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about Chavez's peacemaking role in the recent U.S./Colombia bombing/incursion against Ecuador. He called Chavez "the great peacemaker." Those of us who were following those events had figured that out for ourselves. Lula da Silva confirmed it. But Lulu's praise of Chavez in that situation was not reported by our warmongering corporate news monopolies (as far as I know).
They did, however, cover corrupt "free trader" Alan Garcia's bombastic accusations that anti-poverty groups in Peru are being funded by Chavez/Venezuela to "undermine" Garcia's corrupt rule. He didn't explain how anti-poverty activism (for instance, providing medical care to the poor) scores point against his regime--and, of course, no corporate reporter asked him to explain it. Both Chavez/Venezuela and the Peruvian anti-poverty groups denied any Venezuelan funding of those efforts, but, frankly, I think it would be a beautiful thing is leftist money was being spread all over South America to counter the billions of dollars in military aid, USAID-NED funds and other monies, that the U.S./Bush has been infusing into the region to break up the alliances among leftist countries, destabilize and topple democratic governments and regain global corporate predator control of the Andes oil fields. It's about time! South America has long needed such leadership and funding.
Lula da Silva recognizes the benefit of Venezuela's economic activism, and publicly acknowledges it, in this China View news report. We South America watchers have been noting this trend for quite some time, by following alternative news sources such as www.venezuelanalysis.com, ZNet and others. You can't find it in our corporate press reports, which, if they mention Chavez's anti-poverty work at all, dismiss it as Chavez "buying the votes" of the poor. (What else should a good politician be doing--"buying the votes" of the rich?)
Venezuela, for instance, helped Argentina get out from under ruinous World Bank/IMF debt. Argentina--nearly destroyed by "free trade" and World Bank/IMF policy--is now well on its way to recovery. Venezuela thus helped to create a healthy trading partner for itself, Brazil and other countries. And many other visionary/practical projects of the Chavez government are bearing fruit all over the region--including this one in Brazil, the occasion for Lulu's comments.
What is our money doing in South America? It's supporting a fascist regime in Colombia where union leaders are chainsawed and their body parts thrown into mass graves, where children's throats are being slit if their parents are suspected of being leftists, where thousands of innocent people have been slaughtered--union organizers, small peasant farmers, political leftists, human rights workers, journalists, and, just last month, peaceful protesters targeted for assassination by rightwing death squads with very close ties to the Uribe (Bush's pals) government. And it's being used to support, fund, arm and organize fascist coup plotters in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina and other countries with good leftist governments, in order to topple those governments and replace them with fascist regimes like that in Colombia.
Some of this is known--for instance, through FOIA requests re USAID-NED budgets. But much of it is covert--hidden behind the Bush Junta's massive secrecy. We see only the "tips of the iceberg"--such as the violent rightwing military coup attempt in Venezuela, or, more recently, the Bush/CIA "suitcase full of money" caper out of Miami (aimed at "dividing and conquering" Venezuela-Argentina), or the "mystery computer" that Colombia allegedly recovered from the U.S./Colombia bomb site in Ecuador, which they claim contains "evidence" that the presidents of Venezuela and Ecuador are "terrorist-lovers." THAT gets covered lavishly by the Associated Pukes. But what is really going on--a vast, democratic, leftist, social justice movement, all over South America, countering Bush/U.S. domination, exploitation and interference--does not get covered, or, is portrayed as somehow the opposite of what it is (i.e., Chavez, the "dictator"--Chavez, who was really and truly elected, unlike Bush, and who has been running a scrupulously lawful, beneficial government for ten years--unlike Bush--and who has harmed no one, invaded no one, jailed no one unfairly--unlike Bush; Chavez, the "dictator," unlike Bush, the _____?).
Glad to see that China gets some accurate news. Too bad we are deprived of it, here in the "land of the free, home of the brave."
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