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amieres
68p338 comments posted · 0 followers · following 1
16 years ago @ Caracas Chronicles - Dictatorship means nev... · 1 reply · +1 points
Really? Before forums and chats I knew so little about so many different points of views on so many issues, that at the beginning I lived in constant awe of the newly discovered diversity. It hasn't been all good, one thing you discover is that there are so many deranged and extreme opinions out there, consensus seems an eternal imposibility. The most we can hope for is a modicum of tolerance and respect.
16 years ago @ Caracas Chronicles - Dictatorship means nev... · 0 replies · +1 points
16 years ago @ Caracas Chronicles - Dictatorship means nev... · 0 replies · +1 points
1- They just don't know enough and don't care (i.e. Sean Penn)
2- They have ulterior motives for supporting Chavez
Since I doubt Wilpert would put himself in category 1, I would place him in 2 in which case arguing with him would be a waste of time. While you're trying to reason, he is playing a sophist game.
16 years ago @ Caracas Chronicles - Rules for Subversives · 1 reply · +1 points
16 years ago @ Caracas Chronicles - Rules for Subversives · 0 replies · +1 points
Notice that I'm talking about "Extreme actions", actions that are all-or-nothing propositions, like an indefinite national strike, or the Referendum R. When they fail they leave a tremendous sense of defeat and a deflated oppostion, they become terrible set backs. So they should be reserved for last when their success is practically asssured. They should be the "coup de grace".
Meanwhile, there are plenty of actions that can be done but the first objective is what Capablanca proposes: to become a sizable majority. And this is done primarily through something called Politics: in other words talking to people (like Kepler says in the barrios, in the country) but also participating in elections whenever possible (in other words, normal politics, yes as if it were a normal country), because every political space is important.
16 years ago @ Caracas Chronicles - Rules for Subversives · 0 replies · +2 points
There is no situation where you can persuade the military to change sides against Chavez, unless you believe in spy games. It's not even desirable, you would be trading one Chavez for other, not for democracy. Please read http://www.aeinstein.org/
16 years ago @ Caracas Chronicles - Rules for Subversives · 0 replies · +1 points
Marches and strikes do work(in fact they worked to great effect in the past in Venezuela against Chavez), they're not the end all be all of resistance but they are a basic tool of demostration and message conveying. Chavez does them all the time (marches).
What's next ? First, you NEED to gather a sizable support from the population, enough to confront the formidable opponent Chavismo is. Once you have that, demonstrations (marches, strikes, sit downs, hunger strikes, (think Franklin Brito!) etc) should gather momentum all around. Disruptions of govenment operations (soft core sabotages) by disrguntled workers through different means should take place. Pressure should rise, until eventually somethig gives. Pressure is the name of the game, the end-game, but first its Politics (with capital P of popular support)
16 years ago @ Caracas Chronicles - Rules for Subversives · 0 replies · +1 points
Modern subversion techniques that reject violence and moraly questionable methods, rely mostly on communication and message spreading. In other words Politics (with capital P). Not everything is done in the open as the element of suprise is still important and certain people need to be protected, but with today' s technologies is very hard to keep anything secret from the government.
16 years ago @ Caracas Chronicles - Rules for Subversives · 0 replies · +1 points
"we have tried civil disobedience, marches national strikes to no effect"
What has been tried has had tremendous effects in it's moment but has fallen short of the final objective. The problem has been timing and gross miscalculation of the strengths of chavismo. We've always been looking for a checkmate without preparing the terrain first. An all out frontal attack against a fortified and armed opponent. Extreme actions when the conditions are not right only produce serious set-backs, as we all know by now.
Before attempting spectacular actions that risk everything, a lot more support is needed, First the opposition movement has to gather support from those that still back Chavez who still has 46% of support, that's a lot!
And I mean the common people not the military, those are the enemy.
With the support of the people then generalized subversion starts to become possible, eventually the pressure rises so much that something has got to give.
16 years ago @ Caracas Chronicles - Rules for Subversives · 0 replies · +1 points
Political support IS the name of the game. When a sizable majority of the population rejects the president AND come to realize that THEY have the power to remove him THEN everyone will follow including the people with guns. Political power is much more powerful than guns.
That has been the message of Petkoff all along, reread him and you'll notice it.
Opus