Chavez's Death, Like His Life, Shows The World's Divisions

[polly7]

By Mark Weisbrot

Source: Aljazeera

Thursday, March 21, 2013

The unprecedented worldwide response to the death of President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and especially in the Western Hemisphere, has brought into stark relief the "multi-polar" world that Chavez fought for. Fifty-five countries were represented at his funeral on March 8, 33 (including all of Latin America) by heads of state. Fourteen Latin American countries decreed official days of mourning - including the right-wing government of Chile. In contrast to the emotional outpourings, and the honour and respect that came from Latin American heads of state, the White House put out a cold and unfriendly statement that - to the horror of many Latin Americans - didn't even offer condolences.

Before Chavez, democratically elected leftist presidents tended to end up like Salvador Allende of Chile - overthrown in a CIA-backed coup in 1973. Much of the Latin American left, including Chavez himself, was still sceptical of the electoral route to social change more than 20 years later, since the local elites, backed by Washington, had an extra-legal veto when they needed it.

Chavez was able to play a vital role in the "second independence" of South America because he was different from other heads of state in a number of important ways. I noticed this when I met him for the first time in April 2003. He seemed to treat everyone the same - from the people who served him lunch at the presidential palace to visitors whom he respected and admired. He talked a lot, but he was also a good listener.

On the other hand, his tenure also shows the enormous power of the media in shaping public opinion. Most governments are quite familiar with his accomplishments, but because the Latin American and US media reported almost exclusively negative news on Venezuela for 14 years - sometimes grossly exaggerated as well - most people in the Western Hemisphere never learned even the basic facts about Venezuela or what Chavez was doing.

Full Article: http://www.zcommunications.org/chavezs-death-like-his-life-shows-the-worlds-divisions-by-mark-weisbrot

[niyad]

1. thank you

[polly7]

2. Yvw, niyad. nt.

[sabrina 1]

3. And this is why the US is the most despised countries in the world today. I guess

it will take a while for this country to grow up as it has others throughout history. But our bloody, brutal history in South America which I suppose our government thought no one knew or cared about, will long be remembered even if to the US coups and murder of people around the world means nothing.

I don't totally agree that the Western nations in general are uneducated about Chavez or have fallen for the multi-million dollar propaganda shamefully published in our own media. Many people, not governments necessarily, but people in Western nations supported him and his efforts to free Latin America from the oppression of the Global Cartels and their US backers, the dictators we helped install.

In the US eg, I could not get a cop of the Documentary, 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' in any of the video stores I went to. While it was not outright banned, as far as I know, we certainly never saw it on TV, as Europeans did and as I said, trying to buy a copy in the US was like pulling teeth.

But in Europe the documentary won awards, was widely seen according to my friends in Europe and helped educate people as to what really happened in that attempted coup in 2002. Most Americans have no clue that their own government is acting like third world dictators in countries like Venezuela, helping to overthrow and/or kill elected leaders.

And since the US has lost so much credibility around the world, our media and our opinion of other leaders doesn't hold that much weight anymore.

Eg, when our State Department attempted to criticize China for human rights abuses, the Chinese shot back with a long list of our own including Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, invasions of other countries, our own prison system, etc. etc.

Maybe we should stop trying to rule the world, they want us ruling them. As the Egyptian revolutionaries said when asked what they would like to replace their dictatorship with, Democracy, the response was 'Not US Style Democracy as in Iraq' Same response came from Libyans and Tunisians.

We have given Democracy a bad name when we could have been a shining light around the world.

[Bacchus4.0]

5. you can watch it on youtube for free, also X-ray of a lie

which points out the falsehoods of the propaganda documentary.

[sabrina 1]

7. I've seen it many times since then once on our Public Access station thanks to someone

who decided to use that public space for something worthwhile.

Thanks for the suggestion re the other movie. If it's rightwing propaganda, I do not waste my time on such garbage. But I will check it out. I am very familiar with the facts of the Bush administration backed coup so it won't be difficult to figure out the usual attempts to try to distort the facts.

[Bacchus4.0]

8. if you want to remain ignorant thats your choice n/t

s

[sabrina 1]

9. To 'remain' ignorant, one has to be ignorant to begin with.

I don't poison my mind with Right Wing propaganda so if your suggestion is NOT Right Wing propaganda, then I will be happy to view it. But in my very educated when it comes to this subject opinion, I have yet to see any anti-Chavez material that didn't come from the wacko Right, both here and there.

If you wish to be educated by the far right, that is your choice.

[Catherina]

11. X-Ray of a Lie is a rightwing propaganda film

X-Ray of a Lie is a rightwing propaganda film they came up with to prove that "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" was "one lie after another".

Here's all you need to know about it: http://www.google.com/search?q=X-ray+of+a+lie#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=%22X-ray+of+a+lie%22+site:democraticunderground.com

[Judi Lynn]

10. Can vouch for your reference to the total unavailability of that film in the U.S.

I contacted every video place in my city trying to find any way to either buy or rent "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" before I started looking for it on the internet. It was nowhere to be found stateside, as far as I could tell.

Finally I located a copy and bought it from an organization in the U.K., and was damned glad to get it.

Here's ONE reason why we didn't see more of this film here, where U.S. audiences could see it for themselves:

Published on Saturday, November 22, 2003 by the Guardian/UK
Chavez Film Puts Staff at Risk, Says Amnesty
Recriminations after documentary on Venezuelan coup attempt is dropped from a Vancouver festival

by Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles

An award-winning documentary about the coup last year that briefly ousted the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, has become the subject of a bitter dispute. Last week, it was withdrawn from an Amnesty International (AI) film festival because Amnesty staff in Caracas said they feared for their safety if it were shown.

The film, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, was made by two Irish film makers, Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain. They were preparing a documentary about Mr Chavez, with his cooperation, before the coup and were inside the presidential palace in April 2002 when the events unfolded.
The film has since been shown on television by the BBC, by RTE in Ireland, and elsewhere in Europe. This week it won two prizes at the Grierson documentary awards in Britain.

Mr Chavez was briefly removed from office by a military coup but returned to power after 48 hours. The political situation was then, and remains, highly polarized. The president as portrayed by his opponents is a dangerous, anti-US communist, while Chavez supporters see the opposition as the privileged seeking to preserve their powers from the underprivileged.

The film portrays Mr Chavez in a sympathetic light. It was shown on the public television channel in Venezuela earlier this year. The private television channels are all opposed to Mr Chavez.
Last week, the film was due to be shown at the AI film festival in Vancouver. The organizing committee came under pressure from Chavez opponents in Venezuela and eventually decided not to show it.

John Tackaberry of AI said yesterday that the decision had been taken only after Amnesty staff in Venezuela had said that, if it were shown, it would present "some degree of threat to their physical safety".

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1122-10.htm

[sabrina 1]

12. Wow, thank you, I thought it was just me. I had been told by a friend from Ireland to

watch it as it had won several awards and was an interesting take on the coup attempt of Chavez. So I went to our local video shop and our rep there said they didn't have it but she would try to get it for us. This often happened so I thought nothing of it. But she called us and said that for some reason she was unable to locate the video and didn't know why. I then called several friends in different places and asked them to see if they could find it. No one was able to find it.

Then when flipping through channels one night I was about to skip over our Public Access station but stopped when I saw what looked like an actual film. Long story short, someone had used the local access station to get it on the air and I finally had a chance to see it.

Btw this is a very good way to get exposure for films and docs that our government would prefer we did not see, use your Public Access station and then let people know when you are posting something of interest.

The very fact that I could not get this award-winning film in this country angered me beyond belief, and probably influenced my opinion of Chavez, very positively, rather than what they intended to accomplish. Censorship means only one thing, a government has something to hide.

Thank you so much for confirming what I experienced.

[Demeter]

4. The US has never heard of Noblese Oblige

or manners, for that matter...but one doesn't really need it, not when one is an Empire.

Although it seems the Brits had more class when they were doing it.

[idwiyo]

6. K&R Chávez no ha muerto, el vive en la revolución! ¡Hasta la victoria siempre!

[Kurovski]

13. K&R. (nt)