Venezuela now has two Presidents - Maury Povich coming next to let country know who is the leader

[Jimmy Higgins]

Looks like Venezuela is going for it all, getting a second President.

link

Backed by hundreds of thousands of protesters and the support of the United States, Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president on Wednesday, calling for free elections to end the rule of socialist Nicolas Maduro.

So a person who didn't win an election is declaring himself the interim leader and demanding a new election.

Current also President Maduro is likely not to cede to such a demand from President #2... and he is apparently paying the military off just enough to keep his ass in office. However, President Trump has recognized the Guaido as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.

 

[dismal]

So a person who didn't win an election is declaring himself the interim leader and demanding a new election.

The last election was a sham. This guy is as least as legitimate a President as Maduro. More, if you consider the fact he hasn't totally fucked the country over yet.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Ya, when you don’t actually have any type of democratic process, “Fuck you, I’m the leader now” is as good as anything else for determining who’s in charge.

 

[dismal]

Ya, when you don’t actually have any type of democratic process, “Fuck you, I’m the leader now” is as good as anything else for determining who’s in charge.

Well, what Higgins failed to note is he's the head of the congress that was elected and Maduro decided to ignore because it opposed him.

It's not unlike if Trump declared the US congress null and void after his party lost the election, and then that US Congress declared Nancy Pelosi the new president.

Or, for you Canadians, if the Canadian teams in the NHL declared the Capital's Stanley Cup null and void because they hadn't won one in 25 years and gave it back to the Canadiens where it belongs.

 

[skepticalbip]

It is a shame that the U.S. news has refused to cover (more than very superficially) what has been happening in Venezuela for the last year or two.

The OAS has rejected the validity of the last election. The Lima group which includes most of the OAS member states insisted that Maduro step down well before that election. Canada is a member of the Lima group (the U.S. isn't) that insisted he leave and also rejected the last election. Last month, Venezuela ejected Canadian ambassadors and broke relations with Canada.... etc. There has been a hell of a lot of uproar that the US media really should have covered because it was events that effect the Americas much more than what they spent their time covering - political personalities and the names they are calling each other.

ETA:
Oh yeah, one of Maduro's acts that twisted the panties of the OAS and the Lima group not to mention the Venezuelan citizens is that the National Assembly (similar to our Congress) is controlled by opposition members. Maduro's solution? Ignore the National Assembly and create a National Constituent Assembly which he fills with supporters then declares them to be the governing body. The National Assembly is still the elected representatives of the people and still exist but are completely ignored. It is only the National Constituent Assembly that he created and controls that he defers to. Juan Guaido is the president of the National Assembly.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

It is a shame that the U.S. news has refused to cover (more than very superficially) what has been happening in Venezuela for the last year or two.

The OAS has rejected the validity of the last election. The Lima group which includes most of the OAS member states insisted that Maduro step down well before that election. Canada is a member of the Lima group (the U.S. isn't) that insisted he leave and also rejected the last election. Last month, Venezuela ejected Canadian ambassadors and broke relations with Canada.... etc. There has been a hell of a lot of uproar that the US media really should have covered because it was events that effect the Americas much more than what they spent their time covering - political personalities and the names they are calling each other.

ETA:
Oh yeah, one of Maduro's acts that twisted the panties of the OAS and the Lima group not to mention the Venezuelan citizens is that the National Assembly (similar to our Congress) is controlled by opposition members. Maduro's solution? Ignore the National Assembly and create a National Constituent Assembly which he fills with supporters then declares them to be the governing body. The National Assembly is still the elected representatives of the people and still exist but are completely ignored. It is only the National Constituent Assembly that he created and controls that he defers to. Juan Guaido is the president of the National Assembly.

Well clearly Guaido needs to run for a position in the NCA then. Not Maduro’s fault the opposition isn’t even in the right government. [emoji2]

 

[barbos]

I am confused, they say Maduro was reelected last march, it's almost a year ago, was there something which transpired this particular revolt? or it was just slow development?

 

[Derec]

So a person who didn't win an election is declaring himself the interim leader and demanding a new election.

Well, Maduro didn't win the election either, not really. And the reason Gualdo is calling for new elections, is for the new president to have democratic legitimization. That's an encouraging sign. I hope he succeeds.

Current also President Maduro is likely not to cede to such a demand from President #2... and he is apparently paying the military off just enough to keep his ass in office.

Military is the key. Will they do the right thing or continue to back the incompetent dictator who is destroying the country more and more each day?

However, President Trump has recognized the Guaido as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.

Well, the bus driver is certainly not the legitimate leader of Venezuela, so why not?

 

[Derec]

I am confused, they say Maduro was reelected last march, it's almost a year ago, was there something which transpired this particular revolt? or it was just slow development?

Not that slow. Maduro regime replaced the "strong bolivar" (bolivar being the currency of Venezuela) with "sovereign bolivar" in August 2018 with 100,000 strong bolivars being equal to 1 sovereign bolivar. Then, $1 would get you ~70 bolivars. Today, it gets you 2380. That's 3,400% in 5 months.
At the same time, the oil production in Venezuela, whose total oil reserves rival those of Saudi Arabia, has pretty much collapsed.
Venezuelan crude production continued to decline in December
Note that Venezuela used to produce 3 Mbbl/d!

In other words, Chavez and Maduro really FUBARed their country!

 

[barbos]

Maduro was inaugurated on 10 January 2019.

Oh, I now understand, they just had inauguration, it's a lot of time between elections (May 2018) and inauguration

 

[dismal]

Maduro was inaugurated on 10 January 2019.

Oh, I now understand, they just had inauguration, it's a lot of time between elections (May 2018) and inauguration

I am sure they have been saying the election was illegitimate all along. Perhaps the opposition felt they were able to stir up enough foreign support to make this move. It's not without personal risk.

 

[Elixir]

So a person who didn't win an election is declaring himself the interim leader and demanding a new election.

The last election was a sham. This guy is as least as legitimate a President as Maduro. More, if you consider the fact he hasn't totally fucked the country over yet.

Ah. Our last election as a sham too! So Hillary is at least as legitimate a President as Cheato. More so, in that she hasn't hasn't totally fucked the country over yet, shut down the government, executed Putin's agenda, or tampered with witnesses (that we know of).
Got it.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So a person who didn't win an election is declaring himself the interim leader and demanding a new election.

The last election was a sham. This guy is as least as legitimate a President as Maduro. More, if you consider the fact he hasn't totally fucked the country over yet.

Well yeah, it was a sham. But so is swearing in yourself as a President.

 

[dismal]

So a person who didn't win an election is declaring himself the interim leader and demanding a new election.

The last election was a sham. This guy is as least as legitimate a President as Maduro. More, if you consider the fact he hasn't totally fucked the country over yet.

Ah. Our last election as a sham too! So Hillary is at least as legitimate a President as Cheato. More so, in that she hasn't hasn't totally fucked the country over yet, shut down the government, executed Putin's agenda, or tampered with witnesses (that we know of).
Got it.

I realize Underseer seems to be gone but we really don't need a new forum clown.

 

[Elixir]

Ah. Our last election as a sham too! So Hillary is at least as legitimate a President as Cheato. More so, in that she hasn't hasn't totally fucked the country over yet, shut down the government, executed Putin's agenda, or tampered with witnesses (that we know of).
Got it.

I realize Underseer seems to be gone but we really don't need a new forum clown.

Hey, I get your point. But you didn't address mine. Sure - it's a bit hyperbolic, but why does "good for the goose, good for the gander" not apply here?
It's disappointing that you resort to ad-hom insults when your own statement is used to its logical extreme.

 

[PyramidHead]

Having a rigged election that favors a despotic leader like Maduro does not excuse a coup by another politician and the immediate backing of this move by the United States, Canada, and others. Predictably, the new president is exactly the type that the United States has always preferred for South and Central America, a continent we have always regarded as our personal playground.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Having a rigged election that favors a despotic leader like Maduro does not excuse a coup by another politician and the immediate backing of this move by the United States, Canada, and others. Predictably, the new president is exactly the type that the United States has always preferred for South and Central America, a continent we have always regarded as our personal playground.

Well, neither of them is actually a legitimate leader. One of them, however, is promising to hold elections within a few weeks while the other is just declaring himself legitimate and enforcing that through the army.

Given that the choices are to either support one side or to stand aside and let a civil war with thousands of innocent deaths decide the matter, supporting one side is the clear moral choice and it's not a tough decision which of them to support.

 

[Jayjay]

America, or any country, shouldn't back up a contender just because they wish he'd succeed. If he doesn't, then that's just embarrassing. And recent history has plenty of examples of failed revolutions.

Always back the winner, and if it's not clear who that is, sit down and wait.

 

[dismal]

So a person who didn't win an election is declaring himself the interim leader and demanding a new election.

The last election was a sham. This guy is as least as legitimate a President as Maduro. More, if you consider the fact he hasn't totally fucked the country over yet.

Well yeah, it was a sham. But so is swearing in yourself as a President.

a) He didn't "swear himself in" he was sworn in by the duly elected congress as their leader.
b) His argument would be he's the most democratically elected person in the country.
c) He's probably right.

- - - Updated - - -

Ah. Our last election as a sham too! So Hillary is at least as legitimate a President as Cheato. More so, in that she hasn't hasn't totally fucked the country over yet, shut down the government, executed Putin's agenda, or tampered with witnesses (that we know of).
Got it.

I realize Underseer seems to be gone but we really don't need a new forum clown.

Hey, I get your point. But you didn't address mine. Sure - it's a bit hyperbolic, but why does "good for the goose, good for the gander" not apply here?
It's disappointing that you resort to ad-hom insults when your own statement is used to its logical extreme.

When Trump disbands the US congress I'll be right there with you.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Well yeah, it was a sham. But so is swearing in yourself as a President.

a) He didn't "swear himself in" he was sworn in by the duly elected congress as their leader.
b) His argument would be he's the most democratically elected person in the country.
c) He's probably right.

Don't forget:

d) His entire plan revolves around being President for a month until new elections can be had