Ricardo Bello on Tue, 16 Apr 2002 13:43:01 +0200 (CEST)


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[Nettime-bold] Personal stake in Venezuela


Yes, I have a personal stake on Venezuela, I live here, my four children live here, my grandson live here, my parents, friends and love. Yes, I have a very personal stake in this. And everybody in this country is more poor now, except Chavistas, especially the military. Chavez is a populist, has a tremendous sucess addresing the poor of this country, but he doesn´t know how to aliviate their misery, except telling them that it´s true, that they suffer from poverty. I have personally confronted at several times the right in this country, at the cost of my own safety and yes, what began as a national movement against Chavez was seized and kidnapped by the right. I rather have Chavez for the moment than the authocrat who grab government that Friday. But I do not agree with them, and I do not agree with Chavez either. It ´s wrong to see Chavez opposition as orchestrated and financed exclusively by the strongest business lobby in Venezuela or by the CIA. And it´s also wrong to see Chavez government directed by Castro or Cuban Communist Party officials. The truths lies somewhere in between.
Another analysis of media coverage, not by an scholar, just another eye-witness perspective, my own:

On Friday 12th when the CIA or government´s snipers were killing the
opposition, Chavez gave a national address impeding live news
broadcast. But soon, CNN began telling the truth and the outrage (on
the killing and the President´s information policy) was so great that
the generals had to grab Chavez, sent him prisoners to a Navy Base and
install a new government.
On Saturday 13th Chavez´s followers, demanding the return of their
President began to loot, destroy and burn several cities, creating such
havoc that the same general had to bring Chavez back and put back in
power. That day, all TV stations, sympathetic or belonging to the new
government, made the same Chavez´s error. Instead of news, Telletubbies
were broadcast. The TV stations were severely attacked in protest.
Venezuelans knew that the new government had fallen when soldiers loyal
to Chavez attacked and controlled two TV stations and began
transmiting real information on the day events.
Media and information policy was a decisive issue in the fall and
return of Coronel Chavez.