Growing Criticism of Media Misinformation and Efforts to Destabilize Venezuela

Growing Criticism of Media Misinformation and Efforts to Destabilize Venezuela

by Jonathan Nack
March 5, 2014

OAKLAND – Sensational reporting on opposition protests in Venezuela has been featured by the corporate mainstream media over the past three weeks. There are accounts of repression of protesters who are calling for the “exit” of President Nicholas Maduro because of rising inflation, rampant crime, shortages of consumer goods, and mismanagement of the economy to the point of collapse. Eighteen people have been reported to have been killed in connection with the protests. The government, and government aligned “colectivo” thugs are blamed.

The mainstream media's narrative is that the Venezuelan government has caused this crisis, because it is a dictatorship that has ruined Venezuela's economy in a failed attempt to impose Cuban style socialism.

Slowly, alternative narratives which challenge the main stream media's accounts of current events and their context, are emerging from the internet, a some journalists, and grassroots solidarity activists.

A small group of such activists gathered for an emergency street rally in the heart of San Francisco's Latino community, the 24th Street and Mission Street BART Plaza, on February, 17, 2014. The rally was called to protest the one sided media coverage of events unfolding in Venezuela; to denounce plots to destabilize the Venezuelan government and economy in an attempt to precipitate a U. S. backed coup; and to express solidarity with the Venezuelan based international Bolivarian revolutionary movement.

“The media channels and other media outlets around the world, it's their [the opposition's] narrative that makes it to the airwaves and our struggle is to present the reality,” said Mazda Majidi, of the International ANSWER Coalition. [ http://www.answercoalition. ]

Regarding the recent mass, and sometimes violent protests of the Venezuelan opposition, Majidi said, “make no mistake about it, this is not a movement about democracy, this is not about people wanting to express their opinions, this is a movement of the privileged wanting to maintain their privileges.“

“Their problem is that the Bolivarian Revolution has managed to give some of the resources of society to the working class, the working people, to the poor. Living conditions of the working people in Venezuela have really improved, and the U. S. Government and the elite strata of society are very much opposed to that.”

“Why is it that they're trying to overthrow the state in Venezuela?..Is it that they're not democratically elected? No. There's ample evidence that they were democratically elected.. But from the U. S. perspective, what counts as democracy is the privileged sectors of society getting all the resources, and the privileged sectors actually help funnel the resources of society to the U. S. banks and corporations. That's what it's about,” concluded Majidi.

Speakers from groups in solidarity with movements in other countries also addressed the crowd. Pierre Labossiere, of the Haiti Action Committee [ http://www.haitisolidarity.net/ ], related how ten years ago, a U. S. backed coup overthrew the democratically elected government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti.

Representatives of groups in solidarity with the FMLN of El Salvador [ http://www.cispes.org/ ], and the left opposition in Colombia, spoke about the importance of the struggle in Venezuela to all of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Carolina Morales, a Venezuelan, led the crowd in some chants popular in Venezuela, “Chavez vive! Maduro sigue!” [Chavez lives! Maduro continues!] Also, “Alerta! Alerta! Alerta que camina! La espada de Bolivar por America Latina!” [Alert! Alert! Moving Alert! The sword of Bolivar moves through Latin America!]

Morales has recently returned from a trip to her home country. The Center for Political Educaton, which she is active with, has organized a report back by Morales that will commemorate the one year anniversary of the death of President Hugo Chavez. The event, which will include free Venezuelan food, will be held tonight, March 5, 2014, at 6:00pm, at 518 Valencia St., S. F.

The rally was sponsored by ANSWER Coalition, Bay Area Latin America Solidarity Coalition, Committee for Political Education, FMLN-North California, National Committee to Free the Cuban Five, Party for Socialism and Liberation, School of the Americas Watch, Task Force on the Americas, Workers World Party. Similar rallies occurred in Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

The rally was small. There were probably no more than 50 participants. It was a diverse group, with the majority being Latinos and Latin Americans. These activists certainly have their work cut out for them in their challenge to corporate media's reports on Venezuela. Another rally has been called by the group for tonight, March 5, at 5:00pm, at the same location, 24th Street & Mission BART plaza.

They must contend with not only the mainstream media and U. S. government policy, but also with locally based Venezuelans whom also took to Bay Area streets on February 24, when hundreds of supporters of the Venezuelan opposition created a human chain across the Golden Gate Bridge. They were part of 100 protests across the U. S. against the violence in Venezuela and in solidarity with the call for Pres. Maduro to resign. [ http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Hundreds-Form-Humain-Chain-Across-Golden-Gate-Bridge-to-Protest-Violence-in-Venezuela-246803741.html ]

Criticisms of mainstream media coverage are mounting, however, as are alternative accounts of recent events..

“The slant of the Venezuelan private media and the international media on what is happening in Venezuela is clear: The government is responsible for the violence. In the first place government-ordered gunmen are shooting at pacific demonstrators and the violence generated by the opposition is just a response to the brutality of police and military forces. But there is considerable evidence that shows that the violence, including that of unidentified motorcyclists against the demonstrators, is being carried out by the opposition.” wrote Steve Elner. [ http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/10377 ]

ALTERNATIVE NARRATIVES

Writing in The Nation magazine, George Ciccariello-Maher, stated that, “The protests that have exploded across Venezuelan cities in recent days—whose most prevalent hashtag calls for #LaSalida, the departure of Maduro from power—have nothing to do with this arduous process of building a new society. While the protests are ostensibly about economic scarcity and insecurity—very real concerns, for the record—these do not explain why the protests have emerged now. Behind the scenes, the protests are a reflection of the weakness of the Venezuelan opposition, not its strength. Reeling from a serious electoral defeat in December’s local elections, old tensions have re-emerged, splintering the fleeting unity behind the presidential candidacy of Henrique Capriles Radonski who was defeated by Maduro last April. Amid the maneuvering so common to this opposition, more hard-line voices, impatient with the electoral game, have outflanked Capriles to the right: Ledezma, as well as María Corina Machado and Leopoldo López.” [ http://www.thenation.com/article/178496/lasalida-venezuela-crossroads ]

The Center for Economic and Policy Research published and has been updating an accounting of all those killed in connection with the recent protests provided by Venezuelan Attorney General, Luisa Ortega Díaz. It shows that of the 18 people who have been killed, some were anti-government, some were pro-government, and a number were not involved in protesting at all. [ http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/the-americas-blog/venezuela-who-are-they-and-how-did-they-die?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAmericasBlog+%28The+Americas+Blog%29&utm_content=FaceBook ]

FACTS NOT REPORTED

One of the major set of facts not widely reported by mainstream media is that, in the one instance in which a few Venezuelan security officers are known to have fired upon civilians, those officers have been arrested. They face prosecution for the shootings, which are alleged to have resulted in two deaths - of one pro and one anti-government protester - and for having disobeyed orders to stay in their barracks. The head of that security force was removed. [ http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/10434 ]

The Council on Hemispheric Affairs published an article on February 14, headlined, “Venezuelan Government Shows Restraint and Resolve in the Face of Anti-Chavista Mayhem.” The piece recounts a, “vicious street attack near the national headquarters of the prosecutor’s office in Caracas came after several days of often violent anti-government protests in the streets of Aragua, Lara, Mérida and Táchira. [1] Some of these protests included the use of rocks, guns, and Molotov cocktails, and were largely directed against government buildings, the public (pro-government) television station Venezolana de Televisión, vehicles and other property, the police, and civilians.”

“Among the injured were three students of the Central University of Venezuela who were reportedly wounded by gunfire as well as 17 Bolivarian National Police personnel, two of whom were attacked with Molotov Cocktails.  Among those killed in Caracas were Juan Montoya, a community activist in the pro-Chavista 23rd of January barrio and Bassil Da Costa, a marketing student. A third person was killed in the Chacao neighborhood in the Eastern part of the Venezuelan capital.” [ http://www.coha.org/venezuelan-government-shows-restraint-and-resolve-in-the-face-of-anti-chavista-mayhem/ ]

In an article headlined, “New York Times: Supporting US Imperial Lawlessness,” Stephen Lendman wrote, “Destabilizing Venezuela is longstanding US policy. Washington wants Maduro toppled...
Fifteen years of failure hasn't deterred US viciousness. Obama planned ongoing violence long before it erupted. He manipulates it. He funds it. “ [ https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/02/25/18751563.php ]

A statement published in The Guardian newspaper of the U.K., signed by noted academics and Members of Parliament, reads, “We deplore the wave of violence from minority and extremist sections of Venezuela's opposition, that left three dead, 60 injured and saw physical assaults on government institutions, including shots and Molotov cocktails attacks on the state TV channel and a state governor's residency This followed a recently launched campaign by Venezuela's extreme right for La Salida (the ousting) of the government of President Maduro before his constitutional mandate ends in 2019. La Salida is led by extremist politicians Leopoldo López and María Corina Machado, who were both implicated in the 2002 coup in Venezuela. This is not the first time that the sections of the opposition have sought to oust the elected government by unconstitutional means, having lost at the ballot box.” [ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/23/violent-protest-no-help-venezuela ]

Economist and journalist Mark Weisbrot, writing in The Guardian, U.K., stated that Venezuela is, “far from the authoritarian state that most consumers of western media are led to believe. Opposition leaders currently aim to topple the democratically elected government – their stated goal – by portraying it as a repressive dictatorship that is cracking down on peaceful protest. This is a standard "regime change" strategy, which often includes violent demonstrations in order to provoke state violence.”

“They're reminiscent of another historical moment when street protests were used by right-wing politicians as part of an attempt to overthrow the elected government. From December of 2002 through February 2003, there was strike of mostly white-collar workers at the national oil industry, along with some business owners. The US media made it look like most of the country was on strike against the government, when, in fact, it was less than one percent of the labor force.”[ http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/04/venezuela-protests-not-ukraine-class-sturggle ]
A DOCUMENT

A document obtained by lawyer and journalist Eva Gollinger reportedly, “illustrates how the current unrest in Venezuela has been orchestrated by the country’s opposition and foreign actors. The document was drawn up by US-based FTI Consulting and two Colombian organizations (The Centre for Thought Foundation of Colombia First and The Democratic Internationalism Foundation) in a June 2013 meeting. Mark Feierstein, head of the Latin American operations of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and leaders of the Venezuelan opposition including Maria Corina Machado, Julio Borges and Ramon Guillermo Avelado participated in the meeting.”

“The document goes on to specify violent actions of destabilization, suggesting, “Whenever possible, the violence should cause deaths and injuries. Encourage hunger strikes of numerous days, massive mobilizations, problems in the universities and other sectors of society now identified with government institutions.” The plan also calls for the recruitment of “Venezuelan and international journalists and reporters such as: CNN, The New York Times, The New York Post, Reuters, AP, EFE, The Miami Herald, Time, BBC, El Pais, Clarin, ABC among others.”

”It then proposes fifteen actions, including one that states, “Maintain and increase the sabotage that affect the population’s services, particularly the electricity system, which puts blame on the government for assumed inefficiencies and negligence.” Another action seeks to “increase the problems with scarcity of basic products of the food basket.”” [ http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/03/04/washington-seeks-regime-change-in-venezuela/ ]

THE ECONOMY

Government mismanagement of Venezuela's economy is a key part of the mainstream media's narrative. Last year's high inflation rate, the scarcity of some basic consumer goods, and repeated power blackouts, have been cited as evidence of a possible economic collapse.

Actual economic data is helpful in debunking this part of the narrative of the corporate media. The source of the following information is the World Bank. [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Venezuela ]

Regarding inflation, the average annual inflation rate for the ten years prior to the election of Pres. Chavez in 1998 was 53.5 percent.

Since 1998, average annual inflation has been 24.4 percent. 2013 saw a high of 56.2 percent during the Chavez and Maduro administrations. In the years prior to 1999, annual inflation highs were 84.5 percent in 1989, 60.9 percent in 1994, 59.9 percent in 1995, and 99.9 percent in 1996.

Turning to poverty, in 1989, 31.3 percent of Venezuela's population lived below its poverty line. Under neoliberal economic policies, poverty grew to a majority of the population, 54.5 percent by 1997.

The number of Venezuelan's living below the poverty line fell to 33.2 percent in 2011. That constitutes a reduction of over 60 percent! Extreme poverty has been estimated at falling considerably more, by more than two thirds.

Income inequality has declined since Pres. Chavez was first elected. In 1996, the top 5th of Venezuelan income earners had 50.6 percent of all income. By the end of 2011, that number had dropped to 44.8 percent. The GINI Index number which measures income inequality has fallen from 48.8 in 1996 to 39.02 in 2011. That's a decline of over 20 percent.

According to World Bank statistics, per capita income in Venezuela in 1998 was $3,890. In 2013, per capita income was $12,729. That's a increase of over 227 percent! http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?page=3

In addition to official poverty statistics, low income Venezuelans have benefited from vast increases in social spending by the government. “Its 2014 budget prioritizes serving public needs. In 2013, 37% of budgetary spending went for social services. In 2014, 62% is planned, according to Stephen Lendman.

National Assembly finance committee member Jose Avila said, "our political orientation is to include those most in need. We must address the social sector and ensure access to food, housing, education, health and sport." [ http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2013/12/venezuela-v-us-budget-priorities.html ]

CNN: A CASE STUDY

In Venezuela, President Nicholas Maduro took action in response to corporate media coverage by threatened to prohibit CNN Español from transmitting in Venezuela. Maduro argued that CNN is trying to “justify a civil war in Venezuela for a military intervention.” “Twenty-four hours a day their programming is about war. They want to show the world there’s a civil war in Venezuela,” said Pres. Maduro.

Seven CNN reporters had their press accreditation either removed or denied.
In a statement CNN Español said, “it has reported both sides of the tense situation in Venezuela, even with very limited access to government officials. We hope the government will reconsider its decision . Meanwhile, we will continue reporting on Venezuela in the fair, accurate and balanced manner that we are known for.”

Maduro has been a fierce critic of international media coverage of Venezuela during the on-going protests. He said, “in the world, we’re confronting the most brutal manipulation [of information] that the Bolivarian revolution has faced since the state coup of 2002.” [ http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/10382 ]

A quick review of some CNN headlines is revealing:
“Five Ways to Ruin an Economy,” [an assessment of Venezuela' economic policies] CNN, Nov. 16, 2013;

“Venezuela Protest Getting Bad for Unarmed Protesters!”, CNN, Feb. 8, 2014;

“Venezuela Issues Arrest Warrant for Opposition Leader after Clashes,” CNN, Feb. 13, 2014;

“Protests, Violence Continue in Venezuela,” CNN, Feb. 14, 2014;

“Venezuela Orders Three U.S. Officials Out,” CNN, Feb. 16, 2014;

“Will Venezuela Abandon Chavismo?,” CNN, Feb. 19, 2014;

“Beauty Queen Death Fuels Venezuela Riots,” CNN, Feb. 20, 2014;

“Venezuela Tells CNN Journalists to 'Get Out',” CNN, Feb. 21, 2014; and

One could hardly blame a casual reader, viewer or listener for thinking that there is an immense crisis happening in Venezuela, that law and order are threatened, that the economy is teetering on collapse, and that the Venezuelan government is crushing dissent, because it has lost its legitimacy and support.

Journalists know that headlines are consumed by many times the number of people who read the article, view the video, or listen to the audio, which they precede. Headlines have impact second only to provocative images.
Following the expulsion of five CNN reporters, and Pres. Maduro's threat to prohibit CNN Espanol's broadcasts in Venezuela, CNN published a more balanced report on both anti and pro government demonstrations, “Rivals Protesting in Venezuela's Streets.” [See the video: http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2014/02/22/venuezuela-demonstrations.cnn.html ]

Subsequently, CNN returned to its provocative provocative coverage: “Can Venezuela's socialist government survive wave of protests?,” CNN, Feb . 23, 2014 [ http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/22/world/americas/venezuela-socialism/ ]

US POLICY OF REGIME CHANGE

The pubic policy of the Obama Administration has been one of continued hostility to the elected government of Venezuela. Secretary of State John Kerry articulated this public policy on February 21, 2014:

"The government's use of force and judicial intimidation against citizens and political figures, who are exercising a legitimate right to protest, is unacceptable and will only increase the likelihood of violence... It (the Venezuelan government) has imprisoned students and a key opposition figure. It has limited the freedoms of expression and assembly necessary for legitimate political debate...This is not how democracies behave." [ http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/26/us-usa-venezuela-kerry-idUSBREA1P1U520140226 ]

Secretary Kerry has denied any U. S. role in backing the opposition uprising. Such denials lack any credibility, given extensive investigative reporting on U. S. funding for and of training of leaders of the Venezuelan opposition, recent leaks of extensive communications between U. S. officials and right wing opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, and the long history of U. S. intervention in the Americas.

In reality, the covert policy of the U. S. government towards Venezuela is one of regime change. The current campaign to destabilize Venezuela politically and economically is designed to pave the way for the extra-parliamentary removal of the government.

The government of President Nicholas Maduro's has won two national elections within the past ten months, including winning 75 percent of municipal government offices in elections held just three months ago. It is a legitimate democratically elected constitutional government. The Carter Center of former U. S. President Jimmy Carter has called Venezuela's election system the best and most transparent they've monitored. The policy of the U. S. government is thus an attack on democracy and constitutional government in Venezuela.

There is a lot of sound and fury coming from the Venezuelan opposition. They have millions of supporters and are backed by the oligarchy, the United States, multinational corporations, and right wing political forces throughout Latin America. The domestic Venezuelan opposition is capable of creating havoc, destruction, precipitating bloodshed, and generating sensational news headlines.

That sound and fury is retransmitted and amplified by the mainstream corporate capitalist media. They parrot the statements of the opposition while they dismiss the statements of the Venezuelan government.

The current political drama playing out in Venezuela is designed to precipitate a political crisis that could lead to the fall of the regime and Chavismo. The opposition, having been defeated in the Presidential election in April 2013, and national regional elections in December, 2013, hopes to achieve through street protests what they have failed to win at the polls.

According to analyst Mark Weisbrot, under the Chavez and Maduro governments, “poverty and unemployment have been reduced by more than half, extreme poverty by more than 70%, and millions have pensions that they did not have before. Most Venezuelans are not about to throw all this away because they have had a year and a half of high inflation and increasing shortages. In 2012, according to the World Bank, poverty fell by 20% – the largest decline in the Americas. The recent problems have not gone on long enough for most people to give up on a government that has raised their living standards more than any other government in decades.” [ http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/04/venezuela-protests-not-ukraine-class-sturggle ]

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Resources for alternative news about Venezuela (partial list):

Venezuelanalysis.com

aporrea.org/ (in Spanish)

balasc.net (Bay Area Latin America Solidarity Coalition)

cepr.net/ (Center for Economic and Policy Research)

coha.org (Council on Hemispheric Affairs)

democracynow.org

greenleft.org.au

handsoffvenezuela.org

indymedia.org

ips-dc.org (Institute for Policy Studies

links.org.au

therealnews.com

upsidedownworld.org

venezuela.indymedia.org (in Spansh)

znet.org