Chávez trip to UN canceled
By Berta Joubert Ceci
New York
As activists were busy getting ready for the expected visit
of Hugo Chávez, president of the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela, to the United Nations on Sept. 20, a news release
from the Venezuelan government stopped them in their tracks:
“President Chávez will not be able to
attend.”
The statement from the Ministry of Communication and
Information read in part: “The office of the President
informs the public, both nationally and internationally, that
the visit of citizen president Hugo Rafael Chávez
Frías to the 59th General Assembly of the United Nations
to have taken place in New York has been cancelled due to an
untimely occurrence.”
The reason given for the cancellation was the failure of the
left motor of the presidential aircraft right before the
president was about to board his plane.
The statement highlighted a meeting that had been planned
for the afternoon of the 20th, initiated by Brazilian President
Luis Ignacio “Lula” da Silva to discuss Latin
American development and the fight against hunger and
poverty—a topic at the heart of President
Chávez’s work.
Through the Ministry of Information, Chávez sent his
apologies to world leaders who were to join him in the meeting,
saying, “It is an important event for the future of our
nations and for the integration of Latin America.” In
place of the president, Minister of Foreign Relations
Jesús Arnaldo Pérez was to attend the UN meetings
and deliver a message from the Bolivarian Venezuelan government
of peace, solidarity and unity.
President Chávez was also to have spoken at a public
event the night of his arrival. The International Action Center
had donated space and resources like telephones, fax and
printing facilities to help this important event and was the
hub of preparations for the rally. Members of the Alberto
Lovera Bolivarian Circle in New York spent countless hours, day
and night, doing outreach in the days before Sept. 20.
Many groups in the city and Bolivarian Circles from nearby
states joined in the organizing. The spirit of Simón
Bolívar was not only south of the Río Grande.
Young and old of different nationalities and sexual preferences
came by or called to try to reserve tickets to see
Chávez. At one point, there were more than 1,400
requests for only 690 seats—an impossible task, yet a
very heartening one.
The meeting had been planned for Harlem’s Mount Olivet
Baptist Church. After the cancellation, many of the organizers
went there to explain the situation to anyone who hadn’t
yet heard the news. A group of elderly women and men dressed in
their Sunday best were waiting, saying, “We are from the
church and we want to see Chávez.”
The Bolivarian Revolution process is taking place not only
in Venezuela.
Berta Joubert is one of the many activists who helped in
organizing and outreach for the rally.
Reprinted from the Sept. 30, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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