Reply #5: The headline made me chuckle. I know it's not yours, Judi Lynn. It's the [View All]

take of L.A. Times editors on the brown and the poor finally achieving some electoral clout and having an excellent candidate for president--so excellent, in fact, and so representative of the vast majority of Mexicans that he gets routinely reviled, stereotyped and 'swiftboated' by the corporate news media. Suddenly, the L.A. Times is noticing "class, ethnic tensions" in Mexico, now that the rich feel threatened by the inevitable consequences of their own bad behavior.

They blackholed any news of the war of the rich against the poor in Mexico (as they have been doing here as well). Now they're noticing. Jeez. They never had a headline, "Vincente Fox's promises to banking and financial interests puts poor on edge" (i.e., "Former mayor's promises put wealthy on edge."). The poor being on edge is of no account. Nor have they ever noted that "class and ethnic tensions" in Mexico are the result of the stupid and deliberately greedy policy of the super-rich. The "Mexican presidential race" in which a true advocate for the vast majority poor population is a serious contender for president "exposes class, ethnic tensions" only because "class, ethnic tensions" (due to the rich stealing from the poor and the brown) have been completely and loftily IGNORED by the war profiteering corporate news monopolies until now--now that a real leftist and a genuine representative of the people might be taking hold of the reins of power.

These subtle but relentless messages--that the suffering of the poor merits no headline, while the fears of the greedy rich merit lavish attention--are time and again re-enforced, so that most of us hardly notice them any more.

Although the rich don't come off at all well at the hands of the reporter, Hector Tobar, in the article itself, the headline speaks volumes, as usual--a common problem in the corporate news monopoly press, whereby rightwing editors manipulate public perceptions through headlines that carry rightwing messages and slants on the news, sometimes even flatly contradicting the reporter's content.

One other item of note re this article: The reporter does fall prey to a common stereotyping phrase that I often encounter in the corporate news monopolies regarding Hugo Chavez. Tobar is describing attack ads against Lopez Obrador which have apparently damaged him in public opinion polls. Here's how Tobar describes one of them: "'Lopez Obrador is a danger to Mexico,' intoned one of the ads, comparing him to President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, a self-styled populist."

Hugo Chavez is NOT a "self-styled populist," whatever that may mean. He is the PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA, repeatedly elected by large majorities of his countrymen, in highly monitored elections (--elections that have been deemed honest and aboveboard by hundreds of election monitors, including those of the OAS, the Carter Center and the EU). However one might describe his "populism," it is NOT "self-styled." His policies, his statements, his actions and the policies and actions of his government are the reflection of the vast majority of millions of Venezuelans. THEY would say that his "populism" is THEIR policy!

The reporter Tobar uses this phrase himself--"a self-styled populist." (It is not possible to tell if the ad actually used it; it is not in quotes.) This phrase TRIVIALIZES and MARGINALIZES the PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA as some sort of maverick or cowboy. Its intent is to demean him and, by extension, to demean the incredible, peaceful, democratic, leftist revolution that is occurring throughout Latin America, by personalizing any reference to it, as the corporate news monopolies once did (and in truth are still doing) to the Cuban revolution--another revolution that involves millions and millions of people. In the case of Venezuela, the revolution is occurring with the specific and democratic consent of the majority in a lawful and Constitutional government. It is NOT "self-styled"! It is not made up out of nothing by one personality. It is the reflection of the wishes, beliefs and activities of an entire country.