The Venezuelan Thing Abides

Venezuelan protesters being hosed down in Caracas

In all the hoo-hah over the "Crimean Crisis" (right, whatever), the ongoing sabotage and subversion situation in Caracas and much of the rest of Venezuela is often forgotten, not even a sideshow in the pageant of world events.

But we shouldn't overlook it.

The protests by the Prada and Gucci set in Venezuela against the Bolivarian Revolution and the Maduro government have not stopped, not by a long shot, but participation seems to have declined significantly. This may or may not be due to official repression -- which has sometimes been reported to be severe. More than likely, it is due to the protesters' lack of unity and coherent policy prescriptions.

I've said, and I'll say again, these people just want their power back. The protesters are mostly middle and upper income Venezuelans, mostly white, and mostly of the former ruling class. Their power was diminished or eliminated by the Bolivarian Revolution, and they are still resentful and determined to restore their position and status in order to once again be able to exploit and oppress the lower orders, the poor people, the zambos, indios, and negros who have seen their condition improve and their situation advance under Chavismo.

More than likely, the protests in Venezuela will resume their intensity once the situation in Crimea stabilizes -- if it does -- and the various NGOs and government agencies in Colombia and the US can once again focus their attention on detaching Venezuelans from their Boliavarian Revolution, and detaching Venezuelan oil from the clutches of the Revolutionaries.

Returning things to the status quo ante in Venezuela, when the right kinds of people ruled the unruly masses with rod and staff and they could loot the treasury at will is only just, amirite?

But these things take time in the Modern World; no longer is Gunboat Diplomacy manifested throughout the uncivilized parts of creation, no longer does Washington just dispatch the Marines any time the natives get restless under the thumb of their overlords.

The hubris that led to the bloody debacles in Afghanistan and Iraq, and to many other interventions and drone wars against "suspected militants" -- (Good doG in Heaven, suspected? That could be anyone, for any reason or none at all. What are they thinking? Or is thinking no longer allowed among the High and the Mighty?) -- has somewhat tempered the urge to send the troops much of anywhere these days. Their fights against peoples struggling to be free -- as they interpret the term -- haven't turned out so well.

But Venezuela is being "done" nonetheless, through internal subversion and sabotage, directed from the palatial suburban spreads of the wealthy in Caracas as well as the fincas in the outlying regions, as well as from Bogata, as well as from Miami, and I think there is no doubt of consideration and direction from the think tanks and strategic centers of Washington, DC, as well.

When the time is right, and the situation is ripe, Venezuela will be returned to its rightful place among nations, subservient to the will of the Grand Pooh-Pahs in Washington, and once again, its people impoverished, embeggared, ragged and starving, under the let and authority of some of the very people who are causing so much ruckus in the streets.

At least that is the scheme, that is the plan.

Please note: This Plan, which was circulated by RT in Spanish last November, in advance of the Venezuelan municipal elections on December 8, 2013, has not been authenticated. There is no proof in other words -- none that I've seen, anyway -- that the plan as it was published by RT was ever actually created, developed and implemented in toto or in part by the actors and elements named.

And yet, rather shockingly prescient, many of its aspects have been part and parcel of the demonstrations and their string-pullers since the latest wave began right after the elections in December. There has been a mounting level of violent protest, sabotage, interference with supplies and deliveries of electricity, food stuffs, and basic supplies (the Toilet Paper Revolution, this one is) and to favorably propagandize the rebels everywhere. Whether or not the plan is authentic, in other words, it is being carried out almost to the letter.

As far as I know, no one has attempted to discredit the Plan, either. There have been ritualized denials by the State Department that their personnel have had anything to do with the uprisings, but they are as creditable as this unsourced document, maybe less so, given the fact that the State Department has a somewhat sketchy relationship with the truth now and then. So I don't know. I can't vouch for the authenticity of the document that RT circulated, but it is certainly interesting that some parts of it are being implemented in Venezuela.

Once the Ukraine Thing is stabilized and Moldova is folded into the EU's Far Periphery, I'm sure attention will once again be turned to Venezuela, where all eyes will be on that bus driver in Miraflores Palace, and getting his ass out of there.

Until then, Venezuela abides.

The Venezuela Thing Updated

In all the hoo-hah over Ukraine, Pierre, Greenwald, Ames, Carr, Wheeler, et al, the situation in Caracas gets obscured.

Even if you are in the midst of the disturbances, it may be difficult to figure what's really going on and who the players are, let alone what their motives are. As best I can understand it, the middle and upper classes see an opportunity to get what they believe is their rightful power back from the monos, salvajes y zambos (monkeys, savages, and sambos) who stole it from them 25 years ago.

They will not rest until they are victorious and have possession of the Venezuelan government once again.

And they have the financial and technical backing from United States and Colombian interests (and probably more besides) in their quest.

According to a report published by RT News last November (in Spanish), the current wave of protests and disturbances were planned last summer at a meeting which included representatives of the USAID, several Colombian NGOs, opposition Venezuelan politicians and an American "security" consultant firm. The authenticity of the plan has not been verified according to RT, and yet, so far as I know, it has not been disputed. In fact, it appears that the plan is being implemented to the extent it can be, an implementation that commenced in earnest when the opposition was unable to win at the ballot box in the December 8 municipal elections.

There is no real dispute that American agencies, interests and NGOs have been actively supporting the disturbances in Caracas and elsewhere in Venezuela, though how deep their involvement has been remains to be seen. As always in these situations, there are legitimate complaints over various aspects of the Venezuelan government and society, grievances that should be aired. The problem is that the airing of these grievances is manifested through violent street protests, rather than through the democratic means available. The protests have become so violent at times, the government has cracked down with violent means of its own leading to a vicious circle of tit for tat and ever more violence.

On the other hand, it appears that many Venezuelans do not want this to get out of hand. Consequently, despite the constant violent agitation, Venezuelans seem to be working toward a resolution that acknowledges legitimate grievances and reinforces democratic institutions, while suppressing violence to the extent possible.

In fact, a government investigation was conducted regarding violence at the Feb 12 protests and a number of those deemed responsible for attacking opposition demonstrators were arrested and are being held for trial.

President Maduro, while excoriating the opposition, has repeatedly called for "peace," and so far, the only ones protesting in the streets against the government have been middle and upper class dissidents; the poor have refused to engage in these protests, even though the economic problems the protesters have been highlighting affect the poor most of all. Of course, for the agitators the lack of participation by the poor in the protests means the classist nature of them is quite starkly revealed.

Maduro, for his part, appears to be unwilling to deal with even legitimate grievances from the protesters so long as they remain in the streets and engaged in sabotage and violent demonstrations.

It appears to be a stalemate.

Also, one part of the equation that generally isn't reported in the United States media is that there are repeated large procession in favor of Maduro and the Bolivarian Revolutionary government, processions I won't call protests or counter-protests because that is not what they seem to me to be. That they receive barely a mention in this country, while the protests and the violence that accompanies them are frequently highlighted is a factor of the American propaganda industry which of course is aligned with the Better Classes, the capitalists, and the oligarchs.

The main complaint about Maduro himself is that he is a "bus driver," and thus unfit to be el presidente. They said much worse things about Hugo Chavez, but the point about Maduro I've heard over and over is that he is neither charisma nor leadership aptitude. Strangely, he seems to be muddling through.

If my sense of the relentlessness of the current wave of regime change activities is correct, every one of the targeted governments, including Venezuela's, will fall before 2016. This will be crowed by the Obama administration as an international triumph even greater than "getting Osama bin Laden." The point being that war, invasion and occupation is the least effective means of achieving the ends of the Plutocrat class.

The Great Game is ugly business...