Posted on 01/14/2002 11:14:04 PM PST by JohnHuang2
Another Castro
in Latin America?
Venezuela's Chavez proudly following in Cuba's steps
By Toby Westerman
© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
Under the rule of President Hugo Chavez, the oil-rich South American nation of Venezuela an important supplier of petroleum to the U.S. "is working to establish" an economic system based upon that of communist Cuba, according to official Cuban sources.
"After the collapse of the USSR and the Eastern bloc, the media launched a vicious campaign trying to convince people that there were no alternatives to capitalism," Chavez asserted.
"Cuba has proven them wrong, and Venezuela is following close behind [Cuba]," Chavez triumphantly declared.
Chavez' remarks were reported by Radio Havana Cuba, the official broadcasting service of the Cuban government.
Chavez, who has made no secret of his admiration for Cuban President Fidel Castro, praised "Cuba's attempts to establish an alternative economic model," which stands opposed to "free market neo-liberalism," and lauded Cuba's "example of courage and dignity in the face of international social and economic pressure."
Since Chavez' election to his nation's presidency in February 1999, Venezuela and Cuba have established increasingly close economic and political ties. A current agreement exchanges Venezuelan oil for Cuban medical, education and athletic training assistance.
Cuba views Chavez as aiming "to make profound changes in Venezuela's social and political structure," according to a December 2001 Radio Havana Cuba broadcast.
Chavez along with Castro's Cuba is advocating the economic and political integration of all Latin American and Caribbean nations into a single economic and political entity.
The new Latin American entity would stand in opposition to its northern neighbor, the United States.
In August 2001, Chavez warned that the Latin American region "must integrate or it will be disintegrated."
Chavez and Castro reject the U.S. free trade proposal linking North and South American economies as an instrument of U.S. economic domination.
The Cuban "model" that Chavez admires, and which is in a position to benefit from a Chavez/Castro led "integration" of South America, is the same communist system that has dominated Cuba since Castro's victory in 1959.
In an April 2001 speech at a mass rally commemorating the 40th anniversary of the "socialist charter of the Cuban revolution," Castro with an AK 47-assault rifle over his shoulder proclaimed that Cuba "is and will always be a socialist [communist] revolution."
A year earlier, in April 2000, Castro addressed a session of the "G77" a world organization of underdeveloped nations and declared that "the current economic world order should be put on trial in an international legal process similar to the Nuremberg trials."
Venezuela's "model" has also gained support from one of the world's rising superpowers and unabashedly communist regimes mainland China.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin termed his April 2001 visit to Venezuela as "historic," and expressed his belief in the "broad prospects for bi-lateral cooperation," according to a report from Radio China International, the official broadcasting service of the mainland Chinese government.
Both Chavez and Jiang pledged to develop a "strategic partnership" between their two nations.
Observers note that reporting on the development of Chavez' economic "model" may be problematical.
In a region where the existence of a free press is often difficult, Venezuela appears to be increasing its limitations on news reporting.
According to a recent report from the free press advocacy group Reporters sans Frontieres Reporters without Borders the Venezuelan news daily "El Nacional" was attacked by a mob following a Chavez speech criticizing the newspaper.
Similar incidents have been reported in Venezuela, where Chavez regularly demonizes and threatens his editorial enemies.
Castro has no such problems in Cuba, where the constitution forbids private ownership of news media. By law, news reporting is reserved for the government.
Chavez could get some valuable training in business, medicine and education from Americans who were once Cuban citizens, but there's nothing of value available from communist Cuba.
That is unfortunate. Venezuela WAS a nice country. Not anymore!
Appears to be...surprised any foreign press admitted that much. WND won't be getting a return invitation. If Hugo wants the same international press treatment that Castro receives, he must wine and dine and charm the visiting press.
Thanks for the ping, JH. Thank God God's in charge. (^:
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Bush,
In your address of September 19, 2001, you encouraged the nation to begin to stand up for the principles that make America great. Some congressmen and senators, however, have been suggesting that the United States of America should normalize relations with the totalitarian Castro regime of Cuba. Perhaps some members of the United States Congress slept through your address. Or perhaps they have other agendas that have nothing to do with the principles that make America great.
During the presidential campaign of 2000, three senators, one Republican and two Democrats, returned from a trip to Cuba, stating that they saw no reason why relations should not be normalized between the United States and Castro. At that time, I sent emails to you, to your brother in Florida, to the Republican senator from Kansas, and to the Republican Committee, warning that the subject of normalization should be dropped, if you were to have any hope of winning the election. I said that Florida's Cuban voters would not vote for you, if you supported or appeared to support normalization. Whether due to my emails or for another reason, the subject was dropped, until recently.
Now the subject of normalization of relations between the United States and Castro is again in the news. The terrorist Castro has been visited by and received gifts from American politicians, as though he were not a murderous tyrant but a benevolent patriarch. American businesses are panting to do business with a new market, as they see Cuba. And while many Americans still do not know the truth of the reality of Castro's oppression and treachery, due to the media's reluctance to report the facts as they are known, you certainly do know the facts.
You have also said to the American people, "I ask you to seek a common good beyond your comfort; to defend needed reforms against easy attacks; to serve your nation, beginning with your neighbor." It is time for you to take your own advice.
The Coast Guard should at once be ordered to cease returning Cuban rafters to the Castro regime, which harasses, disenfranchises, imprisons, and tortures those who attempt to escape the island prison of Cuba. What a shame for the United States that it continues to collaborate with the Castro regime in this manner. I do not understand how you can let this continue. The United States has helped the regime to survive for so long; how can you continue to return rafters to the tyrant?
I hope that you are not giving serious consideration to normalization of relations between the United States and Castro.
Sincerely,
David L. Rosenthal
Hollywood, Florida 33021
Cuba, Venezuela Increasing Ties-- [Excerpt] In June, Chavez decided to create citizens' groups charged with taking care of their neighborhoods. To some, the move evoked images of Cuba's infamous revolutionary block committees.
Most criticism has been leveled by Venezuela's teachers, who oppose Cuban funding and Cuban-inspired curricula in public schools.
A key Chavez program affords millions of poor children a chance to go to school. But many teachers condemned a course on the late Cuban revolutionary Ernesto ``Che'' Guevara, and a May protest ended in clashes with pro-Chavez activists in front of the Cuban Embassy. [End Excerpt]
I'd love to know the name of this Nicarguan-inspired socialist grassroots organization.
Johnny Huang might want to know that I got into an altercation once with one of those members of the 'divine mobs' (turbas divinas). Probably 'nuff said....
_____________________
(January 11, 2002)-AP- Chavez Marks Election Anniversary with Bolivarian Revolutionary Movement neighborhood committees CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Singing ``Happy Birthday'' and holding a single candle, President Hugo Chavez celebrated the anniversary of his re-election Thursday with a call to supporters to continue his ``revolution,'' dampened recently by his fading popularity. At a political rally Thursday, Chavez inaugurated the leaders of the new Bolivarian Revolutionary Movement, an organization composed of thousands of neighborhood committees aimed at maintaining ties between citizens and the government.
We'll probably see the emergence of the Frente Simon Bolivar Para La Liberacion Nacional (FBLN) in Venezuela, and may anti- comm. 'contras' in the jungles to fight them?
Opponents of Chavez, a left-wing former paratrooper who attempted an abortive coup in 1992 before winning elections six years later, have frequently accused him of sympathizing with Colombia's Marxist rebels and even of cooperating with them. [End Excerpt]
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