Corporate media’s depiction of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is often cartoonish, but the lead from David Frum’s piece from CNN.com (10/9/12) takes the cake:
Heath Ledger as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
Venezuela’s authoritarian president Hugo Chavez is a villain out of a Batman movie: buffoonish and sinister in equal measure.
You want to be careful about throwing around words like “buffoonish,” though, when you’re making arguments like “Hugo Chavez has laid Venezuela’s economy to waste.” Here’s a chart of Venezuela’s per capita GDP since 1999, when Chavez was first elected; since 2003, when Chavez took control of the national oil company from its self-enriching management, the purchasing power of the average Venezuelan has increased more than two and a half times. We should all be so wasted!
These numbers come from the CIA World Factbook, by the way, not exactly a source known for its Bolivarian sympathies.
What really seems to rankle Frum, though, is not how well Venezuela’s economy is doing but who it’s benefiting, characterizing the channeling of the country’s oil wealth to the poor as “massive government vote-buying.” As an example, he cites a program “that aims to build 200,000 housing units for Venezuela’s poor.”
Only a supervillain could conceive of so dastardly a plot.
And David Frum is a reasonable conservative. Of course, all it takes to be liberal in America today is to be pro-choice. Pretty much everyone is a corporate lackey. I wrote about this right after this week’s Venezuelan election:
Media Bias Against Chavez
There is only one reason why everyone in power in the United States hates Chavez: he is bad for corporate profits. This is bad enough coming from conservatives but even my liberal friends have nothing but scorn for Chavez. It’s incredible.
You guys have done a great job covering Chavez and the election.
Chavez provides for the needs of the people, and is accused of ulterior motives.
In this country, politicians cut the budgets for public housing and other essential needs, and are lauded as “fiscally responsible”.
The man isn’t Jesus on a stick, and I’d like to see that acknowledged when he’s praised for his actions, but he could be the reincarnation of St. Francis, and the corpress would paint him as a power-hungry charlatan, wouldn’t they?
As for “buffoonish and sinister” …
Anyone watch the last presidential debate?
And its “analysis”?
The 1% of this country sees money spent relieving the misery of the poor as a waste; there’s no profit in that.
Now lock 2.5 million of them in privatized prisons and your on your way to making some real money, the American way.
If they want to accuse people of buffoonery and being sinister, I’ll give them something to cry about. For starters lets throw the robo signers in pre trial confinement. Carl Rove NEVER showed up for the grand jury investigation.
That’s contempt! He needs to be locked up for that. These corporate thugs manipulate the media and defecate on the working class because they AREN’T AFRAID OF US. Justice won’t be seen in this necrotic republic of corporate malignancy until we act like “real constables acting on behalf of the 99%!”
Check out this article online: http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/7354
I give credit to Steve Ellner who wrote this article. He did an outstanding job presenting the facts, successfully overriding CNN’s senselessly glib and trite analyses of Hugo Chávez’s personality.
Does anyone remember the time Hugo Chávez publicly gave President Obama a book to read entitled, “Open Veins of Latin America” by Eduardo Galeano? I seriously doubt that Pres. Obama took the time to read it and it’s fairly obvious that corporate media, in particular CNN/David Frum, have never bothered to open the book. Anyone reading it would understand a whole lot more about Chávez and what he’s trying to do for his country.
The corporate powers, and there are many, are upset that Chávez wants to operate his own country instead of letting the U.S. and others take over, oil and all. After all, the U.S. controls Colombia now, right? It’s just too bad corporate greed has always been involved in trying to buy up Latin America. I’m probably preaching to the choir, but please read this book. Thanks!
How long before an idiot burns his own house down? Give these greedheads time and they’ll do just that.
I ask every Chavez critic to show me a greater democracy in the world than Venezuela. These pea-brained parrot heads can’t give an example because none exists. Then I tell them to watch “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” before they shoot their ignorant mouths off again. If nothing else, the parrot heads need to see who else is lurking in the dark with them: “We do away with the Constitution, the Courts, the Legislature!” “Hooray!”
I took a shine to Chavez when he appeared at the U.N. after Bush and said the air still smells of sulfur.
Strange, isn’t it, but Jose Marti loved the Constitution of the United States. He love being in the US because it was a land that overthrew a king to become prosperous. He wanted it for Cuba too.
Oh get real, if we didn’t demonize Chavez how could we possibly get those dirt poor people in red states to vote for someone who thinks they are irresponsible victims. What a sweet racket that is. Chavez shows he actually cares for his people, that cannot get out as a possible solution. It is dangerous.
It is all so weird and outsized outrage that the only thing I can think of to say is, “Frum is a crumb.”
Will you please send this article to Jon Stewart on my behalf. He had Frum on his program lately and we’ve been wondering why. Why would he allow this man to push his book on a show that is designed to pull the curtain back on deception in politics. Is he becomming one of them?
The ONLY reason the West tries to vilify Chavez is because he throws a BIG wrench into their neoliberal agenda.
@Sandra- Jon occasionally has conservative guests on his program, just as he occasionally derides Obama and/or the Dems. Me thinks it is to appear “fair and balanced” unfortunately, perhaps to expand his viewer pool to include some conservatives so he is not always preaching to the choir. Just a theory.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE that people on these blogs are lauding Chavez for grabbing oil with both hands and giving some the proceeds to help his people.Remember Sarah Palin drill baby drill?And did you know that everyone in Alaska gets a check from oil revenue?I see this as a turning point.You love her.You really really do. :)
I LOVE LOVE LOVE how you can equate PDVSA with the revenue sharing program of ONE of this nation’s LEAST populous states as being even remotely similar. Not to mention those revenues for the latter come from a multi-billion dollar industry that gets government handouts ON TOP of their massive profits. Yeah, that’s just like Venezuela’s system. Not.
Your damn right I equate it.You think Venezuela’s system is done on a free market.You think her oil companies are not subsidized to the enth degree?And not the imaginary kinds you imagine our oil companies get.Did you not see when our oil companies went to Washington(before Congress) and shot those theories full of holes?Their taxes were higher than their profits!!!!!Only in America is THAT a subsidy or a handout..Chevez gets massive revenue from his oil.He gives some of it back.Sarah did the same thing.One is a saint and a genius.One is an idiot because she did it in a free country?You do realize you make no sense.You could at least love both of them for the same action.Im simply pointing out the hypocrisy.Chavez does not lead in a free country.He is a democratically(sic) elected dictator who is no friend of this country on ideological grounds.Wether or not he does things like oil sharing revenue for altruistic reasons ,or to keep the population quite- is a matter for speculation.That is none of our affairs.Where he backs people not friendly to the national interests of this country is where our affairs clash.And he has made a sport of it.If any faction in this country were to back this sort of behavior…is it no surprise it is the liberal hate/blame America first sect?
“You think Venezuela’s system is done on a free market.”
Uh no, I don’t, because it’s not.
“You think her oil companies are not subsidized to the enth degree?”
Do you know anything about the PDVSA? You need to do some research.
“Did you not see when our oil companies went to Washington(before Congress) and shot those theories full of holes?Their taxes were higher than their profits!!!!!”
In what universe?! Please, I beg of you, cite your sources.
“You could at least love both of them for the same action.”
If they were even remotely similar, I just might. But they’re not.
“He is a democratically(sic) elected dictator.”
Who’s the one not making any sense?
“Wether or not he does things like oil sharing revenue for altruistic reasons ,or to keep the population quite- is a matter for speculation.”
Only for Fox zombies.
“Where he backs people not friendly to the national interests of this country is where our affairs clash.And he has made a sport of it.”
If by “sport” you mean supporting sovereign nations who do not wish to subvert themselves to the imperialistic goals of Western hegemony, then yes.
“is it no surprise it is the liberal hate/blame America first sect?”
You might too, if you were to open your eyes and your mind to learn what we know. Or, you could continue clinging to your guns and religion and misguided “patriotism” and remain blissful in your willful ignorance.
michael e, dude. Do us ALL a favor and go do some actual research rather than insulting our intelligence with this nonsense.
You have to wonder whether David Frum is rooting for the bad guy in Bond movies or whether he just doesn’t know the meaning of good news (more income, less poverty, better education and healthcare, more jobs).