Chavez to set up 'people's militia' as opponents push for recall

President Hugo Chavez addresses supporters at a weekend rally

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 17 May 2004 1339 hrs

Chavez to set up 'people's militia' as opponents push for recall


CARACAS : President Hugo Chavez announced his government would establish "people's militias" to counter what he called foreign interference after an alleged coup plot by Colombian paramilitaries Caracas claims was financed by Washington.

Chavez also said he would boost the strength of Venezuela's armed forces as part of a new "anti-imperialist" phase for his government.


The president's announcement came a week after authorities arrested 88 people described as Colombian paramilitaries holed up on property belonging to a key opposition figure.


Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel claimed the United States and Colombians were involved in the conspiracy.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/85288/1/.html

Maybe he will be safe, the U$ is running out of money.

Chavez is nobody's fool.

The pipeline through Afghanistan, the oil from Iraq, and the output from Venezuela are, I think, enough to keep the home fires burning here in the United States, with no Saudi Arabians involved at all except the ones who fly planes into our buildings.

Bushco tried an Eisenhower-style knockover in Venezuela several years ago and failed, like they've fucked up everything else. Chavez is bright in watching his back, but I would caution him that citizen militias really aren't much good for fighting anything except each other. I'm not sure it's the best course in avoiding civil war.

He mustn't set himself up to be the next Allende. The Communist Party in Chile, which was conservative compared with Allende's Socialist Party, was trying to get the people to turn in their weapons and to rely on the military. We see how that turned out. Luckily, Chavez has manged to weed out a lot of fascists in the military, but I'm sure there is still a powerful faction that would launch a fascist coup. Arming the people is a sure way to help prevent this.

a downward flow of everything -- of political, cultural, economic and military power.

He devolves political power to neighborhood political organizations. He flows money down to the poorest by building them schools and transferring land to them. He devolves cultural power down to the poor by opening a couple public TV stations to compete with the private stations. He makes sure the poor have guns to defend themselves if there's a coup.

Everything he does in a downard and outward flow of power, down from a few people who had a great deal of power in the past and out to the 80% of Venezuelans who were living in poverty before he came to power.

You'll not witness such a move in corporate republics!!! No way!!!