The United States shows its contempt for Venezuelan democracy
The United States shows its contempt for Venezuelan democracy
Washington's clumsy efforts to de-legitimise Venezuela's election mark a escalation of its push for regime change
Mark Weisbrot
guardian.co.uk, Monday 22 April 2013 13.53 EDT
While most of the news on Venezuela in the week since the 14 April presidential election focused on the efforts of losing candidate Henrique Capriles to challenge the results, another campaign, based in Washington, was quite revealing and the two were most definitely related. Without Washington's strong support the first time it had refused to recognise a Venezuelan election result it is unlikely that Capriles would have joined the hardcore elements of his camp in pretending that the election was stolen.
Washington's efforts to de-legitimise the election mark a significant escalation of US efforts at regime change in Venezuela. Not since its involvement in the 2002 military coup has the US government done this much to promote open conflict in Venezuela. When the White House first announced on Monday that a 100% audit of the votes was "an important, prudent and necessary step", this was not a genuine effort to promote a recount.
It amounted to telling the government of Venezuela what was necessary to make their elections legitimate. They also had to know that it would not make such a recount more likely. And this was also their quick reply to Nicolás Maduro's efforts, according to the New York Times of 15 April, to reach out to the Obama administration for better relations through former Clinton energy secretary, Bill Richardson. But the Obama team's effort failed miserably. On Wednesday, the government of Spain, Washington's only significant ally supporting a "100% audit" reversed its position and recognised Maduro's election. Then the secretary general of the Organisation of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, backed off his prior alignment with the Obama administration and recognised the election result.
It was not just the left governments of Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay and others that had quickly congratulated Maduro on his victory; Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti and other non-left governments had joined them. The Obama administration was completely isolated in the world.
More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/22/united-states-contempt-venezuelan-democracy
blkmusclmachine
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ConcernedCanuk
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I have a Chinese friend who said to me almost a decade ago,
"Who elected the USA as the police of the World"?????
OH -
right
The USA did . . .
They've had a hard-on ever since they dropped them bombs on Japan
and by the way, neither Nagasaki or Hiroshima were military targets
They wanted to terrorize the population
( oh my - the USA slaughtered more in 2 bombings over 60 years ago than all the "terrorists" combined have ever since!!!) - and they succeeded, well, not quite . . .
It's payback time - many nations' populations have children/grandchildren and great-granchildren that have organized to pay the USA back - -
and it ain't gonna stop until THE USA STOPS FU*KING AROUND IN OTHER PEOPLE'S COUNTRIES!!!
But that's just my silly Canuck opinion . . .
(sigh)
CC