Porkins Policy Review

The votes are for the Venezuelan presidential election. 78.71% or eligible voters participated in the highly charged election. 99.12% of the votes have been counted, with Maduro scraping by with 50.66% of the votes versus Caprilles 49.07%. According to the script Caprilles has leveled numerous accusations of voter fraud and irregularities against the Chavistas. There’s just no way that the people of Venezuala could possibly have made the decision to willingly vote for Maduro. No never! It must have been fraud.

In the very near future we can expect the corporate/controlled media here to start spouting off nonsense about the dictatorial tactics of Chavez’s protege. The attacks against the late Chavez, and the Bolivarian movement as a whole, have been relentless. Apparently the taboo of speaking ill of the dead only extends to Maggie Thatcher. The fact that 200 international observers have signed off on the recent election means nothing to the likes of FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, New York Times, and especially the White House. Of course when Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi ran for president in Yemen, in an election where he was the only candidate on the ballot, the likes of Hillary Clinton and Nobel Peace prize murder Barack Obama proclaimed the election “free and fair”.

The knee jerk reaction of those in America to condemn Maduro illustrates the level of pervasive propaganda against those who stand against US imperialism. We are inundated with a constant stream of lies and distortions meant to fool us into thinking that a corporate stooge of America is somehow good for the people of Venezuela. Now let me be absolutely clear here; I am not now nor have I ever been a supporter of Chavez and his movement. People who read this blog will know that I not only oppose socialism but all forms of government authority. The state is the most destructive instrument that mankind has invented. There is no doubt that Chavez was a great lover of the state and it’s numerous tentacles of control and coercion. Yet, the constant attacks against him by the American media an public sicken me more than Chavez ever could. There is one reason and one reason only for this relentless assault on Venezuela. Chavez was against western imperialism and dominance over his country and people. Let me repeat that again for clarity. Chavez was against letting his nation become a puppet of Washington, and having its resources exploited by western corporations. For that noble act we are expected to condemn him as a ruthless dictator who wants to destroy America. Just as with Iran, the mere fact that Chavez did not play ball with us is enough to make Washington foam at the mouth. Again this is not some sort of endorsement of Chavez and his movement. Many anti-imperialists seem to think that they are supposed to support Chavez and his policies by default because he was against western aggression. This is one of the biggest fallacies with in the anti-imperialist movement. Just because your against American hegemony doesn’t mean your some of commie.

There is no doubt that Chavez was authoritarian. His complete take over of media and the spiraling level of gang violence and murder in the country are just two of the more disconcerting aspects of his legacy. But Chavez was no more dictatorial than the western/US backed regimes in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Columbia, Honduras, Turkey, Uzbekiatan, Tajikistan, Kazhakstan, and Afghanistan to name just a few.

So on this post election day why not take a second and think critically for a change. You may be pleasantly surprised.