http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13885.htm
Go to Venezuela, You Idiot!
By Jeff Cohen
Commondreams 07/06/06
I don't usually take the advice of rightwingers. But I did this time. After
receiving inflamed email messages from dozens of angry rightists that I
should get the hell out of the USA and go to Venezuela, I accepted their
challenge and flew to Caracas.
"Would you like me to start a fund to ship your ass down there, Comrade
Cohen?"
What had provoked the often-abusive emailers was my 2005 Internet column
urging U.S. residents to buy their gasoline at Citgo, a subsidiary of
Venezuela's state oil company. I called for a Citgo BUY-cott, to protest
Bush's interventionist foreign policy while supporting innovative
anti-poverty programs in Venezuela. (Last winter, Citgo started a program
that provided discounted home-heating oil to low-income families in the
U.S.)
"Hey moron, if you hate America so much and love Venezuela, why don't you go
there?"
I'm glad I listened to the conservative chorus. In late June, I headed to
Venezuela with a fact-finding delegation sponsored by the respected U.S.
human rights group, Witness for Peace. The grueling trip covered much ground
and all sides of Venezuela's social/political landscape. It is a complex
country, headed by sometimes volatile President Hugo Chavez, a leftist and
harsh Bush critic who was first elected in 1998.
As soon as I returned home, I headed to the nearest Citgo to fill up my
tank -- more committed than ever to send a few dollars toward Venezuela's
poor.
"You, sir, are as un-American as they come."
For decades, Venezuela's vast oil wealth had been squandered and hoarded by
its light-skinned elite, while most Venezuelans -- largely of indigenous,
African and mixed descent -- lived in dire poverty. Today, oil revenue from
Citgo and elsewhere is funneled into social programs (called "missions") to
benefit the country's poor majority. They're reminiscent of FDR's New Deal
programs. . .born of our economic bust. But Venezuela's missions are fueled
by a boom -- a boom in oil prices that is likely to persist for years.
"Because of Chavez, communism is thriving in South America."
>From what I could see, capitalism is thriving. Foreign oil interests
continue to profit handsomely from Venezuelan petrol, but they now pay a
fairer share of taxes and royalties. So do the 80 McDonald's restaurants in
Venezuela, which were briefly shut down last year over alleged tax cheating.
Multinational companies and the old elite are doing fine in today's
Venezuela. So well that some Venezuelan leftists denounce Chavez -- despite
his talk of building "21st century socialism" -- as a tool of corporate
imperialism.
Like other oil-exporting countries, Venezuela in the past allowed its
domestic productive economy to atrophy. Besides oil, it produced little --
with food largely imported. Today, people in poor areas are organizing
themselves into productive and agricultural co-ops, supported by
low-interest government loans. We visited a federal bank that underwrites
women-run businesses nationwide.
My guess is that if Chavez succeeds in Venezuela -- a big "if" in a country
of endemic corruption, poverty and crime, in the backyard of the U.S.
superpower -- its economic system will end up looking more like Sweden than
Cuba.
What's not debatable is that the poor have found hope in the Chavez
administration -- which is why he's perhaps the most popular president in
our hemisphere. So popular that Chavez critics in the U.S. government and
Venezuelan opposition concede that they won't be able to defeat him in
December when he seeks reelection.
"The trouble with all you liberals is that you're anti-American and hate
democracy."
Participation in democracy is booming in Venezuela under Chavez. That's
partly due to polarization, but also because so many poor people feel
empowered enough for the first time to get active in politics. A massive
2005 Latinobarometro poll conducted in 18 Latin American countries showed
that Venezuelans are among the top in preference for democracy over all
other forms of government, in satisfaction with how their democracy is
functioning, and in belief that their country is "totally democratic."
"The oil money never gets to the poor. . . . You must have been paid by
Chavez to write what you wrote."
Across Venezuela, it's hard to miss the new investment in public education.
Schools are being upgraded in urban and rural areas and are required to
offer free breakfasts and lunches, arts, music and after-school activities.
Unlike the U.S., these are well-funded mandates. Illiteracy has been
virtually wiped out, according to UNESCO, thanks to adult education that has
penetrated the poorest neighborhoods.
In poor communities, federally-subsidized stores called "mercals" sell food
at half the market price. In the capital of Caracas, thousands of
government-funded soup kitchens offer free lunches every weekday to the
indigent; our delegation was headquartered in a church that served 150 free
lunches per day. Across the country, new housing is being built to replace
shantytown "ranchos" that so many Venezuelans live in.
Thousands of free ("Barrio Adentro") medical clinics have been built inside
neighborhoods that never had doctors before -- so many clinics that you can
spot them from the highway. These are staffed largely by doctors from Cuba;
in return, Cuba receives Venezuelan oil. When we asked a community leader
how local residents reacted to the Cuban doctors, he explained that most
Venezuelan doctors won't serve in poor barrios: "People in our community
don't care whether the doctors are French, German, Canadian, Mexican or
Cuban -- as long as they're here to help."
"Go to Venezuela and kiss up to the anti-American dictator."
If Venezuela is a dictatorship, it must be the first in world history in
which the opposition controls most of the media. And the first in which
demonstrations occur regularly outside the presidential palace (organized by
various groups, especially low-income activists complaining about broken
promises and government inefficiency).
Dissent is alive and well in Venezuela. Any casual viewer can see
anti-Chavez criticism all over TV, the country's dominant medium and largely
in the hands of conservative business interests. The opposition used its
power on TV to support a short-lived military coup in 2002 (strike 1), an
employers' oil lockout in 2002-3 (strike 2) and a failed recall election in
2004 (strike 3). Chavez won nearly 60% in the recall vote -- which was
monitored closely by international observers.
Efforts to bring down Chavez -- through democratic and undemocratic means --
have been supported by the Bush administration. Which makes it ironic that
the American Family Association, a U.S. religious ultra-right group, has
organized a Citgo boycott on the basis of its Internet hoax: "Venezuela
Dictator Vows to Bring Down U.S. Government." The headline tends to reverse
reality; Chavez has made no such vow. But AFA true believers have targeted
my email inbox for months with the hoax.
"Try Jesus. If you don't like Him, the devil will always take you back.. . .
.What terrorist group are you affiliated with?"
If you think the U.S. is politically polarized, you haven't been to
Venezuela. Clinton's impeachment by the religious right over sex is child's
play compared to what's gone on in Venezuela, where Chavez has survived
near-death experiences at the hands of a conservative opposition that has
never accepted his presidency.
Columnist Paul Krugman talks of a "New Class War" in our country. In
Venezuela, it's old-fashioned class war. Political and media confrontation
between Chavez and the opposition is vicious, personal and bare-knuckled.
While independent human rights monitors in Venezuela complain about isolated
cases of government intimidation of opposition figures and journalists, they
scoff at claims that democracy is in jeopardy or that dictatorship is
coming.
Today, Chavez is popular (his approval ratings dwarf Bush's), rambunctious
in whipping up his base against both domestic opponents and Bush, and prone
to hyperbole in his hours of extemporaneous speaking each day. He has waged
a war of words against U.S. Empire and Bush, whom he calls "Mr. Danger." But
that's polite in light of Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld having compared
Chavez to Adolph Hitler. Or Rev. Pat Robertson having called for Chavez to
be assassinated.
"You can write your articles about how great he [Chavez] is, but I know, as
well as other true Americans, that he is not a good man and he does need to
be taken out of power as soon as possible."
To me, the issue is less about Chavez than about the social initiatives his
government has unleashed. When I first wrote about Venezuela 14 months ago,
I urged a simple economic action: filling up at Citgo so that our money at
the pump helps Venezuela's poor instead of Middle East oiligarchs. That
remains a good idea.
Nowadays, I also urge political action: that we contact Congress to demand
that the U.S. stay out of Venezuela's political contest. That's up to
Venezuelans to decide. Not us. The U.S. should stop its efforts to back the
conservative opposition and cease all ("National Endowment for Democracy")
funding of Venezuelan groups.
And finally, I want to join my rightwing critics in one recommendation: Go
to Venezuela. If you can arrange it, examine the social transformations for
yourself. Study Spanish there. See the decades of poverty, neglect and
corruption that led to the election of Hugo Chavez -- and whether his
government is improving things.
There's an added bonus for anyone who can get down there: gasoline at 18
cents per gallon. Expect to hear Venezuelans complaining that the price is
too high.
Jeff Cohen is a media critic and former TV pundit. His newest book, "Cable
News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media," can be pre-ordered
at http://jeffcohen.org/
***
MIAMI HERALD
Posted on Fri, Jul. 07, 2006
CARIBBEAN
Venezuela gets backing for U.N. council seat
Venezuela got a boost for its bid for a U.N. Security Council seat
after the 15-member Caribbean Community said it would not support
Guatemala's U.S.-backed candidacy.
BY JACQUELINE CHARLES AND PABLO BACHELET
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - Venezuela's firebrand President Hugo Chávez
took a major step toward securing a crucial bloc of votes for a seat
on the U.N. Security Council Thursday after the 15-member Caribbean
Community made it clear they would not support Guatemala's
U.S.-backed candidacy.
A formal declaration of CARICOM's support for Venezuela would come
later, but leaders of the regional bloc meeting here said Guatemala's
long-standing territorial claims against Belize, a CARICOM member,
made them oppose its candidacy.
''The very strong view within CARICOM is that the claim that
Guatemala continues to make on Belize is unacceptable,'' said CARICOM
Chairman and St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas.
Guatemala is claiming half of Belize as part of a centuries-old
dispute.
TIGHT RACE
Venezuela is locked in a tight race with Guatemala over which country
will replace Argentina as a non-permanent Latin American
representative on the Security Council for a two-year term that
starts next year.
The usually routine process suddenly became a major concern for the
Bush administration after Venezuela decided to run on a platform
that, according to a Venezuelan brochure for fellow U.N. members,
"seeks to find the balance between the hegemonic tendencies, in
favor of the interests of the countries of the South.''
Washington has long complained that the socialist Chávez is a
destabilizing force in Latin America because of his support of
radical left-wing groups. Venezuela also has supported Iran's nuclear
program and North Korea's missile tests -- both issues that are being
debated in the U.N. body.
''Venezuela has shown that it is more concerned with disrupting
international events than in working constructively to achieve common
goals,'' said a U.S. State Department document explaining
Washington's stand.
CARICOM officials said they would send a delegation to Caracas to
clear up some issues relating to Venezuela's relations with the
Caribbean, including details of PetroCaribe deal, an arrangement that
allows Caribbean nations to buy oil on preferential terms.
But Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerritt said CARICOM ''has
decided to support the candidacy of Venezuela.'' In addition to its
issues with Belize, leaders here accuse Guatemala of contributing to
the collapse of the Caribbean's banana industry by leading the fight
against banana exports to Europe.
Venezuela dispatched former Foreign Minister Roy Chaderton-Matos to
meet with CARICOM officials here during their four-day summit.
As for the U.S. lobbying on behalf of Guatemala, Skerritt said
Guatemala needed to do its own lobbying. ''It is not the U.S. that is
seeking a seat on the United Nations,'' he said. ``None of us has
seen a representative from Guatemala.''
Guatemala has stressed its own merits for obtaining the Security
Council post.
Foreign Minister Jorge Briz Abularach, in a phone interview with The
Miami Herald, said Guatemala has never sat on the council even though
it is a U.N. founding member and has frequently contributed troops to
peace operation.
OCTOBER ELECTIONS
According to Briz, Guatemala has secured 90 votes so far. The winner
needs two-thirds of the General Assembly votes, or 127, although a
smaller number would suffice if fewer votes are cast. The elections
are to take place in October.
U.S. State Department officials, who requested anonymity to speak
freely on a delicate subject, say Guatemala should be backed by a
vast majority of European and Asian democracies.
Guatemala also has the backing of Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador,
Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, Briz said.
Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil already have said they would vote for
Venezuela. Venezuela has focused its lobbying for the Security
Council seat on less-developed countries in places like Africa.
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