Pallbearers carry the coffin of Venezuela's late President Hugo
Chavez,
after a funeral parade in Caracas.
Hugo Chavez Frias: The Man Laid Bare (Al Raya, Qatar)
"One
cannot mention the history of Latin America without remembering Hugo Chavez of
Venezuela, who left this world just over a week ago. ... Chavez was a socialist
who hated the capitalist model pursued by the United States. He saved many poor
people from poverty through his policy of socialism and equitably distributing oil
wealth. On paper, while this distribution seemed fair, in fact, the way he went
about it was not. Rather than of teaching people how to fish, Chavez gave them the fish."
After Hugo Chavez: Venezuelans face the future deprived of one of the most charismatic Latin American leaders ever. His successor will have to satisfy their demands while saving an economy that Chavez did so much to undermine.
The continent of South America, and all Latin America, holds
a special and distinctive place on the world's map. It is a continent of contradiction,
combining incredible beauty and shocking ugliness. For example, while there is abject
poverty in the favelas, just meters away from these ghettos of tin is obscene
wealth among skyscrapers. It's no wonder that Latin America is ranked as one of
the poorest continents in terms of economic inequality, with the starkest
divisions between poor and middle class - and super rich.
Along with the all of the contradictions that exist on this amazing
continent, has come a marked increase in crime and violence. This is a result
of several factors, the most important of which are a lack of “social justice,”
civil war and country-destroying conflicts, high unemployment, the increased
availability of drugs and weapons, and thus the emergence of armed groups and
drug traffickers. These and other factors have contributed to making many Latin
American nations cesspools of crime and witnesses to bloody violence almost every
day.
But this hasn't prevented the emergence of personalities and
illustrious names immortalized by history. In literature, Gabriela Mistral of
Chile was awarded Latin America's first Nobel Prize in 1945. In art, there was
the unique Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. And in
politics, there were the revolutionaries, like Che
Guevara, Fidel Castro and Simon Bolivar -
the Venezuelan military leader who liberated Latin America from the Spanish
Empire, who was also called the George Washington of Latin America. In sports
there is Pele. And there are hundreds of other names and personalities from
that continent who to
this day have altered history and contribute in their fields.
And one cannot mention the history of Latin America without remembering
Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who left this world just over a week ago. He may have
died, but his stories and his character have not. Everyone is talking about him
- either with admiration and gratitude, or sarcasm, irony and hate. Because the
positions of this man are hard to classify and often appear at cross purposes.
On the economic level, Chavez was a socialist who hated the
capitalist model pursued by the United States. He saved many poor people from
poverty through his policy of socialism and equitably distributing oil wealth.
On paper, while this distribution seemed fair, in fact, the way he went about
it was not. Rather than of teaching people how to fish, Chavez gave them
the fish.
So his socialism damaged businessmen and entrepreneurs, because
government regulation and oversight, not to mention Chavez' policy of nationalization,
did harm to Venezuela and its oil sector. The benefits showered on the poor by
Chavez have not made up for the harm done to the country's entire economy,
ranging from hyperinflation, rising unemployment and economic contraction. So
despite Chavez' best efforts, his socialist approach has done little to improve
Venezuela's economy.
Politically, Chavez was known for his charismatic
personality and his hostility toward American imperialism and capitalism, even
if he sold them petroleum. Chavez was close to Assad, Ahmadinejad and Fidel
Castro of Cuba. He constantly criticized the United States and its wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan, and in a speech almost entirely in Spanish, he attacked the
United States - and in the only English sentence, he described George Bush as
a "donkey"! [see below]. The use of such an epithet was not unusual for
Chavez, who is known for improvising words and revolutionary speeches that were
often devoid of any diplomatic talk.
CHAVEZ CALLS GEORGE BUSH
A 'DONKEY'
Rather than a head of state, many see in Chavez a man. After
the 2009 Israeli aggression on Gaza, Venezuela was one of the first countries
to expel the Israeli ambassador and recall its own. And that same year, Venezuela
recognized Palestine as an independent state. Many in the Arab world sided with
Chavez and fondly remember his life because of his positions. But there are plenty
of people who say that he took such positions for one reason only: to annoy the
United States.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
After a long struggle with disease Chavez is gone, and in 30
days an election will be held for a new president, resulting in new relationships
within Latin America. Ecuador President Rafael Correa is likely to be the new superstar.
But Correa doesn't enjoy the level of popularity of a Chavez - and Ecuador lacks
the volume of oil of Venezuela. Furthermore, it appears that the United States,
which was forever at odds with Venezuela, is "ready" to open a new
page.
One can imagine how a man like Chavez, because of his
policies, could draw some people toward him, and at the same time, drive others
away. There are many others on the left and right, socialists and capitalists,
who persuade people to stand with or against them. But what matters is that we
not transform presidents into gods to be worshipped. Their deaths are always
assured. Leaders always die, and their states and people remain. Can the election in Venezuela bring a new leader, who knows that the institutions of the state and the people are more important than he is? Or will it produce another Chavez, who whose cult of personality dwarfs the institutions of state and the people?
