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This was in connection with Chavez averting the war that Colombia/Bush Junta was trying to start with Ecuador and Venezuela. Another thing he said about Chavez is, "You can criticize Chavez on a lot of things, but not on democracy."
People who simply absorb corporate news and don't think much about it, and those who know little or nothing about South America, would likely be astonished to hear such praise of Chavez by a major regional leader, the president of Brazil, after the utter crap continually dripped into their subconsciouses about "Chavez, the dictator," and "Chavez, the terrorist-lover."
But it is nevertheless true that the people and the other leaders of South America see Chavez FAR DIFFERENTLY than does the Bush Cartel or their lapdog press--like night and day. Chavez has PIONEERED the concepts of Latin American self-determination and sovereignty, social justice as an obligation of government, DEMOCRACY, the rule of law, use of local resources for the benefit of local people, especially the vast poor majority, and regional cooperation, including regional financing answerable to the governments of South America (as opposed to World Bank/IMF loan sharks) and regional infrastructure development, and has been working as well on a South American Common Market.
Lula da Silva has added a thought of his own recently: regional defense. This is due entirely to the aggression of Bush Cartel client state, Colombia, in cahoots with the Bushites, the Bushite arming of the Colombian fascists with $5.5 BILLION in military aid, and Colombia's dreadful human rights record, one of the worst on the planet. Colombia--or should I say, the fascist party that rules about 2/3rds of Colombia--is led by the former Medellin Cartel go-to guy, Alvaro Uribe, whom the president of Ecuador described as a "psycho." Rafael Correa had something to say about Bush as well. When asked about Chavez's remark to the UN that Bush is the devil, he said that "it was an insult to the devil." This was during his campaign for president of Ecuador, and, just after this, his numbers soared--he won with 60% of the vote. I don't know how much that statement contributed to his big win, but it certainly didn't hurt.
We don't hear of these widespread opinions here. We are kept in the dark by the corporate press. Chavez is a hero in South America, praised as much for his devotion to lawful government as he is vilified here as a "dictator"--by our own dictators! He may be a "dictator" to Exxon-Mobil, but he is certainly not perceived as a "dictator" by his neighbor Brazil, or any of his other many allies. The people of South America know the truth. Our people mostly do not.
Lulu is exactly right: "...a strong policy of social inclusion" amidst spectacular economic growth, and regional stability. Lulu would be the first to admit Chavez's role in both--using Venezuela's oil profits not only to bootstrap the poor in Venezuela, but also to make a huge contribution to other countries' recovery from "neo-liberalism" (for instance, helping bail Argentina out of ruinous World Bank debt, thus creating a healthy trading partner for Venezuela and for other countries such as Brazil), AND, with the help of the Venezuela people, surviving every dirty rotten scheme of the Bush Junta to destabilize Venzuela and topple the democratically elected Chavez government. Had the Venezuelan people not rallied to Chavez's defense, during the Bush-supported 2002 rightwing coup attempt, South America would be very different today. By turning that coup back, the Venezuelan people fired "the shot heard round the continet." A new day was dawning. No more U.S.-backed coups! No more U.S.-imposed dictatorships! That was South America's "declaration of independence," and it was that event which led to today's nearly continent-wide policy of social inclusion amidst its amazing economic recovery.
Our corporate news monopolies are doing us a profound disservice in keeping this story from us. They DON'T WANT US TO KNOW that "social inclusion" can be combined with prosperity--and they want us to forget the pre-Reagan days when that was the case here. And they are making it impossible for us to participate in South America's democratic, social justice renaissance. They support the Bushites in looting and making war in this region, and the LIES that they tell for that purpose are getting quite as bad as the WMDs lies about Iraq. A very worrisome development. And a disgraceful development. It won't succeed, as long as the South Americans stick together, as they seem to be doing. South Americans know what Bushite lies are all about, and what they lead to. They've suffered under this bullshit for many decades. I just wish our people knew more. Because what is most likely going to happen--if Bushite war plans proceed, in their lust for Venezuela's and Ecuador's oil, and for smashing these leftist democracies--is that the Bushites will lose, and will leave us with a legacy of hatred in our own hemisphere that will take decades to reverse, if ever. The South Americans have a bad enough opinion of the U.S. as it is. If the Bushites inflict Oil War II upon them, they may never forgive us for not being able to control our own government. It is going to be their century anyway. If Bush starts a war there--and/or the Bush Cartel (or the Democrats?) continue lower-level hostile activities--the U.S. will be excluded, and WE will become the biggest "Banana Republic" on earth. There is already talk of creating an OAS without the U.S. as a member. That's what the Bushites have done to us, to this point. It could get worse before Bush/Cheney leave office (if they do--we still have that to worry about).
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