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20/02/2012 | Latin America - Anti-Semitism and Name-calling on Venezuela's Election Stump

Jerry Brewer

Incumbent President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is finally facing a formidable opponent in the presidential elections to be held in October of this year. As usual, when under pressure or perceived ridicule via his own ego he has failed to consider the consequences of his venomous tongue.

 

Henrique Capriles Radonski easily won the opposition's presidential candidacy election on February 12, with two-thirds of the 3 million votes cast in the primary; 1,900,528 votes (64.2%) of the 3,059,024 votes cast.  Capriles, 39, is a Venezuelan politician that served from 2000 until 2008 as mayor of Baruta Municipality of Caracas. In November 2008 Capriles was elected Governor of Miranda State.

Capriles immediately drew attacks from the Chavez regime and its supporters in ridicule to openly discredit him. Allies of Chavez quickly started a smear campaign of Capriles by questioning his sexuality and mocking his Jewish roots. 

Venezuelan congressional leader Diosdado Cabello, a former military and longtime ally of Chavez, said: "Now we know who is the candidate of imperialism, of capitalism, and the right wing."

Adal Hernandez, a state radio commentator, wrote of Capriles, highlighting his Jewish family background, and titled it "The Enemy is Zionism."

Chavez, not to be outdone, in his usual confrontational and reckless demeanor, as well as his futile attempts at stately decorum (or lack thereof) within virtually any public forum, called Capriles a "low-life pig" instead of demonstrating any congratulatory salutation.

"You have a pig's tail, a pig's ears, you snort like a pig, you're a low-life pig. You're a pig, don't try and hide it," Chavez added at a ceremony for graduating medical students.

Capriles was accused by Chavez supporters and state media commentators of being "Washington's puppet," and they then circulated a cartoon depicting him wearing a swastika.

Capriles has remained a polished professional throughout the desperate tirades and socialist rhetoric of the Chavez regime.  He said he will not be drawn into mudslinging and wants to stay focused on issues such as unemployment, inflation, and crime.  "'The only confrontation I want is against violence, unemployment, corruption and other problems in Venezuela," he said.

The failure of Capriles to respond to the attacks prompted an even more aggressive President Chavez to taunt him further. "The loser is avoiding me. His advisers tell him not to confront me. You will have to confront me or run away," Chavez said. "Take off your mask. The only place you're going to govern is the land of Tarzan and his monkey Cheetah."

Capriles was not the only candidate in the primary to be ridiculed. Maria Corina Machado challenged Chavez to a debate last month, and Chavez replied, "The fly doesn't hunt the eagle."

It is easy to see that democratic principles are not being respected by the Hugo Chavez regime.  As well, Chavez himself has refused to repudiate the anti-Semitic attacks on his new opponent for President of Venezuela.

Throughout Chavez's tenure as Venezuela's leftist and socialist leader, he has willingly embraced the Iranians and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Chavez's hypocrisy is graphically demonstrated to a world audience as he supports the Iranian regime and its virulent anti-Semitism and stubborn denial of the Holocaust, as well as Iran's quest for nuclear armaments.  As for Ahmadinejad, he has repeatedly called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

Chavez has been no stranger to the Middle East and their circle of terror networks lurking and conspiring to do harm to the western hemisphere.  In 2001 Chavez paid presidential state visits to Iran, Iraq, and Libya.  Fidel Castro was quick to follow his protégé with visits to Syria, Libya, and Iran.  Chavez signed cooperation agreements with Saddam Hussein, Muammar Qaddafi, and Iran's ruling mullahs.  Iran eventually became the second largest investor in Venezuela (after the U.S.).  

Chavez's mentor, Fidel Castro, to the surprise of many, in an exclusive interview with Jeffrey Goldberg in The Atlantic magazine, criticized Ahmadinejad for "intensifying conflict in the Middle East by encouraging anti-Semitism in Iran."  However, since 1967 Cuba has always been fiercely critical of Israel.

Venezuelan Jewish leaders have complained about "verbal attacks against Venezuelan Jews by Chávez and members of his PSUV party." The administration has also been accused of "ignoring and encouraging various crimes committed against Venezuela's Jewish community," including the vandalism of a synagogue and an attack on a Jewish community center in Caracas in 2009.

While Henrique Capriles is proud of his Jewish ancestry and has never tried to shy away from it, he is a devout Catholic.

As Chavez and Capriles begin the final countdown to the election, Venezuelans can judge any persistent anti-Semitism used by the Chavez regime "as a divisive political tool to scapegoat Jews," Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote in a recent statement.


**Jerry Brewer is C.E.O. of Criminal Justice International Associates, a global threat mitigation firm headquartered in northern Virginia.  His website is located at http://www.cjiausa.org/.

Mexidata.info (Estados Unidos)

 


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