Thanks!

andreinadelosangeles — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 20:16:10 -0600

I'm flattered to see my words on your blog.
Your information and analysis are quite balanced, which is not easy in a political situation as complicated as venezuelan.
3D Elections are just the beginning for a new period of watching and learning, a new opportunity to say what's wrong in Venezuela and try to change it, a new challenge to us, the citizens who don't agree with president's ideas.
It's been a pleasure to be here, Liz.
You're welcome at my blog. Anytime.

Bloggers organize to cover Venezuelan elections

Liz Henry — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 16:04:12 -0600

Yesterday, Venezuelan voters elected Hugo Chávez to a 3rd term in office, and Venezuela's numerous political bloggers were very well organized to cover the elections - complete with designated Flickr tags. On Global Voices, Iria Puyosa describes the Venezuelan elections: Venezuelan 3D, with a pointer to an aggregation of Venezuelan blogs on the elections at Elecciones 3D.

K-minos, or Kira Kirikian Ramirez, points out that Venezuela is at least 40% blue and not all "red", that the country as a whole is very mixed in its political opinions and that is represented in the democratic government... which isn't all of Chávez's party. Much like the U.S. left which has been pointing out the "purple America" maps since 2000, Venezuelan anti-Chavez bloggers would like to assert that they are "morado" or purple, if not blue to the core â€” not all swept away by the "pink tide" or "really red" as Chavez claims.

Political blogger Kareta (eng) blogged about her experience as a poll worker. She was heartened by the way people showed up to do their duty (selected by lottery, like jury duty in the U.S.) as poll workers and by the careful way people stuck to the rules.

On 3D, Andreina asks some angry questions and expresses her passionate opposition to Chávez and I think what she sees as a welfare state:

Â¿QuÃ© es lo que estÃ¡n celebrando los chavistas exactamente? Â¿Que tendrÃ¡n sus bequitas seguras, que el trueque les permitirÃ¡ cambiar cupones en la bodega de la esquina, que Venezuela serÃ¡ como Cuba... quÃ©?
Â¿O estÃ¡n felices, simple y llanamente, de haber "jodido a los oligarcas"?

What is it that the Chavistas are celebrating, exactly? That they'll have their [handouts] secure, that the [exchange system] will allow them to trade in [food stamps, ration coupons?] at the corner store, that Venezuela will become like Cuba... What? Or are they happy, simply and frankly, that it's "fucked up the oligarchs?"

It's interesting that Chávez is still referring to the U.S. as the Devil. This is not as much a religious nut thing as it is his tendency to refer to a famous song and poem, "Florentino y el Diablo", in which a plucky cowboy poet has a duel of improvisational rhyming poetry with the Devil, where they brag, insult each other, and ask riddles in poetry like Bilbo and Gollum. For many years Chávez has been identifying himself with Florentino and the U.S. as El Diablo. Because I was translating that poem in 2000, I noticed Chavez's constant use of metaphors from it, as they'd turn up on my web searches. It's a little bit as if George Bush were to constantly compare himself to Pecos Bill or some other U.S. folk hero. As a national myth it seems like an effective one - Florentino as the clever underdog who can outtalk anyone.

Meanwhile, Correa's election in Ecuador is confirmed. Voting in Ecuador is mandatory, as it is in Peru. I'll have to look up what bloggers are saying about the elections. Please, if you are an Ecuadorean or Latin American blogger covering the elections, send me a link!

I'm very curious what will happen with the U.S. military base at Manta Bay in Ecuador, which has historically been quite small, but under Rumsfeld and his aggressive military stance, was slated for a huge expansion. Correa has promised to shut down Manta Bay; actually, he joked that he'll allow it to continue when the U.S. lets Ecuador have its own military base in Miami. The other thing I have noticed about Correa (besides him not being a nut case like his opponent) is that he can speak some Quichua and has made an effort to speak and listen to the country's Quichua-speaking population. So I tend like Correa, cautiously, without really knowing very much about Ecuadorean politics.

BlogHer - Bloggers organize to cover Venezuelan elections - Comments

Thanks!

Bloggers organize to cover Venezuelan elections