Don’t
judge Chavez
THE EDITOR: It is very easy to pass facile judgement
on the innovative and sometimes controversial policies
of the President of Venezuela, especially when
this is done by persons who have little knowledge
of the situation in that country, and who are more
influenced by propaganda than by facts. The benefits
realised in the rural areas of Venezuela are visible
to any commentator with an unjaundiced perspective.
Many of the persons who pass superficial judgement
on Hugo Chavez have little understanding of the
culture change he has been able to foster in that
country, and to the new empowerment of the citizenry
which had been denied to them in the past.
Venezuela is a country with a history of dictatorships
and it is easy for casual observers to conclude
that Hugo Chavez is treading the same path as his
predecessors. There are some significant differences,
however, that distinguish his initiatives from
what transpired in the past.
Previous
dictators have invariably come from the privileged
class. The changes they sought to introduce
benefited the wealthy, to the exclusion of the
poorer classes. Their policies succeeded in concentrating
the wealth gained from the country’s energy
resources in the hands of the wealthy.
Hugo Chavez may be a demagogue, and he is certainly
making mistakes (he is human, after all) but the
basic policies which he is pursuing are resulting
in genuine benefits coming to the less fortunate
in Venezuelan society. He is changing a culture
that has been entrenched over decades and that
change will not happen overnight.
KARAN MAHABIRSINGH
Carapichaima
The
Trinidad & Tobago Newsday
Friday, July 13 2007
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