So according to that, 64% say they are NOT chavistas. Thats a huge change. Maybe it wont take a few years for this charade to collapse, like I expected.

And in this country if Obama has those numbers do you support the tea party overthrowing our government and forcing Obama to resigne?...after all his approval rating is below 50%.
Is that how democracy is supposed to work?

But then the Maduro regime is arresting elected leaders in the opposition, so the regime itself is undercutting its own legitimacy. A fatal mistake.

Tell that to the Teabaggers...I am sure they will like knowing that they can commit crime with impunity because they oppose Obama and it would be a mistake for him to have them arrested.

He sent paramilitary groups to repress protests. That is highly illegal.

Another example: the pro-government governor of Carabobo, Ameliach, asked his "battle units" to "prepare for a crushing counter-attack" on protesters. Eight protesters were injured by bullets, one was shot in the head and died. Ameliach got NOTHING, he was congratulated.

Enzo Scarano, the opposition mayor of San Diego refused to use the municipality police forces to repress demonstrations. What did he get? 12 months in jail. His trial was concluded and the sentence given within hours.

This kind of logic leads a majority of Venezuelans to believe Maduro's government has stopped being "democratic"... according to IVAD, not to El Universal.

Who said that, the oppisition?...show your proof not their propaganda.

And sorry if I am skeptical, but we have seen the lies and disinformation too many times for me to fall for it again...And there is ample proof that they do want that oligarchic rule back along with the oil money and will do what it takes to get it.

they operate with impunity. They are chavistas.

No intermediary.

Do you understand Spanish?

Las UBCH (pronounced ubeché) are the "Unidades de Batalla CHavez" or Chavez battle units.

And that is so very obvious that he is eroding support among his own base.

You can't on the one hand claim democratic legitimacy while on the other hand subverting the democratic process.

Who told you that they committed no crimes?...and what did they charge them with?...have you seen the evidence of their innocence?
I live way up here and do not hear the whole story so how could I judge it?

But this I do know, that people make up things to support one side or the other, and their has been a long and bloody history in Latin America of power being corrupt and overthrowing governments (and often with the help of our own government) and the help of the media...so I don't reach conclusions as easily as you seem to do.

I will remain skeptical especially sense the propaganda is so strong against Maduro, because the opposition has the money and the power to present it and drown out any truth that is told.
And the evidence for that is in the documentary "The Revolution Will Not Be Telivized"...and the past is usually prologue.

cities, Americans from all sectors of the spectrum would be pitching a fit.

Yet, for some reason, here on DU, we have a (very small, mind you) minority that will pooh-pooh those concerns and claim that it's all a CIA plot.

Brasil has already given Maduro a bit of the stiff-arm; they sense he's starting to stink so they're giving him a bit of space.

The boligarcs and hardcore Chavistas are not going to stand there and watch Maduro flush everything down the drain. Watch one of them step forward to "rescue" the Bolivarian revolution.

Maduro needs to fix the economy. Which means facing reality and stop blaming it on outside forces

36 of his classmates are Army generals. If not him, one of his handpicked front-men, and he'll rule from behind the scenes.

Maduro never served in the Army; the only uniform he ever wore was the bus driver one. The military is not loyal to him. Add to that he's seeding them with bossy Cubans, and they don't like that.

Maduro is ruling by decree--he asked for it, he got it. He has all the power, and he's had it for six months, and things get worse and worse.

The only coup I see references to is the imaginary one some people think the CIA is constantly plotting. I AM seeing protests about Government policies and political corruption. I seem to recall people thought that was a good idea during the Bush Administration.

0r rather an attempt at one...And that is what they had.
And there were no violent protest against Bush and no call for him to resign or for the military to take over like they did in Venezuela 2002 which our government immediately recognized the new appointed government...and the same in the Ukraine..
But it is funny to me that we support violent revolutions in other countries like Vz and now the Ukraine but oppose it here in this country...That is telling.

It is a right!

Or it is in this country, but we have a different standard when it comes to Latin America.

The Tea party calls for Obama to resign too but they did not build bonfires in the streets and throw stones at the cops.

I am not sure if the poll is accurate or not but clearly the country is loosing faith in their president.

But I have seen no violence because of it...except some right wing nuts who are arrested for the crime and do not receive the support of the right or the left.
But in Latin America not only the right supports it, but even some on the left do.

That is the democratic way.

In what world is calling for a resignation a coup?

When Richard Nixon was called upon to resign, was that a coup? When he finally did resign, then, according to your definition of coup, then there was a coup in the US govt.

to seek to force it is...and that is how it is done all the time.

Nixon was impeached in a democratic process provided by the constitution...THAT is not a coup.

He resigned because of the certainty of impeachment, but he wasn't impeached.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon

Clinton was impeached but not removed from office...but it was done in accordance with the Constitution in any case.
And welcome to DU.

which would have to happen to be removed from office.


Thanks for the welcome.

Republican leaders went to the White House and told him he didn't have the votes, and to his credit, and one of the few things to his credit, he didn't prolong the agony.

I can still remember the huge amount of relief that I felt when I watched Nixon get into the helicopter for the last time on TV.

The only thing that comes close for me was the announcement that the Dems had won control of Congress in 2006. The shrub's departure was an anti-climax for me after that, believe it or not.

But other countries are different from the US. Like it or not its true. No matter how much Bush was disliked, we were never anywhere near rioting in the streets to get rid of him. Same with Obama and his detractors. They'll have a march here and there, fine, but no one is rioting in the streets to force him out.
As time goes by more people in VZ will see they fell for a big lie. I dont know when the next election is scheduled, but it will be interesting depending on who the opposition party runs. Assuming that candidate manages to stay out of jail for the election.

That's just a canard to even suggest it.

But let's face facts--Maduro has been RULING BY DECREE since last November. The General Assembly gave him those powers and he is running the show without any checks or balances...so everything that goes wrong is ON HIM.

Obama is RULING BY DECREE...and so everything that goes wrong is his fault...even when the opposition plays dirty tricks on him, like messing up the roll out of the ACA...a software company payed hundreds of millions for the software that does not work...it is his fault.

Sorry if I notice the same tone and intent in that propaganda as I do with it from Venezuela.

Really. He was handed the authority to "rule by decree" by the assembly last November. He answers to NO ONE. A pesky legislator who refused to vote in favor of this to give him the majority he needed was KICKED OUT to game the vote for him. I'm not making this up.

Diosdado Cabello handed him the documents--which I think will be the instrument of his own demise.

It's not just what "the opposition is SAYING"--he actually has the authority to rule by decree for one year starting last November.


Here--don't believe me, READ: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/venezuelan-president-maduro-given-power-to-rule-by-decree/2013/11/19/af304c3c-516b-11e3-9ee6-2580086d8254_story.html

Venezuelan president Maduro given power to rule by decree

How anyone can look at VZ these days and see anything but economic ruin, chaos and gross mismanagement at the highest reaches of power is beyond me. Good thing Mrs. Maduro has a mansion and a small business in S. Florida...if they have to make a run for it, at least they've got nice digs.

"How anyone can look at VZ these days and see anything but economic ruin, chaos and gross mismanagement at the highest reaches of power is beyond me"

And I am sure you know all about it...and it will be better off when it is back in the hands of the ruleing class where it belongs...do I remember you saying your father helped build it up?,,,well we know who you think should be running things then...because things were so much better before Chavez...at least for some...the ones who count anyway.

And I am sure you know all about it...and it will be better off when it is back in the hands of the ruleing class where it belongs...

WRONG. I've said, if there is a coup, that it will come from the LEFT and Chavez's best friend, Diosdado Cabello, will orchestrate it. Strike one.

.do I remember you saying your father helped build it up?,


WRONG again. My grandfather--NOT a Venezuelan, but someone with a great fondness for the country and respect for the people, was an architect who designed and directly oversaw the construction of many of the public buildings in Caracas--schools, hospitals, government buildings, that kind of thing. You know, stuff that serves the PEOPLE. He interacted more with poor folk than he did with elites--that was the nature of the work. You don't find a lot of rich people sweating around construction sites, you know. So, strike two, there.

The rest of your post is just false assertions and pettiness. You're trying to make this conversation about ME and what you imagine I "believe" instead of taking onboard the information I am offering you, with links, that demonstrates what I'm saying.

Now you KNOW Maduro is actually, really, truly "ruling by decree." It's not snark, it's not a snide comment, it's actual fact. He has a document that allows him those powers. You're not feeling a little cognitive dissonance? Not even a soupçon? If you're not, you should be.

And strike three...!

at least thats what a lot of people here see... CIA hiding in the cornflakes...

Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow....they've given you a number, and taken away your name!!!

Polling firm: 54 percent of Venezuelans distrust Chávez
Twenty-nine percent of respondents would rather vote for independent candidates

"Venezuelan voters' confidence in President Hugo Chávez is beginning is waning as a result of the electricity crisis, water rationing, economic measures, decisions against private property and attempts at leading the country into a Marxist system."

"According to the IVAD, 39.8 percent of respondents believe that "the major responsible for the electricity problem is the government and President Chávez." Regarding water shortage, 35 percent of citizens attributed the crisis to the meteorological phenomenon "El Niño," whereas 29.4 percent blamed it on "the Venezuelan government and President Hugo Chávez.""

http://www.eluniversal.com/2010/03/02/en_pol_art_polling-firm:-54-per_02A3514211

This was back on 2 March 2010 from the exact same source you are quoting. And yet he went on to win the October 2012 election and his hand picked successor also won the election.

So it seems El Universal has a habit of cherry picking statistics and a habit of being wrong, wrong, and wrong.

so its pretty clear chavistas remain clueless.

to show support for the government, when their polls are "positive".

Polls Give Strong Leads to Nicolas Maduro
http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/8491

Poll: Approval of Venezuelan President Increases
http://venezuelanalysis.com/newsbrief/3881

Venezuelan President Chavez’s Popularity Steady at 60%
http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/5049

New Poll Gives Venezuela’s Chavez 82.7% Approval Rating
http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/1685

Chávez Approval Rating 68.8%, Recent Venezuelan Poll Shows
http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/3438

And I don't think El Universal is an anti-socialist newspaper. They're center-right, more or less like the mainstream Democrats in the US... unfortunately. And I guess you could say they're anti-communist, but socialism, collectivism, is a much broader concept than marxism. In any way, I think people here should be mature enough to separate statistical data from opinion in a news article.

El Universal cherry picks the stats they want to promote and that suit their agenda. That is why their claims based on accurate polls are frequently wrong. The poll maybe good but you can always cherry pick data from any poll.

El Universal is more like the Wall Street Urinal, very anti-Chavez, very anti-socialist.

There really is NO Such Thing as Marxism, despite those who claim to be Marxists. Carl Marx was merely an economist who criticized capitalism and wrote analysis about capitalism's economic and political developments. Others decided to create a social movements and they labeled Marxism. It's merely another version of socialism or communism depending on who is using the word. Carl Marx said himself he was NOT a Marxist.

as far as Mandura is concerned.

Consider the late Bush years when he was well below 40% and occasionally below 30%. There were never questions on polls suggesting he resign -- or suggesting that the country was not a democracy. (The right way/wrong way question went to nearly 80% wrong.)

It is interesting that a Chavez linked group would have created this survey.

has nothing to do with El Universal either.

dust?

Only two choices for us... Maduro or the CIA. Imagine that!

Trojan horses for neoliberalism like the various labor parties in Europe, and too many Democrats here.

Very different leftist options are being explored in the continent.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/poll-ukraine-crisis-hurting-obama-home-23069843

You were saying?

Maduro's approval rate is low as well. Ven has much greater issues than whether the president is popular or not.

And if the majority said no, what would that mean to you?...would you ask Obama to resign?

Maduro should resign.

Failing that, he should be arrested for crimes against his own people.

He associated an American with a drone strike and his 16 year old son...should he be arrested too?

the deaths of people who were demonstrating against the government to the death of known terrorist?

maybe if the kid's dad wasn't a terrorist, the kid would still be alive

"maybe if the kid's dad wasn't a terrorist, the kid would still be alive"

What act of terrorism was he charged with?...and you make the son guilty for the non acts of the father as well.
The constitution be damned...it means nothing if someone charges you with terrorism even if they have no evidence of it...talking like a terrorist is a death sentence...(except if you are a right winger that is)

or his kid

We don't need no stinking trial...once accused they are guilty as charged...just like in the good old days of the Inquisition.
I cry over the loss of our constitution and due process of law.

Hubert Humphrey would be proud.