Venezuela por Rubén Blades
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Palabras de mí compatriota, cantante, actor y activísta, Rubén Blades. No siempre hemos coincidido en la materia política, pero presenta un buen resúmen de las fallas garrafales, por todos los mandatarios y partidos políticos, en Venezuela.
Desafortunadamente, Argentina, Brasil, Uruguay y Paraguay han respaldado a un gobierno que continúa la repreción y violaciones de los derechos humanos de sus ciudadanos. Las redes de comunicación mundiales todavía no dan la cara por los el pueblo Venezolano.
¡Sigan la lucha, amigos, chamos y chamas! ¡Sus hermanos Latinoamericanos están con ustedes!
Reading, Drinking and Dancing with a Chaser of Snark 
February 21, 2014 at 11:01 am
[…] el 18 de febrero, Rubén Blades, publicó su resumen personal llamado, Venezuela, sobre la situación trágica que está viviendo el pueblo Venezolano a manos de sus gobernantes y […]
March 6, 2014 at 4:43 pm
So sorry Michelle, I don’t speak Spanish & Inion only very little. Most of the articles we we’re able to find we’re in Spanish so we can’t really follow much of them. We did find this statement which I cut & pasted as it seems it is somehow tied into the former late President Chavez. “We’re not going to let anyone get away with interfering with our fatherland, you despicable lackey, president of Panama,” Maduro said in a speech to commemorate the anniversary of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez’s death.
I’m astonished that a world leader would make those kind of verbal slurs attacking another leader in this civilized day & age. Only if you have time, Sweety, could you kind of fill us in on what this centers around. Clearly something has provoked this leader towards the Panamanian leader though we never could find out what. Thanks so much!!
March 6, 2014 at 7:26 pm
The quick and dirty: Venezuela has moved toward a leftist (Cuban) style government for the past 10-15 years. Hugo Chavez, while charismatic, had many flaws, not the least of which was hubris. So, even though there was more “equality” and “equity,” it didn’t mean that more people received more goods and services. The situation became so dire, that the entire middle class was plundered into poverty.
Chavez ruled with an iron hand, but allowed some peaceful discourse and demonstration. He never sent troops to “fight” citizens, merely ridiculed them publicly and found ways to “dry up” their funding.
Then he died suddenly, without naming or mentoring a successor. Maduro considered himself the “logical choice” and ran for the presidency. In a VERY close election, that likely should have had a runoff or at least a recount, he named himself President. He continued to put the squeeze on the middle class and conditions deteriorated to crisis levels. (Much like Cuba on a much grander scale).
Add to this, escalating violence without much prosecution and you’ll understand why the “powder keg” ignited. The protestors are actually a coalition of right, middle, left and independent citizens who simply seek a dialog with the government about the economic and crime problem. They are being led by high school and college student, but Maduro’s government has labeled them as “Nazis or right-wing extremists.” who want to “destabilize” the government. The protestors WISH they had that kind of power. They do not. What they do have is cell phone cameras, the internet and social media.
My very personal attachment to the situation is twofold: I have friends from Venezuela and I lived a similar situation in Panama in the late 1980s (when I was in high school.) Except, that we had US military bases on Panamanian soil, so the US had a vested interest in Panama. Hence, the quick intervention to remove Gen. Noriega from power.
The second is that the very first nation to support Panamanian protestors (of which I was one) was Venezuela. They simply asked the world to send observers and the OAS to decry the violence against peaceful demonstrators.
Right now, Panama has been the most vocal nation asking for world assistance and intervention in Venezuela. For us, it’s personal.
(You must also know that I think the Panamanian President is a buffoon, not as bad as Tom Ford in Toronto, but pretty darn close. However, on Venezuela, we really do speak with one voice).
Venezuela has (as of yesterday) cut all economic and diplomatic ties with Panama.
In fact, Ruben Blades was one of the first, prominent Panamanian to reach out to Maduro. He was met with disdain. Blades is an award winning singer-songwriter and actor, but he is also an attorney who completed post-graduate work at Harvard University. He’s no slouch. Here’s an article on his exchange with Maduro: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/03/04/singer-ruben-blades-and-president-maduro-exchange-words-over-venezuela/