Nicolas Maduro Wins Venezuelan Presidency in Close Race

[ReindeerThistle]

The predictions were close, and once again the principles of the Bolivarian Consitution and the Bolivarian Revolution have prevailed. Congratulations, Maduro. Viva Venezuela!

Edit: Here is where I saw it happen!

 

[TheLastOne36]

Well, my mothers country now has a hopeless future.

I don't know what's worse, the very real possibility of the elections being rigged, or that half of Venezuelans are stupid enough to vote for this clown.

I fear for the opposition and also for some chavistas that opposed Maduro. They better gtfo of the country asap. Maduro won't tolerate them.

 

[Neomega]

CIA is salivating at what it can do now to Venezuela, since it just got done jerking off to news of Chavez' death.

Very weak showing for Maduro. Probably going to lead to division, decay, and I know, CIA is keeping their fingers crossed, civil war.

 

[TheLastOne36]

I wonder what other country in the world would vote for the candidate that is turning the country into a pseudo-colony of the Castro brothers.

At the end of the day, a good chunk of Venezuelans voted for him and probably believe he along with Cuba is the right path for the country. I am really sorry for the other half aren't misguided fools.

At least I can finally forget I ever have a relation with that country. Chapter closed.

 

[TheLastOne36]

Hmm first thing Maduro did in his speech was call all those who voted for Capriles evil bourgeoisie and traitors. Great start.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

CIA is salivating at what it can do now to Venezuela, since it just got done jerking off to news of Chavez' death.

Very weak showing for Maduro. Probably going to lead to division, decay, and I know, CIA is keeping their fingers crossed, civil war.

Read Eva Golinger's The Chavez Code, if you have not already. The US spends millions trying to destabilize Venezuela -- even more on Cuba. And they have survived. Even IF Maduro lost, you would still have the Comunas and the Bolivarian Circles, and the Misiones. No one can TAKE socialism from a people, they have to give it away. And even though 50.66% voted for Maduro, 75% use the Country's free public healh system -- and that means something.

So, be of good cheer. Socialism is winning!

 

[TheLastOne36]

Read Eva Golinger's The Chavez Code, if you have not already. The US spends millions trying to destabilize Venezuela -- even more on Cuba. And they have survived. Even IF Maduro lost, you would still have the Comunas and the Bolivarian Circles, and the Misiones. No one can TAKE socialism from a people, they have to give it away. And even though 50.66% voted for Maduro, 75% use the Country's free public healh system -- and that means something.

So, be of good cheer. Socialism is winning!

My grandmother would be dieing from breast cancer right now because there are no medical supplies in Venezuela to do the necessary chemotherapy, and the waiting list for doctors is several months. Luckily I sold the car I had to leave behind in Venezuela and used the money to help pay for a private clinic in Colombia. Viva Socialism.

Not everyone is lucky enough to have an affluent foreigner grandson.

If you want to talk about the success of socialism, check out Scandinavia. What Venezuela has is just mentiras frescas.

 

[bhsup]

Socialism is winning!

I weep for the world.

 

[Ajidica]

From what I have read of Maduro, he seems to have Chavez's flaws with few redeeming characteristics while Capriles came off pretty decently.

My grandmother would be dieing from breast cancer right now because there are no medical supplies in Venezuela to do the necessary chemotherapy, and the waiting list for doctors is several months. Luckily I sold the car I had to leave behind in Venezuela and used the money to help pay for a private clinic in Colombia. Viva Socialism.

Not everyone is lucky enough to have an affluent foreigner grandson.

If you want to talk about the success of socialism, check out Scandinavia. What Venezuela has is just mentiras frescas.

Speaking purely from a devil's advocate point of view, isn't it a better use of medical resources to focus on improving base quality-of-life issue (such as vaccinations, combating malnutrition, etc) rather than focusing on -to be completely blunt- luxury medicine? If I was a health ministry official and had to choose between chemo treatments for one person or vaccines for twenty, I would go with the vaccines for twenty.

 

[ace99]

Ahaaha I have no horse in this race but its always nice to see white people cry.

http://whitepeoplemourningromney.tumblr.com/

 

[BirraImperial]

Either most Venezuelans have been brainwashed by government propaganda or most are just so stupid that voted for this clown...

 

[ace99]

rather than focusing on -to be completely blunt- luxury medicine?

In what universe is chemotherapy a luxury?

 

[Formaldehyde]

Hmm first thing Maduro did in his speech was call all those who voted for Capriles evil bourgeoisie and traitors. Great start.

Unlike you who called the new leader a "clown" while insinuating the voting must be rigged, that people who voted for him were "stupid", and that those who voted against him should now be in fear of their own lives. "Great start" albeit quite predictable.

I just love these threads. It invariably brings out those who are still fighting the Cold War.

 

[Ajidica]

In what universe is chemotherapy a luxury?

In a developing country you can spent a boatload of money on one (old) person for a treatment that may not work or you can spend the money on vaccines and malnutrition aid for children or similar sorts of medicine. Perhaps I have a very warped moral core but if I am forced into making life-or-death decisions I would go with the decision that yields the largest return.

 

[Formaldehyde]

First it should be shown that chemotherapy is a treatment only given to certain people in Venezuela like Chavez, instead of one which is readily available.

A Look at the Venezuelan Healthcare System

The right to health care is guaranteed in the Venezuelan Constitution, which was written and ratified by the people in 1999. Through implementing a state-funded social program called Barrio Adentro, or inside the barrio, free comprehensive health care is available to all Venezuelans. Beginning in June 2003 through a trade pact with Cuba, Venezuela began to bring Cuban doctors, medical technology, and medications into rural and urban communities free of charge in exchange for low-cost oil. The 1.5 million dollar per year program expanded to provide a broad network of small neighborhood clinics, larger regional clinics, and hospitals which aim to serve the entire Venezuelan population. (1) Chavez has referred to this new health care system as the "democratization of health care" stating that "health care has become a fundamental social right and the state will assume the principal role in the construction of a participatory system for national public health." (2) In Venezuela, not only is health care a right; it is recognized as essential for true participatory democracy.

Some of what characterizes this movement towards health care for all includes popular participation, preventative medicine, and evaluation of community health issues. Western medicine typically operates in a top-down fashion. Doctors treat symptoms, and often fail to evaluate the larger picture of community health issues or teach prevention. (3) In a private for-profit system, there is little incentive to prevent costly illnesses. In Venezuela, however, Barrio Adentro began constructing clinics within neighborhoods where many had never been to a doctor. Through this program, a community can organize to receive funding to build a clinic and bring in doctors. The community is responsible for creating health committees, the members of which go door to door to assess the specific health issues of their community. Doctors who live in the communities also make house calls. (4) People participate in the process of serving the health needs of the entire population.


The extensive health program is also being used to train a new generation of Venezuelan doctors. The training program takes place within the clinic system itself and relies heavily on experiential learning. The program seeks to build a new relationship between doctor and patient based on the values of service, solidarity and compassion. Doctors participating in the training program are coming from the communities they are learning in and serving, building on their intimate knowledge of the communities to provide truly compassionate and personalized care. Using popular forums, medical professionals are able to respond to the needs of the community and offer education, treatment and consultation addressing unique public health issues.(6)

Although the system began by focusing exclusively on preventative health, it has expanded to include emergency health services, mental health services, surgeries, cancer treatment, dental care, access to optometrists as well as free glasses and contact lenses, support systems for those with disabilities and their families, as well as access to a large variety of medical specialists. They have succeeded in taking an under funded, corrupt public health care system and changing not only the quality and accessibility but also the mentality of those working there. Instead of a for-profit industry systematically denying access to large sectors of the population, health care in Venezuela is seen as a basic human right. No one is turned away, and no one is denied care. In Venezuela, they treat whole person, not simply their illness, and money stays where it belongs- outside of the health care system.(7)

After all, we aren't talking about the US here.

This past year, a family friend was not so lucky. At the age of 56, she was going back to school and was uninsured. She came down with what she thought was a severe case of the flu, and as her condition worsened she decided not to see a doctor because of the cost. She died at home in bed, losing her life to a system that did not respect her basic human right to survive. Her death is not an isolated incident. Over 18,000 United States residents die every year because of their lack of prohibitively expensive health insurance. The United States has the distinct honor of being the "only wealthy industrialized nation that does not ensure that all citizens have coverage".(8) Instead, we have commodified the public health and well being of those live in the US, leaving them on their own to obtain insurance. Those whose jobs do not provide insurance, can't get enough hours to qualify for health care coverage through their workplace, are unemployed, or have "previously existing conditions" that exclude them from coverage are forced to choose between the potentially fatal decision of refusing medical care and accumulating medical bills that trap them in an inescapable cycle of debt. And sometimes, that decision is made for them. Doctors often ask that dreaded question; "do you have insurance?" before scheduling critical tests, procedures, or treatments. When the answer is no, treatments that were deemed necessary before are suddenly canceled as the ability to pay becomes more important than the patient's health.(9)

It is estimated that there are over fifty million United States residents currently living without health insurance, a number that will skyrocket as unemployment rates increase and people lose their work-based health care coverage in this time of international financial crisis.(10) Already this year, 7.5 million people have lost work-related coverage. Budget cuts for the state of Washington this year will remove over forty thousand people from Washington Basic Health, a subsidized program which already has a waiting list of seventeen thousand people.(11) As I returned to the US from Venezuela, I was faced with the realization that as a society, the United States places a monetary value on life. That we make life and death judgments based on an individual's ability to pay. And that someone with the same condition I had recently recovered from had died because, according to our system, her life wasn't insured.

 

[TheLastOne36]

Ahaaha I have no horse in this race but its always nice to see white people cry.

http://whitepeoplemourningromney.tumblr.com/

I am brown alongside many of Capriles' supporters.

Unlike you who called the new leader a "clown" while insinuating the voting must be rigged, that people who voted for him were "stupid", and that those who voted against him should now be in fear of their own lives. "Great start" albeit quite predictable.

I just love these threads. It invariably brings out those who are still fighting the Cold War.

Difference being I am not a recently elected head of state.

Plus he is a clown in any and every way.

edit: Also the election can be justifiably called rigged with what information we have available. Thousands of undocumented Cubans and Colombians arrived in the country and were given documents to vote for Maduro. Voting machines that were not even used were found to be registered with thousands of votes favoring Maduro as well. People favoring him voted with 10+ fake IDs each. There were cases of armed thugs threatening voters at gunpoint in front of booths. A lot of this was reported live (Venezuelan voters formed mobs to not allow Cubans in for example). Not to mention the fact that we had to wait over 4 hours for the election results after everything was counted. For reference, Chavez was called president at 8pm last year. Many people are pointing to fraud, not just me.

Speaking purely from a devil's advocate point of view, isn't it a better use of medical resources to focus on improving base quality-of-life issue (such as vaccinations, combating malnutrition, etc) rather than focusing on -to be completely blunt- luxury medicine? If I was a health ministry official and had to choose between chemo treatments for one person or vaccines for twenty, I would go with the vaccines for twenty.

When your country has billions of oil money, you can spend money on both chemo and vaccines.



I am leaving this thread for a while to allow the news to sink in and to collect my thoughts on the matter. I don't feel like dealing with Forma just yet, and he is right, I am posting with more emotion than reason.

 

[MobBoss]

The predictions were close, and once again the principles of the Bolivarian Consitution and the Bolivarian Revolution have prevailed. Congratulations, Maduro. Viva Venezuela!

Edit: Here is where I saw it happen!

Well, all I know is if you are cheering for this, it's got to be a bad thing.

 

[Antilogic]

Subbing for the inevitable showdown.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Subbing for the inevitable showdown.

Me, too. I started this thread to draw the right-wingers off of Ask a Red and North Korea threads.

We Buckeyes are always up or a good scrap. Pass the

Case in point:

Well, all I know is if you are cheering for this, it's got to be a bad thing.

I take that as a compliment, BTW!

 

[Leoreth]

I weep for the world.

Why? Socialism has given every Cuban the opportunity to own a valuable vintage car, for instance.