August 16, 2004

• ...and of course I forgot to title. sorry :(
• I don't have a sense that there's a lot of anger.
• I'm just hoping for the widest cross section of news sources possible. As someone with absolutely nothing approading a direct connection to Venezuela, I found vague conclusions about the 2002 coup possible only after reviewing widely disparate sources that were far from the usual suspects. None of which I would have likely found if they hadn't been pointed out for me by people with a more personal connection to the country.
• Ambrosia will show up soon if we're lucky.
• The thing to remember is that some of the people criticising Chavez are actually more authoritarian and far less friends of the average Venezuelan than Chavez is.
• I know we get a buttload of oil from there.
• Greg Palast has several articles in the Latin America section of his site, the most recent of which (currently linked from the front page of his site) was written today after the results were released) and another that was written yesterday, explaining the situation. I also recommend this article that Palast wrote regarding the direct link between the Venezuelan recall election and the debacle in Florida four years ago. In short, though, the Bush regime doesn't like Chavez because when he took power, he began making the US pay a fair price for oil and then used that money to keep his campaign promises to help the country's poor. Also, he's friends with Castro and worked out a deal where he sends oil to Cuba and Cuba sends teachers and doctors to Venezuela. In general, Chavez is doing what a leader should do, which threatens everything that the Bush family has spent decades working towards.
• I'm still waiting to hear back from the people I know in Venezuela, and it seems that everyone is watching and waiting to see what plays out today. Whatever happens, this isn't the end of it. Venezuela is intensely polarized over this issue, and neither side has clean hands. Chavez first attempted to come to power through a military coup, and his supporters have stirred up anti-immigrant sentiments to bolster support for his administration. The opposition is not unified around a single person or idea, other than wanting to get rid of Chavez. It runs the gamut from the left to the right, some fervently democratic, others more inclined to authoritarianism. Portraying this as a battle between an indigenous populist and the white elite is a bit of an oversimplification.
• I've been doing a lot of blogging about Venezuela recently. There are quite a few links on those pages. I also just today found World News, which is the biggest collection of news links I've ever seen (about five times the size of Yahoo, I'd say). They have a pretty comprehensive section on Venezuela (as they have for almost every country I can think of, including tiny East Timor).
• I know we get a buttload of oil from there FYI, I am a serious and grown-up person, far more interested in important world affairs than making the crude suggestion Fes is now trawling Venezuela for someone to rub that oil in.
• all i know is that my friend rosa (from venezuela) has been alternately proud and a little concerned that her country has been topping the headlines lately. proud, 'cause it's nice to see her country getting international attention, and concerned, because she doesn't know how things are going to turn out. plus, they have oil, and she has told me in the past that many venezuelans are afraid that the US will invade venezuela if the need arises... you know, like if they elect a guy we don't agree with, then maybe we'll invade and take over and put the person of our choice in charge and then take the oil. (don't understand why she worries. not like we've set any sort of precedent for doing things like that, right?)
• Madison Women for Peace also has some interesting links.