The Peasants Speak: Chavez in a Landslide (Greg Palast)

[IndianaGreen]

This great article was posted in LBN, but I fear it will be deleted for not being truly LBN but an opinion piece.

"The Peasants Speak: Chavez in a Landslide"
by Greg Palast

published by GregPalast.com

The Peasants Speak: Chavez in a Landslide

There's so much BS and baloney thrown around about Venezuela that I may be violating some rule of US journalism by providing some facts. Let's begin with this: 77% of Venezuela's farmland is owned by 3% of the population, the 'hacendados.'

I met one of these farmlords in Caracas at an anti-Chavez protest march. Oddest demonstration I've ever seen: frosted blondes in high heels clutching designer bags, screeching, "Chavez - dic-ta-dor!" The plantation owner griped about the "socialismo" of Chavez, then jumped into his Jaguar convertible.

That week, Chavez himself handed me a copy of the "socialist" manifesto that so rattled the man in the Jag. It was a new law passed by Venezuela's Congress which gave land to the landless. The Chavez law transferred only fields from the giant haciendas which had been left unused and abandoned.

This land reform, by the way, was promoted to Venezuela in the 1960s by that Lefty radical, John F. Kennedy. Venezuela's dictator of the time agreed to hand out land, but forgot to give peasants title to their property..."

http://progressivetrail.org/articles/040816Palast.shtml

[seventhson]

1. Thanks - somebody else said even Palast was selling out on Chavez

This appears to be balanced and cool --- but I need to read it all.

I love this stuff.

I am SOOOO happy about this.

My dad fought (sans weapon) against fascism in Latin America in the 1940's. He lost and returned to America. I have siblings who are Latin American by birth.

I am glad to see la luta continua for democracy and justice

[benfranklin1776]

2. Locking as duplicate. Please continue discussion here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x68019