Venezuela: Next Chile?
By John Pilger
He has won two elections, and
he has made a start on relieving poverty. So now the US wants to get rid of Venezuela's president Chavez.
Almost 30 years after the violent destruction of the reformist government of
Salvador Allende in Chile, a repeat performance is being planned in Venezuela. Little of this has been reported in Britain. Indeed, little is known of the achievements of
the government of Hugo Chavez, who won presidential elections in 1998 and again
in 2000 by the largest majority in 40 years.
Following the principles of a movement called Bolivarism, named after the South
American independence hero Simon Bolivar, Chavez has implemented reforms that
have begun to shift the great wealth of Venezuela, principally from its oil, towards the 80 per
cent of his people who live in poverty.
In 49 laws adopted by the Venezuelan Congress last November, Chavez began
serious land reform, and guaranteed indigenous and women's rights and free
healthcare and education up to university level.
Chavez faces enemies that Allende would recognise. The "oligarchies",
which held power since the 1950s during the corrupt bipartisan reign of the
Social Christians and Democratic Action, have declared war on the reforming
president, backed by the Catholic Church and a trade union hierarchy and the
media, both controlled by the right.
What has enraged them is a modest agrarian reform that allows the state to
expropriate and redistribute idle land; and a law that limits the exploitation
of oil reserves, reinforcing a constitutional ban on the privatisation of the
state oil company.
Allied with Chavez's domestic enemies is the Bush administration. Defying Washington, Chavez has sold oil to Cuba and refused overflying rights to American
military aircraft supplying "Plan Colombia", the US campaign in support of the murderous regime in
neighbouring Colombia. Worse, although he condemned the attacks of 11
September, he questioned the right of the United States to "fight terrorism with terrorism".
For this, he is unforgiven. On 5-7 November, the State Department, Pentagon and
National Security Agency held a two-day meeting to discuss "the problem of
Venezuela". The State Department has since accused
the Chavez government of "supporting terrorism" in Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador. In fact, Venezuela opposes American-funded terrorism in those three
countries.
The US says it will "put Venezuela in diplomatic isolation"; Colin Powell has
warned Chavez to correct "his understanding of what a democracy is all
about". Familiar events are unfolding.
The International Monetary Fund has indicated it supports a "transitional
government" for Venezuela. The Caracas daily El Nacional says the IMF is willing to
bankroll those who remove Chavez from office.
James Petras, a professor at New York State University, who was in Chile in the early 1970s and has studied the
subversion of the Allende government, says that
"the IMF and financial institutions are fabricating a familiar crisis. The
tactics used are very similar to those used in Chile. Civilians are used to create a feeling of
chaos, and a false picture of Chavez as a dictator is established, then the
military is incited to make a coup for the sake of the country."
A former paratrooper, Chavez apparently still has the army behind him (as
Allende did, until the CIA murdered his loyal military chief, opening the way
to Pinochet). However, several senior officers have denounced Chavez as a
"tyrant" and have called for his resignation. It is difficult to
assess this; in its rumour-mongering, the hostile Caracas press plays a role reminiscent of Chile's right-wing press, with poisonous stories
questioning Chavez's sanity.
The most worrying threat comes from a reactionary trade union hierarchy, the
Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV), led by Carlos Ortega, a hack of the
anti-Chavez Democratic Action Party. The CTV maintains a black list of
"disloyal" and "disruptive" members, which it supplies to
employers.
According to Dick Nichols, writing from Caracas, Chavez's most serious mistake has been his
failure to move against the union old guard, following a national referendum in
which a majority gave him a mandate to reform the CTV.
The crime of Hugo Chavez is that he has set out to keep his electoral promises,
redistributing the wealth of his country and subordinating the principle of
private property to that of the common good. Having underestimated the power of
his enemies, his current counter-offensive is imaginative but also hints of
desperation.
He has set up what are called "Bolivarian circles", of which 8,000
are being established in communities and workplaces across the country. Based
on the revolutionary heritage of Simon BolIvar's triumph in the war against Spain, their job is to ...
"raise the consciousness of citizens and develop all forms of
participatory organisations in the community, releasing projects in health,
education, culture, sport, public services, housing and the preservation of the
environment, natural resources and our historical heritage".
Allied to this is a popular command "unifying and strengthening the forces
in support of President Chavez".
These are fighting words that echo through the continent's history of epic
struggles. They say that yet another South American country, in offering its
people an alternative to poverty and foreign domination, the "threat of a
good example", is entering a period of great uncertainty and fear. The
achievements in Venezuela are a clear response to those who say that
radical dreams and change are no longer possible. Chavez should be supported by
all democrats. Chile must not happen again.
http://www.johnpilger.com