Analysis
Opinion
Chavez’s death, like his life, shows world divisions page 7
How Chavez changed history for the better page 8
Friday, March 22, 2013 | Nº 151 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve
Social missions Chavez legacy Paying homage to the social programs initiated by former President Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan government reaffirmed its commitment to maintain and improve the missions founded by the recently deceased leader last weekend. Referring to Venezuela’s social programs as “the great legacy” left by Chavez for the people, Acting President Nicolas Maduro underscored how the country has seen some of the greatest poverty reduction and quality of life increases over the past decade. page 2
ENGLISH EDITION/The artillery of ideas
President Chavez rests on the Four Elements
Politics
Electoral authorities reject US interference National Electoral Council head called US comments “disrespectful”. page 4 Economy
Economics serving the people Venezuela’s financial model prioritizes people and social needs over profits. page 5
The body of former President Hugo Chavez was transported to the military museum Cuartel de la Montana in Caracas last Friday in a solemn ceremony that saw thousands of Venezuelans turn out to pay their final respects to the fallen leader. Chavez’s tomb was designed by Venezuelan architect Fruto Vivas and is named “The Flower of The Four Elements”. All four elements: fire, earth, air and water are represented in the tomb site, and the casket rests on top of a flower shaped platform on water. Visiting hours are daily. Page 3
Website honors Chavez Social Justice
50 Ttuths about Hugo Chavez
The Venezuelan leader accomplished great things during his 14 years as President. page 6
The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has created a new website called “Venezuela and the world write to Chavez”, which allows users from Venezuela and any other country to write messages that can be viewed and shared. A section of highlighted messages includes notes written by the close friends and family members of the President, including a heartfelt letter read by his daughter Maria Gabriela Chavez at his funeral, and a letter sent by Cuban leader Fidel Castro recognizing Chavez as “the best friend Cuba has ever had”. Users can write their message and then share it on social networks. They may include text as well as images, video and audio. The page can be found at www. chavez.org.ve.
INTERNATIONAL Venezuela halts dialogue with US State Department T/ AVN Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua announced Wednesday afternoon that the channel of communication that had been opened up in the hopes of improving relations with the US was suspended after statements by US State Department Assistant Secretary Roberta Jacobson regarding Venezuela’s electoral system. “I hope there is a rectification and that US interference stops”, he said. The diplomat who had been tapped to maintain the channel of communication with Jacobson was Venezuelan Ambassador to the Organization of American States Roy Chaderton Matos. “All diplomatic and consular relations are being maintained”, Jaua said, indicating that only the channel of communication that was opened with Jacobson last November would be suspended. In reference to Jacobson’s suggestion that there should be a new government in Venezuela, Jaua said the only transition Venezuela is experiencing is the transition toward socialism that was initiated by the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Hugo Chavez. “In Venezuela there is no other transition besides the transition to socialism”, he said, speaking at an event to decorate two Venezuelan diplomats recently expelled from the US. The diplomats, Víctor Camacaro Mata and Orlando Montañez Olivares, were expelled in retribution after Venezuela ejected two US military attachés. Jaua denounced the White House’s wager for a scenario of instability in the South American country and responded that the government would guarantee peace in Venezuela.
2 Impact | . s Friday, March 22, 2013
The artillery of ideas
sity Education Minister Yadira Cordoba gave a summary last weekend of the social achievements made by the Chavez government over the past 10 years, thanks to the country’s diverse missions.
THIS INCLUDES:
Venezuela’s Missions: Chavez’s ‘great legacy’ T/ COI P/ Presidential Press
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aying homage to the social programs initiated by former President Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan government reaffirmed its commitment to maintain and improve the missions founded by the recently deceased leader last weekend. The announcement was made by Interim President Nicolas Maduro during an event held in the Catia Theater in Western Caracas on Saturday. “We are going to guarantee to the people that the socialist missions are going to continue. We’re going to perfect them, polish them, and deepen them”, Maduro said in a speech at the ceremony. While the event last weekend was not a campaign rally, the declarations of the Acting President were made as Venezuelans prepare to head to the polls on April 14 to elect a new head of state. Maduro, the candidate of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), will be facing opposition leader Henrique Carpriles, and is emphasizing his party’s allegiance to the social spending and welfare policies of his predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
During Saturday’s act, the PSUV candidate informed of a new National System of Missions that will work to coordinate the activities of the different programs and increase the efficiency of their operation. Details on the measure will be forthcoming in the near future, Maduro said.
POVERTY REDUCTION Referring to Venezuela’s social programs as “the great legacy” left by Chavez for the people, Maduro underscored how the OPEC member state has seen some of the greatest poverty reduction and quality of life increases over the past decade. In making his case, the former student activist cited a UN
report that documents the rapid rise in the development prospects of the Global South due to government policies that have seen the state play a larger role in national economies. “Here is the Human Development Index of the United Nations”, the Interim President said on Saturday. “In its pages is the truth of the world and the truth about Venezuela. Those who still hate should open their eyes. This is the real path of Venezuela: the path of redemption, equality, peace and life”, he asserted. Maduro attributed much of his country’s gains to the more than two dozen free programs created by Chavez that have prioritized access to health care, affordable food products, and education.
One of the most important of these missions has been Barrio Adentro, the health program founded by an agreement with Cuba that has seen some 30 thousand medical professionals from the Caribbean Island provide services in Venezuela. According to the Interim President, if the opposition were to win the presidency, the solidarity being provided by the Cuban people would be severed and the free health services would be eliminated. In contrast, Maduro affirmed his intentions to maintain the program in a postelection scenario. “The Cuban doctors of Barrio Adentro will stay in Venezuela, providing life, health, love and attention”, he said. Maduro also pointed out how the Cuban professionals have helped to train thousands of Venezuelan doctors, expressing the need for greater collaboration between the missions, the public health system, and private practitioners. On Wednesday, he government carried out a special recognition of more than 8 thousand Venezuela doctors who have graduated from the Barrio Adentro medical training program. “We’re working full time to improve our health system even more. On one hand we have the Cuban doctors and the missions. On the other hand, we have our Venezuelan doctors”, he said.
THE MISSIONS IN NUMBERS With respect to the government’s other missions, Univer-
Teaching more than 1.7 million people how to read and write through Mission Robinson. The inclusion of over 822,000 people in high school studies, and over 565,000 in higher education through Missions Ribas and Sucre. Carrying out more than 3 million free eye surgeries from Mission Milagro. More than 594 million medical consultations through Mission Barrio Adentro. The distribution of 4 million tons of food through Mission Alimentation. The inclusion of more than 521,000 seniors in the country’s pension system though Mission Greater Love. The disbursement of economic aid to more than 323,000 lowincome families through Mission Children of Venezuela. Assistance to more than 82,000 economically disadvantaged women through Mission Mothers of the Barrio. “The missions were created by President Chavez who used his military thinking to put an end to specific problems including illiteracy, the loss of vision and university education. Then, he took the programs to a new level to deal with problems of greater complexity”, Minister Cordoba said. Part of this “new level” of public programs is Mission Housing Venezuela, which seeks to construct three million new homes in the South American country by 2019. Since it’s launch in early 2011, the mission has succeed in meeting its goal of building more than 300,000 new residences by the end of 2012. Maduro assured that the work of Mission Housing Venezuela will continue and in doing so contribute to the humanist vision initiated by the Chavez government that has replaced privatization and de-regulation with social development and anti-poverty programs. “Comandante Chavez left us the missions in order to build socialism, to overcome poverty, and construct equality. The missions were created for everyone. They represent the axis of the model of inclusion for those who were once excluded”, the Acting President said.
. s Friday, March 22, 2013
The artillery of ideas
Venezuela’s Chavez laid to final rest in military barracks
The Military High Command as well as Chavez’s brother Adan, also paid homage to the largerthan-life political figure whose career has written a new chapter in the history of his country. “We will not fail you, Hugo Rafael Chavez. We will not fail the Venezuelan people... This country is absolutely sure that you will continue to lead the Bolivarian Revolution from a different plane. We will not fail you. We will build Bolivarian Socialism and we will arrive at the point of no return. Nobody will stop it”, Adan Chavez, also Governor of Barinas state, said.
THE ROOTS OF REVOLUTION
T/ COI
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he body of former President Hugo Chavez was transported to the military barracks Cuartel de la Montana in the Caracas neighborhood of 23 de Enero last Friday in a solemn ceremony that saw thousands of Venezuelans turn out to pay their final respects to the fallen leader. The barracks will be the final resting place of the head of state, who redefined politics in
Allied parties give backing to Maduro T/ Paul Dobson
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ollowing Chavez’s call in December for “unity, unity, and unity”, a multitude of leftist parties threw their weight behind the Presidential candidature of Nicolas Maduro this week. Maduro will go into the April 14th elections with the formal backing of 14 political parties,
Venezuela and Latin America over the past 14 years. Before the motorcade that transported the casket from the Military Academy to the 23 de Enero, Chavez’s daughter, Maria Gabriel, gave an emotional speech thanking her father for his love and for changing Venezuela irrevocably. “Thank you for so much fatherly love, for you constant example, for your smile, for your cries, for your songs, for your dances. Thank you for so much happi-
ness, for your absolute and eternal commitment. But above all, thank you for giving us back our homeland”, the 33 year-old said. Present for the event was Bolivian President, Evo Morales, as well as the ex-senator from Colombia, Piedad Cordoba, both close friends of the former President. “After the Liberator of the great homeland, Simon Bolivar, is Hugo Chavez, the redeemer of the world’s poor... This will never be forgotten”, Maduro declared.
The Cuartel de la Montana barracks was chosen to house the former lieutenant colonel given the role that the outpost played in the insurrection led by Chavez on February 4, 1992, when a cadre of military personnel attempted to bring down the corrupt government of Carlos Andres Perez. While the rebellion was unsuccessful, Chavez’s attempt to put an end to the repression and economic austerity of the Perez government converted the young soldier into a folk hero in Venezuela and catapulted the Barinas native to his first presidential victory in 1998. It was from that point that the charismatic leader would go on to turn the desperation and hardship of the 1980s and 1990s into the seeds of hope for a more prosperous Venezuela.
two more than Chavez had in October 2012. Maduro’s own party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) was joined by its major allies, the Venezuelan Communist Party (PCV), as well as others such as REDES, Tupamaro, MEP, PPT, and Podemos in backing Chavez’s political successor this week. These parties, which conform the alliance ‘the Gran Patriotic Pole’ (GPP), proved vital to the electoral success of Chavez in October, and are ex-
pected to play a significant role in both campaigning and votes for Maduro. In October, the opposition alliance (MUD), which consists of over a dozen parties gained 6.6 million votes in total, beating Chavez’s party, the PSUV, which achieved 6.4 million votes. However the 1.8 million votes of the other allied revolutionary parties proved vital to push Chavez over the winning line and guarantee the future of his government. Of these 1.8 million votes in October, the vast majority came from the Communist Party (490,000), followed by PPT (220,000), REDES (198,000), MEP (185,000), and Tupamaro (170,000). The PCV Communist Party called a National Conference last week which voted unanimously to back Maduro as their candidate. “With the strength of our people and of the revolutionary and popular organizations, Nicolas Maduro will be elected as
the constitutional President”, proclaimed the General Secretary of the PCV, Oscar Figuera. The statement approved at the PCV Conference gave recognition to Maduro’s history as a revolutionary: “Nicolas Maduro comes from the working class, and has been a militant since his youth in the most advanced social and political organizations, and in particular in the ranks of the worker-trade union movement, committed to the organization and defense of the rights of the working class, a historic principal in the transformation of society on the road towards the construction of socialism”. Maduro, accepting their backing at their conference, paid lengthy tribute to the struggle of the PCV as a revolutionary party, and thanked the communists for the hard work they put in in on the streets and in the communities. Similarly, the Vice President of Podemos, Baudillo Reinoso, restated his party’s commitment with Maduro: “With Ni-
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On Friday, Communication Minister Ernesto Villegas confirmed that the doors of the barracks, now a military museum, will be open from 9am to 5pm for residents to pay their respects to the leader of South American nation’s Bolivarian Revolution. “Here we will see this place become a site of pilgrimage for revolutionary men and women, for the people of the world, for Christians and for those who saw in Chavez hope and the possibility of a different world”, Villegas said.
FLOWER OF FOUR ELEMENTS Chavez’s tomb was designed by Venezuelan architect Fruto Vivas and is named “The Flower of The Four Elements”. “He had to rest upon a flower”, said Vivas, explaining the logic behind the beautiful design. “The flower means rebirth, and he helped rebirth our nation, now he will be reborn as the homeland is built”, he added. All four elements: fire, earth, air and water are represented in the tomb site. The charismatic former President’s casket rests on top of a platform designed as a flower, which in turn lays on water. The site is open air and also sits on the earth below. An eternal flame burns at the head of the casket, which is also guarded by four Presidential Honor Guards, 24 hours a day. Every day at 4:25pm, the time of Chavez’s passing, cannon balls will be fired outside the tomb museum, in remembrance of the Venezuelan leader.
colas Maduro we will continue to advance and to improve the quality of lives of Venezuelans. We don’t just support him in words, but also in deeds”. Adrian Paez, speaking on behalf of MEP, stated that “we won’t allow the opposition to take political power, we will give continuity to the Plan of the Patria and the Revolutionary Socialist Project”. The leader of REDES, Juan Barreto, speaking at his party’s conference, made a call to back Maduro: “We should continue the struggle, because this is the best homage that we can give to our leader Hugo Chavez”. The PCV also recognized the importance of the continuing of a wider alliance with other revolutionary forces, which will “give continuity and deepen the democratic, participative and progressive nature of the process of changes started in 1998 in Venezuela, it is necessary that we maintain and develop the alliance of diverse political and social factors”.
4 Politics | . s Friday, March 22, 2013
The artillery of ideas
Venezuela’s electoral authorities reject US State Department’s ‘pathetic’ comments
“In Venezuela we have an electoral system that guarantees the sovereign decision of the electorate because we carry out audits in each phase of the process (before, during, and after). In the United States, the system is not audited. In that country, there are groups of citizens who have been fighting so that between 3 and 5 percent of
voting machines are audited. In Venezuela, we audit 54 percent of the machines at the end of the voting day”, Lucena informed. The electoral official also highlighted the fact that while Venezuela has opened the doors for greater democratic participation on behalf of youth, the United States is going in the other direction. “In 2012 alone, more than 40 states attempted to pass a law that would restrict voting access”, she said. The latest jab from the US State department follows comments made by President Barack Obama in December that chided the Venezuelan government for its “authoritarian policies” and “suppression of dissent”. The insults were seen as particularly offensive to many in Venezuela as they came when President Chavez had just undergone a complex surgery in Cuba to combat the cancer that eventually led to his death. Then, in January, nominated Secretary of State John Kerry suggested that a “transition” in Venezuela that would see the end of the Chavez administration would be a positive occurrence. Both Kerry’s and Obama’s comments were firmly rejected by the Venezuelan government and have led to a further cooling of relations between the two countries after reports late last year that Caracas and Washington were beginning to address the diplomatic divide.
struggle for the welfare of his people, protecting the poor and promoting the cause of unity of the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean”, AVN reported Fabiancic as stating. The UNDP 2013 report was first released last Thursday in Mexico City, Mexico. According to a press release from the launch, the “[r]eport argues that ambitious, well-conceived policies can sustain this human development progress...”
The report itself states that, “ More important than getting prices right, a developmental state must get policy priorities right”. “They should be people-centered, promoting opportunities while protecting against downside risks”. Since 1998, the Venezuelan government has undertaken far-reaching poverty alleviation projects, largely encompassed by the Bolivarian missions. These initiatives range from welfare, to education and land reform. The UNDP isn’t alone in recognizing Venezuela’s human development achievements. The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), based in Washington, has documented a drop in poverty by more than half during the Chavez years. CEPR has also noted a decline in extreme poverty by 72% since Chavez first came to office in 1998.
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he President of Venezuela’s National Electoral Commission (CNE) Tibisay Lucena, fired back at the Obama administration last Sunday for what she called “sad” and “disrespectful” comments made by a state department official questioning the legitimacy of the South American nation’s electoral process. In a statement read on national television Lucena rejected the opinions of US State Department Assistant Secretary for Latin America, Roberta Jacobson, who in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais, said that it would be “a little difficult” for Venezuela to conduct “clean and transparent elections”. The declarations were made in reference to the South American nation’s upcoming presidential contest on April 14th, which will see the election of a new head of state following the passing of Hugo Chavez on March 5th. “We strongly reject the pathetic declarations of Mrs. Roberta Jacobson for their interventionism and disrespectful content”, Lucena said in response.
“Mrs. Jacobson said that in Venezuela the elections should be free and fair, giving the impression that Venezuela’s elections do not comply with these fundamental conditions”, she imputed. Venezuela’s voting process, Lucena reminded, has been consistently hailed by groups such as the Carter Center as
being one of the most advanced and efficient in the world. Additionally, the CNE President called into question the validity of the State Department’s claims seeing that the US voting process itself is “fragile, insecure, and each day more excluding of minorities and working-class sectors”.
Venezuela: regional leader in human development, according to UNDP T/ Ryan Mallett-Outtrim
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enezuela is a regional leader in human development, according to a new report from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Titled “Rise of the South”, the 2013 UNDP Human Development Report categorizes Venezuela as exhibiting a “high” score on the Human Development Index (HDI), in a context of rapid economic growth in the global south. Only two South American nations were categorized as “very high” developers: Chile with a score of 0.819, and Argentina with 0.811. With a score of 0.792, Uruguay was the only South American nation in the “high” HDI category to fare better than Venezuela.
Venezuela’s score of 0.748 was above other South American states in the “high” HDI category, including Peru, Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia. According to the report, economic growth in the developing world constitutes a “global rebalancing[sic]”. “The South as a whole is driving global economic growth and societal change for the first time in centuries”. In a ceremony on Saturday, UNDP representative Niky Fabiancic praised Venezuela’s achievements in poverty alleviation and equality promotion. “Venezuela when compared to neighboring countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, shows the effort that has been made to achieve a further reduction of inequality and poverty, as well as the achievements in education, health and
employment”, AVN reported Fabiancic as stating. Held at the Catia Theater in Caracas, the ceremony honored former President Hugo Chavez. Recognizing human development as “an issue close to the heart of President Chavez”, Fabiancic presented acting president Nicolas Maduro with a copy of the report. “[H]e fought all his life... for human progress in a diverse world, including his tireless
. s Friday, March 22, 2013
The artillery of ideas
| Economy
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Giordani: An economic model which serves it’s people T/ Paul Dobson
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enezuela’s Minister for Finance and Planning, Jorge Giordani, was in the spotlight this week following the unveiling of various economic measures by the cabinet of Acting President Nicolas Maduro. Similarly, Giordani revealed that the government has invested more than $551 billion in social programs and development over the last 14 years. He explained earlier this week, that an economy is worthless unless it is used to benefit its people. The Finance Minister made reference to the international elites of neoliberal economists, who consider the management of economic indicators the be the ultimate objective of economics. Referring to recent abuse by the right wing opposition, he stated, “they accuse me of being the worst Finance Minister in Latin America, of course, because they defend neoliberalism, or believe that the economy works like the mathematical models which they have in their heads”. A revolutionary economy, which manages economic indicators as a means of improving quality of life, not just for settling equations, requires one to be a realist, and not a theorist, he explained. An economist must remember the human element that produces and benefits from the generation of wealth: “They don’t understand that the economy is a social science, and if it doesn’t function for its human beings, then it’s not worth anything”. As proof of the success of his economic plan, he explained that the $551 billion invested by the government has been invested “not only as productive investment, but also investment in the social field, which allows increase in productivity in the long term, and this we will notice not just in the next 6 years, but the following decades”. He also made reference to the recognition given by the UN this week to the social advances made in Venezue-
la, as further evidence of the successful use of the nation’s recourses and economy for its people. Venezuela was declared to have a Human Development Index of 0.748 by the UN this week, well above its neighbors of Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador.
CURRENCY EXCHANGE Following the creation of an alternative system (called Sicad) which will change the way that the government prioritizes and distributes the dollar resources of the country (generated by oil exports), with the objective of increasing national production, decreasing importation, eliminating the so called ‘parallel dollar’ black market, and ultimately improving the quality of life of the people, Giordani explained that foreign currency was previously used only to fatten up the pockets of the wealthiest Venezuelans. Under the new economic model which the Chavez administration has been developing for the last 10 years, foreign currency is now used to benefit Venezuela’s population and develop the country. “The dollars are not there to be given in to the elites, these dollars are there so that Venezuela can produce food, and so that we can combat inflation, which we will only combat with national production”. Under the new complementary distributive system of foreign currencies, dollars will be prioritized for the importation of articles which will stimulate national production rather than consumption, as President of the Central bank of Venezuela, Nelson Merentes explained: “It’s very simply defined (Sicad)- the dollars have to go to productive activity”. President Maduro also unveiled new plans to facilitate over $1 billion for the strategic importation of machinery, amongst other products, which will allow Venezuela to maintain a sustainable productive level thereafter. “The new ethic should be production to serve human beings, through new forms of development”, stated Maduro.
Media speculation won’t dent Sino-Venezuelan relations T/ Ryan Mallett-Outtrim
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oth the Chinese and Venezuelan governments will continue to deepen economic ties, despite speculation to the contrary from the international media. In a meeting between Acting President Nicolas Maduro and Chinese special envoy Zhang Ping on March 9th, it was agreed that both nations would further economic cooperation and strengthen bilateral relations. According to Chinese state media Xinhua, Zhang stated that, “[t]he Chinese government attaches great importance to the bilateral relations and focuses on their long-term development”. “We must join efforts to continue developing and deepening relations between China and Venezuela. It’s the only way to comfort the soul of president Hugo Chavez”, Zhange said. Since then, Maduro has also stated that if he is elected president next month, his first official trip abroad will be to China, illustrating the importance of Sino-Venezuelan relations. However, some international observers have tried to frame the relationship as tenuous. The general argument is based on the premise that the Venezuelan government is borrowing too much, and China should be concerned. Al Jazeera has reported that a University of Miami study
found that Sino-Venezuelan oil deals are creating a “fundamentally unsustainable cycle of indebtedness and dependency”. Meanwhile on March 13th the Wall Street Journal reported that the International Energy Agency believes “the bilateral relationship has proved difficult and disappointing for Beijing”. According to the Wall Street Journal, the IEA described the flow of oil as “erratic” and the Chinese government as unlikely to “provide another oil forloan arrangement in the near term”. While the IEA mentions infrastructure issues and oil output, the main thrust of much of this debate is that the Venezuelan economy is over reliant on foreign loans; though this is nothing new. Last October, the BBC quoted Consensus Economics as stating that “[t]he [Venezuelan] authorities are increasingly reliant on external debt to finance [government spending and inflation]”. To it’s credit, however, Al Jazeera published an article by Mark Weisbrot from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), pointing out that Venezuelan debt is relatively low by international standards. Weisbrot criticized a New York Times article from January, which described Venezuela as loaded with “enormous foreign debt”.
“Venezuela’s foreign public debt is about 28 percent of GDP... [i]f this is enormous – well, let’s just say these people don’t have a good sense of quantity”, Weisbrot stated. Overall, Venezuelan public debt for 2012 is estimated at 51.3% of GDP. Comparatively, the US had a public debt to GDP ratio of roughly 100% in 2011. In the same year, Germany had approximately 82%, while Japan was loaded with over 200%. China’s rapid economic development demands an increasing supply of oil, and according to OPEC Venezuela has the world’s largest crude reserves. Today, China is investing more in Venezuela than any other Latin American state; likewise, China has become Venezuela’s second largest trade partner. During the Chavez administration, trade between the two nations increased dramatically; from less than $500 million prior to 1999, to $7.5 billion in 2009. Chavez himself traveled to China 14 times during his presidency. Oil plays an important role in the relationship. The Venezuelan government hopes to increase oil exports from the current level of 600,000 barrels everyday to China, to over a million in 2015. As Acting President Maduro said on March 9, “[t]he best tribute that we could give to our Comandante Chavez is to deepen our strategic relationship with our beloved China”.
6 Social Justice | . s Friday, riday, March 22, 2013
The artillery of iideas
T/ Salim Lamrani P/ Agencies
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resident Hugo Chavez, who died on March 5, 2013 of cancer at age 58, marked the history of Venezuela and Latin America forever. 1. Never in the history of Latin America, has a political leader had such incontestable democratic legitimacy. Since coming to power in 1999, there were 16 elections in Venezuela. Hugo Chavez won 15, the last on October 7, 2012. He defeated his rivals with a margin of 10-20 percentage points. 2. All international bodies, from the European Union to the Organization of American States, to the Union of South American Nations and the Carter Center, were unanimous in recognizing the transparency of the vote counts. 3. James Carter, former US President, declared that Venezuela’s electoral system was “the best in the world”. 4. Universal access to education introduced in 1998 had exceptional results. About 1.5 million Venezuelans learned to read and write thanks to the literacy campaign called Mission Robinson I. 5. In December 2005, Unesco said that Venezuela had eradicated illiteracy. 6. The number of children attending school increased from 6 million in 1998 to 13 million in 2011 and the enrollment rate is now 93.2%. 7. Mission Robinson II was launched to bring the entire population up to secondary school level. Thus, the rate of secondary school enrollment rose from 53.6% in 2000 to 73.3% in 2011. 8. Missions Ribas and Sucre allowed tens of thousands of young adults to undertake university studies. Thus, the number of tertiary students increased from 895,000 in 2000 to 2.3 million in 2011, assisted by the creation of new universities. 9. With regard to health, they created the National Public System to ensure free access to health care for all Venezuelans. Between 2005 and 2012, 7873 new medical centers were created in Venezuela. 10. The number of doctors increased from 20 per 100,000 population in 1999 to 80 per 100,000 in 2010, or an increase of 400%. 11. Mission Barrio Adentro I provided 534 million medical consultations. About 17 million people were attended, while in 1998 less than 3 million people had regular access to health. 1.7 million lives were saved, between 2003 and 2011.
50 truths about Hugo Chavez 12. The infant mortality rate fell from 19.1 per thousand in 1999 to 10 per thousand in 2012, a reduction of 49%. 13. Average life expectancy increased from 72.2 years in 1999 to 74.3 years in 2011. 14. Thanks to Operation Miracle, launched in 2004, 1.5 million Venezuelans who were victims of cataracts or other eye diseases, regained their sight. 15. From 1999 to 2011, the poverty rate decreased from 42.8% to 26.5% and the rate of extreme poverty fell from 16.6% in 1999 to 7% in 2011. 16. In the rankings of the Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations Program for Development (UNDP), Venezuela jumped from 83 in 2000 (0.656) at position 73 in 2011 (0.735), and entered into the category Nations with ‘High HDI’. 17. The GINI coefficient, which allows calculation of inequality in a country, fell from 0.46 in 1999 to 0.39 in 2011. 18. According to the UNDP, Venezuela holds the lowest recorded Gini coefficient in Latin America, that is, Venezuela is the country in the region with the least inequality. 19. Child malnutrition was reduced by 40% since 1999. 20. In 1999, 82% of the population had access to safe drinking water. Now it is 95%. 21. Under President Chavez social expenditures increased by 60.6%.
22. Before 1999, only 387,000 elderly people received a pension. Now the figure is 2.1 million. 23. Since 1999, 700,000 homes have been built in Venezuela. 24. Since 1999, the government provided / returned more than one million hectares of land to Aboriginal people. 25. Land reform enabled tens of thousands of farmers to own their land. In total, Venezuela distributed more than 3 million hectares. 26. In 1999, Venezuela was producing 51% of food consumed. In 2012, production was 71%, while food consumption increased by 81% since 1999. If consumption of 2012 was similar to that of 1999, Venezuela produced 140% of the food it consumed. 27. Since 1999, the average calories consumed by Venezuelans increased by 50% thanks to the Food Mission that created a chain of 22,000 food stores (Mercal, Houses Food, Red Pdval), where products are subsidized up to 30%. Meat consumption increased by 75% since 1999. 28. Five million children now receive free meals through the School Feeding Programme. The figure was 250,000 in 1999. 29. The malnutrition rate fell from 21% in 1998 to less than 3% in 2012. 30. According to the FAO, Venezuela is the most advanced country in Latin America and
the Caribbean in the erradication of hunger. 31. The nationalization of the oil company Pdvsa in 2003 allowed Venezuela to regain its energy sovereignty. 32. The nationalization of the electrical and telecommunications sectors (Cantv and Electricidad de Caracas) allowed the end of private monopolies and guaranteed universal access to these services. 33. Since 1999, more than 50,000 cooperatives have been created in all sectors of the economy. 34. The unemployment rate fell from 15.2% in 1998 to 6.4% in 2012, with the creation of more than 4 million jobs. 35. The minimum wage increased from 100 bolivars/ month ($ 16) in 1998 to 2047.52 bolivars ($ 330) in 2012, ie an increase of over 2,000%. This is the highest minimum wage in Latin America. 36. In 1999, 65% of the workforce earned the minimum wage. In 2012 only 21.1% of workers have only this level of pay. 37. Adults at a certain age who have never worked still get an income equivalent to 60% of the minimum wage. 38. Women without income and disabled people receive a pension equivalent to 80% of the minimum wage. 39. Working hours were reduced to 6 hours a day and 36
hours per week, without loss of pay. 40. Public debt fell from 45% of GDP in 1998 to 20% in 2011. Venezuela withdrew from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, after early repayment of all its debts. 41. In 2012, the growth rate was 5.5% in Venezuela, one of the highest in the world. 42. GDP per capita rose from $ 4,100 in 1999 to $ 10,810 in 2011. 43. According to the annual World Happiness 2012, Venezuela is the second happiest country in Latin America, behind Costa Rica, and the nineteenth worldwide, ahead of Germany and Spain. 44. Venezuela offers more direct support to the American continent than the United States. In 2007, Chávez spent more than 8,800 million dollars in grants, loans and energy aid as against 3,000 million from the Bush administration. 45. For the first time in its history, Venezuela has its own satellites (Bolivar and Miranda) and is now sovereign in the field of space technology. The entire country has internet and telecommunications coverage. 46. The creation of Petrocaribe in 2005 allows 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, or 90 million people, secure energy supply, by oil subsidies of between 40% to 60%. 47. Venezuela also provides assistance to disadvantaged communities in the United States by providing fuel at subsidized rates. 48. The creation of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) in 2004 between Cuba and Venezuela laid the foundations of an inclusive alliance based on cooperation and reciprocity. It now comprises eight member countries which places the human being in the center of the social project, with the aim of combating poverty and social exclusion. 49. Hugo Chavez was at the heart of the creation in 2011 of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) which brings together for the first time the 33 nations of the region, emancipated from the tutelage of the United States and Canada. 50. Hugo Chavez played a key role in the peace process in Colombia. According to President Juan Manuel Santos, “if we go into a solid peace project, with clear and concrete progress, progress achieved ever before with the FARC, is also due to the dedication and commitment of Chavez and the government of Venezuela”.
. s Friday, March 22, 2013
The artillery of ideas
Chavez’s death, like his life, shows the world’s divisions T/ Mark Weisbrot
T
he unprecedented worldwide response to the death of President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and especially in the Western Hemisphere, has brought into stark relief the “multi-polar” world that Chavez fought for. Fifty-five countries were represented at his funeral on March 7th, 33 (including all of Latin America) by heads of state. Fourteen Latin American countries decreed official days of mourning–including the right-wing government of Chile. In contrast to the emotional outpourings, and the honor and respect that came from Latin American heads of state, the White House put out a cold and unfriendly statement that –to the horror of many Latin Americans– didn’t even offer condolences. It seems that the most demonized democratically elected President in world history had a lot of friends and admirers –and not just the “enemy states” like Iran or Syria that get first mention in US news reports. Now we are told that the outpouring of sympathy is all about Venezuela’s oil, but no Saudi Arabian royal ever got this kind of love, while alive or dead. Readers of the New York Times were probably surprised
to learn from a recent op-ed by Lula da Silva, Brazil’s popular former president, that he and Chavez were quite close and shared the same vision for Latin America. It was always true: in 2006, after Lula was re-elected, the first trip he took was to Venezuela to help Chavez campaign for his own re-election. Let’s face it: what Chavez said about Washington’s role in the world was what all the left presidents –now the vast majority of South America– were thinking. And Chavez didn’t just talk the talk: as Lula noted, he played a crucial role in the formation of Unasur (the Union of South American Nations), Celac (the Community of Latin American and Caribbean Nations), and other efforts at regional integration. “Perhaps his ideas will come to inspire young people in the future, much as the life of Simon Bolivar, the great liberator of Latin America, inspired Mr. Chavez himself”, wrote Lula. Chavez was the first of what became a long line of democratically-elected left presidents that have transformed Latin America, and especially South America over the last 15 years, including Nestor and Cristina Kirchner in Argentina, Lula da Silva and then Dilma Rousseff in Brazil, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua,
Fernando Lugo in Paraguay, Jose “Pepe” Mujica in Uruguay, and Mauricio Funes in El Salvador. Before Chavez, democratically elected leftist presidents tended to end up like Salvador Allende of Chile–overthrown in a CIA-backed coup in 1973. Much of the Latin American left, including Chavez himself, was still skeptical of the electoral route to social change more than 20 years later, since the local elites, backed by Washington, had an extra-legal veto when they needed it. Chavez was able to play a vital role in the “second independence” of South America because he was different from other heads of state in a number of important ways. I noticed this when I met him for the first time in April of 2003. He seemed to treat everyone the same – from the people who served him lunch at the presidential palace to visitors whom he respected and admired. He talked a lot, but he was also a good listener. I remember a dinner a few years later with more than 100 representatives of civil society groups throughout the Americas – activists working on debt cancellation, land reform, and other struggles. Chavez sat and listened patiently, taking notes for an hour as the guests took turns describing their efforts. Then he went through
his notes, and said: “OK, here’s where I think we might be able to help you”. I couldn’t imagine any other president doing that. It wasn’t fake–there wasn’t anything fake about the man. He said what he was thinking, and of course that wasn’t always appropriate for a head of state. But most Venezuelans loved his sincerity because it made him more real than other politicians, and therefore someone they could trust. His attitude towards other governments was similar. Although he had big public fights with some governments, he almost never criticized another head of state unless they attacked him first. He successfully pursued good relations even with the right-wing Alvaro Uribe of Colombia for several years, until Uribe turned on him, which he saw as Uribe acting on behalf of the United States. When Manuel Santos, who had been Uribe’s defense minister, became president of Colombia in August 2010 and decided to pursue good relations with Chavez, he was pushing on an open door. Relations were repaired immediately. Chavez was friendly to anyone who was friendly to him. But it was more than his personality or search for alliances–which he needed in order to survive, after the Bush administration made clear its intention to overthrow him in 2002. Chavez had a very solidaristic view of the world. He saw the injustices in the international economic and political order the same way he saw the social injustices within Venezuela– as a social evil and something that could be successfully fought against. Why should the United States and a handful of rich allies control the IMF and the World Bank? Or write the rules of commerce in the WTO, or in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (which Chavez helped defeat)? Chavez’s ideas happened to coincide with what was happening in the world: it was rapidly become more multi-polar economically. For example, China is now already the largest economy in the world, yet it has very little voice in these most important multilateral institutions. Other developing countries have even less. Chavez’s ideas therefore resonated increasingly in much of the world, and especially in Latin America. On the other hand, his tenure also shows the enormous power of the media in shaping public opinion. Most governments are quite familiar with his accomplishments, but be-
| Analysis
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cause the Latin American and US media reported almost exclusively negative news on Venezuela for 14 years, most people in the Western Hemisphere never learned even the basic facts about Venezuela or what Chavez was doing. They do not know that, once Chavez got control over the oil industry, Venezuela’s economy grew very well and poverty was reduced by half and extreme poverty by 70 percent. They don’t know that most of these gains came from increased employment in the private sector, not “government handouts”. They don’t know that millions of Venezuelans got access to basic health care for the first time, and that education increased at all levels, with college enrollment doubling; or that public pensions rose from 500,000 to over two million. The western media has mostly reported Venezuela as an economic and political failure. And most people don’t know that Venezuela bears no resemblance to an “authoritarian state”, and that most of the Venezuelan media is still opposed to the government. They don’t know what Chavez did for the hemisphere –not only the billions of dollars of aid distributed through Venezuela’s Petrocaribe program and other foreign aid, but also the role that he played in bringing about the unity and second independence of Latin America. This independence is much more than a matter of national or regional pride, or one of the biggest geopolitical changes so far in the 21st century. It has had huge consequences for the people of Latin America, where the poverty rate fell from 42 percent at the beginning of the decade to 27 percent by 2009. So now there is a battle over defining Chavez’s legacy–and there are many people trying to protect the hard-won gains that they made in demonizing Chavez. For them the outpouring of sympathy and respect for Chavez is a real problem. It is fitting that the aftermath of Chavez’s death should reflect not only the battles that he fought but also the relations that he helped change. During his 14 years in office, the United States lost most of its influence in Latin America, and especially South America. So it can be said with some certainty that in his battle with Washington, Chavez won. And with him, so did the region and the world. For that he will be forever remembered, honored, and respected – as he was at his funeral by most of the world.
Friday, March 22, 2013 | Nº 151 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve
INTERNATIONAL
! PUBLICATION OF THE &UNDACION #ORREO DEL /RINOCO s Editor-in-Chief %VA 'OLINGER s Graphic Design Pablo Valduciel L. - Aimara Aguilera
Opinion T/ Saul Landau Hugo Chavez died in early March. Heads of state came to his funeral and sent condolences to his family— except for the US President. Even in death the White House maintained a resentful tone toward a man we had names as an enemy. But what did Chavez do to us? He offered cheap fuel to the US poor to heat their homes in winter time. Or does Obama take personally what Chavez said in his UN General Assembly speech in 2006. He still smelled the sulphur aroma left by “the devil”, meaning, as he explained, George W. Bush who had preceded him to the lectern. But, why do US Presidents lean so strongly against other heads of state who promote progressive social policies that help their people? Why does Washington kiss the behinds of Saudi Arabian royalty and other degenerate Arab oil state leaders while denigrating Chavez who promoted popular health, education and food for the poor? The European Union, the Organization of American States, the Union of South American Nations, and the Carter Center confirmed that Chavez’ had won all four of his electoral victories freely and fairly. Chavez also set a good example by sending Venezuelan oil money flowing throughout Latin America to help like-minded presidential candidates initiate projects that both helped the poor and thus also won them political favor. Thanks to Chavez’ aid, Evo Morales in Bolivia could push programs that helped Bolivia’s poor, and especially indigenous people. Chavez also aided Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. His supporters – and his support for — included the Presidents of Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay, El Salvador, Cuba, and several neighboring Caribbean islands. “Charismatic and idiosyncratic, capable of building friendships, communicating to the masses as few other leaders ever have”, wrote former Brazilian President Lula, “Mr. Chavez will be missed”. (NY Times March 6, 2013) Chavez’ programs also brought Latin American nations closer together – and hence further away from Washington. For several decades in the late 20th Century, Washington supported right
A new kind of socialism
How Chavez changed history for the better
wing and military candidates in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia and much of Central America. Chavez, however, backed the left. Former Brazilian President Lula sang his praises as did his successor President Dilma Rousseff and Argentine President Christina Kirshner. Washington and US media denounced Chavez’ theatrical antics. The Venezuelan majority applauded his singing and clowning. He won handily in all his elections —beginning with his first victory in 1998 and through his last electoral victory of 2011. Chavez transformed Venezuela by narrowing its ineuquality gap from 48% to 29%, as he also spread wealth for progressive purposes throughout the world. He changed the geopolitics of Latin America by creating new Latin American institutions, like ALBA (The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, including Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Saint
Vincent, the Grenadines Venezuela, Suriname and Saint Lucia) The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, to encourage economic cooperation, which includes 20 Latin American States, 13 Caribbean nations and 11 from outside the region), plus outside eight associates. These new organizations moved Latin America based on promoting economic integration and social equality, and Cepal (further from Washington’s grip. But, Obama offered nothing interesting about him after death, not even the good taste to offer sympathy to his family. “At this challenging time of President Hugo Chavez’s passing”, the White House statement read, “the United States reaffirms its support for the Venezuelan people and its interest in developing a constructive relationship with the Venezuelan government. As Venezuela begins a new chapter in its history, the United States says it remains committed to policies that promote democratic principles, the rule
of law, and respect for human rights”. Did Obama not recall the tacit support Washington offered for the botched military coup in 2002, for its open support of the right wing in Venezuela? Yet, all observers concluded that the majority in Venezuela supported Chavez, because he had given the poor housing, food, health and education, as well as hope for a bright future. US governments historically had backed Christian and Social Democratic governments characterized by their theft of national wealth and by their ignoring of the needs of their country’s majority. That’s’ why they didn’t win second terms. Chavez started Barrio Adentro, which offered free health care, and subsidized food for the very poor. That’s why he won their votes. He also outlined for Venezuela’s majority a socialist future, much to the chagrin of the very rich and their Washington patrons. Chavez also increased Venezuela’s control over oil production.
Fidel Castro recognized in Chavez a man who possessed the energy and will to carry out progressive nationalist programs. After he left prison for his role in the unsuccessful 1992 coup attempt, Chavez accepted Fidel’s invitation to visit Cuba, where the two became intimate friends. If Fidel represented the 20th disciple of Bolivar in Century, Chavez became his Sucre in the 21st. Chavez started what Fidel hoped to do: transform Latin America into a growing and progressive region of the world. Chavez also tried to educate Obama, giving him a cpy of Eduardo Galeano’s “The Open Veins of Latin America”) to help him understand why Latin Americans harbored the deep resentment toward US policy. I met Chavez in Caracas in 2010 with other Latin American and US activists and intellectuals in an exchange of ideas. His lack of dogma, his enthusiasm about a new kind of socialism, charmed and stimulated the group. He did not show disrespect toward those who disagreed with him or criticized certain of his programs. He also explicitly espoused Christianity as his religion and then invited everyone to visit his new projects in and near Caracas. We saw the public’s approval of Chavez. His charismatic behavior never denied the worth of the person with whom he was conversing. He impressed the entire group. He insisted that Venezuela had become the Bolivarian Republic, keeping the tradition of the man who first began the liberation of the continent and drove the march for independence from Spain, a march that evolved in Chavez’ mind to independence from the United States in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries. Chavez changed history for the better. He enriched his people and helped millions of others. The White House’s sour note contradicts the support Chavez had from millions around the world who adored his courage and will, qualities Obama could use. Hugo Chavez stood proud and left no sulphurous stench when he spoke in public. Viva Hugo Chavez!