Before we dive into problems with elections, I will say this: there are solutions. I need to pull out this long-time campaign slogan of mine as a reminder to myself and everyone else. You will see the section “There Are Solutions” below. As to the problems…
A friend sent me an Associated Press news article with the conniving title “Opposition gains as Chavez family loses supporters on its home turf.”
They know what they’re doing. By publishing such an article, the super-rich and their media outlets know the value of social approval. People want to fit in with what they think others are doing. The concentrated wealth know that if they say they are winning, people believe it and lose heart. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. They assert, “Everyone is turning away from candidates we don’t support (such as Socialists, Greens, and other alternative parties), and turning toward the candidates we feature. Or they’re not voting at all,” and people fall in line to fit in with “everyone.” I remember leaning about it in school as the “bandwagon approach.”
Associated Press is not on the side of regular people. The corporate press, whether in Venezuela or elsewhere, has never been on the side of presidents like Hugo Chavez. The article’s focus on the wealth of Chavez’ brothers reminds me of Matt Gonzalez and his no-corporate-money mayoral race in San Francisco in 2003. The press tries to turn regular folks against legitimate people’s candidates like Matt Gonzalez and Hugo Chavez by painting them as rich.
Meanwhile, the really rich use their incredible stock of resources, including media, banks and other huge corporations, to create the economic hardships, scarcity, and sacrifices people suffer, whether in Venezuela or elsewhere. Then their media outlets report the crime and poverty as a problem of the Chavez or Maduro government rather than a problem the super-rich are creating.
There Are Solutions
One great solution is for us to realize what the 1% already realizes: 99% beats 1% every time. No matter how much money or fraud is thrown into elections, people can refuse to retreat into what Rabbi Michael Lerner has called surplus powerlessness. People can win power, even against huge resources. The city of Richmond, California provides a great example of that when the Richmond Progressive Alliance no-corporate-money candidates win against Chevron money.
Mark your calendar for Sunday, December 6, and pay attention to Venezuelan elections. Also, check out the nocorporatemoney.org website, which is expected to be up and running. There you will be able to declare your intention to vote for candidates who take no corporate money.
There are many phrases that apply to these times, in Latin America as well as the United States and world: hasta la victoria siempre; keep the faith, baby; and never never never give up.
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The link to the AP article is HERE.
Chavez trashed his own country