she would not be the first elected Brazilian president to be forced from office. Fernando Collor de Mello resigned in 1992 in the midst of an impeachment fight he appeared certain to lose.

[Kevin D]

http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-brazil-impeach-20160328-story.html

 

Of the 513 members of the lower house in Congress, 303 face charges or are being investigated for serious crimes. In the Senate, the same goes for 49 of 81 members.

 

Moreover, the data do not include any possible repercussions for the newest bombshell in the “Lava Jato,” or “Car Wash,” federal corruption probe. Brazil’s largest construction firm, Odebrecht, announced it would fully cooperate with investigation, and on March 23 the Brazilian Federal Police released a spreadsheet appearing to list payments from the company, whose CEO is currently jailed, to more than 200 politicians.

 

It’s not yet clear what the legal consequences of this will be, says Transparencia. The group continues to update its database.

 

Brazil's government has imploded. Here's what could happen next

Brazil's government has imploded. Here's what could happen next

Rousseff herself, on the other hand, has never been formally investigated or accused of corruption, though she is enormously unpopular and blamed politically for the country’s deep recessions. She was head of the board of directors at Petrobras, the state-run oil company, when it was involved in the kickback scheme investigators recently uncovered in the Car Wash probe.

 

But to remove her from office, lawmakers are relying on the accusation that she broke budgetary rules to hide the size of the deficit, and they assert this is an impeachable offense.

 

The impeachment process was recently accelerated by Eduardo Cunha, speaker of the lower house in Congress, the Chamber of Deputies. The chamber appointed the impeachment commission, and if two-thirds of the chamber votes to impeach, the process moves to the Senate, which would ultimately decide Rousseff’s fate.

 

 

If the process gets that far, Rousseff will have plenty of company in Brazil’s legal system. Here are some accusations prominent politicians face in Brazil:

 

The impeachment commission

 

Five members face money laundering charges, six face charges of conspiracy and 19 face charges of accounting irregularities. Thirty-three face either corruption or administrative misconduct charges. In all, 37 members have been charged, some with multiple offenses.

 

The man who would take over

 

Michel Temer, the vice president who will take over if Rousseff is impeached, is under suspicion due to claims that emerged in Car Wash investigations that he was involved in an illegal ethanol-purchasing scheme.

 

Rousseff's 2014 opponent

 

Aecio Neves, who narrowly lost to Rousseff in 2014, has been named in Lava Jato investigations and is named in the spreadsheet published last week. Documents obtained during investigations may also indicate his family maintains secret bank accounts in Liechtenstein.

 

The former mayor of Sao Paulo

 

Paulo Maluf, who is also a member of the impeachment commission, has been wanted by Interpol, and a court in Paris recently sentenced him in absentia for organized money laundering. This means one of the people helping to decide the course of impeachment here may not be able to leave Brazil, for fear of being arrested outside its borders. 

 

Ministers and members of Congress in Brazil have the right to be tried by the Supreme Court, which is why Rousseff was accused by some of attempting to shield former President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva from prison by recently appointing him as her chief of staff. That appointment is still held up in the courts.

 

As Brazilian Atty. Gen. Jose Cardozo told foreign correspondents at a special news conference March 22, the right to trial by the Supreme Court does not equal immunity, as justices have recently sentenced politicians in other corruption scandals. But these cases often take years to be resolved by Brazil’s highest court.

 

Bevins is a special correspondent.

[Stu Monty]

https://theintercept.com/2016/03/18/brazil-is-engulfed-by-ruling-class-corruption-and-a-dangerous-subversion-of-democracy/

 

Almost as if there's a reason that governments that try to govern for the many feel they have to clamp down on oligarch owned media power, isn't it. 

 

If you were looking to try and make he UK a healthier place it's hard to see how getting a fucking grip on the corporate media could be thought of as bad medicine for the patient.

[Jenson]

https://theintercept.com/2016/03/18/brazil-is-engulfed-by-ruling-class-corruption-and-a-dangerous-subversion-of-democracy/

 

Almost as if there's a reason that governments that try to govern for the many feel they have to clamp down on oligarch owned media power, isn't it. 

 

If you were looking to try and make he UK a healthier place it's hard to see how getting a fucking grip on the corporate media could be thought of as bad medicine for the patient.

 

One thing you can be sure of is that all the chaos will be very profitable for some

[Hades]

Dilma Rousseff impeached in Brazil. The hateful, greedy, neoliberal right-wing fuckers hate democracy.

[Rico1304]

Dilma Rousseff impeached in Brazil. The hateful, greedy, neoliberal right-wing fuckers hate democracy.

Do they hate it as much as you? Perhaps a gulag is the best place for them.

[Moctezuma]

Do they hate it as much as you? Perhaps a gulag is the best place for them.

 

To be honest Rico given the machinations and illegal activity the majority of those impeaching her have been involved in they should actually be incarcerated in jail.

[Jairzinho]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdUHtK5kXbg

[PestiRed]

Viva Mexico!

 

Happy Independence Day

[Jairzinho]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4-zYwdcec0

[Jairzinho]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-38274267

 

Venezuela seizes Christmas toys to distribute to poor

 

Venezuelan authorities have arrested two toy company executives and seized almost four million toys, which they say they will distribute to the poor.

 

Officials accused the company of hoarding toys and hiking prices in the run-up to Christmas.

 

Last week, the government issued an order to retailers to reduce prices on a range of goods by 30%.

 

Business owners say the order is a populist political move, and pushing them towards bankruptcy.

 

Venezuela's consumer protection agency, Sundde, said toy distributor Kreisel had stockpiled the goods and was reselling them at a margin of up to 50,000%.

 

"Our children are sacred, we will not let them rob you of Christmas," it said in a tweet, along with photos and video of thousands of boxes of toys.

In total, 3,821,926 toys were seized from two warehouses, and would be sold at low prices, it said.

 

William Contreras, head of Sundde, said Kreisel had claimed the toys were old or discontinued. The agency also posted photos of the two executives being marched from the premises by a squad of heavily armed soldiers.

 

This is not the first time Venezuela has ordered price cuts on retailers, or mobilised armed units to enforce it.

 

In late 2013, the country introduced laws allowing the government to fix prices and dictate profit margins.

 

The same legislation limited profits to 30% - the amount often discounted in the compulsory "adjustments" enforced by Sundde at hundreds of retailers in the past week.

 

The same measures have been used to fix the prices of basic products such as flour, meat and bread - but supply is limited in a country where many people go hungry.

 

A jar of Nutella - a luxury item - can cost half the monthly minimum wage.

 

The Venezuelan government is becoming increasingly unpopular as the country's economic crisis grows.

 

The nation is rich in oil, but international oil prices have fallen in recent years.

 

The International Monetary Fund estimates that inflation - the rate at which prices go up - will hit 2,000% next year.

 

Venezuela is ready to issue new, higher-value notes to deal with the problem - but rising prices are still squeezing many ordinary citizens.

[SasaS]

Someone should unleash Sundde on Apple for a couple of months.

[Anny Road]

Weird timing this just been discussing a 6 week trip I am thinking of doing Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia on an absolute shoestring $20 US a day.

Not being a snob but whenever I go anywhere which is not very often it is always reasonably nice (4 star not 5).

Missus is off in the new year to lie on a beach for three weeks with the kids I ducked it but have 6 weeks of holiday to use before May 1st. She is OK with it as I won't go off shagging, I may die or get jonnies of coke shoved up my arse but thats OK, kids can still visit prison.

Anyone been this way Pacific coast side?

[VladimirIlyich]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-38274267

 

Venezuela seizes Christmas toys to distribute to poor

Venezuelan authorities have arrested two toy company executives and seized almost four million toys, which they say they will distribute to the poor.

Officials accused the company of hoarding toys and hiking prices in the run-up to Christmas.

Last week, the government issued an order to retailers to reduce prices on a range of goods by 30%.

Business owners say the order is a populist political move, and pushing them towards bankruptcy.

Venezuela's consumer protection agency, Sundde, said toy distributor Kreisel had stockpiled the goods and was reselling them at a margin of up to 50,000%.

"Our children are sacred, we will not let them rob you of Christmas," it said in a tweet, along with photos and video of thousands of boxes of toys.

In total, 3,821,926 toys were seized from two warehouses, and would be sold at low prices, it said.

William Contreras, head of Sundde, said Kreisel had claimed the toys were old or discontinued. The agency also posted photos of the two executives being marched from the premises by a squad of heavily armed soldiers.

This is not the first time Venezuela has ordered price cuts on retailers, or mobilised armed units to enforce it.

In late 2013, the country introduced laws allowing the government to fix prices and dictate profit margins.

The same legislation limited profits to 30% - the amount often discounted in the compulsory "adjustments" enforced by Sundde at hundreds of retailers in the past week.

The same measures have been used to fix the prices of basic products such as flour, meat and bread - but supply is limited in a country where many people go hungry.

A jar of Nutella - a luxury item - can cost half the monthly minimum wage.

The Venezuelan government is becoming increasingly unpopular as the country's economic crisis grows.

The nation is rich in oil, but international oil prices have fallen in recent years.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that inflation - the rate at which prices go up - will hit 2,000% next year.

Venezuela is ready to issue new, higher-value notes to deal with the problem - but rising prices are still squeezing many ordinary citizens.

As Punch would say 'That's the way to do it.'

Quite sad that a country rich in oil is in such a mess. I wonder if any outside influences are having an impact on this?

[Strontium]

I wonder if any outside influences are having an impact on this?

 

Yes, Marx and Lenin mainly.

[Jairzinho]

As Punch would say 'That's the way to do it.'

Quite sad that a country rich in oil is in such a mess. I wonder if any outside influences are having an impact on this?

 

Who could you possibly be referring to? 

 

Is there a country that has interfered with almost every single Latin American government since the second world war?

[VladimirIlyich]

Yes, Marx and Lenin mainly.

And here I was thinking they'd both joined The Dead Pool 1924 and 1953 versions.

[Jairzinho]

Magnificent stuff. Success coup, and now time to roll back any achievements made in reducing economic inequality.

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-38311053

 

Brazil: Clashes as Senate approves 20-year austerity plan

 

The Brazilian Senate has approved a controversial amendment to the constitution capping public spending for the next 20 years.

 

The approval of the austerity measure is an important victory for President Michel Temer.

 

He took office earlier this year promising to lead the country out of its worst recession in many decades.

 

Protests against the measure turned violent in the capital Brasilia and at least a dozen states in the country.

 

The opposition says the measures will mainly hit areas such as health and education, which are already underfunded.

 

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets during the Senate session to protest against the austerity plan.

 

After the vote, many demonstrations descended into violence.

 

In Brasilia, masked protesters set fire to a bus and marched on the local offices of Globo TV, which they say is biased towards Mr Temer's government. But the marchers were blocked by riot police.

 

In Sao Paulo, the headquarters of the state's conservative Industrial Federation (Fiesp) was attacked.

 

To pass the constitutional amendment, the government needed the votes of 49 senators - three-fifths of the Senate.

 

The measure was approved by a narrower margin than the government expected, passing by 53 to 19 votes.

 

"We have won. That was the main thing: to deliver the product in the middle of a storm," said government leader in the Senate Romero Juca.

 

The project, known in Brazil as PEC 55, freezes expenditure in the executive, judiciary and legislative branches of power, allowing them to grow only by the rate of inflation in the previous year.

 

The government argues it is necessary to boost growth and investments, and contain the country's growing public deficit.

 

But critics say the poorest in society will be harmed and that setting a spending cap for two decades in advance is unrealistic, says the BBC's Julia Carneiro in Rio de Janeiro.

 

The measure takes effect on Thursday.

[Kevin D]

Lula is not going to stand for this.

 

 

Goes back to what Yanis quoted the German's saying last year, "election's cannot be allowed to change a member state's policy."

 

I understand that makes us sound like left wing conspiracy theorists, but that was what the man said explicitly.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/05/yanis-varoufakis-why-we-must-save-the-eu

[AngryOfTuebrook]

With Trump openly threatening military attacks on Venezuela, it's probably a good time to bump this thread.

 

Of course, he's claiming that US military action may be needed to save the poor beleaguered Venezuelan people from the dictatorship that's oppressing and murdering them.  Other narratives are available.

 

https://skwawkbox.org/2017/08/10/whats-really-happening-in-venezuela-from-someone-who-knows/

The BBC is responsible for some of the most disingenuous portrayals. They’re showing violent protesters as if they’re some kind of defenders of peaceful protesters against a repressive police force, but in reality peaceful protests have been untouched by police.

What happens is that the guarimbas [violent, armed opposition groups] follow the peaceful protests and when they come near police, they insert themselves in between the two. They then push and push and push until there’s a reaction – and they have cameras and journalists on hand to record the reaction, so it looks like the police are being aggressive.

We were once filming a protest and a group of guarimbas challenged us. If we’d said we were with teleSur, at the very least they’d have beaten us and taken our equipment. But we told them we were American freelance journalists – they need Americans to film them and publicise them, so we were accepted.

 

 

http://evolvepolitics.com/watch-president-maduro-says-bbc-turned-something-horrible-manipulators-information-video/

When you realise that Venezuela is reportedly sitting on the biggest oil reserves in the world, and that their previous President Hugo Chavez was briefly overthrown during a US-backed coup in 2002, it becomes glaringly obvious why the establishment media is attempting to paint such a clear cut story of government oppression.

 

The situation is Venezuela is so obviously far from black and white, and after falling for the same old establishment lies and misinformation about ‘liberating’ Iraq, Libya, and (almost) Syria, you would hope that the public would think twice about mindlessly blaming just one side for the outbreak of violence in Venezuela.

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/aug/11/uk-criticised-over-sales-of-military-equipment-to-venezuela

Of course, just because Maduro is the bogeyman du jour, doen't mean business can't carry on.

 

The Conservatives have rightly hailed the importance of supporting human rights and democracy in Venezuela. But they seem to find it irrelevant when it comes to selling billions of pounds of weapons to Saudi Arabia, which executed 153 people by beheading in 2016 and is indiscriminately bombing civilians in Yemen. In the past two years, the Conservative government has even continued selling security equipment to Venezuela.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Pro-Government rally in Venezuela the other day.

 

http://evolvepolitics.com/watch-venezuela-just-held-huge-pro-government-anti-imperialist-rally-tumbleweed-msm-video/

 

 

After Britain’s mainstream media circulated endless front page stories, videos and editorials concerning a wave of anti-government protests in Venezuela, you would be forgiven for thinking that the majority of the country is dead set against the rule of the President, Nicolás Maduro.

 

Anybody visiting the BBC News website over the past few weeks would have seen the desired Western narrative of mass violence and oppression from the Venezuelan government front and centre, also portraying Maduro as hugely under pressure from countless hoards of his own citizens.

 

The mainstream even attempted to drag Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn into the argument, insinuating that he failed to denounce the Venezuelan leader. This despite the fact that Corbyn denounced all violence, in what is so obviously not a black and white scenario – despite what the Western media want people to think.

 

Yet today, from looking at the coverage in the mainstream press, you would have thought that Venezuela may have fallen deadly silent. Maybe the government has ‘oppressed’ the protestors into retreat, I hear you ask…

 

Well no.

 

The mainstream haven’t reported from Venezuela today, because if they had, they would have had to mention this...

 

 

To avoid falling for the lies and misinformation in the mainstream, we advise you to read often, and most importantly: read widely – make sure you hear both sides of the story, because you sure as hell can’t trust the British media to tell you the entire story nowadays.

[Strontium]

63 protesters killed in Nicaragua since 18 April, and a further 15 missing.

 

Couldn't find anything about it on the Nicaraguan Solidarity Campaign website...

[Jairzinho]