Venezuela: The Imperfect Revolution

If you come to Venezuela with glistening eyes, expecting to see the revolution of a romantic and passionate novel, don’t be disappointed when the complexities of reality burst your bubble. While revolution does withhold a sense of romanticism, it’s also full of human error and the grit of everyday life in a society – a nation – undertaking the difficult and tumultuous process of total transformation.

Nothing is perfect here, in the country sitting on the world’s largest oil reserves. But everything is fascinating and intriguing, and the changes from past to present become more visible and tangible every day.

After 100 years of abandonment, as President Hugo Chavez puts it, the Venezuelan people have awoken and begun the gargantuan task of taking power and building a system of social and economic justice. But it’s easier said than done in a culture embedded with corrupt values, resulting from the nation’s vast oil wealth, combined with an overall feeling of entitlement. The bureaucracy is massive and often intimidating, as the people, including the President himself, struggle to erradicate it every day, and replace it with a more horizontal political and economic model.

From the outside, it’s easy to criticize Venezuela. Inflation is high, the economy is in a difficult place, although growing, and relations with countries such as Russia, China and Iran are often painful for foreigners to comprehend. Media portrays much of the power in the nation as concentrated in the hands of one man, Hugo Chavez, and rarely highlights the thousands of positive achievements and successes his government has obtained during the past ten years. Distortion and manipulation reign amongst international public opinion regarding human rights, freedom of expression and political views opposing those of President Chavez, and few media outlets portray a balanced vision of Venezuela today.

While it’s true that there is awful inflation in Venezuela, much of it has been caused by business owners, large-scale private distributors and producers, import-exporters and the economic elite that seek to destabilize and overthrow the Chavez administration. They sell dollars on the black market at pumped up rates and speculate and hike the prices of regular consumer products to provoke panic and desperation among the public, all with the goal of forcing Chavez’s ouster. And despite ongoing economic sabotage, the economy has still grown substantially in comparison to other nations in the region. In fact, according to the neoliberal International Monetary Fund (IMF), Venezuela is the only South American nation to forecast economic growth this year.

http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/5384

He has done some good things but dictator is what he is.

Facts are of no consequence for you, huh?

He is still a dictator. That IS a fact.

"He is still a dictator. That IS a fact."

Here is another absolute statement for you -- Absolute statements are always wrong.

Now the opposition fears that nothing will stand in his way. Chávez already controls the nation's institutions, from the congress to the courts.

"Until now he has showed a moderate authoritarianism, but indefinite rule opens the door to full dictatorship," says Elias Pino Iturrieta, a Venezuelan historian..... Christian Science Monitor 17 February 2009.......HUH?

BBC: Chavez wins landslide re-ELECTION, 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6205128.stm

Chavez LOSES Constitutional referendum, vows to RESPECT VOTE, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22066948/

Whoops. Looks like you got suckered by a right-wing "Venezuelans historian" with a pro-fascist agenda.

Fuck both fascism and chavismo. Looks like you are caught in a personality cult that started out as populist. Central and South America have had some piss poor government but the 'DICTATORIAL' form is a fucked up model. I am from Panama and think Hugo is an oppressor grabbing as much power as possible. Evidently you are for a totalitarian government. My original post on this said he is a dictator with too much power, that is an irrefutable statement.

He was ELECTED! Whoops

Myth: Democracy elected Hitler to power.

Fact: Hitler used backroom deals, not votes, to come to power.

More:
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-hitlerdemo.htm

That was how their govt worked. While we know fellow traveler Hugo has never tried extra-parliamentary means to seize power.............After an extended period of popular dissatisfaction and economic decline<18> under the administration of President Carlos Andrés Pérez and the violent repression known as El Caracazo,<19> Chávez made extensive preparations for a military coup d'etat.<7> Initially planned for December, Chávez delayed the planned MBR-200 coup until the early twilight hours of 4 February 1992. On that date, five army units under Chávez's command moved into urban Caracas with the mission of assaulting and overwhelming key military and communications installations throughout the city, including the Miraflores presidential palace, the defense ministry, La Carlota military airport, and the Military Museum. Chávez's ultimate goal was to intercept and take custody of Pérez, who was returning to Miraflores from an overseas trip. A failed violent Coup de' etat which left 14 dead. Thank for pointing this out as I had not drawn the other apt comparison to Hitler with his failed extra-parlimentary means with his Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. FACT!!!!!

Hitler was APPOINTED as Chancellor because no candidate had enough votes to claim victory in that election.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler#Appointment_as_Chancellor

Chavez was ELECTED. Whoops. Foiled again.

People looking for instant gratification are not the ones who take the time to learn about the subjects which are critically important. They simply know NOTHING about the subjects which generate the heat on the part of loud, but uninformed idiots.

Thank you for posting this article by Eva Golinger. There's a lot in it to provoke closer study for those who are in the dark, and need to start doing their homework.

Recommending.

is one of the major reasons articles like this never see the light in mainstream media.

Another significant reason is a habit we Americans have when a question arises regarding a foreign nation, which we know next to nothing about.

If we happen to know someone from such a country, we automatically grant them "expert" status."

That have a profound effect on how our American Corporate News Establishment covers Venezuela.

Whenever it's decided that there's going to be a Venezuela story, anyone who works there and happens to be from Venezuela becomes the immediate go to person. (bigger major media do this, because of the variety of nationalities working at those places).

The problem with this is few know that such a person, a native Venezuelan working in an American newsroom is likely someone who hates Chavez, someone who fled the country when he took over.

Add in the fact that being a fellow employee means all guards are down and whatever is said is assumed to be accurate and the person credible and you have quite a barrier effectively ensuring Americans only hear the Anti-Chavez news.

Finally, the profound naivety on the part of the editors regarding recent history make their believing the charge that Chavez is a "dictator" Etc. extremely easy to believe because of Chavez embracing of Castro. An authoritarian leader no doubt but hardly the bloodthirsty dictator many Americans believe him to be thanks to the 1960s refugees making sure their POV was the only one heard and listened to in the halls of congress and the only one our media reported as the truth.

With Chavez we see history repeating the Castro experience early on, and it should be no surprise.

Just as Chavez became buddy buddy with Castro, so too did the Venezuelan elite cozy up to the Anti-Castro extremists, once they lost their oligarchy. There the die hard original refugees from Castro's 1960 or so takeover were all to happy to share tips on how to mold American public opinion using the easy to dupe, naive American Corporate News Establishment as the tool.

Being able to read the rare article like this gives a sense of balance American reporting lacks thanks to the efforts of Venezuelan nationals here.

Of course we are very lucky this is not 25yrs. ago.

Had this happened then, it would have been war as we took up the just cause of the exiled former powers of Venezuela after their pushed all our anti-communist buttons.

people in La Cabana Prison. Batista, a fascist, got what he deserved but the Cuban people don't need to be ruled by a dictator who is leftist either. You cannot whitewash the killings under Fidel. Any kind of dictatorial rule is unacceptable.