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Bolivia is now headed by socialist Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia (and possibly in the hemisphere)--and a good friend of Hugo Chavez's. The Bolivarian revolution--started in Venezuela, and of which Chavez is the most well-known spokesman--is, of course, connected to Bolivia, which was named after Simon Bolivar, the great South American revolutionary hero, who led the revolt against the European colonialists and freed the slaves. He also dreamt of a "United States of South America", which the U.S. has militated against in every way, often brutally--trying to keep South Americans divided and subservient. Chavez has changed all that--and the second country it happened in was its neighbor Bolivia, a peaceful, democratic revolution sparked in part by the peoples' revolt against Bechtel Corpo. (--which had privatized the water in one Bolivian city, then jacked up the prices to the poor--even charging poor peasants for collecting rainwater!). The tenets of the modern Bolivarian revolution are self-determination, regional cooperation and social justice. Morales strongly shares these principles with Chavez. Argentina was going into economic meltdown from ruinous World Bank loans and IMF policy around the same time that Chavez and Morales were arising as leaders. Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina created the Bank of the South, to replace the World Bank with socially responsible financing. Ecuador joined the Bolivarian revolution with the election last fall of the U.S.-educated, leftist economist, Rafael Correa.
One of the things the Bushites have been trying to do is "divide and conquer" this Andean democratic axis (Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina). They have been very unsuccessful. When the Bushites issued the dictate that South American countries must "isolate" Chavez, Argentina's Nestor Kirchner replied, "But he is my brother!" There are strong bonds among these four leaders--Chavez, Morales, Correa and Kirchner. None of them are likely to go along with any kind of Bushite games--such as pitting Bolivia against Venezuela for the human rights commission seat--unlike Brazil and Chile, also with leftist governments, but which have, in some limited ways, tried to use the Bushites' "divide and conquer" tactic to gain benefit to their own countries, in not very good ways--such as Lulu of Brazil negotiating a biofuel deal with Bush--something Chavez opposes (both "deals" with Bush, and biofuel production which is harmful to the Amazon and to peasant farmers). It's ironical--Chavez, because he is so vocal and such an effective anti-Bush and anti-corporate leader, gives leverage to the more moderate socialist countries, which they in turn use somewhat "selfishly."
But I strongly doubt that we will see such double-dealing on the part of Bolivia, Ecuador or Argentina. This is why I almost laughed when I saw that Bolivia was the diabolical Bush State Department's OTHER choice (to unseat Venezuela). I wonder if they even consulted Evo Morales and Bolivia about it (--and, if they did, I would like to have heard Morales' reply. This is a man who campaigned for president with a wreath of coca leaves around his neck--sacred plant of the Andes Indians--to illustrate his opposition to the murderous U.S. "war on drugs" (i.e., war on peasnts, leftists and union organizers)). It's always possible that U.S./Bushite/corporate power could poison leftist (majorityist) countries in Latin American in different ways. These countries are vulnerable, after decades of exploitation and fasicst thievery, and they all have fascist elites with violent paramilitary elements. But the ties among the Andean democracies are quite strong, and they are all greatly benefitting from regional cooperation.
One other thing that this seating of Venezuela on the OAS human rights commission shows is that the RCTV controversy is likely seen much differently by the majority of South Americans than it is seen by our war profiteering corporate news monopolies and Bush's State Dept. Most South Americans see it more as we SHOULD BE seeing it--as an assertion of people power over corporations, as well as a well-deserved loss of license, by RCTV, for their part in the 2002 military coup attempt. The government of Venezuela had a perfect right to do what it did, and the result will be more diverse programming, and much fairer and more representative political coverage. We tend to forget that we have this right, too--we have been so bludgeoned and oppressed by our corporate-controlled media.
And just a bit of perspective here: Human rights have NEVER been better in Venezuela, and throughout the Andean democracies, than now, with Chavez and the Bolivarian revolution. Free speech has NEVER been bettter! Where there is rightwing government still remaining in South America--as in Colombia--and in the past, people are tortured and shot to death and thrown into mass graves merely for organizing a union or articulating leftist views, or merely advocating for the poor. Those horrors have all been swept away by the Bolivarian revolution and democracy is SUCCEEDING, at long last. The Venezeulan people turned history around, when they peacefully resisted and defeated the violent military coup that RCTV was party to. They now have a vibrant, open, free political culture--as do Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina, with the election of leftist governments. There are also strong leftist movements in Peru and Paraguay (likely to win future elections). These ideas--independence, democracy, social justice--are sweeping the continent.
We have had it so hammered into our heads that "Chavez is a dictator" that it is difficult for some of us to realize that the exact opposite is true. The PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA put Chavez in power by electing him, and then defended his presidency against a coup. He owes his power to THEM. And there is no power that he posseses, or has asked for, or exercised, that is not already existing in Venezuelan law, or has been granted to him, after much debate, in the elected National Assembly. For instance, his much ballyhooed (by the rightwing) desire to be reelected for a third term is a term limit issue that will be voted on by the people, and is no different from our own FDR, who ran and won FOUR terms as president. These things get totally twisted around by Bush and echo chamber.
And THIS is why the Bushites were defeated in their attempt to keep Venezuela off the human rights commission. The South Americans KNOW what is REALLY happening in Venezuela and the region. They know that Venezuela is not just okay, it is doing great on every possible criteria of human rights--from wiping out illiteracy, to universal health care, to private sector growth and prosperity and sharing the wealth, to free speech and fair trials. The Chavez government has done more for human rights than ANY government in South America's history. Is it any wonder that the Bush Junta hates Venezuela?
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Recommended (by me) as a detoxifier:
"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (DVD, at AxisofLogic.com)
www.venezuelanalysis.com
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