VIVA CHAVEZ!

Oct 08, 2012 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

By the time this is read, Hugo Chavez will be well on his way to another term after another landslide victory. The imperialists will suffer another blow as a result of the victory of the Venezuelan leader.
They want to see the backs of Hugo Chavez so that they continue their exploitation of the continent. Venezuela stands as an obstacle towards imperialist influence in the region. Chavez’s socialist revolution is also fraught with the possibility that other countries facing the same sort of problems that Venezuela faces may wish to imitate that country’s model.
Much therefore is hanging on the election results. Chavez merely needs a plurality of votes to win the election but anything less than a landslide would indicate that the Bolivarian Revolution is losing ground after fourteen years.
The election in Venezuela is therefore important to the future of the Bolivarian Revolution which Chavez’s hopes will eventually sweep the entire continent. A big win is therefore crucial to the credibility of that process.
Strangely, the pro-imperialist western media are indicating a possible close race. It would be extremely surprising if the race ends up anywhere near close and it is hoped that when Chavez wins by a landslide, as is expected, that the expectations created by these reports of a close race do not form the basis for a rejection of the results of the international community which has certified previous elections as being free.
A great deal is riding for the Caribbean on the elections in Venezuela. A loss of Chavez will force the end of the Petrocaribe arrangement.
For the Jamaicans the end of this facility can spell economic doom and at the least will cause serious economic dislocations. The same can be said of the other countries of the Caribbean who have had the courage to be part of this arrangement.
Those countries that are part of the Petrocaribe arrangement cannot afford the end of this initiative, especially at this time when oil credit is so needed to cushion against the very high prices for oil.
A loss of Chavez would have also meant the end of ALBA, one of the foremost integration movements of Latin America. While UNASUR may have overshadowed the ALBA, the latter offers far more benefits to signatory states including provisions for the creation of a development bank for South America. If Chavez loses the election, it will signal the end of ALBA and the end of Banco del Sur.
For Guyana it will almost certainly create problems for development of the Essequibo because there is no guarantee that any new President will be as generous and considerate to Guyana as Chavez has been.
It will also mean that the poor in Venezuela will return to a system in which inequality will increase. Chavez’s pro-poor programmes and his nationalization of the oil industry in the country have delivered tremendous benefits to the people of that country.
In yesterday’s elections he faced a united opposition, bonded together around a young candidate. And while there have been accusations that Chavez has enjoyed certain advantages because of his grip on power, it must be conceded that he faces an opposition that is backed by the most powerful power in the world and one that has never been shy about exerting its influence or of destabilizing the Chavez regime.
The Americans would love nothing better than to see the back of Hugo Chavez and they have been successful in lining up the opposition parties against him.
However, the days of oligarchic rule in Venezuela and much of Latin American are numbered and the poor in Venezuela are not likely to allow for a reversal of what took place.
They have suffered for far too long under candidates that were in the camp of the oligarchy of that country. Under Chavez they have benefitted immensely, including enjoying the services of thousands of Cuban doctors working to improve health care.
Petrol dollars now at its highest internationally have not gone into the pockets of the rich. Chavez has used the windfall from oil revenues to assist the poor and they are not going to disappoint him by staying at home.
The poor know that their liberator is Hugo Chavez and they are going to go out in their numbers to ensure that the social programs that were initiated under the Bolivarian Revolution are not reversed.

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VIVA CHAVEZ!

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VIVA CHAVEZ!

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