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>> I don't usually take the advice of right-wingers. >>But I did this time. After receiving inflamed email >>messages from dozens of angry rightists that I should >>get the hell out of the USA and go to Venezuela, I >>accepted their challenge and flew to Caracas. >> >> "Would you like me to start a fund to ship your >>ass down there, Comrade Cohen?" >> >> What had provoked the often-abusive emailers was >>my 2005 Internet column urging US residents to buy >>their gasoline at Citgo, a subsidiary of Venezuela's >>state oil company. I called for a Citgo BUY-cott, to >>protest Bush's interventionist foreign policy, while >>supporting innovative anti-poverty programs in >>Venezuela. (Last winter, Citgo started a program that >>provided discounted home-heating oil to low-income >>families in the US.) >> >> "Hey moron, if you hate America so much and love >>Venezuela, why don't you go there?" >> >> I'm glad I listened to the conservative chorus. In >>late June, I headed to Venezuela with a fact-finding >>delegation sponsored by the respected US human rights >>group, Witness for Peace. The grueling trip covered >>much ground and all sides of Venezuela's >>social/political landscape. It is a complex country, >>headed by sometimes volatile President Hugo Chavez, a >>leftist and harsh Bush critic who was first elected in >>1998. >> >> As soon as I returned home, I headed to the >>nearest Citgo to fill up my tank - more committed than >>ever to send a few dollars toward Venezuela's poor. >> >> "You, sir, are as un-American as they come." >> >> For decades, Venezuela's vast oil wealth had been >>squandered and hoarded by its light-skinned elite, >>while most Venezuelans - largely of indigenous, >>African and mixed descent - lived in dire poverty. >>Today, oil revenue from Citgo and elsewhere is >>funneled into social programs (called "missions") to >>benefit the country's poor majority. They're >>reminiscent of FDR's New Deal programs ... born of our >>economic bust. But Venezuela's missions are fueled by >>a boom - a boom in oil prices that is likely to >>persist for years. >> >> "Because of Chavez, communism is thriving in South >>America." >> >> From what I could see, capitalism is thriving. >>Foreign oil interests continue to profit handsomely >>from Venezuelan petrol, but they now pay a fairer >>share of taxes and royalties. So do the 80 McDonald's >>restaurants in Venezuela, which were briefly shut down >>last year over alleged tax cheating. >> >> Multinational companies and the old elite are >>doing fine in today's Venezuela. So well that some >>Venezuelan leftists denounce Chavez - despite his talk >>of building "21st century socialism" - as a tool of >>corporate imperialism. >> >> Like other oil-exporting countries, Venezuela in >>the past allowed its domestic productive economy to >>atrophy. Besides oil, it produced little - with food >>largely imported. Today, people in poor areas are >>organizing themselves into productive and agricultural >>co-ops, supported by low-interest government loans. We >>visited a federal bank that underwrites women-run >>businesses nationwide. >> >> My guess is that if Chavez succeeds in Venezuela - >>a big "if" in a country of endemic corruption, poverty >>and crime, in the backyard of the US superpower - its >>economic system will end up looking more like Sweden >>than Cuba. >> >> What's not debatable is that the poor have found >>hope in the Chavez administration - which is why he's >>perhaps the most popular president in our hemisphere. >>So popular that Chavez critics in the US government >>and Venezuelan opposition concede that they won't be >>able to defeat him in December when he seeks >>re-election. >> >> "The trouble with all you liberals is that you're >>anti-American and hate democracy." >> >> Participation in democracy is booming in Venezuela >>under Chavez. That's partly due to polarization, but >>also because so many poor people feel empowered enough >>for the first time to get active in politics. A >>massive 2005 Latinobarometro poll conducted in 18 >>Latin American countries showed that Venezuelans are >>among the top in preference for democracy over all >>other forms of government, in satisfaction with how >>their democracy is functioning, and in belief that >>their country is "totally democratic." >> >> "The oil money never gets to the poor.... You must >>have been paid by Chavez to write what you wrote." >> >> Across Venezuela, it's hard to miss the new >>investment in public education. Schools are being >>upgraded in urban and rural areas and are required to >>offer free breakfasts and lunches, arts, music and >>after-school activities. Unlike in the US, these are >>well-funded mandates. Illiteracy has been virtually >>wiped out, according to UNESCO, thanks to adult >>education that has penetrated the poorest >>neighborhoods. >> >> In poor communities, federally-subsidized stores >>called "mercals" sell food at half the market price. >>In the capital of Caracas, thousands of >>government-funded soup kitchens offer free lunches >>every weekday to the indigent; our delegation was >>headquartered in a church that served 150 free lunches >>per day. Across the country, new housing is being >>built to replace shantytown "ranchos" that so many >>Venezuelans live in. >> >> Thousands of free ("Barrio Adentro") medical >>clinics have been built inside neighborhoods that >>never had doctors before - so many clinics that you >>can spot them from the highway. These are staffed >>largely by doctors from Cuba; in return, Cuba receives >>Venezuelan oil. When we asked a community leader how >>local residents reacted to the Cuban doctors, he >>explained that most Venezuelan doctors won't serve in >>poor barrios: "People in our community don't care >>whether the doctors are French, German, Canadian, >>Mexican or Cuban - as long as they're here to help." >> >> "Go to Venezuela and kiss up to the anti-American >>dictator." >> >> If Venezuela is a dictatorship, it must be the >>first in world history in which the opposition >>controls most of the media. And the first in which >>demonstrations occur regularly outside the >>presidential palace (organized by various groups, >>especially low-income activists complaining about >>broken promises and government inefficiency). >> >> Dissent is alive and well in Venezuela. Any casual >>viewer can see anti-Chavez criticism all over TV, the >>country's dominant medium and largely in the hands of >>conservative business interests. The opposition used >>its power on TV to support a short-lived military coup >>in 2002 (strike 1), an employers' oil lockout in >>2002-2003 (strike 2) and a failed recall election in >>2004 (strike 3). Chavez won nearly 60% in the recall >>vote - which was monitored closely by international >>observers.
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