http://www.versobooks.com/index.shtml
http://www.versobooks.com/books/ghij/gott_shadow_liberator.shtml
   
Bad Subjects...
the Liberator: Hugo Chavez and the ...
... Chavez and his crew are taking on the inequities in Venezuela?s system. 
With 80%
of the population living in poverty, that?s no small feat. Richard Gott?s ...
http://eserver.org/bs/reviews/2001-7-12-2.20PM.html - 9k - Cached - Similar 
pages

Rightist at CSIS...looks like a real ravathon so...
  
Volume VIII, Issue XVII

October 17, 2000

VENEZUELA ALERT
My Travels with Hugo
A Book Review of Richard Gott, In the Shadow of the Liberator: Hugo Chavez and 
the Transformation of Venezuela (London: Verso, 2000). 246 pages.

Scott B. MacDonald

Editor's Note: With this issue we inaugurate a new feature - an occasional
book review. These essays will highlight "should-read" publications about "need 
to know" subjects. Reader feedback is most welcome ([EMAIL PROTECTED]).



The Bolivarian World

On September 27-28th, 2000, Caracas hosted a summit for the leaders of the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). While the OPEC meeting 
was taking place, international economic policy makers, including the G7 
industrial nations, met in Prague at the annual IMF/World Bank meetings. Anyone 
with an interest in how the post-Cold War order is shaping up should take note: 
two different organizations, two different venues, and two different 
objectives. While it would not be fair to characterize OPEC as an anti-Western, 
and in particular, an anti-U.S. organization, a number of OPEC members are 
hardly on close terms with Washington, including Iran, Iraq, Libya, and most 
recently, Venezuela. In fact, it is Venezuela's leader, President Hugo Chavez, 
who has sought to instill greater discipline within OPEC and make it more 
aggressive in terms of pricing. He is also using OPEC as a leveler of what he 
regards as a too powerful United States. Indeed, he has stated: "The 20th 
century was a bipolar century, but the 21st is not going to be unipolar. The 
21st century should be multipolar, and we all ought to push for the development 
of such a world. So, long live a united Asia, a united Africa, a united 
Europe." That unity is, of course, against the United States.

Who is Hugo Chavez? As he himself has stated: "Many people thought that if I 
became president it would mean the return of Hitler and Mussolini rolled into 
one. The imagined disaster has not taken place." Both Hitler and Mussolini were 
elected to office, but both turned their respective political systems upside 
down, ultimately becoming names associated with brutal totalitarianism. Some of 
Chavez's harshest critics have stated that he will eventually become like the 
mid-20th century dictators. His supporters claim that he will redress old 
wrongs in Venezuelan society and promote a new anti-U.S. order in Latin 
America.

Hugo Chavez is decidedly one of the more interesting and entertaining figures 
presently on the Latin American stage. A former coup leader and army lieutenant 
colonel, he was elected President of Venezuela in 1998. Since then, he has 
smashed the already dying, corrupt old order of Venezuelan politics; involved 
the people in the political process through a number of referendums; created a 
new constitution; and won re-election in 2000. Chavez's rise also signals a 
change in the international political structure in Latin America. While Mexico 
is becoming a key part of North America, and Brazil is quietly attempting to 
make itself felt as a leader for trade integration and democracy in South 
America, Chavez has opted to wave the revolutionary flag, rejecting 
globalization and banging the drum of old-time nationalism. He portrays U.S. 
political influence as overbearing and neo-liberal economics as a toxic waste- 
like northern export. He has developed new friendships with international 
statesmen of dubious reputation, in particular, Iraq's Saddam Hussein and 
Libya's Muammar Ghadafi, while being all aglow of his revolutionary mentor, 
Fidel Castro of Cuba. Moreover, he is seeking to re-ignite an old land dispute 
with neighboring Guyana, hardly a dagger ready to be thrust into the soft 
underbelly of Venezuela. He has also made known his sympathy for Colombia's 
Marxist-drug trafficking FARC guerrillas and called for a South American 
equivalent of NATO aimed at the United States.

As this charismatic and quirky character makes his march through history, it 
behooves us to know more. Is he an old-fashioned military dictator in the 
making, as his harshest critics maintain? Is he a well-intentioned Latin 
American populist, seeking to remold his country for the better? Or is he a 
would-be Fidel Castro, with a continent-wide ambition to dramatically counter- 
balance U.S. penetration in Latin America? Richard Gott, a veteran British 
journalist covering Latin America for The Guardian, has written the only book 
in English thus far on Hugo Chavez, In the Shadow of the Liberator: Hugo Chavez 
and the Transformation of Venezuela.

Gott's book is worth reading for two reasons. First, he spent time in Venezuela 
researching his subject and provides some valuable first hand insights. Second, 
his view is measurably biased in favor of his subject; consequently, it almost 
reads like a religious text. He describes Chavez this way: "They [the 
Venezuelan people] are familiar with his pugilist's face, his generous lips, 
his beaming grin, and the almost asthmatic tick of his mouth as he takes a 
breath or is caught searching for a word in rhetorical flow. He always appears 
decisive and radiates confidence and optimism." Gott is, if nothing else, a 
true believer of the revolutionary process in Latin America and brings his own 
sense of moral indignation every time he mentions the United States. It is 
worth reading a text that is so ideological yet effectively explains how many 
people in the upper ranks of the Chavez government perceive the world around 
them.

In this tale of modern day good and evil, Fidel Castro is like an uncle and 
"omniscient," while the domestic opposition to Chavez is painted as corrupt, 
unrepresentative of the people, and ruthless. Indeed, opposition to Chavez's 
great revolution is tantamount to being a U.S. lackey. We see evidence of the 
great U.S. conspiracy behind almost every event. Even the U.S. offer to provide 
help during the 1999 mudslides and flooding is taken as something to which the 
great revolutionary helmsman must respond: "When the United States sent out two 
ships in mid-January, laden with soldiers and earth-moving equipment, the 
Venezuelans said they wouldn't mind a few bulldozers, but several hundred 
soldiers might be overdoing it. No one voiced what many people were thinking: 
how could a self-styled revolutionary government possibly allow imperialist 
soldiers to make a practice landing on beaches just half an hour from the 
capital?"

Gott goes to great lengths to explain Chavez's ideological groundings. Based on 
the writings of the great liberator, Simon Bolivar, Bolivarianism calls for the 
creation of a more egalitarian society, a more active role of the military 
along those lines, and less corruption. Moreover, according to Gott: "The 
principal aim of his revolution 'is to occupy the geographic space of the 
country in a more harmonious and balanced way'." What this means is a shift 
away from the urban shantytowns of the coast and around Caracas to other parts, 
namely the vast interior of the country. This could be mistaken for being 
supportive of the Khmer Rouge's old idea of depopulating the urban centers as 
part of the transformation of Cambodian society (1974-1978). It also means 
redeveloping the country's long dormant agricultural sector, which was once 
vibrant but shunted aside by oil wealth.

While Bolivar reflects part of Chavez's thinking, the Venezuelan president has 
also drawn inspiration from Norberto Ceresole, an Argentine defined by Gott as 
a radical Peronista and a historian, "with roots on the left, who subsequently 
moved to positions more closely identified with the right." Those positions on 
the right have included criticism that the so-called human rights excesses 
during Argentina's "dirty war" was part of a "Jewish plot" against the nation 
and that there is a "Jewish financial mafia" behind American capitalism. 

What left an imprint on Chavez was Ceresole's geopolitical thinking. The 
Argentine was an advocate of a Latin American alliance with the Middle East and 
Asia to counterbalance the power of the United States. He also provided "a 
number of connections with Arab governments which were to prove extremely 
useful." Furthermore, the Argentine also looked back to strong military leaders 
such as Nasser of Egypt and Ataturk of Turkey for inspiration and is an 
admirer, like Chavez, of Panama's Torrijos and Peru's Velasco. But, even Gott 
suggests that Ceresole was not necessarily all that politically correct, 
noting: "Yet a continuing friendship with this controversial Argentinian might 
have proved embarrassing, and when Chavez became president, Ceresole was 
conveniently spirited out of the country, and he returned to Buenos Aires." 

Troubles Ahead?

While there is much about Chavez and his revolution that can be sympathized 
with-dealing with Venezuela's massive corruption, societal inequalities, and 
heavy dependence on oil-there are some major flaws in Gott's approach. First 
and foremost, Gott is willing to overlook the danger of someone like Chavez, a 
former golpista, in power. Although Chavez has made excellent use of the ballot 
box, he has also made skillful use of charisma and relied heavily on the 
military to implement policies. Charisma does not last forever and the use of 
the military on an extended basis in civilian circles of operations has a 
tendency to politicize soldiers. The fact that Chavez advocated and sought 
power by use of the machinegun before he was elected no doubt has not been lost 
on other soldiers, both from the right and left. The old saying of "He who 
lives by the sword, dies by the sword" is apropos in the Venezuelan case.

A second flaw in Gott's thinking is the role of the United States. While the 
United States has played an interventionist role in Latin America in the past 
(as recently demonstrated by the CIA's documents on Chile in the 1970s), the 
response to Hugo Chavez's revolution has been very cautious. The chumminess to 
Cuba, Libya, and Iraq has not triggered any firm policy shift in Washington, 
nor has Chavez's sympathy with Colombia's FARC. There is no massive rush to 
bring down Latin America's new populist messiah. Yes, Chavez's state visit to 
Iraq as the first head of state to do so since the Gulf war in 1991 was 
criticized. No, Washington did not spring into action to prevent Chavez from 
achieving his short-term political objectives. Some might argue that it should. 
However, for the moment, Washington is not that interested in venting 
additional problems in Latin America, especially in a key oil exporting 
country.

Third, Gott downplays the importance of the economy. While he glows over Chavez 
as a champion against globalization and neo-liberalism, he sidesteps the issue 
that Venezuela is entirely hooked on the ups and downs of the international 
economy, a situation not likely to change any time soon. Charisma has worked 
well in a period of higher oil prices, but when they head down, which they 
will, the current hazy and statist nature of Chavez's economic policies will be 
problematic. There are built-in contradictions in the economic reality that 
Chavez faces. Gott is therefore correct in making the following assertion: "In 
spite of all his rhetoric against neo-liberalism, Chavez is desperate for 
foreign investment. He has to steer a difficult and almost impossible course: 
telling his nationalist country what it wants to hear, and making the right 
kind of reassuring noises that will not frighten the foreign investors."

A critical problem is that the economic team and many of Chavez's closest 
advisors have strong sympathies for Marxism or are statists. There are not 
likely to stomach making the difficult market-oriented reforms needed to reduce 
dependency on oil exports, stimulate small and medium-sized businesses, or 
revitalize the agricultural sector. The problem here is of actually 
internalizing market reforms. The weight of history is against them, much as it 
was in the Soviet Union, Albania, North Korea and Maoist China. While Chavez 
has appeared enthralled with China and visited Mao's tomb, he missed the 
fundamental point that Asia's largest country has long since scrapped Maoism 
and adapted its own market-oriented economic strategy. China is even attempting 
to dismantle its red ink-laden state-owned enterprises. However, this 
accentuates the gap between economic reforms and an often-harsh political 
reality. This may yet sound appealing for Third World populists, but the 
dangers for Venezuela are also palatable.

The man operating in the shadow of South America's great 19th century liberator 
is likely to turn to more traditional authoritarian means to remain in power 
once economic pressures rise to the surface. Trouble in Venezuela, coupled with 
an unstable Andean region, can send jitters through the rest of South America's 
fragile environment of democratization and economic liberalization. This would 
also ultimately affect U.S. energy policy interests. Gott has closed his eyes 
to some of these disturbing dynamics.

About the Author

Scott MacDonald is director of research at Aladdin Capital in Stamford, 
Connecticut, and also editor of The KWR International Advisor, from which this 
lengthier review is drawn. He has previously been associated with DLJ, CS First 
Boston, as well as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington. 
Dr. MacDonald is a CSIS Adjunct Fellow and holds graduate degrees from London's 
School of Oriental and African Studies and the University of Connecticut.

 

©2000 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.



The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), established in 1962, 
is a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy 
issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary.

CSIS is dedicated to policy impact. It seeks to inform and shape selected 
policy decisions in government and the private sector to meet the increasingly 
complex and difficult global challenges that leaders will confront in this new 
century. It achieves this mission in four ways: by generating strategic 
analysis that is anticipatory and interdisciplinary; by convening policymakers 
and other influential parties to assess key issues; by building structures for 
policy action; and by developing leaders.

CSIS does not take specific public policy positions. Accordingly, all views, 
positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood 
to be solely those of the authors.



This study was prepared under the aegis of the CSIS Hemisphere 2000 series. 
Comments are welcome and should be directed to:

CSIS Americas Program
1800 K Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: (202) 775-3150
Fax: (202) 466-4739
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Go to other issues of Hemisphere 2000 

 

http://www.csis.org/americas/pubs/hemfocus.htm
(Duane, see the piece on Otto Reich)
http://www.csis.org/americas/pubs/h001017.htm


The Guardian...
www.guardian.co.uk/petrol/story/ 0,7369,578367,00.html 
Financial Times
news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid= FT30O2TL7JC&live=true

Venezuela: Politics and Oil
... the Shadow of the Liberator, Richard Gott Verso, London , New York , 2000. 
favorable ... of
Carlos Andres Perez, Mr Chavez and his companions attempted to ...
http://www.mees.com/news/a45n10d01.htm

International Socialist Review Index:LABOR:GENERAL - LENIN
... In the shadow of the liberator: the impact of Hugo Chavez on Venuzuela and 
Latin
America(R: Richard Gott/ Verso, $25.00, 2000, 246p)/ Bridget Broderick: 17/66; 
...
http://www.lpi.org.uk/idx/irindexl.htm

Revolucionchavista - [ Translate this page ]
... por un caballero inglés llamado Richard Gott, quien con esa obra ... of the 
Liberator,
Hugo Chavez and the transformation of Venezuela, Verso. ...
http://www.angelfire.com/bc2/Bolivariancommitte/ revoluci.htm



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