Venezuelan President Teaches ABCs on Live TV

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's left-wing soldier president, Hugo Chavez, tried his hand at teaching on Monday, helping poor students learn to read and write in a two-hour class broadcast live to the nation from the presidential palace.

From a specially prepared classroom at Miraflores Palace, the former paratrooper and schoolteacher's son lectured teen-age and adult students from an impoverished Caracas neighborhood on the importance of reading and writing.

"Reading helps us to interpret the world," the populist president said, before taking a roll-call of his students, writing words on the blackboard for them to read, and drilling them in punctuation and spelling.

Infuriating midday television viewers across the South American nation, his government interrupted all normal television and radio programming for more than two hours to broadcast the presidential literacy class live.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaks to poor students during a class at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, September 15, 2003. Chavez tried his hand at teaching Monday, helping poor students learn to read and write in a two-hour class broadcast live to the nation from the presidential palace. From a specially prepared classroom at Miraflores Palace, the former paratrooper and schoolteacher's son lectured teen-age and adult students from an impoverished Caracas neighborhood on the importance of reading and writing. REUTERS/HO-Miraflores Palace

Venezuela's telecommunications laws allow the president to do this at his discretion. But critics of Chavez, who accuse him of ruling like a dictator, say he frequently abuses this right to make marathon propaganda broadcasts.

The class was organized to promote a government campaign to eradicate illiteracy in the world's No. 5 oil exporter. The campaign was launched two months ago with textbooks, videos and educators provided by Cuba's Communist government.

Chavez says improving health and education are priorities of his self-styled "revolution," but his foes accuse him of failing to deliver on his promises and of dragging the oil-rich country toward Cuba-style Communism.

After surviving a brief coup last year, he is resisting efforts by his opponents to call a referendum on his rule.

Chavez denies charges by opponents that the literacy classes are imparting pro-government, left-wing ideology along with reading and writing skills.

"God bless you, son, you're learning fast," Chavez told one young student after helping him read a sentence.

At one point, he misspelled the Spanish word for "acquire" on the blackboard before correcting himself.

Chavez, who had a humble upbringing and led a botched coup six years before winning a 1998 election, told his class childhood anecdotes, recalling how he made paper boats to float in rainwater and played baseball with a guava tree branch.

One of the students, a 64-year-old grandmother, confessed she had skipped school when she was young.

Fears of Cuban 'infiltration' in Venezuela (Castro's communism)*** When Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez announced the launching of an urban gardens programme, he said it would produce jobs and reduce the country's dependence on imported food.

It has. But Mr Chavez may not have bargained that the rows of lettuce, cucumber and mint now thriving amidst the traffic and high-rises of downtown Caracas would also produce a harvest of controversy.

The controversy has arisen because many of the advisers assisting with the gardening programme are Cubans. And Mr Chavez's opponents, who accuse him of desiring to convert Venezuela into a communist dictatorship similar to that led by his friend, Cuban leader Fidel Castro, suspect that the Cubans are here to do more than teach farming. ***

Chávez's school plans ignite furor in Venezuela ***A new constitution written by Chávez supporters requires all schools to teach ``Bolivarian principles'' ---- a code phrase for Chávez's brand of leftist populism ---- and the pro-Chávez majority in the legislative National Assembly is preparing a bill laying out the exact curriculum. Last month, the president issued Decree 1011, creating a corps of ``itinerant inspectors'' empowered to close schools and fire teachers that don't follow government-set procedures and standards.

``Political commissars,'' Agudo called them. Jaime Manzo, head of the national teachers' union, called it ``a sword hanging over the head of any teacher who refuses to sing Chávez's praises in the classroom.'' Parents' groups and the teachers' union have appealed to the Supreme Court to block the decree and submitted to the assembly an alternate education reform plan that guarantees a ``pluralist education'' and bans ``partisan politics'' from the classroom.

New history texts for fourth- and sixth-graders published in 1999 praised Chávez's coup attempt and branded as ``corrupt oligarchies'' the two parties that ruled Venezuela since the late 1950s, Democratic Action and COPEI. Chávez has also greatly expanded a system of paramilitary classes in public high schools that had long been on the books but were seldom held, portraying them as ``the founding stones of the new Venezuelan man.''

``He is promoting militarism, infecting texts with viruses that foster class hatreds ... and speak against globalization and privatization,'' Raffalli said in an interview. Chávez recently signed a deal with Cuba under which Havana will train Venezuelan teachers and provide educational materials, and Education Minister Hector Navarro last year approved a nationwide essay competition on the life of Argentine-born Cuban revolutionary Ernesto ``Ché'' Guevara.***

Cuban Educators Spark Political Storm in Venezuela***CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - At Cuba's largest printing press in the island's eastern Holguin province, hundreds of workers toil over a special request from President Fidel Castro.

The Cuban leader has ordered millions of copies of literary classics for an education program started by his ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has made the ambitious promise to teach more than a million people to read in three months.

The Venezuelan literacy campaign, which began in July has drawn heavy criticism from Chavez' opponents, who say he wants to "Cubanize" the world's No. 5 oil exporter and will use the education program to deepen his own self-styled revolution.***

Chavez security chief alleges FARC links - Cuban infiltration*** I am resigning because I disagree with the DISIP's policy of providing security to Colombian guerrillas ... this policy is more than just irregular, it approaches treason to Venezuela given the innumerable deaths, kidnappings and other crimes for which these groups are responsible in our country."

Egui Bastidas said 90 percent of his fellow officers "obey orders but do not agree with them" and called on President Hugo Chavez to reverse his policy of tacit support for the rebels.

"All the peace negotiations there are over and open confrontations between the guerrillas and the Colombian government have begun. Are they going to carry on letting them cross over into Venezuelan territory?" Egui Bastidas asked.

The former DISIP official called on the Armed Forces to issue a statement about their view of the Chávez government's alleged support for the Colombian guerrillas.

Egui Bastidas also made a number of revelations about DISIP activities in recent months. He said the Venezuelan security service had collected personal information about all serving military officers and had also tried to smear opposition figures, such as Alberto Pena, the mayor of Metropolitan Caracas.

The official said he was also concerned at the growing role of Russian and Cuban security advisers in Venezuela.

Egui Bastidas said he had experienced "the direct participation and the attempts at indoctrination by the Russian and Cuban intelligence services, who have direct and virtually unlimited access within the Helicoide (DISIP's headquarters building)."

The official's lawyer, former DISIP Secretary-General Joaquin Chaffardet, said around 100 members of the Cuban intelligence services are currently operating in Venezuela.

The new allegations would, if proven, further strain the already difficult relationship between the United States and Venezuela. ***

Venezuela slams ruling barring Cuban doctors*** More than 1,000 Cuban doctors, sports trainers, sugar experts and other technicians are working in Venezuela. · The cooperation treaty includes the shipment of 53,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan oil to Cuba.***

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