Read it here.
I will miss him. I know many will. It's my considered opinion that Chavez was the greatest statesman, and the strongest single progressive force, the world had seen in decades. His determination, great heart and wily political acumen pushed all of Latin America to the left. Aside from his direct political efforts to increase horizontal ties among Latin American and Caribbean countries, the vast energy and attention spent on him by the US was a great help to other leftist movements simply because they sheltered in his shade, moved lower on the agenda of the coupsters and death squad mongers as they tied themselves in knots trying to get rid of Chavez.
And domestically his record is unrivalled. Yes, there were contradictions, and of course no record or human being is perfect. But compared to every other progressive government or movement on the planet, Venezuela forged ahead both on direct improvements to people's lives, reducing poverty, giving access to health care and education and food, reducing unemployment and on and on, and with the incredible proliferation of direct popular movements taking decision-making power into the people's hands, from the communal councils to community media.
And it is to the people and the popular movements of Venezuela that we must look now. I hope, I trust, that they will struggle with ever greater vigor and show the world the power of the good example despite all the forces of plutocracy can do to try to stop them.
Dammit.
Humanitarians are scarce on the world stage. Imagine someone helping the poor. Helping the poor of the richest country in the world!
And contrast that with our own government, who robs the poor to help the rich.
No links provided.
Prima facie.
Chavez proved there is a better alternative to rampant capitalism Tis why the nabobs feared him.
He will be missed.
PLG,
You might be surprised to know that Hugo Chavez was actually loved by his South American conservative peers.
Nicanor Duarte, Alan Garcia, and Juan Manuel Santos all praised him as an individual & statesman...and this occurred years before his cancer or death.
Rather than merely push the region to "the left", he created bi-partisan consensus on South American "independence". The new South American security & banking institutions (which exclude the United States & Canada) are a testament to his influence.
Of course, as my recent post warns, "gringos" will appreciate none of this. Their few English-language "reporters" & the panoply of disgruntled exiles will ensure ignorance continues to be propagated.
No matter. One of the benefits of "independence" is that you don't have to care what "gringos" think.
So it goes,
Dan Tan
I might be surprised, but I'm not. I've been following Chavez's career with some care for years. I was certainly well enough aware of how well he found common ground with Santos. Chavez was always willing to deal positively with anyone who didn't insist on trying to fuck Venezuela over, even if he had major disagreements with them politically.
But he never watered down his own vision for such dealings, and never backed down from anyone who insisted on being his enemy. And for as long as you were his enemy, he'd never give you an even break. But he'd give people second chances, too--he tried repeatedly to mend fences with Uribe. Uribe would do something obnoxious, Chavez would hit back hard, then later Chavez would be like "OK, if you want to stop acting like that we could still be friends".
PLG,
I know what you mean.
I still remember Gwynne Dyer's arrogant scoffing, during the height of Venezuelan tensions with both Colombia & later Honduras. In each instance, he insisted that both nations could easily "handle" Venezuela, and that nothing would come from Chavez's posturing.
Of course, Dyer was wrong on both counts.
Colombia's Santos turned against Uribe & abandoned his hawkish stance, embracing Chavez and backing his regional integration efforts. Santos now goes as far as dedicating the current Colombian peace-process to him.
Honduras' oligarchy caved, sending installed leader Porfirio Lobo to publicly grovel in-front of Chavez. This was all the more comical because of their past promise to forever-persecute both Chavez & the rightful Honduran president Manuel Zelaya. Well, that didn't last long & Chavez forced them to grant Zelaya freedom & political participation.
Where there's a will...,
Dan Tan
PLG,
If you are interested, I have written a new article on Venezuela's comparative economic performance:
http://bydantan.blogspot.ca/2013/03/bill-clinton-asks-right-question.html
I am a virtual recluse, so if you find its content worthy...I would hope you would share it with other interested parties.
Best,
Dan Tan
Your posts and comments elsewhere were very touching, PLG. Thank you.
In the spirit of the heart and energy that drove Hugo Chavez:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bRWvupRaLE