On the Passing of Hugo Chavez

On this day, the world has lost one of the giant figures of our time.  Hugo Chavez is a man who wasn't supposed to be in the position he was in.  He wasn't supposed to become the president of Venezuela.  He was an outsider.  He didn't represent the political classes which have dominated politics on the behalf of the oligarchs, the big capitalists.  He didn't view people as they did.  He didn't ask to be entrusted with the presidency of his country so that he could continue down the path that too many have called "democracy".  No, he represented something else, something empowering, something much closer to what people would understand to be true democracy.

For Hugo Chavez, empowering his countrymen, the masses of ignored people, the players in a game run by elites both Venezuelan and foreign, was the beginning of a revolution.  A revolution which was fought in the political arena of the enemies' of true democracy.  Although that arena and its rules were stacked in favor of the elites, it had a fatal flaw.  That flaw was that the desires of the forgotten masses could not be contained forever and their awakening, the election of Chavez became a reality.

I remember watching the news the day of the coup against him.  The news was upsetting.  Flashes of historical leaders being forced from power against the will of the people came to mind and for a little while I thought that the "champions of democracy" had been successful once again at destroying it.  But they weren't.  The Venezuelan people were alert and came out in support of their president and against the corrupt plotters and within a short period of time their democracy was restored.  The people had won again.

Pay attention to the people who so easily label Chavez a "dictator".  Pay attention to who they are.  Take note of the fact that their use of the word "dictator" is as slanderous as their use of the word "democracy".  When these people who attempt to portray the way things are in a way that just doesn't match how they really are, they are either inventing a new language or just plain liars.  Our societies are filled with people like this.

We must understand that these people cannot be trusted.  Leaders of the most advanced nations are most often nothing more than hypocrites.  They are more than willing to deal with real dictators and not only deal with them, but enable them, support them.  The only requisite to be on the good side of the leaders and "champions of democracy" is that one's interests must be aligned with theirs.  One can squash protests, teargas the public, disappear individuals, or even inherit a kingdom and not even recognize even the slightest appearance of a democratic mechanism.  There exist too many excuses why this is the case for us to believe such incoherence.

What is even more inspiring than just the awakening of the Venezuelan people and the multiple elections won by Chavez is that they aren't alone in their awakening.  More "dictators" were elected by the people in country after country in Latin America.  More elites were rejected by the populations that they had suffocated.  Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, all in their own way found ways to use their deformed democratic institutions to do the unlikely.  They have all chosen paths much different, to varying degrees, than the one prescribed by international bankers and multinational corporations.  Many have earned the label "dictator" and given its new meaning are proud of the paths they've chosen.  Much of this may not have happened if it hadn't been for the revolutionary Hugo Chavez.

Revolting means causing revulsion, nauseating, disgust.  Revolting is how the actions of men like Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales, Rafael Correa, Fidel Castro can be described if we take in to consideration the reactions of the spoiled elites who feel as if it is only their right, a right of that arrogant minority, to run the affairs of a nation or the world.  But revolution is itself a liberating feeling to those masses who are carrying out the process of taking a rotten system and replacing it with one based on principles of fairness and justice.

So let those undeserving leaders dripping in hypocrisy and arrogance feel revulsion.  Let the people yearning for justice feel liberated from the ignorance and arrogance.

There is no end of history.  There always is the desire to fight for and feel dignified.  Hugo Chavez passed away because his is human.  But what he embodied was the struggle of a people.  With his passing, it is no doubt a sad day.  But his passing doesn't mean that people will give up their struggle.  He represented not only his people, but all people who strive to create a better world.  He will be missed but what he left behind is a people much greater, much stronger, much more conscious, and much more determined than most elected leaders can claim.

Hugo Chavez, thank you for inspiring a continent and beyond.  Comandante Chavez can rest in peace knowing that millions of people are doing the work that he believed they are capable of.  Hugo Chavez is a true champion of democracy.  

Montaner Specializes in Nothing

   Carlos Montaner never fails to offer readers a confused perspective of relations in Latin America and of course Cuba.  Since his main target of his ill will is Cuba, it's only natural that Venezuela is also an object of his hate.  Venezuela's relationship with Cuba has been beneficial for both countries.  Since Cuba was facing the world almost entirely on its own after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the helping  hand extended by Venezuela was something which all Cubans on the island have appreciated greatly.  Every single Cuban knows that life would be a lot more difficult without a partner like Venezuela and since the election of Hugo Chavez, more and more countries in Latin America have increased their ties with the island nation.  Even the United States' closest friends in the region are firmly opposed to the policies that Washington stubbornly maintains in attempts to eliminate the Cuban government and replace it with one of its own choosing.

   How absolutely irrelevant is Mr. Montaner's point that a majority of Venezuelans don't want a political model based on Cuba's.  Venezuela isn't Cuba, so why would they?  Besides that, Cuba's system is itself going through changes and nobody can honestly say what it will ultimately look like.  He makes his presumptions, and despite those, he's can't seem to wrap his dishonest mind around the fact that Hugo Chavez remains very popular in Venezuela.  Just a few months ago he was basically predicting that Chavez' opponent in the upcoming election would be  Maria Corina Machado.  How wrong he was! 

    Now he goes out on a limb by stating that the opposition is controlled by the Cubans.  Anyone who pays any attention at all understands that the opposition in Venezuela is closely aligned with Washington's interests and at times is even funded in part through "democracy organizations" in the United States.  Trying to figure out where Carlos Montaner comes up with his nonsense is a delightful exercise!  It comes from his inability to accept how things really are and his hatred for the Cuban revolution.  His wish is for a quick end to anyone and anthing that is helpful to Cuba and by extension, the Cuban people.  So he continues to wish.

   He wishes that if when Chavez is no longer the Venezuelan head of state , even if the next person is pro-Chavez, that they will just stop being so friendly with Cuba.  In all of my visits to Cuba, everyone who has mentioned the Cuba-Venezuela relationship has expressed their deep gratitude towards Hugo Chavez.  If Carlos Montaner really has the best interest of the Cuban people in his heart, he wouldn't overlook their sentiments on the issue.  But alas, he doesn't care one bit about what the Cuban people on the island think.  He just pretends to speak for them.  He is out of touch.  Delusional may even be a better description for Mr. Montaner as he suggested that Salvador Allende and Manuel Noriega were "evicted".  One was simply taken away by the U.S. military after an invasion and the other was overthrown by a U.S. backed coup.  The way in which he said it is to make the reader imagine that the people were fed up and threw out their leaders.

   Cuba is very dependent on the oil it receives from Venezuela.  Nobody denies this.  But unless Hugo Chavez' health takes a turn for the worse, he will probably be around long enough to see who will be the president of the United States in 2017, Raul Castro's retirement, and a Cuba which is much more energy independent if the companies drilling off the Cuban coasts are correct in their assessments.  That will surely cause this man, Carlos Montaner, to renew his efforts at fictional writings with even more vigor than ever.  But things could become even more troubling for Mr. Montaner if the U.S. finally finds a way to reverse course as it latches on to an actual event enough to change its rhetoric and course as far as Cuba policy goes. 

   Carlos Montaner finished his most recent piece by saying "Cuba specializes in losing."  After 50+ years of not being able to do away with the Cuban revolution, Mr. Montaner, what do you specialize in?  Nothing.