Hello, I am writing from Venezuela to ask that you support us in the
struggle to keep our president, the first decent one we've ever had,
from being ousted by corrupt rich people, including the US gov which
needs control of our oil to go fight its war in the middle east.
Read the article below from Voice4Change, and you can follow its
instructions on how to call the State Department venezuelan desk.
Call and tell them to stay away from us! and that you support
President Hugo Chavez. Details on his work below. Also, check out:

http://www.narconews.com which has some excelent articles,
especially one at the bottom called 'The Rich Man's Strike'

Love to all, Vanessa from maracaibo, Venezuela

The Committee In Solidarity With The People of El Salvador is
joining the Nicaraguan Network in issuing an Action Alert over the
escalating crisis in Venezuela. At the end of this article there is
an "unedited" letter from Caracus which warns of a dirty war
continuing to escalate in the country. Call the State Department and
let the U.S. government know that we are monitoring U.S. complicity
in the Venezuelan crisis and call for respect for the elected
government of the country. =====CALL THE STATE DEPARTMENT ON
VENEZUELA!===== As the political crisis worsens in Venezuela, our
government remains silent. We invite you to join a call to urge the
Bush administration to make a clear statement against
unconstitutional and violent means to resolve the current crisis and
explain that it will not tolerate a coup government and will not
have diplomatic or normal commercial relations with any coup-
installed government.

For more information, contact Katherine Hoyt at the Nicaragua
Network e-mail nicanet@afgj.org or Marya Murray at
murraydiaz@cepr.net.

READ AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ALERT a moving letter from Peter
Maybarduk written from Caracas on December 3rd. At the end of the
letter, he says, "Do not leave Venezuela out to hang. Help us get to
the next elections. Help keep the constitution intact." Elsewhere in
the letter, he says, "Barrio residents claim that social services
are arriving to their communities for the first time ever, farmers
are receiving microcredit loans of $1000-$2000 for the first time
ever, and the government has begun a "Bolivarian School" program
that ensures students receive meals during the school day." He goes
on to say, "For the first time in Venezuela?s history, they know
their rights; they have learned to organize themselves into civic
organizations to advocate for them, and they will not walk back to
the barrios quietly."

Call the Venezuela desk at the State Department and talk to the desk
officer Brian Naranjo. Try either or both of these two numbers:
(202) 647-4216
(202) 647-3338.
If you get a message machine, leave a brief message similar to the
first paragraph below. If you are able to talk to Brian Naranjo or
other State Department official, you can expand your message, using
some of the other material below.

Tell him that the U.S. government should state unequivocally that
the United States government opposes any attempt to remove the
democratically elected government of Venezuela by a military coup or
other unconstitutional means. Furthermore, the Bush administration
should affirm that the United States would not have diplomatic or
normal commercial relations with a coup-installed government.
Tell the State Department that the silence of the White House since
the military coup of April 11, which the administration appeared to
endorse, is widely interpreted as support for further coup attempts.
We are concerned that this perception reduces the incentive for
opposition leaders and the Chavez government to pursue dialogue or
peaceful solution to the current crisis.
We are also concerned that, while senior officials at the White
House have maintained their silence, Otto Reich, currently the State
Department's special envoy to the Western Hemisphere, recently
singled out the Venezuelan government for criticism, stating
that "an election is not sufficient to call a country a democracy."
This was an unusual departure from diplomatic protocol, and in light
of the April coup, has made Venezuelan government officials even
more suspicious of Washington's motives.
The current Bush administration silence on its opposition to a
military coup or any other possible unconstitutional overthrow of
Venezuela's democratically elected government is seen throughout
Venezuela and elsewhere as support for such illegal actions.
Opposition leaders who are determined to overthrow the government
have little incentive to pursue dialogue or a peaceful solution, if
they believe that the United States government will support them no
matter what they do.
The U.S. government should demonstrate its ongoing and active
support for democratically elected governments. Only a strong
statement of condemnation from the White House explaining that the
U.S. opposes violent and unconstitutional actions, will not tolerate
a coup government and will impose sanctions upon any coup-installed
government, will send the right democratic message to Venezuelan
political actors as well as other governments in Latin America.
We therefore call upon the White House to make its position clear,
before Venezuela slides closer to the brink of civil war.
**************************************************
Letter from Caracas
By Peter Maybarduk
Hello,
I hope to give you a hurried analysis of Venezuela's political
turmoil, why it matters, its roots and possible future. I will be
leaving for the Orinoco Delta this afternoon, so please do not take
this as comprehensive.
Yesterday marked the fourth national strike in under a year on the
part of an ?Opposition? coalition, in hopes of removing the
President of the Republic, Hugo Chavez Frías, from power, either
through his renunciation, capture, death or flight from power. In
April, an opposition march in the hundreds of thousands provided
cover for a coup attempt that saw Chavez removed from power for
twenty-four hours, before widespread demonstrations on his behalf
and signs of support from divisions of the armed forces saw him
returned to power.
Chavez was elected in 1998 by an electorate fed up with 40 years of
corruption under a two-party controlled democracy. His sweeping
reforms included a new constitution, unparalleled in the world for
its guarantees of civic participation in local and national
governance, civil liberties, limitations on the police state and
indigenous rights, among others. Though the Movimiento Quinta
República government has not instituted significant socialist
policies and certainly no communist policies, Chavez? rhetoric and
long speeches in which he challenges Venezuela?s ?oligarchs? added
to his friendship with Fidel Castro inspired the contempt of
Venezuelan business leaders and significant sections of Venezuela?s
professional class, who have historically aligned themselves with
the United States governmental and entertainment culture and
economic structure to the point that they have sometimes neglected
their own. Chavez also has Afro-Indian physical features and speaks
to Venezuelan citizens informally in his speeches, making jokes with
exaggerated body language. Many Venezuelans identify with his
personable presence, but again, those who have learned to look up to
George Bush and Bill Clinton as models of Presidents believe Chavez
to be unprofessional and a disgrace.
These constitute the primary grievances against Hugo Chavez. Though
he has not devised any economic or social policy that would send
Venezuela into a tailspin, diplomatic failures on his part have been
met by the acidic bitterness of powerful business and media leaders
as well as the leaders of the political parties the MVR successfully
dislodged. This coalition formed the basis of the Opposition, that
some years ago planned and launched a prolonged civic-industrial
siege to remove the President that lasts until the present.
Support for Chavez in the poor districts of Caracas is exceptionally
high, and also quite high in most rural regions of the country. In
addition to the universally popular constitution, the government has
engaged in numerous infrastructure projects that have (I have seen
for myself) penetrated nearly all regions of the country. Barrio
residents claim that social services are arriving to their
communities for the first time ever, farmers are receiving
microcredit loans of $1000-$2000 for the first time ever, and the
government has begun a ?Bolivarian School? program that ensures
students receive meals during the school day. But support for the
government has been falling for at least a year as the Opposition
media campaign has managed to paint a markedly false picture of the
President as a dictator. When Venezuela?s economy, which had tapered
slowly for two decades, tanked after April?s coup, many Venezuelans
blamed Chavez. It is difficult to know what percentage of the
population continues to support the government " there are no
reliable polls " but it is clear that both support, opposition and
sectors who believe all parties to the conflict are crooks are
numerous, strong and committed.
Since April, much attention has been given to political street
conflict in Venezuela. At present the media shows endless images of
National Guard (pro-Chavez) violence against demonstrators as it
paints the Metropolitan Police (opposition controlled) as heroes of
the people. This is misleading to say the least, as the Caracas
Metropolitan Police are the most brutal police force I have ever
encountered. After the April 11 coup, police forces killed perhaps
40 government supporters while trying to strengthen the hold of
Pedro Carmona?s short-lived government. In 1989 they were
responsible for the worst massacre of democratic Venezuela?s
history ? between 300 and 2000 people were killed. I have been tear-
gassed by the PM (as the police are called) simply being in the
wrong place at the wrong time, as they broke up a strike led by some
of their fellow officers who were tired of the politicization of
their mandate. The PM routinely fire on demonstrators with live
ammunition (I have had to hide behind brick walls), and on any given
day walking in the barrios or Centro of Caracas, one can find
civilians who have at some point in the last year been shot by the
PM, and bear the casts to prove it. As the street conflict, which
also features pro-government supporters throwing molotov cocktails
at the PM, grew ever more dangerous, the national government three
weeks ago called in the National Guard to replace the PM and calm
Caracas. The opposition has used this to record images of a
militarized Caracas, to add support to their ?dictatorship? story.
But for those of us who travel through, live in or work in the
center of Caracas, we feel safe for the first time in months.
Many of us fear that another coup- or an attempt to petition for
international intervention to depose the government - may be around
the corner. Chavez will not under any circumstances resign. Even if
he did not have a martyr complex or did not believe in his
revolution and somehow wanted to resign, he couldn?t: there are
several million dirt-poor Venezuelans who are depending on him to
remain in office and would be happy to lay down their lives for the
new constitution. For the first time in Venezuela?s history, they
know their rights; they have learned to organize themselves into
civic organizations to advocate for them, and they will not walk
back to the barrios quietly. Similarly, opposition rhetoric grows
ever more vehement, its actions more resolute, and many average
Venezuelans, tired of the conflict, tired of strikes, tired of
unemployment, just want Chavez out. And that is totally
understandable. It would even be for the best, if he were followed
by a diplomatic figure acceptable to the profession l class but
committed to the constitution and the type of civic participation
MVR has introduced. But that will not happen.
A dirty war is brewing in Venezuela. I am hopeful that it will never
come to that point. But the nature of the present strike pressed me
to write now, in the case that another coup is on the way. For if
this government falls, the government that replaces it will have to
put down an insurrectionary public ? and that may mean martial law,
mass arrest or even mass ?disappearances.? We just can?t know now.
But it is critical that those concerned for the fate of the 25
million people living in this country do not wait until we have a
true dictatorship to denounce what has transpired here. Nostalgia is
easy but it helps no one. I realize that the Venezuelan government
has been repeatedly criticized by the international media, and has
little support abroad. But that is why I am writing today. I am not
a Chavista. I believe Chavez has made tremendous errors by making
unnecessary enemies, and provoking them to take their investment
elsewhere and try to foment a coup in their own nation. But the fact
remains: this government has made good policy. It has given rights
to those who never had them. It has provided civic infrastructure
that allows communities to petition their local governments for
resources to build schools and athletic fields, and for the first
time in Venezuela?s history, people are doing it. Your average man,
whichever side he may take, is informed about his ability to affect
local government policy. He is a citizen, in the critical and active
Greek sense of the term. This is the first government under which I
have ever lived ? I have lived under nine - that I cannot find
culpable for violations of human rights. There is no dictatorship in
Venezuela ? freedom of the press, freedom of commerce and political
pluralism are absolutely guaranteed. Venezuela in 2002 is the freest
country in which I have ever lived, and the only threat to that is
the possibility of a coup.
Venezuelans have a term ? el proceso ? that refers to the process of
weeding out corruption and fomenting the further involvement of
citizens in all levels of governance. A democratic process, a
process of greater rights and greater freedoms. This is what I
support. I support the constitution. I am fearful that the next
government may not. When Pedro Carmona came to power in April, they
instantly dissolved the constitution and ordered out from power
every elected representative of MVR in the country. They immediately
began to seek out and arrest alleged ?Chavistas.?
The Venezuelan government has many faults ? it lost the support
early on of allies it needed for its success. But Venezuela?s
economic troubles and civil unrest are not the result of government
policy but of a power struggle power between government supporters
and the opposition. The opposition has led a two year campaign of
gross misstatement, false analogies and relentless propaganda in an
effort to incite urban chaos and depose Chavez. The opposition
coalition sometimes impresses foreign spectators because it includes
labor and church ?leaders? ? but the leaders are often anathema to
the ostensible objectives of their civic organizations. That is to
say, many, perhaps most, of the CTV union?s members recognize Carlos
Ortega as an "escualido" [squalid or filthy one] with a vested
interest and in no way a leader of their own. Opposition leaders
claim that the government has lost its ability to govern, but at the
same time hope only to ensure that this inability continues.
Reporters for Venezuelan TV stations are not allowed to report on
incidents that might portray the government in a positive light. If
Venezuela were a dictatorship, I doubt opponents would be allowed to
denounce the government on television 24 hours a day. Opposition
media is screaming to the international community that we have chaos
in Venezuela, but the truth is, for the moment, all is calm. Only
opposition-led strikes, propaganda, and "caceralazos" [pot bangers]
in the heart of Caracas bring instability to a nation whose rural
residents, whatever their political opinions, want tranquility, and
at least for now, still have it. It is perfectly safe to travel
here, safe to live and work. And as long as the government does not
fall, it will remain so. The behavior of opposition leaders does not
indicate to me love of country or concern for the average
Venezuelan. I would be happy to see a transition in Venezuela, but
not with bitter and violent hearts like Carlos Ortega or Alfredo
Peña in power. I would fear for my own life.
If you have read this far, thank you. In the future I will aim to
refine my thoughts further. It is difficult to describe and
correctly interpret all that is happening here, it is endlessly
complex, with many possible points of view. But the point is this:
do not believe everything that you read. Thankfully, millions of
Venezuelans manage not to, and form their own information networks.
The media in this country has such remarkable control over news
reports abroad that the international media often reports opposition
propaganda as though it were news. Do not leave Venezuela out to
hang. Help us get to the next elections. Help keep the constitution
intact. Peter Maybarduk December 3, 2002
CISPES - Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador
8124 West 3rd Street No. 104
L.A., Ca 90048
www.cispes.org