January 21, 2009 - Yes, the pre-referendum media show has lifted off ladies and gentlemen and not only in Venezuela. The Boston Globe joined in misreporting what President Chavez said on Saturday about the use of tear gas to stop violent demonstrations and public disorder. The beautiful life that Venezuelanos enjoy on a typical weekend was marred this weekend by arson, tear gas and other attacks. The media spread similar disinformation after the arson committed last January 14th which burned down a region of the Waraira Repano (Avila) national park and was reported on Axis of Logic by Arturo Rosales  
 
After public outrage at the of blocking freeways and the burning in the national park, President Chavez gave orders on Saturday to the security forces (police, National Guard etc.) to use tear gas to break up violent demonstrations and arrest the perpetrators of illegal acts. This includes opening public thoroughfares that are blocked by the handful of opposition students who are known for their violence and their ties to Washington.
 
The Boston Globe states that public disturbances would be repressed implying that there is some sort of police state at hand. No, not at all. Yesterday there were demonstrations by right wing students in Caracas and Maracaibo. There were no disturbances and thus, no tear gas or arrests.

The president of the right wing Universities Central Federation (FCU), Ricardo Sanchez, had his SUV torched opposite the Rectory in the Central University. All the private media implied that this was work of chavistas. However, the rector of the central university, Cecilia Garcia, refused to allow the criminal investigation police (CICPC) to enter the university campus to carry out a forensic investigation and try and locate the perpetrators. Why? Your guess is as good as mine but it would appear that there was something to hide. Garcia's behavior (denying police access) raises questions about the very real possibility that Sanchez' SUV was torched by the opposition for the purpose of mounting a media show in the runup to the referendum to get rid of term limits which would allow President Chavez to run for another term in 2012.

The Globe also mentions various tear gas attacks in the article and attempts to implicate President Chavez and then describes the perpetrators as "unknown assailants" in on case and "gunmen" in another. There is simply no evidence at this point in time for anyone to identify these saboteurs. The Globe attempts to relate these attacks with President Chavez's orders to use gas if necessary – an obvious guilt by association tactic.

Amazing coincidences

In each case, the main opposition TV news channel, Globovision, was on hand with cameras and reporters when these actions took place and before the police arrived. How could this TV channel be so efficient and be on the scene before the police? Why was Globovision's web site reporting on these incidents almost immediately after the event? Opposition radio and print media are also on the same bandwagon so as to form public opinion as to the "violence of the government sponsored thugs".

No one would dare mention that this could be part of an orchestrated campaign to discredit the chavistas with the term limits referendum due on February 15th? No one would dare mention that basic food stuffs are gradually vanishing from supermarket shelves – exactly as they did before the constitutional reform vote in December 2007? No one would dare mention that on the daily 10pm Globovision chat show, "Buenas Noches", the invited guests have been opposition students denying any wrong doing, despite their comments being littered with aggressive threats about how they are going to demonstrate country-wide in the streets?

Of course these are only coincidences in the present political context, right?

The situation could heat up between today and February 15th as the opposition tries to marshal the right wing students in what are patently destabilization attempts. Once again, they will make life tough for people by blocking roads and creating artificial food shortages. It worked in 2007 before the referendum on constitutional reform, so why not now?

Last night the Metropolitan Police arrested 3 men in the Mariperez area of Caracas in possession of 70 tires and 36 Molotov cocktails. All were of Colombian origin which indicates that Colombians with possible paramilitary connections are also involved in destabilization attempts. 

Coincidentally, the story of these 3 men arrested was not mentioned on Globovision news and hidden on the inside pages of the opposition press on Tuesday morning.

In Venezuela, everyone can demonstrate with the issuing of an appropriate permit. However, Chavez has given orders to clamp down of violent acts. The opposition complains that this is "repressive" but continues to speak with the tongue of a snake. On the one hand they complain about "impunity", yet on the other they support illegal acts when they are committed by privileged middle class students protesting against Chavez.

These tactics by the opposition media stink of hypocrisy and the signal the psychotic dissociation nurtured by the Venezuelan private media over years - thanks to the CIA advisors and their media laboratories.

Finally, pure and simple logic asks, why the pro-government Chavistas would resort to these violent acts when they know that they clearly have far more votes than the opposition in the upcoming referendum. If anyone doubts that the Chavistas lead in votes, going into the referendum, read the stats in Arthur Shaw's table in his recent article, Washington Post Distorts Venezuela's Constitutional Amendment. Do the Chavistas want to sabotage their own victory? The opposition is desperate and will attempt to derail the referendum "by whatever means necessary" in the next 3 weeks. Neither they nor Washington can abide the thought of having to deal with President Hugo Chavez until 2021. We can count on The Boston Globe and other U.S. media spread their lies well.

Ramón Santiago is a tough, guerilla journalist based in Latin America. He is guest writer, a multi-lingual translator and regular contributor for Axis of Logic. Ramón continually scours Latin American countries, finding the vermin beneath the rocks. He is particularly known for his uncensored assessments of U.S. imperialism in Latin America and wherever it raises its ugly head throughout the world.