Chavez Campaign Closes in Caracas
Photo feature by Caridad
HAVANA TIMES – Supporters of opposition candidate Henrique Capriles in Caracas had their chance last Sunday, on Bolivar Avenue, which they filled and showed that they are more organized in this election.
Thursday was the turn for supporters of President Hugo Chavez, in the same wide avenue, but also on the adjacent Lecuna, Baralt, University and Avenida Mexico.
A little after noon the weather played a trick on them, or may have been good to cool off from the heat… it rained for more than two hours, very intense at moments.
Many found shelter and continued their rumba (literally banging drums and dancing).
But the vast majority remained in the street soaked, with music, flags and slogans, looking forward to seeing the caravan led by Chavez, who they hope will be reelected for a new six year term on Sunday October 7th.
No one denies that these elections are very important for Cuba. With the close relationship between the Venezuelan president and Fidel Castro, the South American country became Cuba’s leading trade partner and Chavez, the government’s number one political ally.
Cuba receives an estimated 100,000 barrels of oil per day from Venezuela in exchange for the services of between 30 and 40 thousand doctors, teachers, sports coaches and other specialists, which staff Chávez’s social missions.
Capriles says he will maintain the social programs but renegotiate the conditions he considers unfavorable for Venezuela.
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There may be one or two people left on the planet who did not howl with laughter over “our investigative journalistic freedoms and wide range of media outlets”. To enable them to share in the humour, here’s some reality to leaven the process.
US vaunted ” investigative journalistic freedoms” resulted in its media being totally sucked in by its government’s WMD whopper of a lie. Hundreds of millions of ordinary people were on the streets around the world a month before the US invaded Iraq who knew it wasn’t true, hoping to prevent the human catastrophe that was to follow.
Yet US media were oblivious, aiding and abetting the lie, like the New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who worked for the most prestigious newspaper in the US. She filed stories that were inaccurate or simply false.
Miller was later involved in disclosing Valerie Plame’s identity as CIA personnel, an illegal government revelation, intended to punish Plame’s husband, a journalist who dared to report the truth about the WMD lie.
Claiming there is a “wide range of media outlets” is an even bigger joke. Media ownership in the US – broadcast stations, cable stations, newspapers and websites – is concentrated in the hands of the “Big Six” who control most of the media in the US.
Dubya of course was regularly referred to as a ‘payaso’. For what he was responsible for in Iraq, ‘asesino’ is a more accurate epithet.
If we Americans, with all our investigative journalistic freedoms and wide range of media outlets can still manage to elect George W. Bush to TWO terms in office, I am disappointed but not surprised that Venezuelans will likely reelect that payaso Chavez to yet another term. You get the government you deserve.
I watched it live on UStream it was over 1 Million people…
Rojo Rojito
Cort
http://www.marxist.com/chavez-closing-rally.htm
Venezuela: Chavez closing rally fills 7 avenues
Written by In Defence of Marxism Friday, 05 October 2012
*While the world’s media was looking the other way, a huge sea of red
filled the whole of central Caracas last night in the closing rally of the
election campaign of Hugo Chávez. *
While opposition candidate Henrique Capriles had partially filled the
Bolivar Avenue, Chavez supporters packed that and another 6 huge avenues,
despite the pouring rain. The world’s media decided to completely ignore
the rally or to downplay it by publishing close up shots of Chavez or
alleging (without any proof), that those present were state employees who
had been forced or paid (or both) to attend.
Here are some pictures which you will not see in the capitalist media, that
give a partial impression of the event, starting with a map of the area
covered. (All pictures, videos and maps taken from the Patria Grande
website
)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IciHDnPlok&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4xlCkCgVzk&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ElqI5gQ8S7o