About Venezuela

I'm getting to it. Slowly, though. We received a lot of information in the eight days we were there. My aim is to write up a presentation that I can offer to local Latin American interest groups, and perhaps the Green Party, peace organizations, and the local Democrats for John Kerry group. It will take me a while. In the meantime, I've got pictures posted at Ofoto.com.

I see Bob got to work immediately upon his return to the States:

  articleMarcela Sanchez, Washington Post

Ms. Sanchez:

Your column about Hugo Chavez was despicable. What you cite from his speeches as evidence of his madness is much closer to the truth than anything we hear from our own president.

Siding with Iraqi insurgents? Well, they are defending their country against foreign invaders, something usually referred to as patriotism.

Bush financing "wars of domination?" What else would you call it? Two countries invaded in three years, many more threatened, full support of the brutal Israeli occupation in Palestine. There's no secret about U.S. plans for global domination. It's in the Project for a New American Century, it was in Bush's West Point speech of June 2002 ("America has, and intends to keep, military strengths beyond challenge"), and in the National Security Strategy of September 2002.

Jesus confronting the U.S. Empire? Well, I think he would; nothing in Bush's foreign policy relates to loving one's neighbor, turning the other cheek, or not casting the first stone.

Stop selling oil to the U.S? The Bush administration supported the coup of two years ago and hastily recognized the fascist coup leaders. Chavez certainly isn't crazy to think that the Bush administration is an enemy of his, and oil is the only real weapon he has against them.

Calling for sanctions against the U.S? Well, Chavez should probably butt out of U.S. internal affairs, but the U.S. has never butted out of Venezuela, which is probably the point he is trying to make.

I haven't read enough about the Colombian politicians, but it certainly doesn't seem far-fetched.

I just got back from nearly two weeks in Venezuela. I attended Chavez' April 13 speech in Caracas. Chavez has given hope to millions of people in that country who never had hope before. The Bush administration and their shills like you appear willing to destroy that hope all for the neoliberal and neocon desire for cheap labor, cheap oil, and world domination. And, when you have no valid arguments, you resort to calling your opponents insane.

Bob Goodsell
Ann Arbor, MI

And, our Global Exchange tour leader, Tanya, sent an email forwarding one of the responses her organization got to our visit to Venezuela TV Channel 8:

----- Forwarded Message
From: "Oliver E. Martinez"
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 09:50:16 -0400
To:
Subject: You're wrong about Mr. Chavez

I saw you on TV yesterday, I guess so.
Mr Chavez doesn't care about biggest problem of poors: life. He has declared war aginst church, media, but not againt crime. I live in Petare, Campo Rico hood (http://www.petare.com.ve ) and out big problem are the criminals. Robbers, drugs and murderds. ALMOST No police over here. Not like before. The Mayor is a stupid juppie. He is the Mayor just because Chavez said, and because he's the son of Chavez Vice-President. Even Chavez suporters hate him.

If you want to know our hood, just let me know.

Chavez talks about pooverty, but wears expensive suits, watchs. Chavez talks about national industry, but he wears only Tommy Hilfiger and Polo Ralph Laurent. Chavez says he's democratic, but he allways says he'll still on charge until 2021. ??? Pleeeeeasseee. Chavez says he's democratic, but he says who will be governor, not internal ellections, just Chavez's finger. If you don't agree, you're kicked out. Please my friends, this guy is a militar, he's not democratic, he always talks about this revolution has weapons, tanks, planes. He's a war man, but for anyonelse, because he's a chicken shit. On Feb 4th 1.992 he was hidden while soldiers were dying. In my work they're laying off people. My boss was fired just because she signed against Chavez. Is it Democratic?

I agree some things like Barrio Adentro, Mision Sucre (I don't agree Rivas). I agree about a change, but I think Chavez is not the guy.

Welcome to Venezuela, and don't play the fool.

Point well taken. Of course there are different angles to every picture, and everybody in Venezuela has an opinion - a strong one, it would seem. The hotel clerk, who was very friendly and nice to me, told Tanya that we should not have done that TV special. He also told my roommate the same thing and added that Chavez is an evil man.

Well, I don't think he's an evil man, but he is certainly an ambitious man. It remains to be seen what he can possibly do to repair all the past damage done to Venezuela, and whether he will become more concerned with self-interest than interest for "El Pueblo". It does strike me as selective viewing for the Opposition (Golpistas - from Spanish for "coup") to blame Chavez for the awful state of the economy. After all, Venezuela's economy has been unstable for many, many years, and the Golpistas themselves set about systematically to destroy it in the past several years, with the help of the U.S. government (covertly, of course, and through the CIA), in order to topple Chavez. They don't seem to want to take any of the blame for their predicament.

I do have a story about a Chavista government official high in the ranks that I will not publish (at least right now) that would give legitimacy to this writer's concerns about the appearance contradicting the talk, but I have yet to see any high government officials anywhere at any time living amongst and on a par with the poor of their country.

Also, it is a typical condemnatory claim of the Golpistas that Chavez has appointed sympathetic people to positions of power. I wonder how they think that is any different than anywhere else. Certainly their preferred candidates would do the same, and did so when they were in power. If that were the mark of a dictatorship, then we're all living in one.

The remark about his boss being fired for signing against Chavez doesn't give us any detail, so it's impossible to make a comment on it. I will note, however, that while we were heading to a rally one day, a man came up to us with his own personal story (and it's either one I've read about, or the same story with a different person). I told him there wasn't anything I could do personally about his situation, but that I would publish it on my blog. Perhaps a letter to the U.S. embassy in Caracas would help. Unfortunately, I can't speak Spanish, and my interpreter wasn't really that great, and we were in a hurry. I thought I might be able to find the article I had read to fill in the missing pieces, but find now that I can't. So, I've failed the man - William Chavez is his name. He says that he worked at the U.S. Embassy and was fired for signing either a pro-Chavez document or an anti-Bush one, I'm not sure. As I recall the article I had read (which I may be misremembering), the man who was the subject of the article had been fired by the U.S. embassy for discussing his pro-Chavez views. I believe the man had some grounds or janitorial position. So much for freedom of speech on U.S. property. I wonder if they had the "Free Speech Zone" posted in Spanish.

Chavez has a seemingly insurmountable chore ahead of him - to bring economic and political stability to a very unstable and deeply divided country. It would be a Herculean task even if he had international support. Ruefully, he has the world's wealthiest superpower intent on destroying him. (And keeping Venezuela repressed and cheaply exploitable.)

More later.

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