Witness Special - Red Oil - 15 March 09 - Part 2

[bjarnet3]

How is it going in Hugo's Venezuela? Can anybody give me accurate description? Thank you!

[LJCR]

In these government in now illegal to do a strike, if you do so, you're automatically against the "process" and you get fire. All is accepted in the name of the common good

[juancsmix]

eso, tengan mas hijos con esa vida tan miserable, mas y mas y mas miserables...

[LJCR]

esa es la dura realidad, pareceria rasonable que alguien que crece en esas circustancias veria lo dura que es la vida para esos niños, pero aun asi caen en el mismo ciclo vicioso. La muchacha(o) solo busca la primera oportunidad de salir de la casa y formar una familia, con la esperanza de que les ira bien

[jimed]

eddie ramirez is white, doesn't look native to those lands!

[ChoasTheory2000]

Chavez is an inspiration for every other country that suffers at the hands of U.S. imperialism and blood sucking capitalist corporations. I'll support Chavez as long as he stays true. So far so good...

[Inkan1969]

What true? He only stays true to his inflated ego and the personality cult he's built on it. :-P

[ChoasTheory2000]

True to the people, change can't happen over night and the change he has brought to Venezuela so far is amazing... he has helped uplift so many of the poor living there and has continued to do so. Despite what you might see as personality flaws, the majority of Venezuelans are better off then they used to be.

[Inkan1969]

It's too much risk to make the social reform dependent on one man.  If the reform is sincere it should be able to survive without him.

[ChoasTheory2000]

That's true... it should survive without him, but he isn't a dictator he is just the head of state. The real change is happening in the streets through the people, but if the government isn't behind the people then Venezuela will just revert back into the puppet of the US it once was. He never asked to be leader for life... here in Canada you can be elected as many times as you want and it's fine here. The problem is Venezuela is still fragile and open to outside influences.

[Inkan1969]

But why did Chavez insist on having a new vote on term limits, when they already had a vote that he did not win?

[ChoasTheory2000]

Well it seems that the first vote not only had the issue about terms limits, but also they were voting on a bunch of constitutional changes and reforms to government. Term limits weren't the only thing being voted on and I think the opposition was able to capitalize on that aspect, cause they accuesed him of hiding it within a bigger picture. I think he was trying to do too much, too quickly. That's why when the people voted for just term limits, he won a majority vote.

[Inkan1969]

O.K. I had forgotten about the other issues on that vote, besides the term limits. If the opposition will ever beat Chavez it has to acknowledge the social inequality in society and commit to working to fix that. I hope they do get organized along that path.

[LJCR]

Yes, for you we are probably a bunch of monkeys that need a iron fist to get going. You don't have any idea of the corruption that is going on here. And I don't think that everything is bad, but these government has no idea on how complete the project, we depend entirely on oil, nothing is produce here. And please, please don't think that I am rich, white, imperialist, etc. And considering that you read Richard Dawkins, you must be a open minded person

[ChoasTheory2000]

Look I'm not pro communist or pro capitalist... all systems suffer from corruption at times. I know full well of the corruption as I lived in Venezuela for several years during my youth and I know the corruption is throughout South America. Yes you depend on oil right now, but that doesn't mean it can't change. Taking back the oil from the rich western corporations was a good step. I'm not saying Chavez is some savior, it's the people of the country that have spoken. It's democracy in action.

[jusantib]

South America breaking the chains!

[Inkan1969]

We don't want Chavez's new chains.

[itsacorporatething]

I think its a huge mistake to fire the technical staff. that's 10,000+ engineers and the like out of work and hating Chavez even more. Who are they going to turn to when they realize they need someone with technical know-how to repair the pumps and refineries?

[shuggy1991]

a new wave of socialism is coming my friends

[Inkan1969]

Social justice should NOT have to depend on a personality cult leader like Chavez.

[Inkan1969]

It damn well matters how it happens. Social justice is worthless if you have to sell your soul to a megalomaniac like Chavez.

[Inkan1969]

Death to vtxtd2. A sicko like you is wasting the air your breathing.

[ArchNME]

That little old lady about to shoot the FAL made me laugh.

[matthewandrew]

let there be blood!