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An irrational bunch of dishonest, whisky-drinking sifrinos and aprovechadoresby Oscar HechAugust 17, 2004; www.vheadline.com Viva Venezuela! The Coordinadora Democratica (CD) said that it will not accept the referendum results announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE). The CD is a group of mostly-US-financed, active (and sometimes radical) anti-Chavez organizations all with only one thing in common: They hate Chavez and they want to "get rid of him." Wow! What a surprise! They do not accept the results! (Humph ) According to "their" figures (figures which are supposedly based on Sumate, one of the US-financed, anti-Chavez groups), the anti-Chavez votes totaled 58% in the August 15, 2004 referendum against Chavez meaning that Chavez would have only received 42% of the vote, thus losing the referendum. On the contrary, the official results provided by the CNE confirm that Chavez has won the referendum with 58% of the vote against 42% (for those Venezuelans who voted against Chavez). So far because all the votes have not yet been counted pro-Chavez votes amount to about 5 million and anti-Chavez votes are about 3.5 million ... out of a total possible number of votes of approximately 14 million. At last count, this means that about 60% of the population voted a total of 8.5 million people voted (of a possible 14 million). Voter turnout has improved slightly ... by about 2.5 million votes compared to the year-2000 elections in which about 6 million people voted. Chavez also won those elections with a clear majority. Also the people who strongly support Chavez (because they went out to vote for him) represent about 36% of the entire population (5 million votes of a potential 14 million) and anti-Chavez people represent about 25% of the entire population (3.5 million votes of a potential 14 million). This means that one in four people are anti-Chavez and one in 3 people are pro-Chavez. The CNE figures also reflect that about 40% of the population did not vote in the referendum. Important note: Being an anti-Chavez voter in this referendum does not necessarily imply that the person is pro-opposition. However, under the circumstances, the anti-Chavez votes are synonymous to pro-opposition votes especially since it is the Venezuelan opposition which spearheaded this referendum against Chavez. The other interesting thing is that whatever support the Venezuelan opposition has (say, a maximum of 25%, as per the referendum results), coincidentally translates into reality. About 15% of the Venezuelan population is from the middle and upper-middle classes (mostly anti-Chavez), about 5% of the population comes from the upper-classes (mostly anti-Chavez) ... and about 10% of the population (from the poorer classes) are in cahoots with the upper classes (mostly anti-Chavez as well). This represents a total of about 30% of the population who are anti-Chavez. My estimate is, that of this group of people, about 85% are also pro-opposition ... which would give a percentage of 25.5% of the population being pro-opposition which is approximately the amount of anti-Chavez (pro-opposition) votes in the referendum (about 25%). So ... the results of the referendum make good sense. What also makes sense is that (in my view) the majority of the people who did not vote (40% approx.) are from the ranks of the average working classes ... from the 80% (versus the 20% wealthy mid-to-upper classes). Most pro-Chavez voters (36% of the population) are also from the working classes. Therefore, the results of the referendum confirm that about 76% (40% plus 36%) of the Venezuelan population (plus or minus a small percentage) are from the working classes. This is reality. But what about the 40% (5.6 million people) who did not vote? A portion of these probably could not get out to vote. Another portion probably never votes and refuses to vote. I suspect that these two categories account for about half of the 40% which results in about 20% of 14 million people or 2.8 million people. Therefore, there are still about 2.8 million eligible voters out there who would perhaps vote (at some point in time) if the conditions were right for them. What Chavez and the opposition have to do for the next election in 2006-07, is to go get votes from these 2.8 million Venezuelans who could have voted in the referendum, but did not. This is the next challenge. Now, the CD leaders think that they are so intelligent and educated. As mentioned in the beginning of this article, they claim to have 58% of the vote (that is, votes against Chavez). This would mean that Chavez would have 42% of the votes. The CNE claims the contrary (Chavez 58% and anti-Chavez 42%) ... and the CNE's figures are probably quite accurate. So ... if one were to believe the CD, this means that the CD would need an additional 1.5 million votes (to go from 42% to 58%) and Chavez would have to lose 1.5 million votes (to go from 58% to 42%). This means a 3 million vote discrepancy! This 3 million vote discrepancy would represent an error of 35% (3 million votes discrepancy against 8.5 votes cast). This kind of discrepancy is outrageous and far from being close to any reality especially since the CNE was using high-tech voting machines and especially because the entire process was supervised by outside parties such as the Carter Center and the OAS, two institutions which had been "requested" by the CD itself. The opposition should realize that people aren't as dumb as they think. No reasoning and rational human being is going to say, "Uuuh, yeah ... we believe the CD because the CNE is so incompetent that they made an error of 35% duhhh even if Carter says the results are legitimate we cannot believe him even if we are the ones who requested him Carter doesn't know what he is doing." The Venezuelan opposition leadership should use its common sense a little better if it has any left or if it ever had any in the first place. I still cannot fathom how people can believe the CD leaders ... they are a bunch of dishonest trouble-makers who think so highly of themselves yet are totally incapable of acting in a rational fashion let alone come up with a semi-rational rationalization for their total ineptitude. Over the last 21 months of writing for Vheadline.com Venezuela, I have had pages and pages of letters from opposition supporters calling me: idiot, stupid, f......, sucker, imbecile, retard, uneducated, manipulator, liar, brainless, and much more. I also received piles of emails saying things like, " You idiot, you will see, when we win the referendum, you and all the people like you will be taken care of ... you will see." Over the months, I, as other reporters and writers, have also received death threats because we do not write against Chavez. This is the real character of the radical Venezuelan opposition. A-la-Bush, "If you are not with us, then you are against us." Today, I sit here with a smile, not only because Chavez has won the referendum, but because of my admiration for Venezuela. Venezuela is the most democratic country in the world and is an example to the rest of the world. Where else would you see people getting up at 3 in the morning on a Sunday to go vote? Where else in the world would you see people voting till the wee hours of the next morning after having waited in line for more than 8 hours? Before Chavez came into power, the Venezuelan mafias (Chavez calls them oligarquias) had been selling out Venezuela, selling it for peanuts to heartless outsiders while filling up their own pockets and leaving the country in economic ruin. Today, because of Chavez and his government, the bleeding is being stopped. Furthermore, it is being done with the support of the Venezuelan people as clearly witnessed by the referendum and by the fact that Chavez has been democratically re-elected on several occasions always with a majority! Most importantly for the first time in Venezuelan history, the people have a voice a voice which is finally being listened to. Chavez has given the people dignity. Viva Venezuela! Finally, people like Henry Ramos Allup (a CD spokesman), should think twice about what they say (or maybe not!) ... it only helps to confirm the dishonesty and the lack of human values which runs rampant within the Venezuelan opposition movement. I also have a suggestion. Venezuelan opposition-supporters who cannot accept reality (the results of the referendum) should leave Venezuela ... and settle down in Miami amongst the rest of the Latin American malcontents and mafias. I am sure they will be much happier there. Those who can accept reality should stop screaming and yelling and blocking streets and throwing stones and threatening people and should join in the process with open hearts and arms. You see, Venezuela needs a rational opposition ... not an irrational bunch of lazy, dishonest, big-mouthed, whining, spoiled, whisky-drinking sifrinos and aprovechadores who think that because they are "doctores" and "licenciados," they are more intelligent that the rest of the people. They aren't! Over and over again, it is being proved... Viva Venezuela!
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