[Peace-discuss] Back from Venezuela

[jencart]

Worth waiting for. Phil.  Thanks!    Jenifer C.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Hello,

Sorry that Julio and I have been out of touch for so long.  We went to  Venezuela with a Global Exchange tour from August 10 to August 24 during the  presidential recall referendum process.  We've been fairly quiet about our  experiences there, because it was mostly negative.  The country was so  highly politicized at that time--how you are treated is truly determined by  whether you share the political beliefs of the person you are dealing with.   Before the referendum, literally all of the polls forecast a Chavez victory,  about 60% to 40%, and that is what ultimately occurred.  However, the media  barrage was so intense that many members of our group were sure that Chavez  would lose, and they were in despair up until the results were announced.   Their despair was contagious.  Imagine that all of the private news channels  are Fox News, and that the state-run public TV channel runs 1984-esque  political propaganda in favor of Chavez.  What can 
you believe?  None of it,  of course.  The pro-Chavez propaganda wasn't that bad, but it had a  homophobic edge to it that could not be ignored or laughed off.  Some of the  propaganda said that the male opposition leaders are faggots, cocksuckers,  impotent, etc.  Pardon my language, but that's what they say.  Oh, the  opposition says that Chavez is a monkey, disgusting nigger, etc., but I  never heard his masculinity questioned, so it's six of one and half a dozen  of the other whether you are racist or homophobic in your political attacks.

On substance, Chavez clearly had the upper hand.  Venezuelan social  programs, funded by oil revenues, are a model for the world to follow.   There is free medical care for anyone who wants it, regardless of income.   The Barrio Adentro program has provided one doctor for every 1,000 people in  the poorer neighborhoods, and free dental care.  We met with doctors and  dentists in several locations, and they were impressive.  The literacy and  education programs are top-notch.  There are housing, job training, and  nutrition programs that put the US to shame.  It's because of the stellar  social programs that Chavez won the referendum.

Social programs aside, there was a dark side to the Chavez government, and  it's the same sickness that all Latin American governments seem to suffer,  and that is a slow and inefficient justice system.  There are more people in  prison waiting for trial than people who have been convicted of crimes.   There aren't any political prisoners, but it seems that the people in prison  are the people who are "easy" to capture and convict--those who are poor and  have don't have good legal counsel--just like in the US, but magnified.   People with connections are rarely arrested or convicted.

I dealt with three bureaucracies while I was there--the Ministry of  Communications and Information (a propaganda office that I call the Ministry  of Fear, after a Graham Greene novel), the Women's Institute, and the  Ombudsman's Office.  All were inefficient, incompetant, and ineffective.  I  asked high level representatives of the latter two offices about anti-gay  violence and discrimination and received appalling responses.  The Women's  Institute said that it was a forbidden topic that people dare not talk  about.  The Ombudsman's representative, while somewhat sympathetic, said  that it wasn't an important issue compared to child and spousal abuse, and  that the Ombudsman himself is a homophobe.  At least he was honest!

Despite all of this, Chavez won, and deservedly so.  The opposition has no  plan of government, and would have r