{"id":151414,"date":"2020-01-13T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2020-01-13T12:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=151414"},"modified":"2020-01-11T08:42:31","modified_gmt":"2020-01-11T08:42:31","slug":"for-western-press-the-only-coup-in-venezuela-is-against-guaido","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/01\/for-western-press-the-only-coup-in-venezuela-is-against-guaido\/","title":{"rendered":"For Western Press, the Only Coup in Venezuela Is against Guaid\u00f3"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

NYT<\/p><\/div>\n

10 Jan 2020 – <\/em>The international corporate media have entered crisis mode following the replacement of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaid\u00f3 as head of the country\u2019s National Assembly.<\/p>\n

In headline after headline, Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro \u201cTakes Over\u201d (NBC<\/strong>, 1\/6\/20<\/a>), \u201cClaims Control of\u201d (New York Times<\/strong>, 1\/5\/20<\/a>; CNBC<\/strong>, 1\/6\/20<\/a>) or \u201cSeizes\u201d (Reuters<\/strong>, 1\/5\/20<\/a>; NPR<\/strong>, 1\/6\/20<\/a>) parliament, and \u201cOusts\u201d Guaid\u00f3 (Wall Street Journal<\/strong>, 1\/5\/20<\/a>) in the process.<\/p>\n

The Washington Post <\/strong>(1\/5\/20<\/a>) takes this hysteria to another level, hyperbolically proclaiming that \u201cVenezuela\u2019s Last Democratic Institution Falls as Maduro Attempts De Facto Takeover of National Assembly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such headlines obscure the elementary if inconvenient fact that Guaid\u00f3 failed to secure the necessary votes from his own coalition\u2019s deputies to continue as president of the legislature, leading him to convene a parallel, ad hoc session in the offices of the right-wing El Nacional <\/strong>newspaper.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Washington Post<\/strong> (1\/5\/20<\/a>) described Venezuelan lawmakers voting against someone other than Washington\u2019s chosen candidate to head the assembly as \u201csedition within the opposition.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Serving Up State Propaganda<\/h3>\n

Corporate journalists repeat unceasingly the US State Department talking point<\/a> that the January 5 assembly election, which chose Luis Parra as the legislative body\u2019s new president, was \u201cphony\u201d because Guaid\u00f3 and his loyalists were barred from attending the session, rendering the vote void.<\/p>\n

\u201cVenezuela\u2019s socialist government installed a new head of Congress on Sunday after armed troops blocked opposition legislators from entering parliament,\u201d Reuters<\/strong> (1\/5\/20<\/a>) misinformed readers.<\/p>\n

As Venezuelanalysis <\/strong>(1\/5\/20<\/a>) reported, this narrative was refuted by pro-Guaid\u00f3 lawmaker William Davila, who, after strolling in<\/a> to the legislature, told<\/a> press that with few exceptions, virtually all deputies were permitted to take their seats. Other senior opposition lawmakers, including the outgoing first and second vice presidents of the body, were visibly present<\/a> inside the parliament.<\/p>\n

Moreover, video evidence<\/a> reveals that Guaid\u00f3 was not himself \u201cprevented,\u201d as the New York Times<\/strong> (1\/5\/20<\/a>) had it, from entering the legislature, but rather refused to do so except in the company of fellow lawmakers whose parliamentary immunity had been revoked for alleged criminal offenses. Likely knowing he did not have the votes to secure reelection, Guaid\u00f3 appears to have declined to attend the session, going as far as to scale a fence in a publicity stunt widely reported by Western outlets that all but ignored the crucial facts behind the day\u2019s events.<\/p>\n

Corporate media followed up their lie that the pro-Guaid\u00f3 opposition was banned from parliament with the dubious claim that the subsequent vote held in the offices of El Nacional <\/strong>was \u201cofficial.\u201d The Washington Post<\/strong> (1\/5\/20<\/a>) matter-of-factly stated, \u201cIn a 100-to-0 tally \u2014 enough to put him over the top in a full session of the 167-seat chamber \u2014 those present reelected Guaid\u00f3 as head of the legislature.\u201d The reporters evidently neglected to inspect the actual vote tally<\/a>, which contained glaring irregularities such as votes by legislators abroad fleeing criminal charges, as well as those cast by substitutes for deputies who had already voted for Parra. As even hard-right, Miami-based journalist Patricia Polea highlighted<\/a>, Jose Regnault Hernandez, the substitute for newly sworn-in National Assembly Second Vice President Jose Gregorio Noriega, was allowed to vote for Guaid\u00f3 despite Noriega having himself stood for election on a rival ticket earlier that afternoon.<\/p>\n

It is also deeply ironic that Western outlets would rush to declare the legitimacy of an irregular vote held in the offices of a local newspaper<\/em>, given the lengths they have gone to deny the existence of press freedom in Venezuela (FAIR.org<\/strong>, 5\/20\/19<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

New York Times<\/p><\/div>\n

Why isn\u2019t Guaid\u00f3 in jail?<\/h3>\n

Procedural formalities aside, the real question, which corporate journalists will never ask, is why an opposition figure who arbitrarily declared himself \u201cinterim president\u201d<\/a> with the backing of hostile foreign powers, and who urged the military to rise up<\/a> to install him in the presidential office, would be permitted to set foot outside a jail cell in Venezuela, let alone stand for reelection as head of parliament?<\/p>\n

The answer would require admitting that this naked violation of sovereignty is only tolerated because of the constant threat of lawless imperial violence, which US corporate media enthusiastically cheerlead<\/a> against other independent Global South states like Iran.<\/p>\n

Instead, Western journalists continue to whitewash the US-sponsored coup\u2013the sixth major attempt<\/a> since 2002\u2013impugning Maduro\u2019s democratically elected government as \u201cauthoritarian\u201d or a \u201cdictatorship\u201d (FAIR.org<\/strong>, 4\/11\/19<\/a>;\u00a0 8\/5\/19<\/a>), which is newspeak for \u201clegitimate target for bombing and\/or murderous sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throwing to the wind any semblance of neutrality, the New York Times <\/strong>(1\/5\/20<\/a>) reported:<\/p>\n

Venezuela\u2019s authoritarian leader, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, moved on Sunday to consolidate his grip on power by taking control of the country\u2019s last independent institution and sidelining the lawmaker who had staked a rival claim to the presidency.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe political chaos comes at a time when Venezuela is facing economic collapse,\u201d the paper of record added, bolstering the rationale for Maduro\u2019s overthrow. \u201cHunger is widespread, and millions have fled the country.\u201d\u00a0 Like most corporate media (FAIR.org<\/strong>, 6\/26\/19<\/a>), the Times <\/strong>reflexively avoided mention of US economic sanctions\u2019 role in severely exacerbating the crisis and killing tens of thousands<\/a> since 2017, writing off the illegal, inhumane measures as \u201csanctions on Mr. Maduro\u2019s government.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the corporate press, it would appear that the only \u201ccoup\u201d is that perpetrated by Maduro in insisting on serving out his elected mandate (Washington Post<\/strong>, 1\/6\/20<\/a>; Wall Street Journal<\/strong>, 1\/6\/20<\/a>; Forbes<\/strong>, 1\/7\/20<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Concealing corruption<\/h3>\n

In their elegies to the \u201clast democratic institution in the authoritarian South American state\u201d (Washington Post, <\/strong>1\/5\/20<\/a>), Western journalists rarely attribute Guaid\u00f3 any significant blame for the perceived debacle.<\/p>\n

Despite acknowledging Guaid\u00f3\u2019s falling popularity, following his utter failure to oust Maduro, mainstream outlets have turned a blind eye to the opposition leader\u2019s string of humiliating scandals. Guaid\u00f3 has been linked<\/a> to Colombian paramilitary drug lords, while his inner circle has been accused of embezzling<\/a> hundreds of thousands of dollars in aid funds, among other illicit acts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The CBC<\/strong> (1\/6\/20<\/a>) has never referred to Juan Guaido as a \u201cwould-be president.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Tellingly, the only corruption allegations mentioned in the latest corporate coverage are those against Parra<\/a> and his dissident opposition colleagues.\u00a0Making little effort to conceal its bias, CBC <\/strong>(1\/6\/20<\/a>) describes the new National Assembly president as \u201ca previously unknown backbencher mired in accusations of bribe-taking,\u201d whose \u201crambling comments\u201d were challenged by journalists.<\/p>\n

The double standard is striking, given that Western media have devoted strenuous efforts over the past year to anointing a \u201cpreviously unknown backbencher\u201d as president of Venezuela. The attacks on Parra comes amid threats of US sanctions against him and other opposition politicians who broke with Guaid\u00f3. The blatant imperial blackmail recalls similar US threats<\/a> reportedly issued against opposition presidential candidate Henri Falc\u00f3n, who defied the opposition\u2019s 2018 electoral boycott that paved the way for the current coup efforts.<\/p>\n

Corporate journalists\u2019 discouragement over Guaid\u00f3\u2019s failures (FAIR.org<\/strong>, 7\/23\/19<\/a>) is becoming ever more pronounced (e.g., Reuters<\/strong>, 12\/3\/19<\/a>; Washington Post<\/strong>, 12\/17\/19<\/a>; New York Times<\/strong>, 1\/6\/20<\/a>). But at the end of the day, they have simply invested too much in this smooth, technocratic figure to fundamentally fault him, let alone actually question the imperial regime-change machinery<\/a> that produced him and his elite coterie.<\/p>\n

_____________________________________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucas Koerner is an editor and political analyst at<\/em> Venezuelanalysis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 fair.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

10 Jan 2020 – The international corporate media have entered crisis mode following the replacement of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaid\u00f3 as head of the country\u2019s National Assembly. In headline after headline, Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro \u201cTakes Over\u201d, \u201cClaims Control of\u201d or \u201cSeizes\u201d parliament, and \u201cOusts\u201d Guaid\u00f3 in the process. However, the elementary if inconvenient fact is that Guaid\u00f3 failed to secure the necessary votes from his own coalition\u2019s deputies to continue as president of the legislature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":151415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[120,393,276,267,1764,1050,378,541,559,234,109,287,249,70,557,126,172],"class_list":["post-151414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media","tag-conflict","tag-coup","tag-democracy","tag-geopolitics","tag-guaido","tag-imperialism","tag-journalism","tag-latin-america-caribbean","tag-maduro","tag-media","tag-politics","tag-power","tag-trump","tag-usa","tag-venezuela","tag-violence","tag-west"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}