Furious reactions to Gustavo Dudamel’s Venezuela statement

Furious reactions to Gustavo Dudamel’s Venezuela statement

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norman lebrecht

May 05, 2017

Around 1,000 people have posted comments on the main site of the conductor’s protest at the death of an El Sistema viola player in the country’s civil violence, and his challenge to the regime of ‘enough is enough’.

Among the most hostile comments is one from a post in the name of the young victim’s godfather and uncle, Guillermo Carillo. He maintains that his nephew did not die for any cause but as a victim of petty interests on both sides. He attacks Dudamel for being complicit in the present situation.

Others say that Dudamel’s intervention is ‘too little, too late,’ condemning his long collaboration with the regime.

Others still call for dialogue, tolerance, a way forward.

Comments

  • William Osborne says:

    All would be much clearer if the US government were not in the midst of a long-term effort to overthrow the Venezuelan government, including a US backed and orchestrated coup attempt in 2002. The principle cause is that Venezuela nationalized its oil reserves against the interests of American corporations. This is just one more example of some 30 countries that have had their government overthrown by the USA, and often with disastrous effects that greatly increased the suffering of the people. This includes Iraq where about a million people have died as a result of the invasion, and Syria where about half a million have died and about 13 million driven from their homes.

    • Sam McElroy says:

      I was going to reply to you, Mr. Osbourne.

      But then I decided not to lobotomize myself by insistently banging my head against that large brick wall, the one that stands between you and reason, daubed with the eternal words “Fallacy of Relevance – William Osbourne woz ‘ere”.

      Have a nice weekend in your armchair, Mr. Osbourne, while the stricken people of Venezuela enjoy the Tear Gas Tango at the hands of your belovèd revolutionaries…

    • Robert Holmén says:

      The *principal* cause of Venezuela’s trouble is that their government-run oil company (oil was nationalized way back in the 70s) has been ruined by poor management and corruption such that oil production has been falling every year since Chavez took office and… the oil they do produce isn’t worth half of what it used to be due to increased production worldwide. VZs prime income source has collapsed.

      Obama’s “all of the above” energy policy had a lot to do with that current glut so, yeah, you can make a claim that the US has been working against the interests of VZ but it’s a policy designed to diminish the out-size influence of all the oil producers, who have been a frequently damaging factor in the world economy and politics. There are a lot of countries with government-run oil industries facing the same problem but haven’t run themselves into the ground like VZ has.

    • Mark says:

      Yes, everything’s the fault of that horrible USA !!

      Get a life! The USA should not have gone into Iraq … but then the Iraqis set about killing and bombing each other with a religious zeal that only ISIS and Assad seem to have outdone.

  • Reece Jennings says:

    Oh dear – it’s all so sad.

  • Marg says:

    I’m just glad that at last The Dude has raised his voice on the violence. It’s a start.

  • M2N2K says:

    These “furious reactions” are probably one of the main reasons GD kept silent for as long as he did. They show that nothing he can say will ever satisfy most people on both sides. But later is still better than never.

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