<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
<h1 class="title"><small>What U.S. Voters Can Learn from Venezuela’s
Election</small></h1>
<div class="submitted">
<p class="byline"> By <span class="author">Keane Bhatt - NACLA</span>,
<span class="date">November 5th 2012</span> </p>
</div>
<div id="content-body">
<div id="content-body-inner">
<div id="block-tagadelic-0"
class="block block-tagadelic region-odd odd region-count-1 count-1">
<div class="block-inner"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/7423">http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/7423</a><br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Over the past 30 years, the top 1% of the United States has
experienced a <a
href="http://stateofworkingamerica.org/chart/swa-income-figure-2m-change-real-annual/"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">240% increase</span></a> in its real
annual income, while that of the median household has <a
href="http://stateofworkingamerica.org/charts/real-median-household-income/"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">barely budged</span></a>. Imagine if
this explosive, decades-long growth of inequality were somehow
reversed—and reversed at an even faster rate than its original
expansion.</p>
<p>This is, in fact, what has happened in Venezuela, and it goes a long
way toward explaining why President Hugo Chávez was re-elected in
October, despite many pundits’ <a href="http://j.mp/VZ100p"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">predictions</span></a> of a victory by
opposition leader Henrique Capriles. The <a
href="http://nacla.org/blog/2012/10/8/hall-shame-venezuelan-elections-coverage"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">likelihood of coming across</span></a>
an accurate assessment of Venezuela’s social and economic advances in
the media, however, is about as small as the odds of encountering
honest portrayals of that country’s elections.</p>
<p>It’s difficult, for instance, to find any mention in the media of
the Gini index for the United States or Venezuela. A standard measure
of income inequality, it ranges from 0 (perfect equality) to 100
(perfect inequality). According to the Luxembourg Income Study, <a
href="http://www.lisdatacenter.org/lis-ikf-webapp/app/search-ikf-figures"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">the Gini index</span></a> for the
United States was 29.9 in 1979. By 2010, it had shot up by more than 7
points to 37.3.</p>
<p>Contrast this with Venezuela: the country’s Gini index in 1997, the
year before Chávez was elected, stood at 50.7; in 13 short years, it
had fallen by over 11 points to 39.4, according to <a
href="http://websie.eclac.cl/sisgen/ConsultaIntegrada.asp?idAplicacion=1&idTema=363&idioma=e"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">United Nations data</span></a> for 2010.</p>
<p>This rapid reduction of inequality is largely a result of the Chávez
administration’s policy of promoting broadly shared economic growth.
Having <a
href="http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/venezuela-2009-02.pdf"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">cut</span></a> both poverty and
unemployment by half over roughly a decade, Venezuela is now the <a
href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19339636"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">least unequal country</span></a> in
Latin America, according to the UN.</p>
<p>The poverty and inequality statistics are based only on cash income.
But Chávez also introduced a suite of oil-financed social programs that
provide free healthcare, education, housing, and subsidized food, among
other benefits. Their effects include substantial reductions in <a
href="http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/the-americas-blog/new-york-times-cant-seem-to-understand-how-their-side-lost-in-venezuela"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">infant mortality</span></a> and the <a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/10/opinion/why-chavez-was-re-elected.html"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">doubling</span></a> of the country’s
college enrollment.</p>
<p>Chávez’s social and economic agenda has also helped him to win 14 of
15 elections or referenda despite the inevitable voter fatigue that
develops toward any incumbent over 14 years in office. On October 7,
Chávez won by an 11-point margin in an election process <a
href="http://bit.ly/vzshame"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">described</span></a>
by Jimmy Carter as “the best in the world.” This suggests that for
voters, continued advancements in well-being have outweighed ongoing
problems like crime and inadequate infrastructure.</p>
<p>The paradigm that has emerged during Chávez’s presidency is
threatening to the dominant political discourse in the United States
for two related reasons. First, it demonstrates that poverty and
inequality, far from being implacable economic phenomena, are primarily
political issues, and can be successfully tackled through aggressive
public policy. Second, a governmental commitment to improving the
general public’s living standards engenders a new kind of politics,
distinct from the consensus that prevails under a decades-old regime of
ever-increasing economic polarization.</p>
<p>Elite policy circles in the United States have agreed that <a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/opinion/29krugman.html"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">austerity is necessary</span></a>: both
major parties’ presidential candidates <a
href="http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/11991-social-security-president-obamas-biggest-failure-in-last-weeks-debate"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">suggested</span></a> the need to
institute cuts to an already-weak social safety net. Unemployment, in <a
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/09/11/the-politicians-are-failing-theory-of-unemployment/"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Bill Clinton’s incorrect rendering</span></a>,
lies outside the purview of immediate government efforts to spur
greater demand. Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke <a
href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-7114229.html?pageNum=4"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">attributed</span></a> inequality, which
has concentrated income within the top 1% and even more so <a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/opinion/the-rich-get-even-richer.html"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">within the top .01%</span></a>, mostly
to “educational differences.” He <a
href="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/graduates-versus-oligarchs/"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">ignores</span></a> Princeton economist
Paul Krugman’s observation: namely, “that we’ve become an
oligarchy—with all that implies about class relations.” Bernanke’s
statement also conforms with economist Dean Baker’s dismal <a
href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/10/2012102915021526447.html"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">assessment</span></a> that most in his
profession “are paid for telling stories that justify giving more money
to rich people.”</p>
<p>The press, in turn, adheres closely to elite opinion. <a
href="http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4384"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Establishment</span></a> <a
href="http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/new-york-times-puts-another-anti-social-security-editorial-in-the-news-section"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">media</span></a> <a
href="http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/the-left-and-right-can-agree-that-npr-completely-misled-listeners-about-the-supercommittee-and-the-deficit"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">have</span></a> <a
href="http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4200"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">abetted</span></a> efforts to scale
back the anti-poverty program Social Security, while meaningful
discussions of poverty comprised <a
href="http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4604"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">a fraction</span></a> of 1% of the
media’s campaign coverage. The reason is easy to see. Baker <a
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/24/president-obama-social-security"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">writes</span></a>, “while Social
Security may enjoy overwhelming support across the political spectrum,
it does not poll nearly as well among the wealthy people—who finance
political campaigns and own major news outlets.”</p>
<p>While experts in the United States warn that banks have engaged in <a
href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/17/us-usa-housing-defaults-idUSTRE81G04M20120217"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">widespread</span></a> illegal
foreclosures, exacerbating housing insecurity, the U.S. media have
disparaged Venezuela’s public housing initiatives as an unsavory
political scheme. David Frum, former speechwriter for George W. Bush,
wrote an <a
href="http://www.fair.org/blog/2012/10/10/cnn-exposes-villain-chavezs-dastardly-plot-to-house-the-poor/"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">op-ed for CNN</span></a> titled,
“Chavez Clown Prince of a Decaying Society,” decrying “massive
government vote-buying” through “giveaway programs, including one that
aims to build 200,000 housing units for Venezuela's poor.” <em>The
Wall Street Journal</em>’s <a
href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444138104578030700356304858.html"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">reporting</span></a> similarly
criticized Venezuela’s housing construction, citing unnamed analysts
who wondered “whether the spending spree will buy as many votes this
time around as in past elections.”</p>
<p><em>USA Today</em>’s <a
href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/10/07/venezuela-vote-chavez/1617817/"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">coverage</span></a> of Venezuela’s
elections included quotes by critics who condemned Chávez’s “patronage
machine,” which “unleashed a spending orgy.” The paper also <a
href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/10/08/chavez-opponents-election/1620259/"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">dutifully noted</span></a> that
Capriles considered “new social spending” to be “vote buying.”</p>
<p>Rarely is the U.S. political system similarly condemned as a
patronage machine, despite each major presidential candidate <a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/us/politics/obama-and-romney-raise-1-billion-each.html"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">securing</span></a> $<a
href="http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/campaign-finance"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">1 billion</span></a> for his campaign,
often through <a
href="http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2012-07-23/romneys-50000-plates-obamas-35800-the-windows-open-again/"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">$35,000-a-ticket</span></a> fundraising
dinners with <a
href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-14/obama-returns-to-nyc-for-first-wall-street-fundraiser-of-year.html"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">corporate executives</span></a>.
Research has also shown that <a
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/26/AR2005072601562.html"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">nearly half</span></a> of all federal
lawmakers become <a
href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/shadow_congress_former_lawmakers_become_lobbyists.php"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">lobbyists</span></a> after returning to
private life. Little wonder Princeton political scientist Martin
Gilens’s research <a
href="http://www.bostonreview.net/BR37.4/ndf_martin_gilens_money_politics_democracy.php"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">finds</span></a> that “in most
circumstances, affluent Americans exert substantial influence over the
policies adopted by the federal government, and less well off Americans
exert virtually none.”</p>
<p>Interestingly, <em>USA Today</em>’s post-election <a
href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/10/08/chavez-opponents-election/1620259/"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">breakdown</span></a> for Venezuela
failed to mention its historic, <a href="http://j.mp/vzshame"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">81%</span></a> participation rate. Such
a turnout would be unimaginable within the United States, even leaving
aside <a
href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/national-politics/20121030-voter-suppression-tactics-on-rise-nationwide-officials-say.ece"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">vigorous efforts</span></a> of voter
suppression all over the country. In an earlier article <a
href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-08-15/non-voters-obama-romney/57055184/1"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">headlined</span></a> “Why 90 million
Americans Won't Vote in November,” <em>USA Today</em> itself offered a
reason: it found that six in 10 eligible but unlikely voters said, when
surveyed, that they “don’t pay much attention” to politics because
“nothing ever gets done: It’s a bunch of empty promises.”</p>
<p>The era that preceded Chávez’s 1998 election has echoes of the
current predicament of U.S. politics—two major parties with fairly
similar agendas took turns managing the country’s governmental
institutions while elites controlled the country’s resources.
Venezuela’s democracy, like much of Latin America’s, has meant a break
with that past.</p>
<p>The U.S. press helps to enforce the status quo in a country whose
majority has faced <a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/us/us-incomes-dropped-last-year-census-bureau-says.html"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">declining living standards</span></a>
in recent years, largely as a result of <a
href="http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/inequality-and-political-power/"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">policies</span></a> furthered by a <a
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dean-baker/clinton-criticizes-voters_b_2003817.html"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">bipartisan</span></a> political system.
So it’s not surprising to see the U.S. media’s hostile reactions to the
politics of Venezuela, where citizens expect their votes to translate
into genuine improvements in their daily lives—and politicians must
deliver on those expectations.</p>
<p><em>A version of this piece will appear in the December issue of </em><a
href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/592/t/1038/shop/shop.jsp?storefront_KEY=51"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Extra!</span></a><em>, a publication of
the media watchgroup <a href="http://fair.org/"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">FAIR</span></a>.</em></p>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.freedomarchives.org">www.freedomarchives.org</a>
</div>
</body>
</html>