The Chavez Way?

Jan 25, 2012 Editorial

This newspaper has always been quite sceptical of Hugo Chavez over in neighbouring Venezuela. Not only for the fact that as the leader of a country that claims three-quarters of our country, a healthy dose of scepticism might be de rigueur, but that his ‘strongman’ inclinations might tempt him to change the claim into reality. Thankfully, while we must be always vigilant, Chavez has in fact moved to downplay the claim about as much as he can with something that is entrenched in his constitution.
But it is the realm of public policies that Chavez has surprised even his most fervent critics. Many, including this newspaper, had expected his populist-inspired ‘Bolivarian Revolution’ to peter out or more likely, morph into the usual caudillo dictatorship that had given Latin America such a notorious reputation. But Chavez has stayed the course.
Now recovering from a cancer that was diagnosed last year, Chavez is facing re-election next year and it appears that he is determined to fulfil his promise to rule Venezuela until 2030. He claims that the cancer has been eliminated after five courses of radiation therapy (three in Cuba) and his new heightened level of activity over the past few months seems to confirm that boast. Part of the reason for Chavez’s electoral success has been the notorious inability of the opposition to coalesce and face him as a single entity.
That might soon change. Next month, the opposition parties have promised to put aside their historic suspicions and go to the polls next year together. We shall see. But in the meantime, the situation in Venezuela seems to mirror developments in our country and therein may lay lessons for our political elite. We note that after their strong showing at the last elections, (as in Venezuela) our two opposition parties here are working to seal a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
While the MOU at this time might not confirm going to the next polls jointly, it is expected to delineate firm lines of communication and cooperation among their leadership corps that should make such a move much easier. Before the elections, it was public knowledge that the leader of the AFC and a significant faction of the party favoured a united opposition facing the PPP government. The Ramjattan faction, that demurred, won out. Now after backing Trotman for the Speakership, APNU might seem like a more attractive partner.
For the PPP/C government that squeaked into the presidency with a plurality, there are even more pointed lessons from the Chavez experience. Right up front, Chavez never was shy about declaring and demonstrating where his ideological heart was: on the left and with the poor. He has worked with a single-minded focus towards addressing the needs of the less fortunate members of the society. And it has paid off for him at the polls.
At the end of the Cold War, the PPP of Cheddi Jagan had to be circumspect about the matter of ideology. But with the collapse of the neo-liberal model, touted as the magic wand under the Washington Consensus, President Donald Ramotar is much less constrained. Even with the undeniable gains achieved under the PPP during the past nineteen years, Guyana remains the second poorest country in the hemisphere.
What can President Ramotar lose by offering some ideological clarity to the thrust of his administration and come down unabashedly for a programme that addresses the plight of the poor in Guyana? Nothing, and he has everything to gain. Scoffers would point out that Chavez was fortunate to be in the midst of rising oil prices. Well, President Ramotar is also in the midst of an even more ebullient gold market.
The liquidity in our banks demonstrates without doubt that money is not our problem: it is spending it in a manner that the poor will benefit that needs to be fixed. It is also for this reason that the President must not be suckered into quick fixes such as arbitrarily cutting taxes without proof that the money saved will go into investment rather than consumption.

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The Chavez Way?

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