I agree that there is absolutely no objective press in Venezuela

www.vheadline.com Posted: Sunday, February 16, 2003 By: Ronald De Souza

Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 10:45:56 -0500 From: Ronald De Souza desouzar@bellsouth.net To: Editor@VHeadline.com Subject: 59% of the vote in 2000

Dear Editor: I will never question that Chavez was elected fairly ... 59% of the vote in 2000 (a hell of a lot more than Bush). However, he is doing a terrible job, creating so much hate, that now in Venezuela, there are 2 extremes, the haves and the have-nots.

I also agree that there is absolutely no objective press in Venezuela ... not El Nacional, not El Universal, not Venpres, not Globovision, not VTV, not Aporrea, not Tal Cual, not VHeadline.

• However, in order for me to get a balanced view, I have to read just about all of them.

You call your publication "objective and independent" ... sorry, you are not.  You are biased mainly against the Venezuelan opposition, and in favor of the Chavez government, although once and a while you criticize it.

Please don't misunderstand me, I still like your publication; I think it is a publication of "criticism" (publicacion de critica) and sometimes is ok, just like Teodoro Petkoff's Tal Cual.

Please understand that I am not indicting you as being as pro-Chavez as Aporrea.com or Venpres. However, the way you indict the opposition, makes it sound like you are pro-Chavez. There are opposition leaders that are democratic, and now that the strike is over (ok, a failure) we are beginning to clearly see those divisions in the opposition.

Regardless of my views on your publication, I will continue to read it, just like I read the others,

Ronald De Souza desouzar@bellsouth.net

Editor's Note: Glad to hear that you will continue to read VHeadline.com ... that is your freedom!  What you may perceive as a pro-Chavez bias is sadly misplaced. VHeadline.com is supportive of constitutional government and the institution of the Presidency and this is not necessarily married to the personage of Chavez Frias.  There is unfortunately a lot of disinformation published in the traditional Venezuelan print & broadcast media and you should not necessarily rely on any information per se but seek yourself to find a truth in the multiplicity of news sources available to you and with which you feel comfortable.  Perhaps cause had better be sought in the anti-Chavez opposition itself.  Were they adherents of constitutional principle and democracy who put in place Dictator-for-a-Day Pedro Carmona Estanga last April?  Was it not he, who in the name of the opposition, proclaimed the Venezuelan Constitution, National Assembly and Judiciary dissolved in a single stroke of his pen?  Whereas Chavez Frias has constitutional legitimacy in democratic elections by the will of the people, can you explain on which democratic base the CTV's Carlos Ortega founds his democracy or Fedecamaras' Carlos Fernandez his?  Would you rather that VHeadline abandons all principles of democratic constitutionality to support the acts pf opposition saboteurs against a government (for good or bad) established by the will of the Venezuelan people to govern under established rules.  It is a general rule throught the world that any self-respecting publication should side with (ok, call it bias if that suits you!) with law and order, democracy, the country's constitution.  Therein lies the rub!

As our stated editorial policy proclaims VHeadline.com promotes democracy in its fullest expression and the inalienable right of all Venezuelans to self-determination and the pursuit of sovereign independence without interference. Our declared editorial bias is pro-democracy and pro-Venezuela.

Roy S. Carson Editor/Publisher Editor@VHeadline.com