Fw: Venezuela: Pilger on Chavez

["Nello Margiotta" <animarg at tin.it>]

Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 1:10 AM
 Subject: Pilger on Chavez


 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.


 John Pilger Monday
 New Statesman
 11th March 2002


 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 guaranteed indigenous and women's rights and
 free healthcare and education up to university level.

 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
 fabricating a familiar crisis. The tactics used are very similar to
 those used in Chile. Civilians are used to create a feeling of chaos, and a
 false picture of Chavez as a dictator is established, then the military is
 incited to make a coup for the sake of the country."

 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.

 [http://www.johnpilger.com]