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Re BBC's Ask Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez

By Aleksander Boyd

London 18.10.05 | The BBC posted yesterday in their website an article entitled "Ask Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez". The attention grabbing subheadline is "What do you want to ask Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez?" Of course being the BBC only very few, if that, of the questions that opponents of Hugo Chavez have sent will be published, what's more the ones that have been posted so far are totally biased in favour of Hugo Chavez. For that reason I would like to invite readers of this site to send their questions and I make the firm promise that I will publish them, regardless of whether these are harsh or lenient vis-a-vis Chavez's performance or actions.

Please use the contact interface -disregard the warning- or simply email them to editor at vcrisis dot com.

Please send only one question.

To get this started I shall post here my own question as it was sent to the BBC:

President Chavez, why did you betray your countrymen? [from A. Boyd]

Were you ever in the MTV show "Beavis and Butthead"? You remind me a lot of the Butthead character! Actually, now that I think about it, your words also remind me of the old "Saturday Night Live" character the Pathological Liar. [from Beavis]

1 - Why have you instilled racial/social hatred in a country that never experienced this before? 2 - why - despite the millions of dollars coming to the country\'s coffers - do we continue to have extreme poverty? [from M. Williamson]

Mr. Chavez, How do you reconcile your notoriously vitriolic anti-American stance with the oil contracts that your administration has been giving to Chevron? [from Patrick]

Why, for the first time in history, has your administration given property rights of resources/oil to foreign companies? [from Victor in Pto. Ordaz]

Why is it that in a country with obscene oil income and one that exports electricity, Venezuelans - who are experiencing heretofore unseen blackouts - will have to pay higher rates for electricity because the generating system has deteriorated and needs overhaul? Why is it that if you have a million dollars to squander on a Samba school, there isn't enough money for maintenance IN Venezuela? Why do you travel like a sheik with hundreds of adulators (paid for by you), and are afraid to be near the Venezuelan people you purport to "love," while your nemesis, Mr. Bush, can walk among his people in shirtsleeves, without a Kevlar vest and with minimal Secret Service protection? [from M. Boszko]

Dear President Chavez, Do you have a strategy in place to punish those who denied basic human rights to the many indigenous and poor peoples of your country before you took power? What about a tribunal of enquiry to look into the abuses of the elite for over 50 years? Heres hoping you dont slip into tyranny like so many others [from Ian]

Mr. Chavez: 1) Why do you choose to ignore all the signs of corruption inside your government and even punish those inside your revolution like Walter Martinez that criticize it instead of acting against it as you promised during your campaign, do you realize that now Venezuela is more corrupt than ever? 2) Why do you insist in dividing your country with artificial divisions, like race, education, and experience. Why did Miquelena, your mentor, leave you? 3) Why do you insist in calling traitors those that seem to have the Venezuelan democracy in mind, while at the same time giving our territory away, giving citizenship to anyone that would vote for you, and allowing the infiltration of any part of the country by foreign nationals that might _seem_ akin to your cause? 4) Why are you spending so much money buying consciences around the world, while your own hospitals are falling apart? 5) Why don\'t you trust Venezuelans to be your security detail and bodyguards, choosing to use Cuban nationals, to which you have extended Venezuelan passports, instead? [from E. Brown]

Hugo, why are you going through the motions implementing yet again a totally discredited economic and social model (what you call 21st Century Socialism) when anyone who has a semblance of knowledge of the 20th century knows it is doomed to failure and why are you ignoring the indicators and alarm bells that already prove? Do you really think that the people you have charged with this mission will stand by your side when the s*** hits the fan? [from Sean – Armagh, Ireland]

Mr. President, Do you know who Ludwig von Mises was? In case you don't, he was an austrian economist who in 1922 wrote a seminal article: "Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth". There he showed how economic calculation and therefore rational coordination are imposible under collective ownership of the means of production. How do you plan to cope with this fundamental problem of socialism -now that you've declared the venezuelan revolution to be of marxist orientation-, a problem which BTW no socialist experiment in history has been able to solve? [from L. Nieves]

Mr. Chavez, why do you expropriate a bio-sanctuary like Hato Pinero, one of the most beautiful nature reserve in the world? [from B. Kley]

Shame on you BBC!!!!!!! All your posts favour this world-disgrace fellow. Now we all know your interest ($$$$$) [from one more Venezuelan]

Dear Magananimus President Chavez, In light of the BBC's role as a quasi-appendix of the Venezuelan Ministry of Information, don't you deem it fair that it too should benefit from your generosity and thus be provided with some of the oil cash that you so fondly dispense around the world??? [from U. Edor]

Dear Sr. Chavez, Do you think that any opposition to you, such as voting against you in a referendum, is tantamount to participating in a coup to overthrow you? It seems to me that you consider all types of dissention as threats, no matter how democratic. For instance, I know of friends in Venezuela who have lost their jobs, health insurance, and pensions simply for voting against you in a referendum. Your government is also prosecuting the NGO, Sumate, which helped collect the millions of signatures required to hold the referendum, as traitors. I think many of your fans outside Venezuela would be surprised to learn that you allowed lists showing how people voted to be published, and then used the lists as a kind of McCarthy-style tool for intimidation. I do admire your audacity. After purging so many institutions of non-Chavez voters, you had the nerve to publicly blame the resulting increase in unemployment on sabotage by your opponents. [From R. Kane]

Why did you refuse US aid during the Vargas land slide disaster of December 1998, but sent 1$ milllion to the US for Katrina, and offered assistance? Why have no culprits been found for the deaths of April 11th, both chavistas and opposition? Why have no investigations gone under way, or allowed to go under way, even those of independent research? Why did Iván Rincón, currently one of your ministers, say publicly on radio that you had resigned during the events of April 11th 2002? If you have publicly described capitalism as savage, why do you allow capitalism in Venezuela? If you oppose colonialism then how do you explain the increasing Cuban influence Venezuela, which is rejected by most of the population? Do you believe the end justifies the means? Why are there claims of human rights abuses made by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch agains your administration? How do you respond to accusations of Crimes against Humanity against your person, especially one case being processed by an International Courthouse in Spain? Isn't the Cuba-Venezuela doctors-for-oil pact unconstitutional? Are the misiones clientelist? Because the were enacted shortly (a few months) before the August 2004 Recall Referendum... Does your administration have ties to FARC? [from P. Bernardez]

President Chavez, why has corruption increased during our administration? Why have public servants been fired from goverment offices because they signed a recall petition against your presidency? Why did you order troops to shoot against demonstrators? Why do I have to be a member of your MRV party to receive public assistance? Why have you declared war against anyone that is not one of your followers? [from Ramoncho]

1) Why is General (retired) Luis Rincon not up on charges of treason given that he publicly led the group of soliders that demanded yoru resignantion? If he was "undercover" is he not complicit in the murders of April 11? 2) How many shots came from your gun in February 1992? Do you believe that you owe the families of the dead compensation? 3) In February 1989, the democractically elected president ordered Plan Avila to be carried out. Hundreds died. You were an officer in the armed forces at the time. What was your role? Why did you NOT resign your commission at the time? 4) In the past few months, the Supreme Court ruled agains the government, yet the government has not yet complied on a single one of these, with your ministers even announcing that the supreme court is just an opinion. When will you simply dismiss the supreme court since you have no intention of upholding the law? 5) How did your father, a poor teacher, come to be one of the largest land owners in Barinas State? [from S. McElroy]

Porque en Venezuela el regimen de Hugo Chavez no publica su presupuesto, y expone al publico donde va el dinero del pueblo venezolano? Porque no se rige por las leyes internacionales de mantenimiento de presupuesto y no se rige ante un referendum donde van los dineros de la nacion? Porque se estan enriqueciendo ilicitamente cientos de venezolanos afiliados al partido de gobierno? [from D. Rondon]

Why does Venezuela have such a poor public medical system while living with a price of oil near 50 US Dollars ( Venezuelan average price)? [from Bob]

Mr. Chavez, in 2005 you have had 20.944.000 minutes of mandatory free air-time on all TV and radio stations of Venezuela, public and private. The opposition parties have had 825 minutes of paid air-time on a few TV and radio stations (non-government owned). Please explain your accusation that the media in Venezuela are biased. Thank you for your time. [From M. Granier]

Dear Mr. President: With all of Venezuelas resources (oil) why is the country so poor and underdeveloped? Where is all this money? With Chile, Brazil and Colombia as models for development without oil, they would serve as better models. I'd love to see Venezuela be a model of success, instead of another third world country corrupted by oil. [From F. Wagner]

President Chavez, given that Petroleos de Venezuela's monies are effectively being used according to your personal wishes without any form of accountability in place, would you permit a forensic audit of this company by independent auditors? [From Margaret]

Dear Mr. President, Venezuela is the world's fifth largest oil producer, it has the world'd seventh largest gas reserves and its river system in the South can generate enormous amounts of electricity. Why do you want to pursue the nuclear road? Is it to gain political leverage in the region? What is more, taking into consideration that you ordered Venezuela's army generals to kill innocent civilians, your overtures with Iran, North Korea and Cuba, do you really think that your nuclear intentions will see the light? [from T. Ellis]

Mr Chavez: It is known that oil prices have been and will probably be high for a while. How can you explain that with all the money Venezuela is getting through oil revenues there is still a huge number of poor people? We are talking of 140.000.000 US dollars a day! [from Y. Blanco]

Presidente Chavez, do you know that you will be judged by an International Court for your abhorrent TASCON's List? [from A. Nair]

Mr. Chavez, Where have you been during the last 20 years? Did you not hear that communism failed in Russia after 70 years? Did you not hear that communist China is moving into another imperialistic power and communism is only there for the bureaucracy of the leaders? Did you not hear that people are risking their lives lo leave the Island that your “hermano” has terrorized for years? What makes you so special to think that you are going to make communism work for you? What makes you believe you are different? [from A. Tijerino]

Mr. XXX, you have performed in a magnificent way in one of your stated aims: now you have a vise-like grip on power. You are securely in charge. About the stated aims that the press publicizes: Well, you said you would change your name, that you would not be Hugo Chavez Frias if, one year after he took power, there were a single street urchin in Venezuela. Now, seven years laters, Mr. XXX, have you chosen a name? [from Lorenzo]



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