Problem is, one can't think in simplistic terms, as if we just need to deal
with the ruling class and the economic and social structure in this country
because the power elites aren't set up like that. The economic order is related
to the distribution of resources and of labor throughout the entire world. The
way our country has always functioned, has been related to the way in which
western countries colonized the rest of the world. What our government does or
doesn't do, has always had tremendous influence on North, Central, and South
America. Americans have, therefore, been brainwashed to believe that it is
their responsibility to police the world, that our country is the moral
arbiter. We've become the greatest engine of destruction that there is. I've
visited China. I understand the authoritarian nature of its government. I've
seen it firsthand. But we are its twin. We do precisely the same things, but we
have a different culture and different values so we hide the authoritarian
nature of our government behind democratic language and symbols. We insist on
competing with other countries, rather than finding ways to cooperate with
them. This stance will kill us all.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2020 12:30 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Trump's Venezuela Regime Change Alliance Dwindles
As a casual observer, I can easily be led astray by all of the, "he says, she
says" that goes on. My rule of thumb is to keep my nation's nose out of the
affairs of other nations. But that does not appear to be possible, either.
Carl Jarvis
On 8/20/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
There is, nestled in the article, another statement to the effect that
democracy needs to be restored in Venezuela. Many left of center
sources describe the current government is undemocratic. Neither The
Grayzone nor Code Pink have reported this, nor has Abby Martin.
Miriam
Trump's Venezuela Regime Change Alliance Dwindles By teleSUR
20 August 20
The number of US-allied governments actively participating in the
destabilization of Venezuela has dropped from 50 to 19 in less than a year.
The Canadian Dimension, a forum for debate on contemporary issues
facing the Left, published an analysis of the political situation in
Venezuela. The text is presented below:
On December 6, Venezuelans will go to the polls to elect a new
National Assembly. Since the last election in 2016, self-declared
interim president and opposition leader Juan Guaido has seen his
domestic popularity -and his standing among many foreign nations- slide.
In fact, upon Guaido's return last year from an international tour
-financed by the U.S. - to seek backing for more sanctions and the
ouster of elected president Nicolas Maduro, Guaido was booed out of
the Caracas airport.
Such was the anger of ordinary Venezuelans against an individual who
recently signed a contract with U.S.-based mercenaries to overthrow
the government in a bizarre failed plot that has come to be known as
the "Bay of Piglets."
Now, Guaido and right-wing factions within the National Assembly are
boycotting the elections, as opposition leaders have vowed not to
recognize the "false" electoral body designated by the Supreme Court.
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and its allies are
expected to win on December 6.
While Guaido's standing in Venezuela is currently at rock bottom, the
self-declared interim leader has also seen much of his international
support evaporate. According to an August 14 press statement issued by
the U.S.
State Department entitled "Joint Declaration of Support for Democratic
Change in Venezuela":
"We call on all political parties and institutions in Venezuela to
engage promptly in, or in support of, a process that will establish a
broadly acceptable transitional government that will administer free
and fair presidential elections soon and begin to set the country on a
pathway to recovery. For a peaceful and sustainable resolution of the
crisis, a transitional government is needed to administer presidential
elections, so that no candidate has an improper advantage over others."
For its part, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) issued an identical
statement, calling for a "swift and peaceful transition to democracy" in
Venezuela.
Like Venezuela's opposition leaders, U.S. President Donald Trump and
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not recognize the upcoming
legislative elections. They have instead demanded "a process that will
establish a broadly acceptable transitional government that will
administer free and fair presidential elections," which are not yet
due, and which would necessarily exclude Maduro.
This is the usual formula: one that establishes a pretext for more
sanctions, violent regime-change actions and open coup attempts, all
geared to stoke a revolt among the Venezuelan people and a mutiny
among the armed forces.
However, the press statement issued by the U.S. State Department and
GAC is notable because of the dwindling number of ally countries that
are now "committed to the restoration of democracy in Venezuela."
What used to be a long list of more than 50 nations is now down to just 19:
Albania, Australia, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia,
Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia,
Georgia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Israel, Kosovo, Latvia,
Lithuania, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Republic of Korea, Saint Lucia,
Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
This is a far cry from the formerly extensive coalition of dozens of
states that have heretofore unequivocally recognized and supported
Guaido. The State Department could not even get sign-on from all of
the members of the Lima Group -the multilateral body consisting of 14
countries, including Canada, that is dedicated to a "peaceful exit to
the ongoing crisis in Venezuela."
Thus, the list of partner states now includes Israel, along with some
of the most servile allies of the U.S. (and notable violators of human
rights and
democracy) such as Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, and Haiti.
More intriguingly, the two rivals to Canada's defeated bid for a
United Nations Security Council Seat last June, Norway and Ireland, do
not appear on the list of countries dedicated to "an end to the Maduro
dictatorship."
This appears to vindicate those who had lobbied the UN and other
international organizations to reject Canada's campaign for a UNSC
seat, citing the Trudeau government's support for anti-democratic
actions in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Haiti, to name just a few examples.
Even many in the U.S. Congress admitted the failure of the Trump
administration's Venezuela policy in a recent hearing.
"Our Venezuela policy over the last year and a half has been an
unmitigated disaster," said Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from
Connecticut and a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"If we aren't honest about that, then we can't self-correct." Murphy
continued, declaring that U.S. support for Venezuela's opposition
forces has handed Maduro an opportunity to label Guaido an 'American
patsy' while hardening support for his government around the world.
Ironically, Trump may have been better off if he considered some of
the diplomatic overtures coming from within the Venezuelan government.
Its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jorge Arreaza, wrote an op-ed for the
Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA), stating, "Trump would do better
if he followed his initial instinct of talking to President Maduro. A
respectful dialogue with Venezuela is what is really in the interest of the
U.S."
It is not surprising that Senator Murphy's admission of failed coup
attempts at a recent Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting on
August 4 has become a popular YouTube video.
During the hearing, Murphy pressed Special Representative for
Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, on the administration's disastrous policy
on Venezuela, which has "left America in a weaker position, failed to
restore democracy, and allowed the humanitarian situation to worsen." Murphy
continued:
"[W]e thought that getting Guaido to declare himself president would
be enough to topple the regime. Then we thought putting aid on the
border would be enough. Then we tried to sort of construct a kind of
coup in April of last year, and it blew up in our face when all the
generals that were supposed to break with Maduro decided to stick with
him in the end. I think this is just a prescription to get stuck in a
downwards spiral of American policy from which we cannot remove
ourselves."
The Canadian media should take a similarly critical stance toward the
Trudeau government's dubious attempts to oust the Maduro regime,
including its failure to condemn Guaido for his partnership with armed
US mercenaries to foment a violent coup within Venezuela.
Anything less is an endorsement of generations of failed U.S.-led
policies in Latin America, ones that have contributed to violence and
destabilization throughout the entire hemisphere.
