Venezuela reaches out to Latin@s
By
Lou Paulsen
Chicago
Published Feb 13, 2005 9:28 PM
Close to 100 people, mostly
Latin@ workers and youth, crowded the basement of Amor de Dios Methodist church
in the working-class neighborhood of La Villita (Little Village) here on the
night of Feb. 4. Seated on folding chairs, with the face of Che Guevara looking
down from a banner on the wall, they ate arepas (cornmeal buns) and quesillo
(custard) prepared by official representatives of the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela.
It was the anniversary of the 1992 attempt by Hugo
Chávez--then a lieutenant colonel, now the elected president-- to
overthrow the government of the Venezuelan oligarchy. The meeting in solidarity
with the Venezuelan Revolution was sponsored by the Circulo Bolivariano "Amada
Libertad" and a dozen other progressive groups in the Latin@
community.
The audience applauded the dramatic video "Venezuela
Bolivariana: the People and Struggle of the Fourth World War," with its strong
revolutionary, anti-capitalist message.
Then a young, spare man in jeans
who looked like a website developer addressed the crowd. A year ago Martin
Sanchez was doing just that for the University of Iowa--but was better known for
his work as a radical Venezuelan web journalist and the founder of the radical
website aporrea.org.
Now he is the Venezuelan consul in the Midwest, and
describes the Bolivarian Revolution: "This is not about one person, it's about
people who have awakened and taken destiny into their hands."
He talked
about the healthcare offensive undertaken by the government, and about the
14,000 Cuban doctors who are working in poor communities throughout Venezuela.
"I was in one of these clinics, and I talked with an old woman during the
referendum campaign. I asked what she would do if the opposition won, and she
said, 'I'll pull out my knife from my kitchen and my machetes, and I won't allow
anyone to take away my doctor. It's the first time my grandchildren have seen
one.'"
The people here in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Chicago had
no trouble with this message. They are fighting for healthcare and literacy. The
right to stay and work in this country is their daily life, and the daily work
of Amor de Dios Church and its pastor, the Rev. José
Landaverde.
Sanchez warned of a new propaganda offensive being waged in
the U.S. press. "Last week NPR [National Public Radio] had a story about a
middle-class family [in Venezuela] who wouldn't buy a car because they were
afraid the government would take it away. Actually, car sales in Venezuela were
up 140 percent last year.
"Two percent of the people own 85 percent of the
productive land. We are in the initial stages of the land reform, surveying to
find out what productive land is not being used, but already NPR says 'They are
taking away the land.' Every two days or so, the same topic comes up in the
briefings at the White House and the State Department."
There are many
consulates in Chicago. The representatives of imperialist countries meet with
big bosses here as friends, and the representatives of bourgeois governments of
the oppressed countries offer deals to U.S. firms and serve their countries'
elites.
But the consular staff of Venezuela are reaching out to the
working people and community activists of Chicago.
They are also
encouraging the building of the U.S. delegation to this year's World Youth
Festival in Caracas. Dozens of young people have already met to discuss how to
publicize and raise funds for the trip.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email:
[email protected]
Subscribe
[email protected]
Support independent news
DONATE