Don't cry for these crybabies, Venezuela.
Hey Folks,
The other day driving home I heard an NPR "Market Place" piece purporting to compare the Bush/Gonzales and Hugo Chavez policies on firing government employees. The performance gave credence to the point I've made before: The news is almost always presented from the perspective of the privileged.
Bush's firing of supporters (8 U.S. attorneys) who weren't aggressive enough against Democrats before the election is compared to Chavez' firing of public detractors ("on a much wider scale").
Then four members of the privileged class (2 Venezuelans [government lawyer & a film-maker] and 2 Americans [both capitalistic economists - see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riordan_Roett] ) weigh in with their self-interested, class-freighted comments.
You can listen to the piece at: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2007/04/10/PM200704106.html
The transcript is below. I've commented in red.
- Uke Man
KAI RYSSDAL: The House Judiciary Committee sent Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a little note today. Part of it was in Latin, though. The word "subpoena" was right at the top of the page. Congress is looking for more information about the firing of those eight U.S. attorneys as the controversy moves into the political arena.
There is a somewhat similar controversy going on in Venezuela. The politics of the two presidents involved, Chavez and Bush, couldn't be more different. But critics in Caracas say there it's blatant political discrimination happening against some government workers there, and on a much wider scale. The critics are the ones who, before Chavez, blatantly abused 80% of the population for personal gain, and would again if they could eliminate Chavez. From the Americas Desk at WLRN, Marketplace's Dan Grech reports.
DAN GRECH: Rocio San Miguel worked as an attorney for 13 years with the Venezuelan government. In December 2003, she signed a petition to recall President Hugo Chavez, who she felt was abusing his power. And keeping her from abusing hers.
Sorry, folks, but this poor little rich kid can't be too bright. Government jobs are GOVERNMENT jobs. In our country you won't keep your job long if you're signing recall petitions against your boss. And it's worse in the private sector.
The names of those who signed were leaked to a Chavez loyalist, Congressman Luis Tascon, and posted on his website.
[SOUND: Chavez on TV]
Chavez even promoted the site live on national TV. Sort of like having Robert Novak out Valerie Plame.
PRESIDENT CHAVEZ:Doble v doble v doble v punto luis tascon punto com. [www.luistascon.com] Metense alli.
One month after she signed, San Miguel was summoned into her boss's office.
ROCIO SAN MIGUEL [voice of translator]: He told me that, unfortunately, he had to fire me. He said, "How could it have occurred to you to sign against the guy who pays you?"
San Miguel experienced a cascade of emotions.
SAN MIGUEL: Indignation. Impotence. Anguish. I knew right away that something terrible was happening to me. And I began to collect evidence. Hmm. . . just like Wal-Mart employees fired for trying to start a union against their boss's wishes - but that's different.
San Miguel was one of three people in her office who signed the petition against Chavez. All three were fired. Duh!!! Try and recall what Tom Delay pulled regarding corporations hiring ONLY Republican lobyists.
The Venezuelan constitution forbids discriminating against employees for their political beliefs. Nonetheless, according to the Organization of American States, the Chavez administration has shown a growing "tendency to intimidate, harass, and stigmatize" the opposition. Our laws forbid the union-busting activities regularly practiced by outfits such as Wal-Mart, but the laws are never enforced. You don't hear much about THAT around here.
The public employees union in Venezuela documented 780 cases of political discrimination, including 200 firings. There are 25,375,000 Venezuelans. Eighty percent of them (or 20,300,000) are poor, and they have ALWAYS been discriminated against politically and otherwise. If 200 people have to be fired, 200 people who don't like Chavez working to help 20 MILLION people, that doesn't sound so bad to me. It's a lot better than the other way round.
Wesleyan University's Francisco Rodriguez says this amounts to economic blackmail. Sort of like the World Bank applies economic blackmail: "Screw your people over for our gain, or there will be a high cost; you're not going to have an economy; we'll screw all 25,375,281 of you."
FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ: OK, so you want to become an opponent of Chavez? That's going to have a high cost. You're not going to have a job. All 200 of you!!
Political patronage has always been part of the landscape here in Venezuela. But Riordan Roett with Johns Hopkins University says Chavez has turned ideological discrimination into a science. Hey, Bozo, take a look at Bush & Co. regarding lobbyists, prosecutors, contractors, appointees, CIA and FBI intelligence operatives, the White House press corps, etc. - It's generally recognized that Bush has "turned ideological discrimination into a science."
RIORDAN ROETT: It really has become a monstrous mechanism for placing fear in the hearts of many Venezuelans. Yeah, the former ruling class - the ones who haven't already fled - are justifiably crapping themselves.
Three and a half million people signed a petition against Chavez in 2003. That's about 14% of the total population, and doesn't even include the entire ruling class - 6% short.
ROETT: These people have now been identified as enemies of the state (enemies of the people). Many people have lost their job, others cannot be hired. It's also generated outward migration. People have begun to leave, and in relatively large numbers. What did I say?
Roett says the government is accused of using the list to screen applicants for social programs, scholarships, even credit from state banks. Golly, why shouldn't the wealthiest 20% get first shot at social programs, scholarships, and credit from state banks - instead of the losers in the 80% below the poverty level???
ROETT: And so it really has become a blacklist, almost in the way you had lists in totalitarian Europe in the 1930s. Notice that this American gink compares it to European totalitarianism. Later, the Venezuelan film maker slips up and compares it to McCarthyism (oops!!!).
The difference is this list takes advantage of 21st century technology. A simple computer program, searchable by name or ID number, contains the political preferences of 14 million Venezuelans. It's called the Maisanta program, after Chavez's great grandfather.
Venezuelan Communications Minister William Lara as well as Ambassador to the U.S Bernardo Alvarez declined requests for comment.
[SOUND: Chavez speaking]
Under international pressure, Chavez called for the list to be buried two years ago, saying it had outlived its usefulness.
The problem is, no one can be sure the list is truly buried. To this day, street vendors in Caracas sell the Maisanta program for about five bucks.
Regardless of whether the blacklist is actually being used, many people still think it is. That seed of doubt has infected the entire society. NO IT HASN'T!! There it is again: what affects the small minority that has, had, or would like to again have its boot on the neck of the masses is presented as infecting "THE ENTIRE SOCIETY." What bullshit!!! It never works the other way around.
FRANCISCO MORENO: That's the subtle part. That's the dangerous part. That's the sad part. For him.
Filmmaker Francisco Moreno made a documentary called "The List: A Society Under Suspicion."
MORENO: I could never know if I'm being denied the right to work, or being denied a contract with the government, or being denied a film grant, because those guys know that I signed. It's McCarthy all over again.
After she got fired, Rocio San Miguel has not been able to find work as an attorney. She's taken her evidence to the Venezuelan courts, but they're packed with Chavez supporters (Before Chavez they were packed with lapdogs to the privileged - AGAIN, which is better: law that serves the mass of people? Or law that serves a minority of oppressors??) . She's now waiting on an appeal to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
In Caracas, I'm Dan Grech for Marketplace. And we know that the MARKET is god!!
- Uke Man
The other day driving home I heard an NPR "Market Place" piece purporting to compare the Bush/Gonzales and Hugo Chavez policies on firing government employees. The performance gave credence to the point I've made before: The news is almost always presented from the perspective of the privileged.
Bush's firing of supporters (8 U.S. attorneys) who weren't aggressive enough against Democrats before the election is compared to Chavez' firing of public detractors ("on a much wider scale").
Then four members of the privileged class (2 Venezuelans [government lawyer & a film-maker] and 2 Americans [both capitalistic economists - see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riordan_Roett] ) weigh in with their self-interested, class-freighted comments.
You can listen to the piece at: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2007/04/10/PM200704106.html
The transcript is below. I've commented in red.
- Uke Man
KAI RYSSDAL: The House Judiciary Committee sent Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a little note today. Part of it was in Latin, though. The word "subpoena" was right at the top of the page. Congress is looking for more information about the firing of those eight U.S. attorneys as the controversy moves into the political arena.
There is a somewhat similar controversy going on in Venezuela. The politics of the two presidents involved, Chavez and Bush, couldn't be more different. But critics in Caracas say there it's blatant political discrimination happening against some government workers there, and on a much wider scale. The critics are the ones who, before Chavez, blatantly abused 80% of the population for personal gain, and would again if they could eliminate Chavez. From the Americas Desk at WLRN, Marketplace's Dan Grech reports.
DAN GRECH: Rocio San Miguel worked as an attorney for 13 years with the Venezuelan government. In December 2003, she signed a petition to recall President Hugo Chavez, who she felt was abusing his power. And keeping her from abusing hers.
Sorry, folks, but this poor little rich kid can't be too bright. Government jobs are GOVERNMENT jobs. In our country you won't keep your job long if you're signing recall petitions against your boss. And it's worse in the private sector.
The names of those who signed were leaked to a Chavez loyalist, Congressman Luis Tascon, and posted on his website.
[SOUND: Chavez on TV]
Chavez even promoted the site live on national TV. Sort of like having Robert Novak out Valerie Plame.
PRESIDENT CHAVEZ:Doble v doble v doble v punto luis tascon punto com. [www.luistascon.com] Metense alli.
One month after she signed, San Miguel was summoned into her boss's office.
ROCIO SAN MIGUEL [voice of translator]: He told me that, unfortunately, he had to fire me. He said, "How could it have occurred to you to sign against the guy who pays you?"
San Miguel experienced a cascade of emotions.
SAN MIGUEL: Indignation. Impotence. Anguish. I knew right away that something terrible was happening to me. And I began to collect evidence. Hmm. . . just like Wal-Mart employees fired for trying to start a union against their boss's wishes - but that's different.
San Miguel was one of three people in her office who signed the petition against Chavez. All three were fired. Duh!!! Try and recall what Tom Delay pulled regarding corporations hiring ONLY Republican lobyists.
The Venezuelan constitution forbids discriminating against employees for their political beliefs. Nonetheless, according to the Organization of American States, the Chavez administration has shown a growing "tendency to intimidate, harass, and stigmatize" the opposition. Our laws forbid the union-busting activities regularly practiced by outfits such as Wal-Mart, but the laws are never enforced. You don't hear much about THAT around here.
The public employees union in Venezuela documented 780 cases of political discrimination, including 200 firings. There are 25,375,000 Venezuelans. Eighty percent of them (or 20,300,000) are poor, and they have ALWAYS been discriminated against politically and otherwise. If 200 people have to be fired, 200 people who don't like Chavez working to help 20 MILLION people, that doesn't sound so bad to me. It's a lot better than the other way round.
Wesleyan University's Francisco Rodriguez says this amounts to economic blackmail. Sort of like the World Bank applies economic blackmail: "Screw your people over for our gain, or there will be a high cost; you're not going to have an economy; we'll screw all 25,375,281 of you."
FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ: OK, so you want to become an opponent of Chavez? That's going to have a high cost. You're not going to have a job. All 200 of you!!
Political patronage has always been part of the landscape here in Venezuela. But Riordan Roett with Johns Hopkins University says Chavez has turned ideological discrimination into a science. Hey, Bozo, take a look at Bush & Co. regarding lobbyists, prosecutors, contractors, appointees, CIA and FBI intelligence operatives, the White House press corps, etc. - It's generally recognized that Bush has "turned ideological discrimination into a science."
RIORDAN ROETT: It really has become a monstrous mechanism for placing fear in the hearts of many Venezuelans. Yeah, the former ruling class - the ones who haven't already fled - are justifiably crapping themselves.
Three and a half million people signed a petition against Chavez in 2003. That's about 14% of the total population, and doesn't even include the entire ruling class - 6% short.
ROETT: These people have now been identified as enemies of the state (enemies of the people). Many people have lost their job, others cannot be hired. It's also generated outward migration. People have begun to leave, and in relatively large numbers. What did I say?
Roett says the government is accused of using the list to screen applicants for social programs, scholarships, even credit from state banks. Golly, why shouldn't the wealthiest 20% get first shot at social programs, scholarships, and credit from state banks - instead of the losers in the 80% below the poverty level???
ROETT: And so it really has become a blacklist, almost in the way you had lists in totalitarian Europe in the 1930s. Notice that this American gink compares it to European totalitarianism. Later, the Venezuelan film maker slips up and compares it to McCarthyism (oops!!!).
The difference is this list takes advantage of 21st century technology. A simple computer program, searchable by name or ID number, contains the political preferences of 14 million Venezuelans. It's called the Maisanta program, after Chavez's great grandfather.
Venezuelan Communications Minister William Lara as well as Ambassador to the U.S Bernardo Alvarez declined requests for comment.
[SOUND: Chavez speaking]
Under international pressure, Chavez called for the list to be buried two years ago, saying it had outlived its usefulness.
The problem is, no one can be sure the list is truly buried. To this day, street vendors in Caracas sell the Maisanta program for about five bucks.
Regardless of whether the blacklist is actually being used, many people still think it is. That seed of doubt has infected the entire society. NO IT HASN'T!! There it is again: what affects the small minority that has, had, or would like to again have its boot on the neck of the masses is presented as infecting "THE ENTIRE SOCIETY." What bullshit!!! It never works the other way around.
FRANCISCO MORENO: That's the subtle part. That's the dangerous part. That's the sad part. For him.
Filmmaker Francisco Moreno made a documentary called "The List: A Society Under Suspicion."
MORENO: I could never know if I'm being denied the right to work, or being denied a contract with the government, or being denied a film grant, because those guys know that I signed. It's McCarthy all over again.
After she got fired, Rocio San Miguel has not been able to find work as an attorney. She's taken her evidence to the Venezuelan courts, but they're packed with Chavez supporters (Before Chavez they were packed with lapdogs to the privileged - AGAIN, which is better: law that serves the mass of people? Or law that serves a minority of oppressors??) . She's now waiting on an appeal to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
In Caracas, I'm Dan Grech for Marketplace. And we know that the MARKET is god!!
- Uke Man
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