|
|
The War on Venezuela is Built on Lies
Pilger, John
http://www.counterpunch.org/2019/02/22/the-war-on-venezuela-is-built-on-lies/Date Written: 2019-02-22 Publisher: CounterPunch Year Published: 2019 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX23524 Maduro, like Chavez before him, is a fairly elected leader with support from the people. Talk of his 'illegitmacy' is propaganda in service of the coup. Abstract: -- Excerpt: Although identity politics are all the rage in the pages of liberal newspapers in the West, race and class are two words almost never uttered in the mendacious "coverage" of Washington’s latest, most naked attempt to grab the world’s greatest source of oil and reclaim its "backyard". For all the chavistas’ faults - such as allowing the Venezuelan economy to become hostage to the fortunes of oil and never seriously challenging big capital and corruption - they brought social justice and pride to millions of people and they did it with unprecedented democracy.... Since Chavez’s death in 2013, his successor Nicolas Maduro has shed his derisory label in the Western press as a "former bus driver" and become Saddam Hussein incarnate. His media abuse is ridiculous. On his watch, the slide in the price of oil has caused hyper inflation and played havoc with prices in a society that imports almost all its food; yet, as the journalist and film-maker Pablo Navarrete reported this week, Venezuela is not the catastrophe it has been painted. "There is food everywhere," he wrote. "I have filmed lots of videos of food in markets [all over Caracas] … it's Friday night and the restaurants are full." Subject Headings |