Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume 2, Number 10 April 14 - 21, 2002 Quezon City, Philippines |
Venezuela: The 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 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 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 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. Bulatlat.com http://www.johnpilger.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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