Counter Editorial: A Specter is Haunting the Western Hemisphere – The Specter of Democracy (Imperialism US Style)
Editorial Note: After reading the piece below we decided to write a counter editorial because of the repugnant statements and lies embedded in it. We will cut the original writing and add our comments in bold letters. The original piece is linked below. It was posted, strangely, in English only on the website of the US Embassy in Guatemala and in Spanish in the portal MEDIUM (under a US Department of State account) and from there replicated four days ago in the most right wing news outlets all over Latin America.
By Michael Kozak / Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs,
U.S. Department of State (AKA US Imperialism)
Counter Editorial by Jesus Rodriguez-Espinoza / OT Editor
Sometimes-violent protests have recently filled the streets of cities across the Americas.
There is only one America regardless of what U.S. geography says.
Some critics once again seek to cast the United States as a convenient foil, using an outdated Cold War-era ideological framework.
Interesting because it’s the US and its puppet satellite governments in the region that are whining about super mustache (aka President Maduro) and Cuba as the evil communists promoting riots in Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia and Colombia, among other places.
The United States may not always agree on policy or rhetoric, but the United States respects our neighbors; we respect their right to democratic self-determination. But we share a responsibility that comes with living in this hemisphere of freedom.
Really?
What about this?
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Democratic self-determination demands a commitment to the respect for human rights, the separation of powers, and the rule of law.
Can someone really believe that the US respects human rights at this stage of humanity, after Abu Ghraib, the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Yemen, black lives matter, Obama’s drone carnival in the Middle East, etc., etc.?
When our neighbors are tested, and when authoritarians subvert the democratic rule of law to retain power or unlawful profit, we as a community have an obligation to come together and support those who push back through democratic, constitutional institutions.
Community?
Where?
Are there puppet governments complicit in US atrocities in the region because they love to be puppets or because they are blackmailed and pushed to behave like that.
This applies in Venezuela, where Nicolás Maduro rigged an election by disqualifying his opponents,
Really? So if a politician commits a flagrant crime Venezuelan justice isn’t be able to put him/her in jail? Very different from what happened with Lula, Dilma, Correa and more recently, Evo being judicialized by very weak judicial processes just to keep them out of elections.
censoring the media,
Come to Venezuela to see right wing media in action every single day!
and engaging in outright vote fraud in May 2018.
Outrageous! at least provide a single proof of fraud. The only fraud was committed by the anti-Chavistas against their followers when they decided not to run in those elections because they know that Chavismo is a strong force and also because they were instructed to boycott by their masters in Washington.
While almost all countries from our hemisphere now recognize the legitimacy of interim President Juan Guaidó, Venezuela continues to suffer under Maduro’s authoritarian misrule and his violent repression of the Venezuelan people.
Interesting statement. translated: “while we have pushed tons of countries to recognize guaido and only 50 something (several months ago) officially made a statement about it (that doesn’t mean they acted accordingly in diplomatic terms), more than 140 countries in the world have not accepted this US imposition and the UN only recognizes Maduro’s government.” but at the same time, this second rank imperial bureaucrat acknowledges their complete failure trying to oust Maduro using the Guaido operation (now exhausted).
As fellow Americans, we all share an obligation to Venezuela and her people to help them end the tyranny of Maduro and restore democracy to their country.
Wow, these gringos from Washington are so good. they do not want our oil or our gold. . .they do not want to do the same looting they are doing in Syria.
This applies in Bolivia, where now-former President Evo Morales tried to subvert the democratic process. He disregarded constitutional term limits, eroded separation of powers by filling the judiciary and electoral institutions with his cronies, and then engaged in outright fraud in an attempt to remain in power.
So for this kind of racist, whitey Angela Merkel is cool when she stays in office for more than 14 years but the indian Evo is an autocrat for doing so, even though the decision was taken by the Bolivian Supreme Court when, at this stage, we know just a few in the Bolivian state were really hard core Evo loyalists.
And fraud again without proof. There is no evidence of fraud in the Bolivian elections.
The Bolivian people and institutions rallied in support of their constitution and against this power grab and Morales abandoned his office and Bolivia.
Oh! the dictator abandoned power. It is just an illusion that the police rebelled against Morales and the army’s highest commander requested Morales’ resignation.
The people of Bolivia, including many members of the political movement Morales once led to power, are making progress in the delicate process of returning power to the people. Like in Venezuela, we stand on the side of our Bolivian neighbors as they build their democratic future.
Yes, of course you love that trend. In Bolivia the de facto government is hunting “MAS” members, social leaders and anyone supporting Evo, preparing the environment to have the “fair” elections the US loves. but don’t worry, this cannot be called foreign meddling in elections because that only applies to the US.
However, while we defend the right of assembly, we cannot support blindly the tyranny of violent street protests in places where legitimate democratic paths of political expression are available.
Interesting! you should have made that statement publicly during the violent protests promoted by your Venezuelan right wing puppets in 2006, 2013, 2014 and 2017.
In such places, peaceful protests afford the people another avenue for expression and dialogue with their political leaders. Unfortunately, we also have seen spoilers, oftentimes supported by foreign regimes, violently hijack these protests in a bid to thwart or undo democratic outcomes.
Here we go with Super Mustache and the bad Cuban communists, the cold war era ideological framework, mentioned by you at the very beginning of this piece
United States foreign policy is to work with all political leaders who support democracy, rule of law, and respect for human rights. We respect the rights of our neighbors to find their best political path forward. But we cannot allow authoritarian overreach — by government or the street — to fix elections, stifle dialogue, and deny political opposition a voice, regardless of where these voices fall on the political spectrum.
You gringos are not in the position of allowing or not allowing anything. You just have to mind your own business. You racists and supremacists have no rights over Latin America and you can put your Monroe Doctrine up your underarm.
The old Cold War divides between the left and the right have given way to divides between democrats and their opponents inside and outside of government.
Here we go again. do you really know what democracy means, do you think the plutocracy in the US is really democracy, come on!
This U.S. administration has led the way in supporting our family of Western democracies, pushing for the will of the people to be heard. U.S. policies in the hemisphere are designed to support the democratic majorities who defend or strive to restore democratic dignity.
Yeah! democracy…of course…ask the 200 million US citizens not voting in your elections, or the Afro Americans not voting for gerrymandered voting districts, or the Latinos being hunted and deported like bunnies, or the millions in the homeless population all over the country.
If we are committed to democracy in our region, we must help each other find the way back to its realization. We call on our Western Hemisphere neighbors to unite in support of these shared goals and make ours truly a hemisphere of hope for the democratic aspirations of our peoples.
Do you really believe that Latinos at this time in history are buying this shit? Not even your puppet political pals buy it! They just take it as the only way to grab power. The whole world already knows that the US does not care about democracy, human rights or anything human. The US empire only cares about money, oil, lithium, gold, etc., etc.
Interesting that with your successful coalition of forces against “Maduro’s tyranny” you are calling for unity. Interesting!!!
Source URL: US Embassy in Guatemala
OT/JRE/EF
