Brasileiro assume pela primeira vez o comando do Instituto de Políticas Públicas em Direitos Humanos do Mercosul

O advogado brasileiro Paulo Abrão tomou posse nesta quarta-feira (11) como presidente do Instituto de Políticas Públicas em Direitos Humanos do Mercosul (IPPDH). Ele foi indicado para o cargo pela ministra da Secretaria de Direitos Humanos da Presidência da República, Ideli Salvatti, em novembro do ano passado, durante Reunião de Altas Autoridades em Direitos Humanos do Mercosul, em Buenos Aires. Paulo Abrão é mestre em Direito, foi secretário Nacional de Justiça e tem amplo histórico de militância em Direitos Humanos. Ele sucederá o argentino Victor Abramovich. O Instituto de Políticas Públicas em Direitos Humanos do Mercosul é um organismo regional criado pelo Mercosul em 2009, com sede em Buenos Aires. O IPPDH tem como funções principais a cooperação técnica, a pesquisa, a capacitação e o apoio à coordenação de políticas em direitos humanos da região. Esta é a primeira vez que o instituto será comandado por um brasileiro. Segue abaixo entrevista concedida ao site da SDH/PR:

Quais suas perspectivas para os próximos 2 anos à frente do IPPDH?

Preservar e consolidar as atuais conquistas do IPPDH e avançar. O Instituto é um grande esforço de integração de visões políticas entre os governos e povos dos países membros e associados do MERCOSUL que desejam expressar que os direitos humanos são a base fundamental de nossas nações. Trata-se de um legado importante que, inclusive, precisa ser difundido para outros continentes. Nossa perspectiva, portanto é essa: continuar a mobilizar e fornecer a melhor capacidade técnica para assessorar os desenvolvimentos internos de cada país, buscar intensificar a integração e cooperação entre nós, mas também difundir e transferir essa perspectiva, boas práticas e experiência acumulada pelos nossos países para outras regiões.

Sua indicação se deu num contexto de convergência mercosul-unasul. Como vc avalia essa aproximação?

Temos em comum viver em Estados de Direito em contínua construção. Com um conjunto de desafios partilhados. Quanto mais abrangentes e qualificadas forem as políticas públicas e quanto mais houver cooperação entre os países maior será a probabilidade de efetividade dos direitos. O IPPDH deve permanecer sob integral disposição das autoridades de nossos governos a fim de traduzir essa clara vontade de convergência política e social cada vez mais em uma cooperação concreta em termos de programas integrados. Esse processo progressivo passa necessariamente pela convergência Mercosul-Unasul.

No que diz respeito ao tema da memória e verdade, onde será possível avançar?

A base comum de uma história de governos autoritários e opressores acabam por reforçar os processos de identidade entre os povos nossos países. Creio que a construção de um padrão comum de respostas institucionais para as graves violações de direitos humanos no passado (e no presente) é uma contribuição civilizatoria que nossa região pode e tem para oferecer. Os avanços dependem sempre de uma simbiose entre dinâmicas de mobilização social e respaldo governamental para as autoridades de direitos humanos. É certo que podemos avançar muito, resta saber em que grau essa simbiose ocorrerá daqui para frente, a partir do que já foi conquistado. 

Quais os temas vc elencaria como prioridades?

Em matérias de direitos humanos a prioridade deve ser sempre os grupos sociais mais vulneráveis, independentemente do tema em que estejam inseridos. Ao fim e ao cabo é preciso dar conta dessas prioridades e de todo o mais. Mas são as nossas autoridades governamentais em direitos humanos, legitimadas pelos processos democráticos que lhes escolheram, juntamente com os movimentos sociais organizados que apontarão os temas prioritários. E o IPPDH deve continuar como elemento mobilizador de inteligências, animador contra retrocessos, indutor de avanços, formulador de ideias, facilitador de diálogos e executor prático do que lhe for incumbido. Eu tenho a honra de suceder o incrível trabalho de Vitor Abramovich, isso vai facilitar as coisas.

O que podemos esperar do primeiro brasileiro à frente do Instituto?

Capacidade de indignação diante das injustiças, perseverança, fraternidade e compromisso de vida com o desenvolvimento humano dos povos latino-americanos. Todas as nossas políticas devem ser implementadas com participação social e colocar a pessoa humana no centro das atenções. Também sou entusiasta por conectarmos cada vez mais os temas dos direitos humanos, do desenvolvimento e da qualidade dos serviços públicos.

Fonte: http://www.sdh.gov.br/noticias/2015/marco/brasileiro-assume-pela-primeira-vez-o-comando-do-instituto-de-politicas-publicas-em-direitos-humanos-do-mercosul

U.S. sanctions against Venezuela draw objections worldwide

On Monday, President Obama announced a "special state of emergency," saying that the situation in Venezuela is one that represents an extraordinary danger to U.S. interests and foreign policy. He alsoimposed sanctions on seven Venezuelan officials, claiming that they were complicit in repressing Venezuelan civil society and freedom of the press.

Worldwide, and within the United States also, this set off an epidemic of head scratching, as people tried to figure out how internal developments in Venezuela somehow represent a danger for the United States. In Latin America, the reaction was more intense, as leaders and ordinary citizens recalled past instances in which U.S. interventions have led to "regime change" involving the deaths of thousands.

In the 19th century, the United States seized more than half of Mexico and all of Puerto Rico, plus the Guantanamo Bay area in Cuba. In the first half of the twentieth century, U.S. troops directly intervened in all of the countries of Central America, plus Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and some South American countries. In these interventions peoples' movements for democracy were crushed, dictators put in and propped up in power, and dissident leaders murdered, such as Augusto Cesar Sandino in Nicaragua andCharlemagne Peralte in Haiti.

The CIA-engineered overthrow of Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz in 1954, set off decades of civil war in which at least 200,000 people, mostly poor indigenous farmers, died. Multiple projects to destabilize Cuba began with the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, including the disastrous Bay of Pigs adventure.

In 1965 President Lyndon Johnson ordered the invasion of the Dominican Republic to prevent a dictator from being overthrown by pro-democracy forces. In 1973 the U.S., after having done everything possible to destabilize the Chilean economy, backed a military coup against Socialist Party President Salvador Allende which led to the death of at least 3,000 and the imprisonment or exile of tens of thousands.

In the 1970s, the U.S. government collaborated in "Operation Condor" in which South American dictatorships carried out mass killings of dissidents. In the 1980s, U.S. interventions in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras created more bloodbaths. The United States was complicit in coups in Venezuela (2002), Haiti (2004) and Honduras (2009).

In all of these interventions the purpose was to protect U.S. corporations' ability to exploit local populations and get hold of poor countries' national resources. But always a pretext was proclaimed that the United States was defending human rights, democracy and good government. Today it's "humanitarian intervention."

So when this past week U.S. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki faced a press conference and claimed that the United States does not interfere in other countries' internal affairs, she was met with incredulous responses from the reporters.

Reminded of past interventions, Psaki said it would be better not to get into history. But history happened and cannot be wished away. People in the United States are often unaware of this history, while people in Latin America are very acutely aware of it.

An appeal for support from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro got an immediate positive response. Governments of Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador and Nicaragua, all linked to Venezuela through the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) issued support statements denouncing Obama's announcement and especially the sanctions, as did Argentina and the People's Republic of China, a major rival of the United States in South American trade. 

Bolivian President Evo Morales expressed the views of the region when he said "We condemn, we repudiate, in the 21st Century we will not accept this kind of intervention by the United States....All of our solidarity, all of our support goes to President Maduro, and the revolutionary Bolivarian government and people of Venezuela." 

President Rafael Correa of Ecuador said, "It must be a bad joke, which reminds us of the darkest hours of our America, when we received [sic] invasions and dictatorships imposed by imperialism."

UNASUR (The Union of South American Nations), which includes every independent country in South America, had already moved to help Venezuela by organizing trade support to remedy some of the food scarcities which, along with inflation and dropping oil prices, are currently a source of disquiet. Also, UNASUR had assigned its Secretary General, former Colombian President Ernesto Samper, to talk to the Venezuelan government and its opponents for purposes of tension reduction. After Obama's action on Monday, UNASUR passed a resolution condemning any outside intervention in Venezuela's internal affairs. UNASUR will have a special emergency meeting on Mar. 14.

Protests against Obama's statement occurred in Venezuela and elsewhere, at a point at which the new U.S. approach to Cuba had created some goodwill for a change. The Venezuelan government asked for, and got, passage of an enabling law to allow it to deal with any new security threat. At least part of the opposition in Venezuela hurriedly distanced itself from Obama's proclamation. On Apr. 10 -12, Obama will have to face the hostility that this incident has created at the Summit of the Americas in Panama. 

Some U.S. officials are now seeming to say that they did not really mean that Venezuela represents and extraordinary threat to the United States, that this was legalistic language to make possible the imposition of sanctions on the Venezuelan officials-leading to more head scratching and quizzical looks.

Fonte: http://peoplesworld.org/u-s-sanctions-against-venezuela-draw-objections-worldwide/

Ecuador's Correa Confirms UNASUR Summit on 'Gross' US Threats

 

“Venezuela is not alone. They have the support of all the Latin American and Caribbean countries,” Ecuador's Foreign Minister added. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has said the member-states of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) bloc will meet to discuss U.S. interference in Venezuelan affairs which he described as “gross, illegal, shameless, outrageous, and unjustified act of interference.”

The UNASUR meeting comes on the heels of the announcement by U.S. President Barack Obama declaring Venezuela an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States.

The head of UNASUR, Ernesto Samper, has already made clear that the bloc stands behind the democratically-elected government of Nicolas Maduro.

"There is no possibility that UNASUR will validate any attempt to disrupt the democratic process in any country in the region," said Samper.

During a meeting in Quito, Ecuador, which included representatives of Mercosur, ALBA, Pacific Alliance, the Andean Community and the Amazon Treaty Cooperation Agreement (OTCA), Samper added that the sanctions against Venezuela were not a good sign at this time.

“It is not a good thing that the United States unilaterally interferes in Venezuela's internal affairs precisely before the Summit of the Americas (scheduled for April) and when we were preparing to celebrate the return of Cuba to this forum,” he said.

He also condemned the fact that Washington is undermining the efforts being made by the foreign ministers of Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador to pave the way for a political dialogue respecting Venezuela's sovereignty.

Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño told teleSUR on Wednesday that the UNASUR bloc backs Venezuela's sovereignty and that the extraordinary meeting in Uruguay is to respond to Obama's actions.

“Venezuela is not alone. They have the support of all the Latin American and Caribbean countries,” he added.

Patiño said that the fact the Washington considers Venezuela a threat to its national security is unacceptable and condemned the U.S. for using these types of statements to justify intervention in sovereign countries.

Several Latin American heads of state have also condemned the declaration by the U.S. president. The 12-member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for our Americas (ALBA) group joing the growing list of countries to speak out against U.S. threats against Venezuela.

President Maduro responded to the announcement by Obama by claiming that the U.S. measures are intended to topple his government.

*An earlier version of this story said that a meeting of UNASUR foreign ministers will meet on Thursday to prepare the UNASUR summit. This meeting has since been delayed. 

Fonte: http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Ecuadors-Correa-Confirms-UNASUR-Summit-on-Gross-US-Threats-20150311-0001.html

ALBA Adds to Condemnations of US Threats on Venezuela

 

A range of different regional bodies consider the US executive order a threat against Venezuela's sovereignty.

​The ALBA group of nations added its voice Tuesday to a growing chorus rejecting the new measures taken by the U.S. government against Venezuela.

The 12 members of the ALBA group of Latin American and Caribbean nations issued a statement opposing, “any aggression or attempt to undermine the peace, democracy and sovereignty of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.”

The bloc also pointed out that the measures implemented by the U.S. – both the sanctions against Venezuelan officials and the executive order – go against the principles of international law.

The statement follows condemnation from the Union of South American States (UNASUR) and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).

The head of UNASUR, Ernesto Samper, accused the U.S. of seeking to further polarize the Venezuelan people through the measures.

“I don't think it is good for a country to impose unilateral sanctions … the Venezuelan affairs have to be resolved by the Venezuelan people,” said Samper, speaking to reporters.

The Parlatino also approved a resolution in rejection of the U.S. actions and in support of UNASUR's efforts to end the political standoff between the Venezuelan government and the right-wing opposition.

The head of the Venezuelan delegation to Parlatino, Angel Rodriguez, denounced the latest U.S. measure as an act of interference against his country.

“They are trying to generate support in public opinion to justify the critics, the sanctions, the economic warfare, even an armed intervention,” Rodriguez explained.

ALBA statement (unofficial translation)

The Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) group of countries expresses its utmost rejection of the “Executive Order” issued by the United States President Barack Obama, on March 9, 2015, in which the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is categorized as an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security and U.S. foreign policy.

This constitutes an unprecedented aggression against that country and thus our region.

This aggression violates every principle of international law which governs relationships between states, treating every state as equal and sovereign.

It also undermines the historic anti-imperialist struggle claimed by our people, and threatens the peace and tranquility of our countries.

The ALBA member states reject emphatically every aggression and attempt to undermine the peace, democracy and sovereignty of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and we urge the U.S. government to respect the right to self-determination of the people and the non-interference in internal affairs, in accordance to international law and the spirit of freedom and independence. 

Fonte: http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/ALBA-Adds-to-Condemnations-of-US-Threats-on-Venezuela-20150310-0033.html

Bolivia: Bank of the South Ready to Operate

 

Bolvia’s finance minister announced that the Bank of the South is ready to begin operations.

The alternative financial institution Bank of the South is ready to begin operations with capital contributions from Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador and Venezuela, said Bolivian Finance Minister Luis Arce on Monday.

Arce stated that countries were "now fulfilling the requirements for the establishment and start of operations of the Bank of the South: resources from Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia have been guaranteed."

"The only thing we need is for the presidents to gather and raise the checkered flag to start activities at the Bank of the South," said Arce, adding there was no official date for the opening.

The Bank of the South was an initiative proposed in 2007 by the member countries of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).

The bank seeks to lessen dependence on traditional international financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund by providing alternative sources of financial capital.

The financial institution is expected to have an initial operation budget of US$20 billion, which will finance a wide variety of projects including physical infrastructure, energy integration and natural resource initiatives.
 

Fonte: http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivia-Bank-of-the-South-Ready-to-Operate-20150310-0010.html

USA Preparing Military Intervention against Venezuela, Says Analyst

 

Uruguayan-Ecuadorian analyst Kintto Lucas said today that the decision of President Barack Obama to consider Venezuela a threat to US national security is the prelude to an armed intervention against Venezuela. Lucas said, in an article that he sent to the Prensa Latina news agency, that this action can begin with a naval blockade to block Venezuelan oil exports.

"This way the economic coup that has been staged, and complemented by the direct actions of the opposition, would be strengthened, leading to a civil war that would give the United States the excuse to invade", said Lucas.

Lucas, who was deputy foreign minister of Ecuador from 2010 to 2012, urged the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to adopt a critical stance against what he described as an attack on Latin American sovereignty.

"The future will show us that if we do not take joint urgent actions, we will possibly regret an intervention and civil war", said Lucas while considering that the United States Government is using the same method it used to invade Libya and Syria.

After pointing out that "the blockade on Cuba has not being lifted and another blockade on a Latin American country is beginning", Lucas urged political parties and social movements that support Latin American sovereignty to join a common front against US intervention in Venezuela.

Fonte: http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3609091&Itemid=1

Samper: sanciones de EE. UU. a Venezuela "radicalizan ánimos"

Samper ya había declarado que "no hay ninguna posibilidad de que Unasur avale una ruptura o un intento de tumbar o de detener el proceso democrático en Venezuela". Foto: EFE

El secretario general del bloque señaló que "los asuntos de Venezuela los tienen que resolver los venezolanos".   

El secretario general de la Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (Unasur), Ernesto Samper, consideró este martes que las sanciones impuestas el lunes por EE. UU. a altos funcionarios venezolanos contribuyen a "radicalizar los ánimos" entre los dos países en medio de "la situación ya polarizada que se vive en Venezuela".

"Obviamente registramos con preocupación esta decisión porque, a mi juicio, no va a contribuir a calmar sino a radicalizar los ánimos en la situación ya polarizada que se vive en Venezuela", sostuvo Samper en entrevista con Caracol Radio.

"No considero que sea favorable que un país de forma unilateral imponga sanciones", opinó Samper, que destacó que "los asuntos de Venezuela los tienen que resolver los venezolanos".

Estados Unidos impuso el lunes nuevas sanciones contra altos funcionarios venezolanos, emitió una orden ejecutiva que "implementa y amplía" las sanciones aprobadas por el Congreso a finales del pasado año y declaró una situación de "emergencia nacional" ante el "riesgo extraordinario" que supone la situación venezolana para la seguridad de Estados Unidos.

Se trata de una medida en respuesta a "la erosión de garantías de derechos humanos por parte del gobierno de Venezuela" y la "persecución de oponentes políticos", según la orden ejecutiva emitida por el presidente estadounidense, Barack Obama.

A juicio de Unasur, tanto la decisión del gobierno EE. UU. como la respuesta del presidente venezolano, Nicolás Maduro, quien pedirá "poderes especiales" al parlamento para defender la "integridad" del país, "no contribuyen a enfriar y aclarar el clima que se está viviendo".

Así mismo lamentó que estas sanciones lleguen pocos días después de que se anunciara que Venezuela celebrará en el segundo semestre de este año elecciones legislativas para renovar la totalidad de la unicameral Asamblea Nacional (Parlamento) de Venezuela, dominada actualmente por el oficialismo.

"Veo que hay por lo menos una voluntad democrática de los dirigentes (venezolanos) de aprovechar el espacio que se abre de unas próximas elecciones que tendrán lugar antes de concluir el año", comentó Samper, quien fue presidente de Colombia entre 1994 y 1998.

El secretario general reiteró el apoyo de Unasur a buscar una salida institucional a la crisis de Venezuela, con quien ha trabajado recientemente como intermediario.

De hecho, el pasado viernes, Samper encabezó una delegación compuesta por los cancilleres de Colombia, Ecuador y Brasil, la cual se reunió en Caracas con Maduro y otras autoridades y con algunos de los dirigentes de la oposición.

Hoy recordó que, tras esa visita, "una de las conclusiones de los cancilleres fue buscar un acercamiento con EE.UU.", algo que será complicado con el actual incremento de la tensión.

"Nosotros lo que creemos es que hay que buscar salidas, porque esta campaña que se está incrementando de recriminaciones, de insultos, de juicios públicos de responsabilidades que no llegan a ninguna parte; me parece que a quienes les está haciendo daño finalmente es a los venezolanos", apuntó.
Fonte: http://www.semana.com/mundo/articulo/samper-sanciones-de-ee-uu-venezuela-radicalizan-animos/420512-3

SPAIN REITERATES SUPPORT FOR COLOMBIA PEACE PROCESS

Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has announced that he will promote an agreement to do away with visas for Colombian citizens that want to travel to the Schengen area at the upcoming EU-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Summit in June. The leaders of Spain and Colombia signed a declaration and various partnership agreements.

Rajoy, received the President of the Republic of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, who is on a State visit to Spain, at Moncloa Palace.

At the joint press conference they gave at the end of the meeting, Rajoy highlighted that the visit takes places at a key time in the recent history of Colombia. “After half a century of hostilities and numerous victims, President Santos has pushed through a highly complex peace process with a far-reaching historical scope that is currently going through a crucial phase”, he explained.

Rajoy recalled that Juan Manuel Santos was in Madrid last November at the start of a European tour designed to explain the developments in the peace process in Colombia and to gather political support for this process. As he did on that occasion, he reiterated the Spanish Government’s support for the initiative, “support that is shared by the main Spanish political forces and by our own public opinion”. “I am aware that President Santos is working with great drive and conviction. I hope that peace comes soon”, he added.

Progress on removing Schengen visas

Rajoy undertook to mediate at the upcoming EU-CELAC Summit in June in Brussels to try to push through the removal of the requirement for Schengen visas for Colombian and Peruvian citizens. He explained that the measure has received positive political backing but that certain technical issues are still pending. “It would be reckless of me to put a date on it because the resolution of these problems is not down to me, but I will do all I can”, he said.

“I would like to highlight that this initiative is recognition of thousands of Colombians that live in Spain and who have decisively contributed to our development and to our liberty. It is also due recognition of all Colombians, their sacrifices and their desire for peace”, Rajoy added.

Bilateral agreements

The Governments of Spain and Colombia have signed a declaration that updates the current framework of the Strategic Association in force since 2008, which identifies priorities in bilateral relations, as well as potential areas for future collaboration. “The agreement provides for the re-launch of the High-Level Commission, chaired by the foreign affairs ministers, which will meet on an annual basis at alternating locations”, pointed out Rajoy.

In addition, other sector agreements have been signed on development cooperation, broadcasting in Castilian Spanish, air transport and collaboration on issues relating to penitentiary institutions. The two leaders confirmed the strong level of economic and trade relations between the two countries and the potential for expansion.

European Union-Latin America

The two leaders also spoke about relations between the EU and Latin America and, in particular, with Colombia, which, according to Rajoy, “is a good example of creative and diversified cooperation.

At an economic and trade level, the Spanish Prime Minister advocated taking further steps “on the path between Latin America and Europe by facilitating integration and free trade processes”. He also recalled that Spain will continue to support Colombia’s membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “a process that will hopefully be concluded next year”.

On security issues, Rajoy recalled that Colombia has increased its commitment beyond its borders. In this regard, he pointed out that the agreement signed with the European Union “will shortly allow Colombia to play an active role, through a naval vessel, in Operation Atalanta to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean”. He also remarked that Colombia has laid the foundations for its cooperation with NATO, resulting in the signing of an agreement on co-operation and information security in July 2013. “Spain clearly supports these initiatives”, he stressed.

Among other issues Rajoy and Juan Manuel Santos also tackled the upcoming EU-CELAC Summit; the Ibero-American Summit that will take place in Colombia in 2016, and the progress made by the Pacific Alliance, of which Spain was the first EU Observer State.

Fonte: http://www.eurasiareview.com/04032015-spain-reiterates-support-for-colombia-peace-process/

UNASUR to Visit Venezuela to Investigate Foiled Coup Plot

Three foreign ministers will join the fact-finding delegation Friday.

Three foreign ministers from the Union of South American Nations member states will travel to Venezuela Friday in light of recent coup attempts, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Eduardo Patiño confirmed Wednesday.

“I confirm a visit to Venezuela of three foreign mnisters and the Secretary-General of UNASUR this Friday, March 6,” the Ecuadorean official posted to his official twitter account.

Confirmo visita a Venezuela de tres Cancilleres y Secretario General de UNASUR este viernes 6 de marzo. — Ricardo Patiño Aroca (@RicardoPatinoEC)March 4, 2015

Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Colombia’s Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin will also be joining the fact-finding mission.

On the same day, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro confirmed that former Colombian president and current head of UNASUR, Ernesto Samper, would be accompanying the group.

“Secretary-General of UNASUR, Ernesto Samper, confirmed to me that this Friday the delegation to support democracy in Venezuela is coming on Friday. Thank God we have UNASUR, that allows us to navigate these battles through paths of peace,” he said.

Venezuelan authorities recently revealed that a coup attempt against the democratically-elected government had been thwarted.

President Maduro explained that the coup plot was hatched in the United States with the support of staff at the U.S. embassy in Caracas. Many significant opposition figures are alleged to have ties to the coup plot, including opposition mayor Antonio Ledezma, who was arrested in February.

Fonte: http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Patino-Confirms-UNASUR-Visit-to-Venezuela-over-Coup-Plot-20150304-0038.html

Venezuela, Mercosul e o assédio midiático: o império da mentira ataca novamente

Falam de caos econômico, corrupção, respeito aos direitos humanos aqueles que foram cúmplices de desaparecimentos, torturas e privatizações criminosas.

O debate é muito útil em momentos no qual o assédio à Venezuela recomeça, no marco de um prolongado processo de golpe contínuo que já dura quase 14 anos, e no qual se destaca o papel estelar dos meios de comunicação hegemônico, com libreto cartelizado de mentiras e manipulações, repetido em diferentes idiomas.

Hoje a direita trata de impor o imaginário de que a Venezuela é uma ditadura e que, por conseguinte, deve ser expulsa do Mercado Comum do Sul (Mercosul).

Eles estão conscientes de que não conseguirão o que propõem, mas sua estratégia é criar esse imaginário. No dia 26 de fevereiro, o jornal venezuelano El Nacional anunciava que os parlamentares direitistas argentinos Roberto Pradines, Mario Negri, Patricia Bullrich e Sergio Bergman, todos membros da Comissão do Mercosul, disseram que a prisão do prefeito Antonio Ledesma “afeta a democracia no país” e, como consequência, solicitarão a ativação do Protocolo de Ushuaia sobre compromisso democrático.

E pediram a presença, na Venezuela, de uma Comissão do Observatório da Democracia do Parlamento do Mercosul (Parlasul), com o objetivo de suspender sua participação no bloco regional. A esse coro se somaram alguns parlamentares da direita uruguaia.

Cabe aqui recordar que o Protocolo de Ushuaia estabelece como único pressuposto para sua aplicação a ruptura da ordem democrática em algum dos países do Mercosul. E prevê que, uma vez esgotada a instância de consultas dos Estados entre si e com o Estado afetado, e em caso de que estas resultem infrutíferas, será possível passar à aplicação de medidas de sanção.

Mas tanto o período de consultas quanto as eventuais sanções devem ser decididas pelos presidentes, por consenso (e não por legisladores vociferantes, minoritários nos parlamentos de seus países).

E mais: não existe na Venezuela a ruptura da ordem democrática, e a grande maioria dos países latino-americanos e caribenhos expressaram apoio ao governo de Nicolás Maduro.

As instituições democráticas venezuelanas, isto é, todos os seus poderes públicos se encontram legitimados e em pleno exercício de suas funções – em especial, a Assembleia Nacional.

Por outro lado, o Observatório da Democracia do Parlasul, desde sua criação em 2008, limitou sua atuação no acompanhamento dos processos eleitorais nos países do Mercosul e nos estados associados. Envolver o observatório em processos que implicam a avaliação (ou supervisão) política o transformaria em um instrumento de ingerência e abriria um precedente perigoso para a integração que se caracteriza por conseguir a unidade da diversidade.

O regulamento do observatório estabelece que haverá um Conselho de Representantes (com três parlamentares por país) e coordenado pelo presidente do Parlasul. Atualmente, a presidência do Parlasul é exercida pela Venezuela. Mas qualquer decisão sobre eventuais sanções depende da vontade consensual dos presidentes, e não da vociferação de alguns parlamentares com intenções desestabilizadoras e atentatórias contra a integração.

As razões
Toda essa ofensiva tem sua razão: a direita nunca esteve tão fraca em nossa região, e prova disso é que perde sucessivamente as eleições em países como Brasil, Argentina, Uruguai, Bolívia, Equador, Venezuela e El Salvador. Foi desalojada de governos que acreditava ser sua propriedade. E continuam sem entender as transformações sociais, a recuperação do papel do Estado, a ativa participação nos processos integradores, sua independência dos ditados de Washington.

A debilidade das direitas é clara: seus ícones estão em crise institucional e de legitimidade. O Chile, com as consequências da privatização; México, como exemplo de como um TLC dissolve o Estado; Colômbia, com a legitimação paramilitar; Peru, que acaba oferecendo seu território como base naval norte-americana...

Essas direitas não se resignam ao fato de governos populares resgataram seus povos dos desastres produzidos pelas ditaduras cívico-militares e pelos governos neoliberais.

Os governos neoliberais não apenas fracassaram, mas manifestam uma patética incapacidade de formular propostas alternativas, dedicando-se a sabotar os processos desses países, desestabilizar governos, apostar no caos e, inclusive, servir – como paus mandados – aos propósitos e interesses antinacionais dos bancos transnacionais, das empresas transnacionais, à geopolítica norte-americana na região.

Emir Sader observa que as direitas argentina e brasileira têm enormes similaridades, porque ambas se reorganizaram em torno dos mais importantes governos populares que esses países tiveram no século XX: os de Perón e de Getúlio Vargas. Por isso, são direitas elitistas, oligárquicas, racistas, antinacionais. É a direita que tentou derrubar Vargas em 1954 e o levou ao suicídio. É a que derrubou Perón em 1955 e levou a Argentina a iniciar o ciclo das ações militares gorilas na região.

É a direita que finalmente deu o golpe no Brasil em 1964 e instaurou a mais longa ditadura militar na região. É a mesma direita que tentou fazer o mesmo em 1966 na Argentina, mas viu seu golpe frustrado. Teve que voltar à ativa em 1976 para fechar o círculo de terror das ditaduras no Cone Sul, acrescenta Sader.

Falam do perigo de caos econômico, de corrupção, de respeito aos direitos humanos aqueles que foram cúmplices e coparticipantes de desaparecimentos, torturas, assassinatos e da maior corrupção na história dos países – especialmente, nos processos de privatização dos bens e empresas públicos. Ameaçam com golpes: duros, brandos, midiáticos.

Os golpistas de hoje apelam aos militares para que estes desalojem do poder um governo, fechem o Congresso, proíbam os partidos políticos e os movimentos populares. Seu discurso é que são justamente os governantes aqueles que violam a Constituição e que, por isso, é preciso destituí-los, tal como aconteceu em Honduras com Manuel Zelaya e no Paraguai com Fernando Lugo.

E não precisam de tanques ou de Forças Armadas. Usam seu novo armamento, o terror midiático cartelizado regional e internacional.

Fonte: Rebelión.org