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Masters of the Southern Universe

Ever since 2002, when I watched an old US CIA trick being played on the people of Venezuela, I've followed the ongoing war of words between Hugo Chavez on the one hand and George Bush and numerous members of his Administration on the other.

In 2002, as we might remember, Chavez was overthrown in a coup that was wished for, initiated by and presumably financed by the Bush Administration through its foreign swat team, the CIA, and any number of governmental and right-wing non-governmental organizations (NGO's). To the Administration's dismay, however, the coup only lasted a few days, during which the official US position was basically good riddance.

This did little to endear Mr. Chavez to our leaders and only brought back bad memories of another South American nation, Chile, and another Socialist leader, Salvador Allende.

In both instances, those leaders had the affrontery to attack the foreign corporations that were exploiting the resources of the land while offering little to the people whose land and resources it was. Epidemic poverty continued while islands of obscene wealth and exploitation of the indigent population were the visual byproducts of the corporatocracy that really control most of the nations in Central and South America.

In 1972, the CIA and corporations like ITT and Anaconda Copper were instrumental in fomenting civic unrest, and in the coup that eventually resulted, President Allende was assassinated. This led to a nearly 30 year reign of brutal right-wing dictator--but US corporation-friendly-- Augusto Pinochet.

Since, 2002, I've expected the same thing to happen to Chavez--a man who has brought real change to the poor of Venezuela for the first time-- just because of the constant public demonization by an Administration that breathes, eats and shits corporate greed.

Four years later, however, Chavez is still alive and has become a hero to millions in South America, where country after country are turning left because of his example. As a result, the man has become a real threat to world corporatism.

This week Chavez and the latest Chavez-like leader in South America, Evo Morales of Bolivia, strode into Europe with their brand of South American machismo and are fucking freaking out the EU leaders, who all live by the Western corporate code. In their world--as in ours--there is no room for any other system but free-market capitalism.

Democracy, as we have found out all too well in the last 6 years, has little to do with what our world is really about. Capitalism is the true game and we should give some degree of gratitude to the Bushies and their larcenous Republican foot soldiers for showing us the real underbelly of American politics; corporate money, unbridled greed and lawlessness.

In their attempts to shake-up the corporations (in the guise of political governments) that have run roughshod though third-world nation after third-world nation since the end of colonialism, I commend their bold efforts.

In their desire to pioneer real change in a part of the world that has known little but greedy exploitation by outsiders, I wish them success.

In their need to stay alive, I can only hope that they stay out of the line of fire from those entities they really threaten.

posted by mauiloa @ 4:07 PM