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08/21/2004:
"The Banality of Evil"
Council on Foreign Relations: Latin Expert Schneider: Chavez Victory Gives Venezuela's Populist President MomentumCFR
...One would hope, given this victory, that Chavez would reach out; look for ways to incorporate part of the opposition, at the very least in consultative mechanisms; give greater space in the legislature for opposition views to be considered; and move away from the enormously polarized environment. I was there in early March. I felt as if I were in Nicaragua in the late '80s, when the entire country seemed to be divided either for or against the Sandinista president. Venezuela is a country where traditionally there's not been that kind of venomous partisan emotion. It seems to be a different country now.
Were you personally surprised by the outcome?
I was. I thought it would be much closer. I wasn't sure which side would win, but I thought it would be very, very close. I think it's worthwhile to talk about the international aspect. One of the things the Bush administration has gone after Chavez about--and it's been reciprocated in the sense that Chavez responded with a lot of anti-Bush and anti-U.S. rhetoric--is Chavez's support for Castro's leftist, populist operations in other countries, including providing sanctuary to the FARC [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a Marxist rebel group] and ELN [National Liberation Army, a rival Marxist group] along the Colombian border. Interestingly, in the weeks just prior to the referendum, Chavez again seemed to reach out and present [a] slightly different image. He met with [Colombian President Alvaro] Uribe and made some significant agreements about oil exports that would go through Colombia and allowed Colombian oil to go through Venezuelan pipelines, which was unusual. The other [issue that has strained relations with the Bush administration] is that there continues to be concern about Chavez's linkage to [Bolivian left-wing politician] Evo Morales' radical side of the Bolivian political spectrum, [and] and there are allegations about similar linkages in Peru. That's something I think people are going to watch very closely over the next couple of months. full interview
It's good to check in on the CFR and observe what oily rhetoric they're pumping out this time. O yes, for these are reasonable men. They speak in measured terms of the Venezuelan elite's' sad feelings of being left out, of their coup attempt, of the strikes they fomented to bring chaos, without a word of US involvement in these antics, acting as if Chavez's crushing victory is merely a mildly disappointing and baffling development in a woebegone little country. The problem is that this has all the makings of a true Bolivarian revolution, and a redemption of Simon Bolivar's valiant efforts to end European control of Latin America. And guys like this Schneider know it.
By defeating recall, Chavez inspires Left Boston Globe
CARACAS, Venezuela -- By handily defeating a referendum aimed at ousting him, President Hugo Chavez has broadened his mandate and inspired left-leaning groups throughout much of Latin America.
From the snowy peaks of Bolivia to guerrilla hideouts in the Colombian jungle, Chavez's win fortified a common cause among anti-American radicals: the fight against "imperialist" economic policies that they believe Washington intends to impose on the region.
After results of Sunday's recall referendum were announced, Evo Morales, leader of Bolivia's Indian coca farmers, told The Associated Press that Chavez had become "Latin America's leader of liberation forces." full article
