Venezolanos residentes desde hace muchos años en los Estados Unidos criticaron el editorial publicado por Los Angeles Times el pasado dia 18 de Diciembre, por medio de cartas que enviaron de replica al periodico. 

El editorial que publicó este periodico norteamericano critica injustamente y con falsos argumentos la labor del presidente Hugo Chávez Frias comenzando con el titulo del editorial: "Un Fidelito en Caracas". 

El enlace al editorial es como sigue:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-chavez18dec18,0,7879302.story

El editorial comenta entre otras cosas que el presidente Chavez y sus "cronies" (termino despectivo utilizado para describir a sus aliados) han estado despojando a los venezolanos de sus libertades y estan poco a poco instaurando una dictadura.  El editorial tambien dice que la revision del codigo penal pondra como un acto criminal los cacerolazos como forma de protesta domestica,  y tambien, que una estacion que muestre escenas de violencia en protestas contra Chavez podria ser cerrada bajo la nueva ley. Ambos casos no estan contemplados en las leyes como dice el editorial.

El editorial propone como solucion para las "fuerzas democraticas" en Venezuela que los "presidentes izquierdosos" como Lula, Lagos y Kirchner traten de convencer a Chavez de que imitar a Fidel Castro no es compatible con la determinacion de los paises latinos a tener democracia.

Este editorial se une a la larga lista de articulos y editoriales que han aparecido en periodicos norteamericanos como el New York Times, Washington Post, Miami Herald, Times Picayune (New Orleans), etc, etc, que se han dado a la tarea de criticar abiertamente y en forma nefasta y sin pruebas la labor de nuestro presidente en Venezuela. Es importante la labor que nuestros compatriotas venezolanos en Estados Unidos y en otros paises llevan a cabo contra este ataque mediatico bien organizado por la derecha reaccionaria en ese pais, cada vez que sale un articulo de opinion negativo como este. Cada vez que esto ocurre, nuestros compatriotas escriben cartas a los periodicos que publican la informacion fascista.

Aquellos Bolivarianos que deseen tambien mandar una respuesta a este editorial del LA Times la pueden enviar escrita en ingles a la siguiente direccion:  letters@latimes.com .  Respuestas deben de ser bien escritas, breves (no mas de 250 palabras) y deben de poner nombre del autor, direccion y numero de telefono, los cuales no seran publicados en el periodico.

A continuacion les presentamos tres de las cartas que nuestros compatriotas venezolanos enviaron al LA Times como respuesta por su derecho a replica.

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Dear Editor,

I am a Venezuelan-American Citizen concerned about this editorial.

Chavez won a referendum with 60% of the vote. Referring to independent legislators as "cronies" of the executive branch is misinformation regarding the strong system of checks and balances in Venezuela today. Laws passed by the General Assembly are debated openly by the Legislative branch.

The opposition continues to use illegal tactics to force a legitimate President from office. A 2002 coup instated a "president" dissolving the Supreme Court and General Assembly. Venezuelans ended the brief dictatorship headed by Pedro Carmona Estanga and restored Constitutionality to the country.

There is no media censorship. Venezuela has the most open standard of press freedom, that will not change with a law to protect children, only prohibiting explicit sex and violence during daytime.

Private media is owned by elite opposition, they encouraged the coup and refused to report Chavez regained office two days later. They continue criticizing without censorship.

Journalists in the United States are harassed and imprisoned for failing to reveal their sources. Such abuses would never happen in today's Venezuela.

Opposition favors illegal means to install "democracy". They have options today as they did five years ago to present candidacy and programs that would include all Venezuelans.

For the first time in 40 years high voter turnouts indicate a faith in the electoral system, especially from traditionally-marginalized groups.

Beatriz Pestana, en el estado de Colorado

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Dear LATimes editor,

Your editorial this past weekend on Venezuela paints a picture of my country that is distorted, to say the list. Venezuela is more democratic now than it has ever been. During the Chavez administration, not one channel, or program, has been censored or taken off the air, unlike previous administrations. The only time a channel was closed was during the two day dictatorship of Carmona when Carmona closed a community radio station. You criticize Chavez for having control of the National Assembly. It was the people that gave his party the majority in this body, just like the Republicans control both the Congress and Senate, and the White House. I guess under your criteria George Bush is an authoritarian.

The penal code is being revised in Venezuela because people have demanded it. The banging of pots perpetrated against a minister in a plane, when he was traveling with his wife and kids. These people, with hate in their eyes, traumatized these kids for ever.

In the United States, we also have had our penal code revised with the Patriot Act I, and now II. These two revisions give broad powers to this administration over individual rights and over the press's freedom of investigation and speech.

Jorge Marin, en el estado de Massachussetts

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Your editorial is shameful because it is biased against a very popular president, more popular in his country than any other leader in the Americas, including Bush. I will only contrast four statements that you provided in your editorial:

"Chavez and his cronies" - Chavez was re-legitimated on August 15 by 6 million Venezuelans (60%) against 4 million (40%). It is shameful that you call "cronies" this large majority of people who support him.

"Chavez has been stripping Venezuelans of their basic rights and freedoms". Farthest from the truth. In Venezuela today, there has been more freedoms and respect for human rights than during the previous governments since the country became independent in the 1800s.

"A station showing news images of a "violent" protest against Chavez, for example, could be shut down under the new law".  This is simply not true. Article # 7 of the new law allows showing violence between 11 pm and 5 am, and violence could also be shown during day hours as information when shown live.

"As increasingly frustrated democratic forces in Venezuela run out of options...".  What you call "democratic forces" tried to violently take over the government in a coup d'etat, orchestrated sabotage of the oil industry which lost $11 billion in 2003, created violent protests in 2004 called "Guarimbas", assassinated more than 100 supporters of the government (with the recent assassination of an attorney at the Attorney General's office), and tried to topple Mr. Chavez with Colombian paramilitary troops arrested in Caracas.

Edgard Hernandez, en el estado de la Florida