Safe Passage, Comrade.

[TBF]

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EL UNIVERSAL
Tuesday March 05, 2013 06:29 PM
Hugo Chávez Frías, the President of Venezuela, died after waging a long battle against cancer, treated in Havana since the middle of 2011. The president had traveled to Cuba in the final stage on December 8, 2012, two months after his fourth re-election to undergo his fourth surgery.

In his last public appearance, he designated Nicolás Maduro, the current Vice-President, his heir apparent.

Chávez Frías disclosed his illness also from Cuba, in June 2011.

[Loudly]

1. Fingers crossed that the Venezuelan people can hang to what he gave them.

[niyad]

2. requiescat in pacem

[Starry Messenger]

3. Song for Hugo Chávez by David Rovics (video)

Chavez, Presente.

[TBF]

8. A beautiful tribute - thank you. nt

[aquart]

4. I loved his wicked sense of humor.

He fought hard to live. Now his people will have to do the same.

[Ghost Dog]

5. Victor Jara: Te Recuerdo Amanda

[freshwest]

6. RIP, Hugo. You did what you could. Viva Venezuela.

[TBF]

7. Granma has an article up now -

[img]]/img]

Death of President Hugo Chávez

CARACAS, March 5 (AVN).—Hugo Rafael Chávez, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, died in the hours of this Tuesday afternoon. The announcement was made by Vice President Nicolás Maduro.

President Hugo Chávez Maduro called on the Venezuelan people to confront the lamentable death of the President of the Republic “with much strength, courage and integrity.”

“We have to be more united than ever, the greatest discipline, the greatest collaboration, the greatest brotherhood and sisterhood. We are going to grow, we are going to be the worthy sons and daughters of the giant of a man that he was and how Comandante Hugo Chávez will always be in our memory. The victory of today is the unity of the people and peace,” Maduro affirmed on national radio and television ...

More here -- http://www.granma.cu/ingles/ouramerica-i/5marzo-10chavez-2.html

[shcrane71]

9. kick

[Overseas]

10. I will miss him and remember him with admiration.

[Starry Messenger]

11. Hugo Chávez Interview By Greg Palast, July 2006

http://www.progressive.org/mag_intv0706


<snip>

"Q: How do you respond to Bush’s charge that you are destabilizing the region and interfering in the elections of other Latin American countries?

Chávez: Mr. Bush is an illegitimate President. In Florida, his brother Jeb deleted many black voters from the electoral registers. So this President is the result of a fraud. Not only that, he is also currently applying a dictatorship in the U.S. People can be put in jail without being charged. They tap phones without court orders. They check what books people take out of public libraries. They arrested Cindy Sheehan because of a T-shirt she was wearing demanding the return of the troops from Iraq. They abuse blacks and Latinos. And if we are going to talk about meddling in other countries, then the U.S. is the champion of meddling in other people’s affairs. They invaded Guatemala, they overthrew Salvador Allende, invaded Panama and the Dominican Republic. They were involved in the coup d’état in Argentina thirty years ago.

Q: Is the U.S. interfering in your elections here?

Chávez: They have interfered for 200 years. They have tried to prevent us from winning the elections, they supported the coup d’état, they gave millions of dollars to the coup plotters, they supported the media, newspapers, outlaw movements, military intervention, and espionage. But here the empire is finished, and I believe that before the end of this century, it will be finished in the rest of the world. We will see the burial of the empire of the eagle.

Q: You don’t interfere in the elections of other nations in Latin America?

Chávez: Absolutely not. I concern myself with Venezuela. However, what’s going on now is that some rightwing movements are transforming me into a pawn in the domestic politics of their countries, by making statements that are groundless. About candidates like Morales [of Bolivia], for example. They said I financed the candidacy of President Lula [of Brazil], which is totally false. They said I financed the candidacy of Kirchner [of Argentina], which is totally false. In Mexico, recently, the rightwing party has used my image for its own profit. What’s happened is that in Latin America there is a turn to the left. Latin Americans have gotten tired of the Washington consensus—a neoliberalism that has aggravated misery and poverty.

Q: You have spent millions of dollars of your nation’s oil wealth throughout Latin America. Are you really helping these other nations or are you simply buying political support for your regime?

Chávez: We are brothers and sisters. That’s one of the reasons for the wrath of the empire. You know that Venezuela has the biggest oil reserves in the world. And the biggest gas reserves in this hemisphere, the eighth in the world. Up until seven years ago, Venezuela was a U.S. oil colony. All of our oil was going up to the north, and the gas was being used by the U.S. and not by us. Now we are diversifying. Our oil is helping the poor. We are selling to the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, some Central American countries, Uruguay, Argentina."

<snip>

[TBF]

12. Nice article in Salon this morning -

Fair comments re the violence in Venezuela, but they really nail it on the economics -

Wednesday, Mar 6, 2013 06:30 AM CST
Hugo Chavez’s economic miracle
The Venezuelan leader was often marginalized as a radical. But his brand of socialism achieved real economic gains
By David Sirota

" ... That said, these serious problems, while certainly worthy of harsh criticism, were not the primary reason Chavez became the favorite effigy of American politicians and pundits. In the age of U.S. drone assaults, civil liberties abuses, and war on voting, it is not as if this nation’s political establishment sees an assault on democratic freedoms as deplorable. Likewise, that same political establishment is more than friendly with leaders of countries like Mexico and Colombia – countries which are also periodically hotbeds of violent crime.

No, Chavez became the bugaboo of American politics because his full-throated advocacy of socialism and redistributionism at once represented a fundamental critique of neoliberal economics, and also delivered some indisputably positive results. Indeed, as shown by some of the most significant indicators, Chavez racked up an economic record that a legacy-obsessed American president could only dream of achieving... "

http://www.salon.com/2013/03/06/hugo_chavezs_economic_miracle/

[socialist_n_TN]

13. I too hope Venezuela can hang on to what they were bequeathed by Chavez......

and then take it farther. RIP Comrade Chavez.

[TBF]

14. The KKE releases statement of condolence -

Message of Condolence of the GS of the CC of the KKE, Aleka Papariga, concerning the death of the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez

Excerpt: "He played the leading role in the promotion of a political plan to deal with poverty, to resolve serious social problems, to utilise the natural resources in opposition to the aggressiveness of US imperialism and domestic reaction. He stood at the side of Cuba and the peoples of Latin America. He returned to the position of president after the coup carried out by reactionary forces in April 2002, due to the intervention of the people and internationalist solidarity.

The KKE expressed its solidarity and support at every difficult moment for the people of Venezuela and continues to do so today against every attempt to trample on the people’s will."

http://inter.kke.gr/News/news2013/2013-03-06-chavez/

[Starry Messenger]

15. Hugo Chávez 1954-2013 ~CPUSA

http://cpusa.org/hugo-chavez-1954-2013/

"The Communist Party USA expresses deep sorrow at the passing of one of the greatest political leaders of our time, Comrade Hugo Chavez, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. We extend our condolences and solidarity to President Chavez' family, to his comrades and colleagues, and to the people of Venezuela on this sad occasion.

In 1998, Hugo Chavez Frias was elected president of Venezuela, which was one of the wealthiest but worst ruled countries in the Western Hemisphere. In his 14 years in power, we applauded the way in which he stood up to Venezuela's own oligarchs as well as to the U.S. administration as he reshaped the Venezuelan state's relationship to its own citizens, especially the poorest ones, and to the outside world.

In 2002, we reacted with indignation to the cowardly coup attempt and especially to the involvement and participation of the U.S. administration of that time in it. When President Chavez and the Venezuelan people emerged victorious from that reactionary challenge, we celebrated with you.

In spite of the calumnies in the corporate controlled press and media, we were delighted with the progress that Venezuela made, under Chavez' wise and firm leadership, in eliminating poverty and illiteracy, in providing for the health care and housing needs of the Venezuelan people, and in rechanneling the country's oil wealth away from corporate greed and toward meeting the needs of the people.

We were no less enthusiastic about President Chavez's role in international affairs. His work in creating ALBA) (the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples' of our America), PETROCARIBE and CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), as well as his government's activities to develop MERCOSUR and UNASUR, have had a revolutionary impact in correcting the imbalance of power between the Latin American and Caribbean countries on the one hand, and the United States, Canada and Europe on the other. And there is a potential for expanding that "Bolivarian" dynamic: On March 1, Venezuela and its allies signed twenty seven agreements with African countries, meeting at the Africa-South America Summit, aimed at ending the centuries old looting of African resources by the colonial powers and their successors. Chavez' letter of encouragement to the ASA Summit was possibly his last statement to struggling humanity to which he gave so much.

The blow of losing Chavez is a hard one, for us as for you, but the Bolivarian revolution he started moves on. We pledge our solidarity to the Venezuelan people to make sure it triumphs.

Hugo Chávez presente!"

[socialist_n_TN]

16. From Worker's Power on Hugo Chavez...

http://www.workerspower.net/hugo-chavez-frias-1954-2013

[TBF]

17. I think this is very important -

the realization that while the higher gas prices resulted in extra money to throw around, there was not an actual revolution with means of production turned over to the people.

Interestingly when you talk to capitalists in this country it is also the first thing they will say - he raised the price of gas. They really don't care what form of government Venezuela has as long as it will work with them and give them cheap access. Always the eye is on the bottom line ...

[socialist_n_TN]

18. Yeah, that's one gripe that ....

us left commies had with Hugo all along. Not even so much that he didn't go far enough, but that he didn't seem to WANT to go any farther than he did. There was a lot to like about the man, but I think he missed some opportunities. He was sort of like Obama in that way, except he actually WAS on the left, albeit left reformist/populist.

And yep, as the article pointed out, there are those rare left populist governments that the capitalists will put up with as long as they (the capitalists) have access.

As I said in my earlier post though, I certainly do hope that the Venezuelan people hold on to what they gained under Chavez and hopefully extend it. Hugo's brother said that the party considered itself revolutionary, but that they just didn't have to take up arms to gain power. He also said that they would if they had to. I have a feeling that that might be on the horizon if they DO want to keep their gains.