News (Noticias) Tagged ‘Hugo Chavez’

In the run-up to Sen. John McCain’s recent visit to Latin America, a chorus of doubters questioned the value of such a trip just four months before Election Day.  Media coverage suggested it was foolish for him to leave the domestic campaign trail at a time when gas prices and a weak economy are the most pressing issues on voters’ minds .

Such thinking ignores the fact that in recent years, President Bush has been widely criticized for neglecting Latin America, which critics argue has facilitated an Hugo Chavez-led expansion of leftist governments in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, in addition to razor-thin close calls in Mexico and Peru.

Venezuela is dragging its feet in establishing a support system for battered women, Amnesty International said in a report issued Wednesday.

President Hugo Chavez’s government passed new domestic violence legislation in March 2007 requiring that, among other things, Venezuela’s 23 states and more than 300 municipalities construct women’s shelters.”*

Business leaders tired of taking the blame for Venezuela’s soaring inflation are chiding government officials for encouraging consumers to help fight rising food prices by haggling with retailers.

Representatives of Venezuela’s leading business chambers accused the administration of President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday of misleading consumers by suggesting that annual inflation in Caracas has climbed to 32.2 percent because shopkeepers are speculating with prices.”*

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez met with former Cuban President Fidel Castro to discuss the world’s food, energy and financial crises during a private three-hour meeting, state media reported Tuesday.

No details about the health of the ailing 81-year-old Castro were released by the online edition of the Communist Party daily Granma in its report on Monday’s meeting. The newspaper released no new images of Castro, who has not been seen in public since he fell ill nearly two years ago. Castro’s last official photograph was released in January.”*

Bart Jones is the author of Hugo! The Hugo Chavez Story from Mud Hut to Perpetual Revolution (Steerforth, New Hampshire 2007). Jones lived in Venezuela from 1992 to 2000, working initially as a Maryknoll lay missioner and then as a foreign correspondent for The Associated Press. He now lives in Long Island, New York with his wife and two children. The book has also just been released in the UK and will soon be published in Brazil in Portuguese.

You were an AP correspondent for six years. What’s your take on Venezuela coverage in the U.S. media? “*

On the sixth anniversary of a Venezuelan coup that briefly removed President Hugo Chavez from power, Chavez opponents across the Bay area protested the controversial leader Friday.

Mobilized by a Facebook alert, Lucia Pineda and her mother, Maria, came from Clearwater. They held aloft a sign portraying Chavez with devilish horns.

“I don’t agree with Chavez. I think he’s having a negative influence on a lot of countries,” said Maria Pineda, 47, who left Venezuela with her children seven months ago. She said she once worked for the National Assembly of Venezuela but was forced out by threats from the Chavez regime.”*

*From: http://www2.tbo.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

The lawmaking body, which is closely allied with Chavez, said in a statement on its Web site Thursday that it approved $20 million for two Glover productions.

They include “The General in His Labyrinth,” which deals with the life of South American liberator Simon Bolivar. It is based on a novel by Colombian Nobel Prize-winning writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez and will be directed by Venezuela-born director Alberto Arvelo.”*

*From: http://www.foxnews.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

FOXNews.com readers may remember the film “Team America: World Police,” a puppeteer’s parody about the American government, its foreign policy and its home-grown critics in Hollywood. One of the puppets lampoons Oscar-winner Sean Penn, who, in the film, laments the invasion of Iraq by harking back to the time it “was a happy place. They had flowery meadows and rainbow skies, and rivers made of chocolate.” Penn was so angry about the film’s message that he wrote the film’s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, a blistering public letter signing off with a scatological reference. I thought perhaps Penn’s temper had mellowed since then and was eager to speak with him on Oscar night at Elton John’s party.

I assumed Penn was probably ignorant about the human rights record in Venezuela in that he broke off relations with the San Francisco Chronicle in mid-January calling them a “lamebrain paper” over their use of the word “dictator” to describe Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Penn was in Caracas late last year where he went to do research for an essay he says he is writing about Chavez. On David Letterman’s show Penn gushed about Chavez as a “fascinating guy” who had done “incredible things” for Venezuela’s poor. Letterman remarked that Chavez had shut down a television station, RCTV — something that should trouble a self-styled journalist. Penn looked at the camera and misled the audience, stating that for years RCTV “had been encouraging the assassination of Chavez every day.” But there was not a single instance of such behavior by RCTV. It’s as if the Sean Penn puppet in “Team America” came to life as a propagandist.”*

*From: http://www.foxnews.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

The cover of the Peruvian magazine Caretas features a photo-montage of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez with a portable computer covering his private parts. The headline: “Laptop left him naked.”

That would be the purported rebel laptop found during this month’s Colombian military strike on a rebel encampment in neighboring Ecuador. Among the alleged revelations: That Chavez financed the guerrillas to the tune of $300 million — an allegation denied by Chavez.”*

*From: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

The free world was jubilant last December when Venezuela President Hugo Chavez suffered an electoral rejection of his referendum to amend the Venezuela constitution.

By the most narrow of margins—51 to 49 percent—the voters turned down a proposal that would have allowed Chavez to run for president indefinitely, terminate Venezuela’s central bank’s autonomy, and cut the work week.

Little is known in the U.S. about the student movement or its leaders who were responsible for Chavez’ defeat. Political opposition that predates Chavez had been a different sort, e.g., opposition political parties.”*

*From: http://en.epochtimes.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

President Bush delivered a lengthy, impassioned appeal Wednesday for congressional approval of a free-trade pact with Colombia, linking it to economic progress for the South American nation and to U.S. security from terrorism.

Clearly directing his remarks at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, with whom the Bush administration has repeatedly tangled, Bush said failure to enact the trade agreement would play into the hands of “antagonists in Latin America, who would say that . . . America cannot be trusted to stand by its friends.”"*

*From: http://www.latimes.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Talk of war in the Andes has faded almost as quickly as it flared — showing that for all their bluster, none of the three leaders involved could afford a protracted confrontation.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s government announced Sunday it was restoring full diplomatic ties with Colombia and reopening its embassy in Bogota after smoothing over a crisis sparked by Colombia’s cross-border attack on a rebel base in Ecuador. Venezuela also invited back Colombian diplomats expelled by Chavez last week.”*

*From: http://ap.google.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Univision Radio, a division of Univision Communications Inc., and the leading Spanish-language radio broadcaster in the United States, today announced their wildly popular duo Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero will debut “The Enrique and Joe Show” in Miami with syndication in Fresno. The duo will begin airing daily from an all-new state-of-the-art studio on their new home, La Kalle 98.3 FM, on Thursday, March 13, from 6:00 -11:00 a.m. ET. In Fresno, the show will air on La Kalle 107.9 FM from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. PT.

“We are all very excited to formally introduce Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero as part of the Univision Radio family in Miami and Fresno,” said Gary Stone, Univision Radio’s president and COO. “Their morning show has been broadcasting in New York on La Kalle 105.9 FM for the past year with much enjoyed success. And their Miami show will be a reflection of what they’ve always done so well, which is to entertain and move the community they serve.”

The format of the show will be what the community expects to hear from the edgy duo, which gained international notoriety and became known as the “Masters of Prank Calls” for their calls to presidents Hugo Chavez, Nestor Kirchner, and most famously, Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro. Santos questioned Castro on the crisis in Cuba and called him an “assassin” on the air. A never-before-heard Castro lost control and cursed violently. This “mother of all pranks” resulted in coverage on CNN, The New York Times, The Miami Herald, BBC, and NBC’s “The Rick Sanchez Show,” among other local, national and international media.

“We are thrilled to call La Kalle 98.3 FM our new home. We can’t wait to be reunited with our listeners and give Miami and Fresno a reason to laugh again,” said Santos and Ferrero. “We know that this is the beginning of a long relationship, and that this will bring us an opportunity to eventually expand our audience reach into many new markets.”

The pair’s bilingual broadcasts on La Kalle 98.3 FM will be a crossover hit of humor, social satire and political commentary that bridges cultural and generational differences among Hispanic backgrounds. Santos and Ferrero will entertain their audience with phone pranks, song parodies, interviews and interaction with listeners, and they will continue to do what they are most known for, which is to “harvest panic” with their audience.

Santos and Ferrero have a “don’t hold back” rule when it comes to interviewing celebrities, which in the past have included, O.J. Simpson, Andy Garcia, Jennifer Lopez, Tommy Davidson, Jose Feliciano, P. Diddy and Jeb Bush, just to name a few. Enrique and Joe have already confirmed interviews with internationally renowned stars, influencers and community leaders.

Santos and Ferrero have repeatedly topped advertising sales and audience records. They also are known as one of the most popular Hispanic radio talent in America. Their accomplishments have not only impacted the radio industry, but also their community. Santos and Ferrero have received numerous proclamations and awards for their charity, community and relief efforts after natural disasters. They are also HAAP (Hispanic Aids Awareness Program) Advocates and currently serve as spokespersons for a statewide HIV prevention awareness PSA program led by Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

Univision Communications Inc. is the premier Spanish-language media company in the United States. Its operations include Univision Network, the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the U.S. reaching 99% of U.S. Hispanic Households; TeleFutura Network, a general-interest Spanish-language broadcast television network, which was launched in 2002 and now reaches 89% of U.S. Hispanic Households; Galavisión, the country’s leading Spanish-language cable network; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 64 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio group which owns and/or operates 70 radio stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and 5 stations in Puerto Rico; Univision Music Group, which includes Univision Records, Fonovisa Records, La Calle Records and Mexico-based Disa Records as well as Fonomusic and America Musical Publishing companies; and Univision Online, the premier Spanish-language Internet destination in the U.S. located at www.univision.com. Univision Communications also has a 50% interest in TuTv, a joint venture formed to broadcast Televisa’s pay television channels in the U.S. Univision Communications has television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States.

For more information, please visit www.univision.net.”*

*From: http://www.businesswire.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

President Hugo Chavez’s government is taking its battle against U.S. “imperialism” into Venezuelans’ dictionaries, urging state phone company workers to avoid English-language business and tech terms.

Through a campaign launched Monday, newly nationalized CANTV hopes to wean employees and others from words like “staff” (”equipo” is preferred), “marketing” (”mercadeo”) and “password” (”contrasena”).”*

*From: http://ap.google.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

More than 80 performers and other celebrities have signed a statement supporting Grammy-winning Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz after two Venezuelan concerts were canceled because of his criticism of Hugo Chavez.

The letter, released Wednesday, was signed by performers including Shakira, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Penelope Cruz and even soccer star David Beckham. It said the signers “believe in a Latin America where we are all free to express our views.”"*

*From: http://ap.google.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish