Many Venezuelans Keep Faith in President (AP)

[Chris Brady <cdbrady@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In perusing the article below, one notes: ?Under Chavez, Venezuela has
lurched from crisis to crisis and could soon see more upheaval as the
opposition presses for a recall? Venezuela plunges deeper into misery
under his administration.?  For me, the image that came to mind is of a
wealthy doyenne mercilessly scolding the busboy for spilling coffee on
the carpet ?without taking any regard of her husband whacking away at
the lad?s ankles with his gold-handled, ebony walking stick.  How much
of a role the capitalists have played in wrecking the Venezuelan economy
should be obvious to any who delved below the surface of the failed
conservative coup and the blatantly irresponsible capitalist owners?
boycott/strike.


Many Venezuelans Keep Faith in President

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York Times, August 23, 2003
 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Venezuela-Chavez.html

 CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- A huge photo of a beaming President Hugo
Chavez decorated an army truck as Venezuelan army soldiers unloaded
hundreds of bags of food for the hungry and needy.

For $6, citizens walked away with powdered milk, beans, sugar, cornmeal
and rice at half the cost they?d find at private markets. It?s enough to
convince many that Chavez is the best president they?ve ever had despite
the worst recession in history.

?Chavez isn?t going anywhere because he helps the poor,? said Jesus del
Carmen Vivas, 45, struggling with a bulging food bag. ?When have we ever
had a president who did anything for us??

The army food market this week was part of a large encampment of
government social services on a Caracas boulevard where Chavez plans to
celebrate the halfway point of his six-year term with thousands of
supporters.

With all the markings of a campaign inauguration, Chavez?s fiesta this
weekend follows an opposition march this week by hundreds of thousands
demanding a recall vote on his presidency. Opposition leaders turned in
more than 2 million signatures to request the referendum.

Undaunted, Chavez plows ahead with his ?Bolivarian Revolution,? a
variable mix of socialism and free markets that seeks to benefit the 80
percent of Venezuelans who live in poverty.

Under Chavez, Venezuela has lurched from crisis to crisis and could soon
see more upheaval as the opposition presses for a recall. Critics label
him a power-hungry populist whose social agenda comes second.

Opponents accuse Chavez of amassing authoritarian power, steering
Venezuela toward Cuban-style communism, sympathizing with leftist
Colombian rebels and seeking to destroy Venezuela?s private sector.

Yet Chavez has survived a 2002 coup and a two-month general strike this
year. His standing among voters -- about 30 percent by most polls -- is
enhanced by programs directed at the poor.

More than 900,000 illiterate adults are getting free reading and writing
classes using methods developed in Cuba. Cuban doctors work for free in
Caracas slums.

More than 300,000 people have received government loans to start small
businesses. A land reform program has given more than 13,000 citizens
land titles. Indigenous people have gained unprecedented constitutional
rights, including the right to own their land.

It was something more personal than a food bag that sold Jesus del
Carmen Vivas on Chavez.

At a rally two years ago, the single mother of five grabbed the
president?s arm and pleaded for justice for her 9-year-old daughter, who
had been raped.

Days later, the government sent lawyers to help her pursue the criminal.
The man is still at large. But the gesture gave Vivas unshakable faith
in the president.

?I just have to talk to Chavez again,? she said. ?I just haven?t had
time, being both a mother and a father for my children.?

Chavez?s personable style -- and a lack of an equally charismatic
challenger -- have persuaded millions that he is their only hope, even
as Venezuela plunges deeper into misery under his administration.

?Even though the government hasn?t done anything for me, I have faith. I
pray for Chavez,? said Betty Granas, 47, a coffee vendor.

Granas attends every Chavez rally she can and helps collect signatures
for a recall referendum against the anti-Chavez mayor of Caracas.

She?s done so despite having lost her home in floods, living briefly in
cardboard boxes and sending her only son to a shelter.

She pleaded for a free bag of food but the soldiers turned her away.

?My moment just hasn?t come,? she said, her eyes welling with tears.

With unemployment nearing 20 percent and crime rising, others are fed up
with waiting.

Maria Isabel Peny lugged away a food bag and stopped to chat with a
sidewalk drink vendor. Both vowed to vote against Chavez in a
referendum.

?We?re too old to be fooled,? said the vendor, Giovanni Ilargaza, 38.
?If that man,? he added, pointing to Chavez?s picture, ?could just
provide employment and security, no one would kick him out.?


{Oh, yes, things would certainly be so much more wonderful under a
conservative/reactionary government?  perfect conclusion to this View on
Venezuela.}