Chávez's school plans ignite furor in Venezuela ***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 ruledVenezuela 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. Most of the Cuban aid is going to some 500 ``Bolivarian Schools'' established around the nation of 24 million people for the poorest of the poor, offering three meals a day and on-site medical care.***