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Venezuela reaches out to Latin@s

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.