Venezuela/South America - what to expect?

Venezuela/South America - what to expect?

Reading all kinds of topics about Iran, North Korea, Iraq and the whole "War on Terror", Hugo Chavez is responsible for a big headline once a month, without or with less media coverage.

Is seems that the US is concentrating too much on the Middle East crisis an is not watching their "back door" - South America. There are many answers to the question "Why", but lets fir analyze the facts.

Recent History

In the February 1992 coup, Hugo Chávez, a former paratrooper, attempted to overthrow the government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez as anger grew against the President's economic austerity measures. Chávez was unsuccessful and landed in jail. In November of that year, another unsuccessful coup attempt occurred, organized by other revolutionary groups in the Venezuelan Armed Forces and those that remained from Chávez’s previous attempt.
In 1998, Hugo Chávez (who led the first unsuccessful coup in 1992) was elected president as a reaction against the established political parties and the corruption and inequalities their policies created. He remains president today. Since coming to power, Chávez has attracted some controversy through his reforms of the Constitution, the implementation of his "Bolivarian Revolution", and in 2002 (though now a democratically elected president) Chávez was temporarily ousted from power by right-wing elements in the army and the business sector.

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Since 2002, relations to the US have worsened after the "2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt" and since then, Caracas is speaking up more and more against the US.

Some recent headlines:


Venezuela Strengthens Alliance with Russia to Promote “Polycentrism”

Amnesty International: Venezuela’s Record Mixed on Eliminating Violence Against Women


Hugo Chavez Reveals Nuclear Ambitions

Bush Orders Sanctions on Venezuela

Venezuelan defense minister to discuss arms deals on Moscow trip


Well, it sounds worser then it is - whatever people are accusing Chavez being a dictator, Venezuela is making BIG progress, not only in the military but also in education, health care and relations to it's neighbors. It seems like the US has lost their "strings" in South America, and if Chavez is continuing his road we will soon see a united South America - his one and only goal. With the worlds 4th largest oil reserves, narcotics and a big export market South America can easily become a big "voice" in our international society. ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas) is just the first step.

The second step is shortly coming:


Venezuela, Allies to Start New Bank

Venezuela's Chavez spends heavily to help allies

Venezuela's vision - ALBA takes Latin America in a new direction


Well, it isn't just Venezuela - The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, called on fellow leaders to "overcome historical differences and unite the continent, however difficult the task." - So the direction is clear.

Let's have a view on a few numbers:

The global population of South America attains 375 million. It would reach about 484 million by 2030. In 2005, South America produced approximately 14 million tons of wood pulp (www.pwc.com). This production is approximately 27% higher than that produced in 2000 primarily because of improved and open markets and investments in raw material supply and processing. Regionally, Brazil dominates the pulp and paper sector. Combined with Chile, it accounts for almost 90% of the wood pulp production. In 2005, Brazil produced nearly 65% (8.6 million metric tons) of the total production of paper and paperboard in the region, followed by Argentina and Chile.


And what about UNASUR?

3 Months ago, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela formed the South American Union, called "UNASUR". All together, UNASUR will have the fifth largest GDP in the world, and a population of 361 million, ranking fourth after China, India, and the EU.UNASUR will have a revolving presidency and bi-annual meetings of the foreign ministers.

Still far away from the European Union - but a start.

Personal opinion:

So, in a short version: South America isn't sleeping. While the US is wasting time, money and their image in the Middle East, South America is becoming a very large regional power - wight at their back door.

Chavez's way of speaking and his actions have brought the Continent together - it's a long way, but at least they see the finish line. And since the US invasion (ehm, liberation, democracy) in the Middle East, Chavez is getting more and more diplomatic and mental (yes, mental) support all over the world. He conquered the poor (he made their life a little better) - a good step to be loved in South America.

Dictatorship, communist socialism - call it whatever you like - it seems it's working.

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Hugo Chavez interviewed by Greg Palast (BBC)

Q: Your opponents are saying that you are beginning a slow-motion dictatorship. Is that what we are seeing?

Hugo Chávez: They have been saying that for a long time. When they’re short of ideas, any excuse will do as a vehicle for lies. That is totally false. I would like to invite the citizens of Great Britain and the citizens of the U.S. and the citizens of the world to come here and walk freely through the streets of Venezuela, to talk to anyone they want, to watch television, to read the papers. We are building a true democracy, with human rights for everyone, social rights, education, health care, pensions, social security, and jobs.

Q: Some of your opponents are being charged with the crime of taking money from George Bush. Will you send them to jail?

Chávez: It’s not up to me to decide that. We have the institutions that do that. These people have admitted they have received money from the government of the United States. It’s up to the prosecutors to decide what to do, but the truth is that we can’t allow the U.S. to finance the destabilization of our country. What would happen if we financed somebody in the U.S. to destabilize the government of George Bush? They would go to prison, certainly.

Q: How do you respond to Bush’s charge that you are destabilizing the region and interfering in the elections of other Latin American countries?

Chávez: Mr. Bush is an illegitimate President. In Florida, his brother Jeb deleted many black voters from the electoral registers. So this President is the result of a fraud. Not only that, he is also currently applying a dictatorship in the U.S. People can be put in jail without being charged. They tap phones without court orders. They check what books people take out of public libraries. They arrested Cindy Sheehan because of a T-shirt she was wearing demanding the return of the troops from Iraq. They abuse blacks and Latinos. And if we are going to talk about meddling in other countries, then the U.S. is the champion of meddling in other people’s affairs. They invaded Guatemala, they overthrew Salvador Allende, invaded Panama and the Dominican Republic. They were involved in the coup d’état in Argentina thirty years ago.

Q: Is the U.S. interfering in your elections here?

Chávez: They have interfered for 200 years. They have tried to prevent us from winning the elections, they supported the coup d’état, they gave millions of dollars to the coup plotters, they supported the media, newspapers, outlaw movements, military intervention, and espionage. But here the empire is finished, and I believe that before the end of this century, it will be finished in the rest of the world. We will see the burial of the empire of the eagle.

Q: You don’t interfere in the elections of other nations in Latin America?

Chávez: Absolutely not. I concern myself with Venezuela. However, what’s going on now is that some rightwing movements are transforming me into a pawn in the domestic politics of their countries, by making statements that are groundless. About candidates like Morales [of Bolivia], for example. They said I financed the candidacy of President Lula [of Brazil], which is totally false. They said I financed the candidacy of Kirchner [of Argentina], which is totally false. In Mexico, recently, the rightwing party has used my image for its own profit. What’s happened is that in Latin America there is a turn to the left. Latin Americans have gotten tired of the Washington consensus—a neoliberalism that has aggravated misery and poverty.

Q: You have spent millions of dollars of your nation’s oil wealth throughout Latin America. Are you really helping these other nations or are you simply buying political support for your regime?

Chávez: We are brothers and sisters. That’s one of the reasons for the wrath of the empire. You know that Venezuela has the biggest oil reserves in the world. And the biggest gas reserves in this hemisphere, the eighth in the world. Up until seven years ago, Venezuela was a U.S. oil colony. All of our oil was going up to the north, and the gas was being used by the U.S. and not by us. Now we are diversifying. Our oil is helping the poor. We are selling to the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, some Central American countries, Uruguay, Argentina.

Q: And the Bronx?

Chávez: In the Bronx it is a donation. In all the cases I just mentioned before, it is trade. However, it’s not free trade, just fair commerce. We also have an international humanitarian fund as a result of oil revenues.

Q: Why did George Bush turn down your help for New Orleans after the hurricane?

Chávez: You should ask him, but from the very beginning of the terrible disaster of Katrina, our people in the U.S., like the president of CITGO, went to New Orleans to rescue people. We were in close contact by phone with Jesse Jackson. We hired buses. We got food and water. We tried to protect them; they are our brothers and sisters. Doesn’t matter if they are African, Asian, Cuban, whatever.

Q: Are you replacing the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as “Daddy Big Bucks”?

Chávez: I do wish that the IMF and the World Bank would disappear soon.

Q: And it would be the Bank of Hugo?

Chávez: No. The International Humanitarian Bank. We are just creating an alternative way to conduct financial exchange. It is based on cooperation. For example, we send oil to Uruguay for their refinery and they are paying us with cows.

Q: Milk for oil.

Chávez: That’s right. Milk for oil. The Argentineans also pay us with cows. And they give us medical equipment to combat cancer. It’s a transfer of technology. We also exchange oil for software technology. Uruguay is one of the biggest producers of software. We are breaking with the neoliberal model. We do not believe in free trade. We believe in fair trade and exchange, not competition but cooperation. I’m not giving away oil for free. Just using oil, first to benefit our people, to relieve poverty. For a hundred years we have been one of the largest oil-producing countries in the world but with a 60 percent poverty rate and now we are canceling the historical debt.

continued here

You know chavez is a smart guy and really hard not like. Kind of Reminds me of the older guy who goes to frat patertys. what kind of a president hosts his own talk show every morning along people to call in aire there grievances? I really truly believe he thinks he is doing the right thing. Imagine President Bush or Clinton doing a show every sunday lol.

Sadly I think he is somewhat misguided. He has aligned himself with terrible people and some of his domestic policies are destructive. Overall His bads outwiegh is goods.

[edit on 28-7-2008 by soup_sandwich]