Aren’t they lucky they have the whore media of Gringolandia to indulge them?
Venezuela’s government distributed electronic appliances, food and cash totaling tens of millions of dollars in an effort to secure the loyalty of voters in poor sections in advance of recent elections, according to evidence and testimony obtained by El Nuevo Herald.Pro-government officials in the municipality of Sucre alone handed out $10 million in cash on Nov. 22 and the day of the balloting, Nov. 24, offering each person between $140 and $480, according to campaign workers who spoke to El Nuevo Herald. Their candidate nevertheless lost.President Hugo Chávez’ allies won 17 of the 22 state governorships and most of the municipal elections, though opposition candidates captured the other five governorships and enough municipalities to claim a victory over the leftist president.Documents seen by El Nuevo Herald showed that several companies associated with the government, primarily the state-owned oil company PDVSA, purchased the items distributed during the campaigns with the assistance of businesses located in Panama and South Florida.The goods included mattresses, water tanks, small appliances, food and even cellphones and vehicles, according to the documents. Some of the electronics and small appliances were obtained from the Panamanian free-trade zone and distributed to prospective voters throughout Venezuela, as part of the campaigns.

Hmmmm, how much did the rump of PPT (that is, those who didn’t defect to the PSUV) get in terms of votes? Less than 2%, if I recall correctly. Pitiful, but hardly surprising: The PPT party was a split-off of another leftish party to begin with, and then split again when the PSUV formed. But as Eva Golinger has found, the PPT rump is not only a bunch of sore losers, it’s downright treacherous–and has received dinero from, shall we say, some very un-Venezuelan sources (with my emphasis added):The massive loyalty-buying schemes were denounced prior to the vote by opposition leaders, including José Albornoz of the Patria Para Todos (PPT) party, who had backed Chávez up until recently.
Including, as luck would have it, the totally-for-sale whore media of Miami. Which have undoubtedly been very helpful in the magic-lantern show of oppo projections.Now, all that remains is to find out how much the PPT rump-roast has been trying to pay people to vote against Chavecito. But don’t expect to see any mention of proof or documentation of those in El Nuevo Herald, eh?There is a lack of understanding within the revolution about the importance and about the impact of subversion and the interference of foreign agencies in the country. We aren’t just talking about the financing of opposition political parties – something that should be strictly prohibited by law – but a complex web of different actors, entities, front groups, and agencies that have managed to infiltrate the ranks of the pro-Chavez movement, and have been able to snag and remove political parties like PPT (Homeland for All) and Podemos (We can), which previously sided fully with the revolution. This web – which I call the Empire’s Spider Web – also penetrates communities and barrios and promotes alternative projects and programs to those proposed by President Chavez that may be more attractive in the short term, providing instant satisfaction to these needy sectors.These foreign agencies, like the aforementioned USAID and the NED, and others such as Freedom House, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the International Republican Institute (IRI), the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Germany), FAES (Spain), FOCAL (Canada), Friedrich Ebert Foundation (Germany), among others, have been working in Venezuela for years, advising and financing parties such as Primero Justicia (Justice First), Un Nuevo Tiempo (A New Era), and Podemos to help them create political platforms and strategies that reflect the needs and wants of the Venezuelan people, but maintain a hidden agenda that promotes a neo-liberal, anti-socialist vision. Remember that we are in a battle of ideas and in this war without a battlefield all weapons within reach are employed to neutralize the enemy.
Wasn’t the date of ballotting Nov. 23 rather than Nov. 24?
Yes, it was. Good catch! I guess the Miami Herald won’t be including the cost of fact-checkers in its purchase price, LOL.
Who/what is Carlos Ocando? What’s his trajectory?
Well, if he’s a typical Miami/El Nuevo Herald-ian, I’d say he’s a crappy journalist. The papers’ slant is anti-Castro/anti-Venezuela in the extreme. They’re not above making shit up, or dredging up interviews with really pathetic oppos and extremists. The fact that he’s very vague with details tells me he’s one for pulling it out of his ass. In other words, par for the Miamero course.
Distributing the equivalent of 10 million dollars would be a feat, dontcha think? This sounds more and more implausible the more I think about it.
The thing is, Vzla has a history of vote-buying … that’s the standard history of the 4th Republic …
Yeah, one would think that a $10m (gringo) vote buy campaign would prompt some denunciations to the Contraloria Social, if that were the case.
And definitely it’s a 4th Republic thing. What a coinkidink, considering that the opposition is composed mainly of 4th Republican types. And yes, some of them have been caught on camera, buying votes in areas that later went to oppo gubernatorial candidates…
Actually I meant to say “10 million dollars in 2 days”, the “2 days” being crucial … it would be very hard to hide, methinks …
The Nolia video you are referring to is actually from Petare too, where the alleged PSUV vote buying is supposed to have taken place.
There’s only one problem with the accusation that it was the PSUV doing it–the vote-buyers were wearing yellow Primero Justicia shirts. LOL!