Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: ...Hugo Chavez ... the damage he is doing to his country

The president's other face Painting Hugo Chavez as a progressive hero
whitewashes the damage he is doing to his country, says Latin America
analyst VLADIMIR TORRES
The Globe and Mail	Lunes, 20 de enero de 2003
It was easier during the Cold War. You chose a side; all that was
needed to understand any crisis or conflict anywhere was to figure out
which side was your side -- and the arguments to support that position
were already at hand. Old habits die hard, and so in this era of sound
bites, whoever says anything that vaguely resembles what seems to be
your position must be supported. 
Case in point: Venezuela. The world's fifth-largest oil producer is in
the seventh week of a crippling national strike, led by business and
union leaders who want to force President Hugo Chavez to call new
elections. Outside the country, "progressive left" thinkers and media
have made Mr. Chavez a newfound champion. Their analysis is
oversimplified, to say the least. 
Mr. Chavez was democratically elected with an overwhelming majority in
1998. This mandate allowed him -- through several referendums -- to
dissolve Congress, create a Constitutional Assembly that drafted the
current constitution, and to be elected once again -- as first
president of the newly christened "Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela." 
But democratic legitimacy demands consistently playing by the rules.
And once re-elected, Mr. Chavez revealed his true nature: the former
paratrooper head of the failed military coup d'etat of 1992. Soon
showing a total disregard for democratic institutions, he moved to
gain a stronghold on the country's legislative and judicial systems,
and to involve the military in a myriad of civilian affairs, even
selling food at cost on the streets. 
The President has systematically harassed the media, intimidated his
opposition, and alienated critical sectors of Venezuelan society, such
as the Church, businesses, the middle class, civilian organizations
and NGOs -- those who now march in the streets calling for his ouster.
His violent speeches are loaded with diatribes against "them." Anyone
who is not a loyal supporter is accused of being a fascist, sometimes
in scatological terms. (Despite his claims, Mr. Chavez's "little blue
book," as he calls the constitution, does allow for civil
disobedience; Article 350 should grant the general strike legitimacy.)
Mr. Chavez likes to paint the strike as a "class confrontation."
That's debatable. The President still draws his core support from
among the millions of Venezuelans who live in poverty. But now that
more than 60 per cent of the population finds itself in that bracket,
and the impoverished middle classes make up for most of the rest, his
poor-versus-rich scenario makes little sense. 
Venezuela used to have one of the highest crime rates in the
hemisphere. Now that problem is compounded by the activities of Mr.
Chavez's "Bolivarian Circles." These armed bands -- responsible among
other things for vandalism against media facilities -- are organized
and financed through government agencies. Although inspired by Cuba's
"Committees of Defence of the Revolution," they are, in fact, nothing
but fascist-like intimidation squads that operate with total impunity.
Ever since the events of April, 2002, when Mr. Chavez was ousted from
office for 48 hours, the government has claimed that all opposition is
right-wing and antidemocratic. This overlooks the fact that it was
only thanks to the deeply rooted democratic sentiments of the vast
majority of Venezuelans that Mr. Chavez was reinstated. In fact, those
opposing Mr. Chavez include business and labour groups, and social
movements spanning political parties and classes. Clearly, it is a
genuine democratic movement. 
Then there is the oil issue. When Venezuela nationalized its oil
industry in 1975, a strong core of Venezuelan managers, engineers and
technical personnel -- employees of the foreign oil companies, trained
locally and abroad -- took over key positions. Ever since, the
industry has prided itself on making promotions and appointments right
up to the board of directors based on merit. Not even the most corrupt
of the pre-Chavez administrations dared to interfere with that sacred
rule. After all, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), a world-class
corporation, is Venezuela's main provider. 
But Mr. Chavez, determined to take control of the industry, has been
appointing his supporters to key positions. Now, facing the strike, he
has decided to "cleanse" PDVSA. The government has already fired 2,000
employees and plans to run the industry with a few unskilled
non-striking workers, the military, and technical personnel brought in
from other countries. Mr. Chavez calls this "true nationalization." 
To supporting such actions, the government argues that the current
management wants to "privatize" the company to preserve its
privileges. "Privatize" refers to the joint ventures and alternative
deals -- already in place or planned -- that enable PDVSA to continue
to be a world leader in the oil industry beyond crude oil extraction.
"Privileges" refers to the fact that oil-sector wages are above those
of most public servants (which makes sense if one considers their
technical expertise and the need to prevent a brain drain). 
Despite all this, leftists continue to defend Mr. Chavez, and cite his
stance in many international forums, where he has come out against
neoliberalism, free trade and globalization. What does that mean? He
hasn't defined "Bolivarianism"; he improvises as he goes along, and
has plunged Venezuela's economy into a deep hole. 
Last year, the inflation rate was more than 30 per cent and the GDP
was decreasing by about 10 per cent. That was before the strike. 
Why do progressives outside Venezuela continue to support Mr. Chavez?
It's a nice illusion to believe that with Lula (Luiz Inacio "Lula" da
Silva) as President in Brazil, Lucio Gutierrez in Ecuador and Mr.
Chavez in Venezuela, the winds of social change are blowing in South
America. 
But Mr. Chavez is nothing more than another megalomaniac colonel. 
Vladimir Torres, a Venezuelan-Canadian, works as an interpreter and
Latin America current affairs analyst.
VLADIMIR TORRES
The Globe and Mail	Lunes, 20 de enero de 2003
* Venezuela quiere Vida y Libertad *
-- 
Ciao,
    Mariuccia® /Maracay(Edo. Aragua) *Venezuela.

Latin America current affairs analyst.
Gia' dice tutto questo :)
-Stefano

 -Stefano

Perché?
Perche' a quel punto poteva scriverlo il primo che passava per la strada
che aveva lo stesso valore :)
Un traduttore :))
-Stefano