Cartoon by Rayma
Today’s spectacle at the Organization of American States was truly shameful for anyone that believes in free speech and the basic rights of people. The Government of Panama had graciously given up its representation to have opposition’s Maria Corina Machado to speak at the OAS in representation of the opposition, to present the case of the repression and the lack of democratic rights that Venezuelans face today.
And instead of accepting that fact, this club that seems to represent the so called “leaders” of Latin American and the Caribbean, proceeded to vote on whether Machado’s speech should be made in a public or in a private forum. In the end, 22 countries voted against the public forum and only 11 voted in favor.
Ironic and depressing that in order to listen to charges of censorship and repression, the representatives of these so called “democracies” had to start by protecting the repressor, Dictator Nicolas Maduro, violating not only the Charter of the OAS, but Ms. Machado’s rights and that of the opposition to be heard in a forum which is supposed to be there to defend the basic rights of people across the Americas.
And while I can understand the strong dependency of the weak Caribbean economies on the stupid (or is it?) largesse of the even more stupid revolution, I was most disappointed at how so many of these Latin American countries were ready to prostitute themselves in order to protect their mercantile interests. It is remarkable how low these mostly leftists Governments have fallen. Despite being democratically elected, they were not willing to give a voice to the over 50% of Venezuelans that find themselves discriminated against and repressed by the Maduro Dictatorship.
And in doing so, they are trying to defend the most repressive Government, save for Cuba, to have risen in the region in the last two decades. How these representatives and their Governments can sleep at night is beyond me, more so when some of them were victims of similar repression in the past.
But somehow they are short sighted enough in thinking that this will not happen again in their countries and that their commercial interests are being protected by their unethical actions. Both premises are actually wrong. As the world turns, their countries may swing back to repression and they may need the same type of solidarity Venezuela’ opposition deserves today. But more importantly, their belief that their actions in support of the Maduro Dictatorship will somehow lead to payment of Venezuela’s debts with their countries or companies is simply wrong. As stated by Minister Ramirez or the President of the Central Bank, Nelson Merentes, there is no money to pay anything but the foreign currency budget they have established for the year 2014.
So, forget it! You will not collect under Dictator Maduro. In fact, you would probably have a better chance under a change in Government that would put order in the economy and reduce some of the absurd subsidies present in the Venezuelan economy. Only in this case, could Venezuela receive loans and cut subsidies which would, with very strict management, allow it to pay its debts with these countries, that so easily supported what can not be supported under any moral framework.
But in the end, these mediocre diplomats really blew it. For one thing, Machado’s visit captured even more attention by the refusal to receive her publicly. CNN would not have interviewed her as prominently as they did today. And via that press conference and the distribution of the video she meant to show at the OAS, Machado has made her point and is likely to make it even stronger in the upcoming days.
Here is the video she meant to show to these diplomats who think the world is static:
And it was pitiful to see Brasil’s representative justifying the ¡e private session because of Machado’s “circus”. A circus composed of herself, an elected Deputy of the Venezuelan National Assembly who is likely to have her immunity lifted and jailed upon her return, a student representing the more than 1,600 students jailed so far in one month of protests and a mother. A mother whose daughter was killed by the repressive forces of the Maduro Dictatorship. A mother who is still grieving but thought and believed she would find compassion and understanding in a forum that under normal circumstances is supposed to defend the rights of the people of the Americas.
Instead, she was laughed at and labeled a “circus”. Brasil’s leaders are not as close to God as they may erroneously think.
And this grieving mother was not even allowed to speak and was forcibly removed from the press room of the OAS.
Does it get more shameful and depressing than that?
And while Brasil has proven that it does not have the moral stature to call itself a leader of the region, others have shown to have more dignity, morals and leadership. Starting with Panama, who gave Machado the chance to speak, even if she was silenced by the OAS, using the same censorship techniques that the Maduro Government has so effectively used. And following with these countries:
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
USA
Guatemala
Honduras
México
Paraguay
Perú
who seem to understand that one day, they may face the same situation and they would like the same support they gave today to the Venezuelan opposition. I want to thank all of them for their respect of human rights and for their transparent behavior, even if they face the same commercial problems in their interactions with the Venezuelan Government.
Most of the Mercosur countries showed that the letter of their charter is worthless as democracy is simply irrelevant, as had been shown previously in their eagerness and perverted acceptance of Venezuelan into their club of undesirables. But they ratify it today. They could care less. So do we.
To us, they simply show how corrupt, unprincipled and unethical they are.
Let them be punished and judged by history and by their people!
The Devil's Excrement 
April 3, 2014 at 2:53 pm
Hey There Devilsexcrement,
Neat Post, uk airbus
I look forward to your next post
ukairbus
March 26, 2014 at 7:56 am
Why is the UK Guardian so chavismo-friendly ?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/20/venezuela-revolt-truth-not-terror-campaign?commentpage=1
March 26, 2014 at 10:38 am
The Guardian is a leftist newspaper.
March 25, 2014 at 6:05 pm
Wow, the Cucuta greenback jumped from 58 to 72 today, after having dropped from a high around 83 a couple of weeks ago.
March 25, 2014 at 3:14 am
¿Queréis reiros?
Mercenary “economist” Weisbrot:
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/the-americas-blog/venezuelas-black-market-dollar-plummets-on-news-of-new-exchange-rate-mechanism?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAmericasBlog+%28The+Americas+Blog%29
The bloke is really preposterous.
March 25, 2014 at 7:52 am
Kep,
Just consider how desperate he must be feeling, about now. If the Chavistas fall, he might actually have to work for a living. And I don’t think his “economic acumen” is going to cut it in the real world. It would serve him right if he ended up washing dishes somewhere.
March 25, 2014 at 11:39 pm
Kep,
Even dishwashers have conviction and honesty. Weisbrothel ended up on the hell’s fork.
March 25, 2014 at 1:43 pm
Is Mr Weisbrot’s point that the USD black market rate causes inflation at the same level? I would rather argue that inflation has an effect on the exchange rate in the black market. And exchange controls is the cause of the black market.
March 26, 2014 at 6:24 pm
Imagine if Kepler worked for the next decade of govt! wink wink
March 24, 2014 at 4:39 pm
At the moment, I happen to need Bs. and no one is selling, because everyone is holding their breath to see what happens. Coño…!
March 24, 2014 at 5:11 pm
They think they are going to get more dollars? Cono
March 25, 2014 at 6:02 am
Roy, I’m in the same boat. My normal sources are virtually closed due to lack of inventory & no cash flow.
March 24, 2014 at 2:28 pm
Yes, the problem is what will the volume be in that market.
March 24, 2014 at 2:20 pm
Whether it works or not, at least a closer value to the dollar.
March 24, 2014 at 2:10 pm
The Government had given indications it was thinking 50, the first transaction fro Bs. 55 was for US$ 50,000, it closed at Bs. 50.8 or something like that, in line with expectations. But the volume is irrelevant. Let’s see what happens when people start requesting millions daily.
March 24, 2014 at 1:35 pm
Miguel,
I was shocked to read that SICAD 2 is selling dollars today at Bs. 55. I think everyone was expecting 30. At that rate, they could actually compete with the black market, or replace the black market. What is your take on this?
March 24, 2014 at 9:32 am
We’re at DisneyWorld this week, and Saturday night, my wife and younger son went to see Jarabe de Palo at the House of Blues. (I know as much about Jarabe de Palo as I know about Mozart, so I passed.)
Well, he’s a Spaniard, and he made an impassioned plea and prayer for what’s happening in Venezuela, so the world IS still listening and watching. And although I don’t know exactly what HE said, in general, here’s the problem I seem to have with most celebrity involvement:
It’s generally too neutral, only asking for peace, and doesn’t attack the administration enough.
Yeah, I know, it wouldn’t do much good anyway, but I still want to hear it–and I think Maduro is way shallow enough for this type of criticism to really embarrass him.
March 24, 2014 at 5:10 am
This is probably the most shameful action taken against free of speech in the region. Regarding Brasil, as the British said many years ago” it is a country full of opportunities but it will always be”
March 24, 2014 at 1:49 am
Please somebody explain.-
1- Senators Menendez and Rubio, a week ago, introduce a resolution deploring violence in Venezuela, calling for full accountability for human rights violations and urging the President to immediately impose targeted sanctions, including visa bans and asset freezes, against individuals planning, facilitating, or perpetrating gross human rights violations against peaceful demonstrators and other members of civil society in Venezuela.
2- In the House of Representatives, Ros-Lethinen, Mario Diaz-Balart and Joe Garcia also introduce a resolution deploring violence in Venezuela and calling for sanctions against Maduro regime officials connected to human rights abuses in Venezuela.
But tonight, surprise, all of a sudden in Venezuela, we get news from the department of state:
“ Notification March 23, 2014
We regret that as a result of the expulsion of several consular officials and Venezuelan government delays in issuing visas for incoming officers, the U.S. Embassy in Caracas does not have sufficient consular staff at present to continue to schedule appointments for first-time tourist (B-1/B-2) visa applicants. Until further notice, we are able to offer such appointments only in emergency situations.”
I´m perplexed…….
This kind of decision only punishes the Venezuelan people and strengthens the Maduro government.
Is Obama´s government seeking a realignment with Maduro?
Is it another symptom of Congress and Obama´s dysfunctional government?
Has to do with Michelle playing ping pong in China?
March 24, 2014 at 2:12 am
VJ, did you read the Venezuelan news? It is not up to the US.
The Maduro government is denying accreditations for foreign personnel. Already Ireland’s one-man consulate had to close.
Maduro has denied permits for US employees to go to Venezuela and work. I am sure they are understaffed now.
March 24, 2014 at 7:51 am
Putting current staffing problems aside, does any of this point to any changes in the issuances of work or resident visas? Negative OR positive?
With VZ so closely linked to Cuba in the rational minds of anyone, is anything on the horizon where the max numbers would be upped for Venezuelans?
March 24, 2014 at 6:32 pm
In addition to what Kepler said, the U.S. also does not want a flood of Venezuelan refugees.
March 23, 2014 at 2:08 pm
OT: Miguel, is an economic contraction that puts several hundred thousand out of work in the cards? Then you have the makings of a real revolution. When the regime runs out of cash and hundreds of thousands become unemployed, the end will be nearer. It may get nasty as the unemployed become the resistance. Sort of like when Paul Bremer fired the Iraqi army recreating the resistance in the process. One can make the argument they are doing this on purpose. It’s their internal house cleaning for the revolution to survive another ten years.
March 24, 2014 at 1:07 am
Ben,
It’s almost impossible for the private sector to sack people, unless the company owners want to give away their companies to the government.
The government shall keep most of its employees, even if salaries will be paid late and a lot of people will be FURTHER employed as permanent temporal contractors or the like. Basically the government wants to make everyone a beggar-employee of the State, like in Cuba.
Of course, things will become more difficult to manage but I suppose the government expects most of those who would not take it to get away from the country…just like in Cuba and Belarus.
March 23, 2014 at 12:41 pm
. . . .¿Otra Piñata mas?
las operaciones del Sistema Cambiario Alternativo de Divisas (Sicad 2)
Leer más en: http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/tres-requisitos-pediran-para-participar-en-el-sica.aspx#ixzz2woCBI9Az
March 23, 2014 at 11:31 am
Great aerial video of the #22M opposition march in Caracas.
March 23, 2014 at 9:57 am
The first mistake in OAS is to accept a vote from such crap countries like Jamaica , Grenada and Guyana to add up like USA + Canada + Mexico.. 500 millions people representatives against less than one tenth of the,, or worse, only 1 percent GPI.. it is insane at all..Venezuela buy cheap votes from cheap people with cheap or free oil that is it,, US must stop paying higher cash contributions to finance OAS expenses and salaries, let crap countries equally pay for them, stop any contribution to help crap countries supporting Venezuela and Cuba..
March 23, 2014 at 10:49 am
you make an interesting point, Carlos. I wonder when that 1 vote = 1 country, no matter what its population is, came into effect.
March 23, 2014 at 4:57 am
I don’t think Brazilian ambassador Breno Dias da Costa labelled MCM a circus; he said they didn’t need this issue (having MCM give her talk) turning the OAS into a circus; ironically that is exactly what the have achieved (or at least cemented the already held belief)
March 22, 2014 at 11:01 pm
I wonder how Geraldine’s mother is fairing. What a mindfuck this trip must have been for her. Strings where pulled to get her to DC and what for? Poor lady.
March 29, 2014 at 4:23 am
I met with Rosa Orozco (Geraldine’s Mother) during her stay in DC. For a woman who recently lost her child she is holding up remarkably well.
She came to DC because she wanted to, not because she was brought along like some 5 year old with no say in the matter.
There was no “mindfuck”. She is pretty clear as to what she came for, a chance to speak out about how this fascist regime killed her daughter.
At the OAS she was present when the meeting was determined to be private, so she did not officially get to speak as was hoped she would.
She did speak at CSIS, she did meet with US congressmen and other functionaries to tell Geraldine’s story.
Show a little more respect when you presume, Larry.
March 22, 2014 at 3:38 pm
The toilet roll in the header ‘s cute,
and adds more urgency to the dicho –
“Shit or get off the pot” *
Marches are REQUESTS for change.
Requests are ignored.
OA$ [Oh Almighty $, what’s in it for me?]
ignores good intentions,
Money is needed for action.
and MCM has none to offer.
Massive weekend outings are not enough.
*[implying intentions
be followed with action.]
March 22, 2014 at 3:52 pm
marchas, marchas, marchas!
we’re sick of marchas
I get marchas all day through
First from him, now from you
Is that all you blighters can do?
March 23, 2014 at 10:03 am
Hat’s off to theCoronel!
Así comenzó el colapso de la dictadura en 1958, con estos comunicados
PRONUNCIAMIENTO DE LOS COLEGIOS DE ABOGADOS DE VENEZUELA
No piden…. EXIGEN, es lo que debemos hacer todos. Basta de pedir, es preciso EXIGIR.
http://lasarmasdecoronel.blogspot.ca/
March 22, 2014 at 1:51 pm
Brazil can forget a permanent seat on the UN Security Council…If they can not help foster peace and Human Rights in the immediate Region they do not deserve and indeed are not ready for a major place in World Affairs. The OEA has shown itself a pawn..Not good for its’ future….
March 22, 2014 at 11:33 am
Reblogged this on Order From Chaos.
March 22, 2014 at 11:18 am
[…] violation of the OAS charter, the representatives of these so called “democracies” had to start by protecting the repressor, […]
March 22, 2014 at 10:47 am
Allowing the political opposition to speak at the club meeting of those holding political power would set a bad precedent. Next thing you know, the opposition from various countries would be petitioning to be allowed to speak at the UN.
March 22, 2014 at 10:47 am
March 22, 2014 at 10:32 am
Sapito, how much time have you lived in Honduras? Mel Zelaya was removed from office by a vote in the Honduran Congress. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal and the Human Rights Commissioner were in agreement. His own party in Congress overwhelmingly voted to remove him from power. The majority of Hondurans were (are) opposed to him being financed by Chavez and his attempt to spread Chavismo into Honduras.
If you want to call it a “military-coup” then the military would have to had stayed in power but the military didn’t do anything but follow orders to remove a megalomaniac from office. Roberto Micheletti assumed the presidency because he was next in line according to the constitution.
I am not saying everything is fine in Honduras. On the contrary Honduras is a disaster because of political corruption. I have lived here for 33 years and have known a lot of politicians and the large majority of them are in it only for the money and they don’t give a shit where it comes from. The Hondurans themselves have been bleeding their country dry since they learned how to make money in politics.
March 22, 2014 at 1:59 pm
There are indeed mechanisms in the Constitution to remove a sitting President. They are there for the precise reason of what happened in Honduras. This is what Dictators fear most. The Constitutional means of removing them. This is exactly what is happening now in VZLA…And as it should be..
March 22, 2014 at 9:27 am
Reblogged this on danmillerinpanama and commented:
Eleven members of the OAS voted to hear Maria Corina Machado, an opposition member of the Venezuelan legislature, speak in public session in Washington. Twenty-two voted against. Those who voted against were apparently trying to help el Presidente Maduro’s Venezuelan regime. If so, they made a big mistake. If nothing else, they increased her ability to use the substantial press coverage she is likely to have this weekend in Washington to focus more world attention on the mess that Venezuela has become than it has thus far received.
The embedded video is in Spanish, but the graphics require no Spanish comprehension. They show the realities of repression as imposed by Maduro’s regime. Please watch it.
Daniel, at Venezuela News and Views, provides another useful analysis for those interested in grasping the realities of events in Venezuela over the past month. It too is well worth reading. Here is his summary of the situation:
In short, what I am trying to say is that far from shoring up support Venezuela today has seen its potential weakness as ONLY the bribed country are still paying lip service. As tonight reports of violence and injured keep piling up from across the country we can wonder how long does the regime can postpone the consequences? Venezuela is not an island concentration camp, you know.
There is photo at the end of Daniel’s post of Maria Corina Machado standing in front of the OAS building in Washington.
March 22, 2014 at 7:27 am
It has been proven time and again that the Organization of American States (OAS) is a club of non-democratic governments whose members meet several times a year to socialize and whose Secretary-General has been paid off by the Chavista government in Venezuela to ignore human rights violations. The Democratic Charter is just a piece of scrap paper that’s good for nothing except to use in the toilet!!!! If Venezuelans can’t get toilet paper, get a copy of the Democratic Charter instead. Your artwork above shows that we share the same sentiment about the organization that is supposed to protect democracy in this hemisphere.
March 22, 2014 at 1:56 pm
And the Constitution, that has been violated and made useless should be added to those things that have to substitute for Papel Hygenico. So many Articles of the Const. have been abandoned, trampled on, violated and ignored that a Constituyente is all but inevitable at this point.
March 23, 2014 at 1:11 pm
You forgot one point… OAS members moved very fast when Mel Zelaya was legally ousted as Honduras president.. They call it a military coup, call an urgent meeting, sent people and mediators, etc etc…BECAUSE HE WAS A MEMBER OF OAS LEFTY PRESIDENTS CLUB.. He was absolutely and legally ousted following Honduras own constitution, like the former bishop Lugo from Paraguay.,. Honduras army just executed as the very last constitutional police the removal of Zelaya and transported him to Costa Rica to avoid a high death toll while Zelaya was just attempting to illegally change constitution to stay empowered another term..
March 22, 2014 at 5:55 am
Devil, I appreciate your passion and your showing once more that the Devil’s Dictionary was right about politics: a strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.
However, those advocating for Venezuelan human rights today would have more credibility if they recognized that the post-coup Honduras government — even today — is at least equally repressive. I would question your including that state in your list of countries with “respect of human rights,” without even an asterisk, because of what was ultimately a partisan vote. It is a place where journalists are not just harassed or beaten or robbed, but disappeared and killed. Police don’t just wrongly arrest people, they form death squads. A couple of links if you would like to learn more:
http://www.hrw.org/americas/honduras
https://www.cpj.org/americas/honduras/
http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/honduras
March 22, 2014 at 6:57 pm
It is not a question of credibility. The pictures and videos speak for themselves.
March 22, 2014 at 4:54 am
In fact Brazil was never actually Latin America but Portuguese America (Brazilians are not Latinos/Hispanics; Brazil is South America, not Latin America). But is a colossal shame the irresponsible Dilma Rousseff support the chavista dictatorship. The PT and Dilma are delinquents, shame to Brazilians
March 22, 2014 at 8:38 am
I’m very surprised that, with your Portuguese name, and perhaps your roots in Brazil, that you are unaware of the fact that the ‘Latin’ in Latin America refers to the base language of all the countries that comprise it. Meaning, the languages have a strong Latin component, otherwise known as romance languages. This may help clear up your confusion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_America . Obviously Brazil is not Hispanic America, which is a different ball of wax. But the country is certainly part of Latin America, based on long-standing definition.
March 22, 2014 at 10:12 am
I second Syd.
Brazil is part of Latin America, not so much that it mattered.
Brazilians are
“Portuguese” Americans
South Americans
Latin Americans
Ibero-Americans
I am Latin American because I am an American whose mother tongue derives from Latin, Spanish. And Portuguese derives from Latin as well.
Not only that: the other part is the fact that the main settlers in both areas came from countries of Latin heritage. Lusitania was part of the Roman empire.
Y aquí lo tienes en el idioma de Guisele Bündchen y de Luís Camões:
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am%C3%A9rica_Latina
March 22, 2014 at 4:33 am
They did vote 22 against 11 to have a private session, but according to “El Universal” and other sources, at the end it was much worse than that. They decided to drop the issue from the agenda. Machado wasn’t even given a chance to speak, privately or not.
This the article by “El Universal”:
http://www.eluniversal.com/internacional/140321/oea-cierra-sesion-sin-escuchar-las-denuncias-de-maria-corina-machado
I quote from there:
“La iniciativa fue tumbada de inmediato, no sólo con el voto mayoritario -22 frente a 11 en contra y una abstención- de los miembros para declarar “privada” la reunión, es decir, sin público ni cámaras, sino porque además los países que respaldaron a Venezuela lograron también eliminar ese punto del orden del día, reseñó DPA.”
March 22, 2014 at 12:07 am
Your excellent art work at the top of the article clearly shows that the OAS is still uniquely fit for certain tasks …..