Lies, Fascism, and Venezuela

I don’t tend to believe the mainstream media about Venezuela because the only people they quote are Trump Administration and a few former state department employees. I also received a few statements with a totally different take on what’s going on.

Today’s newspaper says the usual: “people in Venezuela are in revolt because their failed socialist system has wrecked the economy and, as of now, destroyed their power grid. The United States is for democracy.”

I tend to believe the interview in “Democracy Now,” which says that people on Trump’s side actually burned trucks full of humanitarian aid so they could blame it on the Venezuelan government. Here’s a quote from Pulitzer-Prize winner Glenn Greenwald: “Every time the U.S. wants to start a new war, it does it the same way, which is, it invents some really inflammatory, emotionally wrenching lie that gets people to hate the government they want to topple so much that they set their rationality aside and support the war. So, they claimed North Korea—or, North Vietnam attacked U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin, which was a lie to start the Vietnam War. They claimed that Saddam had been ripping babies out of incubators in Kuwait, to start the Gulf War, which was a lie. They claimed weapons of mass destruction, which was a lie, to start the Iraq War.”

I like the anti-interventionist statement of the Dallas Peace and Justice Center. https://www.dpjc.org/our-messages/178-position-statement-no-u-s-intervention-in-venezuela

Veterans for Peace says, “Veterans For Peace is outraged at the unfolding coup d’etat in Venezuela, which is clearly being orchestrated by the U.S. government.”

Code Pink writes, “The U.S. is orchestrating a coup in Venezuela that is likely to lead to bloodshed — even civil war and U.S. liberal media are willing participants in the “humanitarian aid” PR stunt to make it happen.”

Seventy scholars and experts agreed on a statement calling for negotiations instead of intervention.

The Cuban government made a strong statement about the Venezuelan power failure. “The Revolutionary Government strongly condemns the sabotage perpetrated against the power supply system in Venezuela, which is a terrorist action intended to harm the defenseless population of an entire nation and turn it into a hostage of the non-conventional war launched by the government of the United States…” I wish it didn’t, but it makes sense to me.

As an American trade unionist, I’m most impressed by the long resolution that came from the Chicago Teachers Union. These are the brave and smart people who started today’s round of great labor successes for school workers. They point to the U.S. involvement, specifically Elliott Abrams, President Trump’s current Special Envoy to Venezuela, in the 2002 coup attempt. They continue: “WHEREAS, the U.S. has recently attempted to provoke a border incident with the Maduro government by moving $20 million worth of “aid” to Venezuela after it has frozen the foreign assets of that country, discouraged other countries from doing business with Venezuela, and imposed sanctions that increase the poverty and misery of the general population by costing the Venezuelan government billions  ever year; and

‘WHEREAS, the United Nations, the International Red Cross, and other international relief organizations refused to work with the U.S. on delivering this “aid” to Venezuela, which they say is politically motivated; and the Venezuelan government considers a Trojan Horse for an eventual military invasion’; and

‘WHEREAS, U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolden, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have all explicitly stated that U.S. corporations should control the oil resources in Venezuela, which implies that this will be a war for oil; and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the elected Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro’s “days in office are numbered”; and

‘WHEREAS, the world is still reeling from the war for oil in Iraq, which has left that country in shambles and continues to destabilize the middle east to this day; therefore, be it

‘RESOLVED, that the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) publicly states its opposition to any military invasion of the sovereign state of Venezuela, and insists on dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiation as the means to resolve this crisis; and

‘RESOLVED, that the CTU advocate for the suspension of the current sanctions against Venezuela, and for the U.S. to cease all threats, military mobilization, and interference in the economic and internal politics and affairs of the Venezuelan people; and respect the right of self-determination of this sovereign nation in accordance with U.S. stated commitment to the rule of law; and be it finally

‘RESOLVED, the CTU stands in solidarity with the Venezuelan labor organizations Sindicato Nacional Fuerza Magisterial (SINAFUM)i , Colectivo Clasista de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de la Educación.ii “Carmen Conzoño” y al Frente Nacional de Lucha de la Clase Trabajadora (FNLCT)iii , and other organizations that oppose the interference in Venezuela’s sovereign affairs and the consequent threat of military intervention.”

Will Democracy Result?

If and when the U.S. takeover is completed, does anybody really expect democracy? Did the Chileans get democracy when the U.S. overthrew their government? Did the Iranians get democracy when the CIA installed the Shah? If the present government of Venezuela is overthrown, you can expect a bloodbath. The way it’s looking right now, it may be a bloodbath either way. Unless we do something!

–Gene Lantz

I’m on KNON radio’s “Workers Beat” program every Saturday at 9 AM Central Time. If you want to know what I really think, check out my personal web site