Venezuela's Chavez says cancer has returned

[Dereich]

I'm not exactly a Chavez fan, but anybody that seriously believes he is a "dictator" (and isn't just trolling) moves up a great deal on my idiot scale. Is it the American media?

I'd say 99% of the times Venezuela is in the news here its either Chavez bashing the US, Chavez schmoozing with American enemies who don't tend to have the best democratic records (Putin, Castro, and Ahmadinejad come to mind), or Chavez engaging in quasi-undemocratic behavior, like failing to renew an opposition media's broadcasting license or giving himself power to make laws. I can't think of one thing Chavez has done that would get him positive news coverage in the United States. After all, most Americans would only really care about a small-time South American country for its unusual quirks or its policies that relate to us, both of which would be Chavez and his showy anti-Americanism. And from there its easy to link the dots of 1. He hates us 2. He likes dictators 3. He's not got a perfect democratic record and conclude that he's a dictator.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I'm not exactly a Chavez fan, but anybody that seriously believes he is a "dictator" (and isn't just trolling) moves up a great deal on my idiot scale. Is it the American media?

Ironically, those are often the same who praise Pinochet. Democracy matters a great deal to them, indeed.

[politicus]

I can't say I feel bad about this. Sounds like good news.

You're disgusting.

Cheering the news that a dictator has fallen ill and might not longer be in power is horrible now?

Chavez is a democratically elected president in a country where the opposition controls most of the media. His governing style may be authoritarian, but he is not a dictator.

Thanks.  I needed a good laugh.

You have no reason to laugh.
 
Its a fact that the government controls only 5% of the TV channels. The rest are overwhelmingly owned by a few Venezuelan upper class families that hates Chavez. Its true that they have to show some of his speeches and other government propaganda, but it is just 24 minutes a day on average and only the "true believers" watch that stuff.

Newspapers are also controlled by the Venezuelan upper class. In radio its more even, because there is a number of local radio stations run by cooperatives that supports Chavez. I would still say its 60/40 in favour of the opposition.
 
But TV is what matters in Venezuelan and its dominated by very Conservative capital interests and are highly critical towards Chavez.

About the TV market situation:

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/who-dominates-the-media-in-venezuela  

[k-onmmunist]

I'm not exactly a Chavez fan, but anybody that seriously believes he is a "dictator" (and isn't just trolling) moves up a great deal on my idiot scale. Is it the American media?

Ironically, those are often the same who praise Pinochet. Democracy matters a great deal to them, indeed.

pinochet and chavez aren't even comparable.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

TV is what matters in Venezuelan and its dominated by very Conservative capital interests and are highly critical towards Chavez.

About the TV market situation:

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/who-dominates-the-media-in-venezuela  

So you think the yanking of RCTV's broadcast license by Chavez for opposing him means that there is a dominant opposition media that is free from the threat of similar reprisals?  Thanks for giving me another laugh.

[politicus]

TV is what matters in Venezuelan and its dominated by very Conservative capital interests and are highly critical towards Chavez.

About the TV market situation:

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/who-dominates-the-media-in-venezuela  

So you think the yanking of RCTV's broadcast license by Chavez for opposing him means that there is a dominant opposition media that is free from the threat of similar reprisals?  Thanks for giving me another laugh.

If you knew how the Venezuelan opposition press actually operates you wouldn't ask that question. It is very anti-Government. Compares Chavez to Hitler etc.
The refusal to renew RCTVs license made a couple of other TV-stations tone it down a notch, but they are still highly critical of the regime.
Its a fact that the vast majority of the country's media outlets are owned by Chavez opponents.

[RogueBeaver]

He's designated VP Nicolas Madero as his successor, but some analyses I've read suggest that opinion might not be unanimous within ChavezWorld. Which if true is probably why Chavez did it publicly: tell everyone to shut up and get behind Madero, who'd just be a different face in policy terms.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

TV is what matters in Venezuelan and its dominated by very Conservative capital interests and are highly critical towards Chavez.

About the TV market situation:

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/who-dominates-the-media-in-venezuela  

So you think the yanking of RCTV's broadcast license by Chavez for opposing him means that there is a dominant opposition media that is free from the threat of similar reprisals?  Thanks for giving me another laugh.

If you knew how the Venezuelan opposition press actually operates you wouldn't ask that question. It is very anti-Government. Compares Chavez to Hitler etc.
The refusal to renew RCTVs license made a couple of other TV-stations tone it down a notch, but they are still highly critical of the regime.
Its a fact that the vast majority of the country's media outlets are owned by Chavez opponents.

They'd already toned down, as you so charmingly put it, before RCTV got its license pulled and its broadcast assets seized.  That RCTV didn't kowtow to Chavez is why it got the shaft.  They may still be owned by his opponents, but they don't dare make too many waves lest they too get their assets nationalized for céntimos on the bolivar.  Chavez likes to pretend that he's a democrat, but he isn't.  Granted, he's not a Kim, Castro, or Mugabe.  Probably the world leader whose style is closest to what his is Putin, except he hasn't been as successful at it as Putin has been. Tho it hasn't been for lack of trying.

[Frodo]

He's designated VP Nicolas Madero as his successor, but some analyses I've read suggest that opinion might not be unanimous within ChavezWorld. Which if true is probably why Chavez did it publicly: tell everyone to shut up and get behind Madero, who'd just be a different face in policy terms.

What do we know about Nicolas Madero? Is he more of a Lula da Silva moderate? 

[RogueBeaver]

The answer's right in that quote: he's just a different face on Chavismo. Big advocate of closer ties with Iran/Russia/Syria, used to be foreign minister. He probably doesn't have Chavez's charisma or political skills though.

[politicus]

TV is what matters in Venezuelan and its dominated by very Conservative capital interests and are highly critical towards Chavez.

About the TV market situation:

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/who-dominates-the-media-in-venezuela  

So you think the yanking of RCTV's broadcast license by Chavez for opposing him means that there is a dominant opposition media that is free from the threat of similar reprisals?  Thanks for giving me another laugh.

If you knew how the Venezuelan opposition press actually operates you wouldn't ask that question. It is very anti-Government. Compares Chavez to Hitler etc.
The refusal to renew RCTVs license made a couple of other TV-stations tone it down a notch, but they are still highly critical of the regime.
Its a fact that the vast majority of the country's media outlets are owned by Chavez opponents.

They'd already toned down, as you so charmingly put it, before RCTV got its license pulled and its broadcast assets seized.  That RCTV didn't kowtow to Chavez is why it got the shaft.  They may still be owned by his opponents, but they don't dare make too many waves lest they too get their assets nationalized for céntimos on the bolivar.  Chavez likes to pretend that he's a democrat, but he isn't.  Granted, he's not a Kim, Castro, or Mugabe.  Probably the world leader whose style is closest to what his is Putin, except he hasn't been as successful at it as Putin has been. Tho it hasn't been for lack of trying.

I think you are changing the subject. I never said Chavez was a perfect democrat. What I said was that he is democratically elected (in elections that international observers consider free) and that his opponents control most of the press. This was the allegation that you chose to ridicule apparently only based on one single case (that is more complex than you portray it since they were probably guilty of supporting the 2002 coup, which makes the governments actions somewhat legitimate).

I doubt you have been to Venezuela. The opposition press is mostly very anti-Chavez and very right wing with a shrill tone (think Fox News times five). With "tone it down" I meant stop spreading wild allegations without any evidence and stop calling the government a dictatorship five times a day. I don't really consider that a loss to freedom of the press since most of the stuff they cut down on was libelous.
Chavez doesn't have anywhere near the control over the press that Putin has in Russia (if he did the Venezuelan media woud be very different!). Remember that he may have the political power, but the entire economic elite in the country is against him often using very heavy handed methods themselves (including violence against political opponents, grassroots organizations and poor people). Venezuela is a complex country and not nearly as black and white as it is portrayed in the American media. There are few good guys or moderates in this wretched but beautifull country.
 

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Good.  Chavez is nothing more than a wannabe dictator, and getting him out of power is a step forward.  Now if only we could weaken his ideology into irrelevance.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

What I said was that he is democratically elected (in elections that international observers consider free) and that his opponents control most of the press. This was the allegation that you chose to ridicule apparently only based on one single case (that is more complex than you portray it since they were probably guilty of supporting the 2002 coup, which makes the governments actions somewhat legitimate).

They were far from the only media outlet for which the charge of supporting the 2002 coup could be leveled, but they were the only one that didn't try to kiss and makeup to some degree with Chavez after the coup failed.  RCTV is the most glaring example of what Chavez has done to muzzle the opposition using government power, which is why I made it the centerpiece.

[Velasco]

I just HATE Chavez-related topics...

After reading some posts here, I'm starting to feel in the same way. Even when you try not to be a hack, discussions concerning Chávez always turn into a matter of love-to-hate.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I'm not exactly a Chavez fan, but anybody that seriously believes he is a "dictator" (and isn't just trolling) moves up a great deal on my idiot scale. Is it the American media?

Ironically, those are often the same who praise Pinochet. Democracy matters a great deal to them, indeed.

Not really often, outside of a few internet sites.  I'd say the majority of Americans who know about both rightly consider both to be horrible authoritarian scumbags. There's more Chavez love on the left than there is Pinochet love on the right, even in America.

[Leftbehind]

Perhaps because:
 

pinochet and chavez aren't even comparable.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

TV is what matters in Venezuelan and its dominated by very Conservative capital interests and are highly critical towards Chavez.

About the TV market situation:

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/who-dominates-the-media-in-venezuela  

So you think the yanking of RCTV's broadcast license by Chavez for opposing him means that there is a dominant opposition media that is free from the threat of similar reprisals?  Thanks for giving me another laugh.

If you knew how the Venezuelan opposition press actually operates you wouldn't ask that question. It is very anti-Government. Compares Chavez to Hitler etc.
The refusal to renew RCTVs license made a couple of other TV-stations tone it down a notch, but they are still highly critical of the regime.
Its a fact that the vast majority of the country's media outlets are owned by Chavez opponents.

They'd already toned down, as you so charmingly put it, before RCTV got its license pulled and its broadcast assets seized.  That RCTV didn't kowtow to Chavez is why it got the shaft.  They may still be owned by his opponents, but they don't dare make too many waves lest they too get their assets nationalized for céntimos on the bolivar.  Chavez likes to pretend that he's a democrat, but he isn't.  Granted, he's not a Kim, Castro, or Mugabe.  Probably the world leader whose style is closest to what his is Putin, except he hasn't been as successful at it as Putin has been. Tho it hasn't been for lack of trying.

I think you are changing the subject. I never said Chavez was a perfect democrat. What I said was that he is democratically elected (in elections that international observers consider free) and that his opponents control most of the press. This was the allegation that you chose to ridicule apparently only based on one single case (that is more complex than you portray it since they were probably guilty of supporting the 2002 coup, which makes the governments actions somewhat legitimate).

I doubt you have been to Venezuela. The opposition press is mostly very anti-Chavez and very right wing with a shrill tone (think Fox News times five). With "tone it down" I meant stop spreading wild allegations without any evidence and stop calling the government a dictatorship five times a day. I don't really consider that a loss to freedom of the press since most of the stuff they cut down on was libelous.
Chavez doesn't have anywhere near the control over the press that Putin has in Russia (if he did the Venezuelan media woud be very different!). Remember that he may have the political power, but the entire economic elite in the country is against him often using very heavy handed methods themselves (including violence against political opponents, grassroots organizations and poor people). Venezuela is a complex country and not nearly as black and white as it is portrayed in the American media. There are few good guys or moderates in this wretched but beautifull country.
 

Ok, I'll bite....how do you seemingly know so much about Venzuela?

[Velasco]

Ok, I'll bite....how do you seemingly know so much about Venzuela?

How much do you know, leaving aside what US media tell us about Chavez? Politicus is somewhere near to be right when points the aggressive anti-Chavez tone of the opposition controlled media. On the other hand Chavez have tried to counterbalance the audiovisual panorama, for example when he didn't renew the radio broadcast license to RCTV (Radio Caracas Televisión). This broadcaster was accused of inciting the failed coup d'etat in 2002. RCTV's signal was replaced by TVES (Televisora Venezolana Social or Venezuelan Social Television), owned by a foundation depending on the Government of Venezuela. Nowadays RCTV is a cable network. Another state-owned channels are VTV (Venezolana de Televisión, producer of Aló Presidente), teleSUR (pan-american channel) or ViVe (cultural network). However, the state television has a very low audience share and the most viewed are Televen (politically neutral until the arrival of Chávez, then in the opposition and finally decided to become neutral again after 2004) and Venevisión (openly anti-Chávez). Needless to say that the most successful products are telenovelas or soap operas.

[Niemeyerite]

I'm not exactly a Chavez fan, but anybody that seriously believes he is a "dictator" (and isn't just trolling) moves up a great deal on my idiot scale. Is it the American media?

This.

I supported Capriles, I don't really like Chavez, but he was just reelected with a 11-point margin of victory in a more democratic electoral system than we have in Spain and you have in the USA (popular vote winner is elected President).

Chávez, I hope you get well back as soon as possible Hoping for someone's death (even if it's Aznar, GWB or Basescu we're talking about) is disgusting, even more if you consider yourself religious.

An atheist.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I'm not exactly a Chavez fan, but anybody that seriously believes he is a "dictator" (and isn't just trolling) moves up a great deal on my idiot scale. Is it the American media?

Ironically, those are often the same who praise Pinochet. Democracy matters a great deal to them, indeed.

pinochet and chavez aren't even comparable.

Never said they were. I just noted the hypocrisy.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Ok, I'll bite....how do you seemingly know so much about Venzuela?

How much do you know

Not much and my question wasn't rhetorical or meant to demean in any way.  So maybe he'll answer when he gets around to it. 

[Tender Branson]

After reading Nicolás Maduro's biography in the "Standard" recently, it seems that he's the Will Riker of Venezuela politics ...

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

After reading Nicolás Maduro's biography in the "Standard" recently, it seems that he's the Will Riker of Venezuela politics ...

While that's better than being the Troi, I don't see Chavez as the Picard.

[Bacon King]

On VP Maduro, from Wikipedia:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

lol

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

On VP Maduro, from Wikipedia:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

lol

So he's in keeping with the quite literally homophobic tradition of the Cuban and Bolivarian Revolutions.