Lately, I’ve noticed a lot of Canadian media coverage favouring Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. While the self-proclaimed leader of the “Bolivarian Revolution” may be experiencing an increase in popularity, don’t be fooled by his rhetoric.
I am a University of Toronto student currently working in Santiago, Chile, with Amnesty International. Four years ago, however, I spent a year in Caracas, Venezuela, as a Rotary exchange student, and witnessed the April 11, 2002 attempted coup staged by union leaders, police, and deomstrators against the Chavez regime. After returning to Venezuela for two weeks this past summer, I have seen firsthand the devastating effect that the Chavez government has had on Venezuelan society.
After three years of Chavez’s rule, there has only been an increase in poverty in Caracas. The streets feel more dangerous, and one can see new barrios (slums) stretching out in all directions. Oppression is everywhere; for example, when you make a purchase in Venezuela today, whether it be a Coke, a sweater, or a car, you have to show your ID or passport. If you buy a book that criticizes Chavez in any way, your name, address, and the nature of your purchase is recorded.
Returning to my host family’s house in an eastern Caracas suburb one night, we were pulled over by the Venezuelan military for no apparent reason. We noticed that we were waiting in a line of BMWs and assumed that a similar car had been stolen. It turned out though that the military was simply harassing owners of European cars, searching out members of the “evil oligarchy” seen to be corrupting the country.
My former host-father has also fallen victim to intimidation. He was fired from his job for simply signing a petition against Chavez. He worked for PDVSA (the state-owned petroleum company) for 32 years, and to this day has not received a single penny of his pension.
While many in liberal Toronto may be quick to praise Chavez’s work for the poor, I urge you not to be naïve. I too may have lent Chavez my support if I had not seen firsthand what is actually going on in Venezuela. Yes, Chavez may have been democratically elected (though that is questionable in itself), but that does not mean that Venezuela is currently a democracy. The government’s oppressive practices are the reality that ordinary Venezuelans now face every day, while we in the prosperous North cheer Chavez on in the name of the poor.
We lucky ones in rich, free countries must not apply a double standard when dealing with Venezuela. We are free to prosper and succeed, and so should Venezuelans be.
A real democracy, not simply the electoral procedures of one, needs to be fought for-one that allows for freedom of thought, the freedom to express dissent, and the freedom to prosper. These freedoms are being abolished day after day in Venezuela. We need to fight for Venezuelan democracy since the Venezuelans are no longer able to do so for themselves.
