According to ABC News, the secret ballot is a freedom not endowed to employees of Venezuela's state-owned oil company. I wonder how this story will be reported by Democracy Now, the voice of the "true Left?"
According to an internal memo obtained by ABC News, workers at Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) were recently instructed to support Chavez's re-election campaign or else be terminated.
The penalties for failing to comply with these new directives are severe. Workers are threatened with the loss of their jobs if they do not cooperate.
One point, highlighted in capital letters, makes this crystal clear, saying "He who is not with Chavez should not be in PDVSA."
It gets worse. This sentence really struck out at me in its sheer Orwellian-ness:
It encourages workers to be vigilant of their colleagues and to turn in anyone who does not appear to be "identified with the process."
This shouldn't surprise many that know the history of hard-line socialist regimes. These populist leaders come to power promising to bring prosperity to their people, only to disenfranchise them.
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