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Edited on Sat Nov-03-07 08:12 PM by Peace Patriot
They and their lapdog corporate monopoly press like us to think it's all about Hugo Chavez, but it ain't. The Bolivarian Revolution has spread far and wide, and now covers most of the Andes region, with Bolivarians elected in Venezuela (president and most of the National Assembly), Bolivia (president, but with the fascists still fairly entrenched in the legislature, and the resource-rich rural provinces), Ecuador (president, with a huge mandate to effect radical change--as all these presidents have), and Argentina (president and legislature). It is massive revolution, with allies also in the leftist governments of Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and Nicaragua. Its goals are social justice, and Latin American self-determination. And the Bolivarians have been very strong, and very practical, in pursuing them. For instance, their organization of the Bank of the South is driving World Bank/IMF loan sharks out of the region.
I, too, was concerned for Hugo Chavez's life, at first. But I had underestimated the grass roots revolution that put him in office, and that has kept this elected president in office (with increasing margins in each election) through U.S. supported fascist military coup attempts and other nefarious plots. It is the PEOPLE who are the story here, and the vast, peaceful, democratic revolution that they are implementing, throughout the continent. It's not about Hugo Chavez. He is just one man, one leader, riding the crest of a profound revolution. If the Bushites assassinate him, it will result in MORE successes for this revolution. And I think THAT is why they have not. Instead, they have embarked on this full-court press corporate media campaign to paint him as a "dictator" (which is not only a damned lie, it is an insult to all the people of Venezuela who support him and have voted for him). This COULD be part of a strategy to immunize themselves for an assassination attempt, but I think not. I think it is driven by fear that the leftist revolution in South America will catch on here, in the U.S.
Anyway, I am no longer worried about it. There are just too many leaders, for one thing--and their popular support is very big (all of them get 60%-range votes; Correa in Ecuador just got an 80% vote on his proposed Constitutional reforms). I also pieced together an amazing story of how the entire leadership of Latin America--including even rightwing leaders--rebelled against the plots against Chavez, and told Bush to butt out. It occurred last March when Bush went on his knee-capping trip to Latin America, and got publicly lectured, from Brazil to Mexico, on the SOVEREIGNTY of Latin American countries. The rightwing president of Mexico (Calderon) even mentioned Venezuela as an example!
There was a rightwing paramilitary plot to assassinate Chavez and others, hatched in Colombia, that I think they were all reacting to. The plot has been exposed. Colombia's president has since tried to distance himself from the paramilitaries and has become friends with Chavez. And the rightwing candidate in Venezuela--who ran against Chavez this last Dec. '06 (Chavez won with 63% of the vote)--publicly disavowed the plot to overturn Chavez's reelection and try another rightwing military coup (like the one that the people of Venezuela stopped, in 2002). (See "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"--a great documentary, by Irish filmmakers, about the 2002 coup attempt.) I believe that the Colombian plot and the Venezuelan plot were connected. There was also involvement of Bush's USAID/NED and the Washington DC PR firm Penn and Schoen (Hillary's PR firm), who promulgated a false poll (saying Chavez had lost) that was to trigger the coup attempt.
It appears to me that Latin American leaders have had it with this kind of interference. And even the rightwing leaders--like Uribe in Colombia--who have benefited from Bushite (US taxpayer) largesse, don't want to end up as dead lackeys, or disgraced by Bushite scandals--and may have some pride in their culture as well. Why should they be such toadies to the U.S., when the Bolivarians are showing that another world is possible. They may be very corrupt, but they are not stupid. Meanwhile, the political tenor of the South American continent--and, consequently, of the OAS--has veered to the left (toward social justice and Latin American independence). The left is on the rise. The right are dinosaurs, heading poverty-stricken countries, bullied by the U.S./Bush. They probably want in on the Bank of the South, left-dominated trade groups, and other benefits of the coming South American "Common Market."
In summary, the Bushites cannot assassinate this movement. If they hit Chavez, they will only make it stronger, and they will "lose" more looting ground in Latin America. Doesn't mean they can't cause a lot of trouble. I'm sure they're active with dirty rotten schemes in several places, and likely have a long term destabilization/paramilitary plan, to try to undermine and destroy democratic governments, and prevent any more from arising south of the border. (I think they may have had a hand in recent election events, in Paraguay, where the hugely popular "bishop of the poor," Fernando Lugo, is running for president. A corrupt judge there just ruled that a rightwing juntaist--who is strongly suspected of political murders--can enter the race for president. Paraguay's grass roots movement is not as strong and well-organized as its is in the other Andes countries, and may have the election stolen out from under them.)
But I don't think that the Bushites, or their corporate successors in the White House, will succeed in the long term. South America is on the path to social justice, democracy and good government. Its people will not turn back. I've been yelling about this at DU for some time. The focus on Hugo Chavez is extremely distorted. The success of democracy in South America, and the profound change that it is going to bring about (which is already happening) in U.S./South American economic and political relations, IS the story. And it is going to whack us upside the head, economically, if we don't start paying attention (and overthrow our own dinosaurs--our corporate rulers). Politically, it could be very beneficial. We could use some Bolivarian ideas here as well.
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