Report Backs from Venezuela

Caracas, January 31, 2006 We arrived at the Poliedro de Caracas (about the size of the Broome County arena) at around 4 pm. On the way in I took a picture of Edna, a facially pierced young Mexican immigrant union member of Unite/Here, standing next to a beautiful, well dressed Venezuelan soldier. When we had to pass through security I forgot I had my pocket knife with me so when they asked if we had anything of that nature I gave it to them. <!--break--> <img class="dada-image-center" src="http://rochester.indymedia.org/sites/default/files/migrate_dada/5376_wsf2chavez.jpg"><br> Caracas, January 31, 2006 We arrived at the Poliedro de Caracas (about the size of the Broome County arena) at around 4 pm. On the way in I took a picture of Edna, a facially pierced young Mexican immigrant union member of Unite/Here, standing next to a beautiful, well dressed Venezuelan soldier. When we had to pass through security I forgot I had my pocket knife with me so when they asked if we had anything of that nature I gave it to them. They told me they wouldn’t be able to give it back after security collected the banned items, but that I could take my seat, and then come back and get it and hide it outside, which I did with the help of another Venezuelan soldier. We traded our passports in for state of the art translation equipment and took our seats, wearing our Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign t-shirts. Behind us a woman from PDVSA, the Venezuelan State Oil Company (CITGO in the US) thanked us for coming to Venezuela and told us that we were very brave to tell the truth about what the US government is doing to the poor and underprivileged in the US. We thanked her and said that the Venezuelans were the brave ones. As we watched the crowd waiting for Chavez, just radiating joy, drumming on skin drums and dancing in their red shirts, I suddenly was conscious of the profound truth of our words to her. The Bolivarian movement represents the spirit of the Global South - the fragile force that stands in the way of the destruction of the world by the forces greed and imperialism led by the U.S. government. Instead of charging $1000 a plate to see him as Bush might, Chavez has his soldiers pass around bottles of water and pear juice and ham sandwiches. We are told by the Venezuelans that his speeches are long and he doesn’t want us to get tired or thirsty and leave before he finishes. Free food and water provided by volunteers are a consistent component of most of the events we have been to this week. Because the last bus leaves at 10 pm we are told there are also plenty of government buses waiting outside in case his speech finishes late. From what I have seen in the past week, the Venezuelan government tends to be very maternal and concerned about the details of people’s welfare. I have been told to look with a critical eye for signs of fascism in this government but instead, I see a compassionate, nonjudgmental people who are very sincere in their effort to make a difference. Chavez starts his speech by saying “Welcome people of the Earth, you are the substance and spirit of the Earth. Never forget that.” You can tell that Chavez has a background as a teacher because his speech begins with a long and complex history lesson about the effects of imperialism on South America in the 20th century. For me as a citizen of the United States, the most moving part of his speech is when he tells the audience to remember that the people of the United States are not their government and that they should not forget that the poor are the same everywhere. He goes on to say “I want you to imagine something with me, I want you to imagine that the US government has a new administration that becomes concerned about the problems of the world. I want you to imagine that government decides to spend the 440 billion dollars it is currently spending on its military on education, on healthcare, on food assistance. How far could that go? Let us not blame the people of the US for the acts of Bush. Let us instead try to help them to get the kind of compassionate government that they deserve. Let us help them to create that reality.” On the way out I retrieve my pocket knife, which is exactly where I left it. More at Binghamtonimc.org

<p>Caracas, January 31, 2006</p> <p>We arrived at the Poliedro de Caracas (about the size of the Broome County arena) at around 4 pm. On the way in I took a picture of Edna, a facially pierced young Mexican immigrant union member of Unite/Here, standing next to a beautiful, well dressed Venezuelan soldier. When we had to pass through security I forgot I had my pocket knife with me so when they asked if we had anything of that nature I gave it to them.</p> <!--break--><p><img class="dada-image-center" src="http://rochester.indymedia.org/sites/default/files/migrate_dada/5376_wsf2chavez.jpg" /><br /><br /> Caracas, January 31, 2006</p> <p>We arrived at the Poliedro de Caracas (about the size of the Broome County arena) at around 4 pm. On the way in I took a picture of Edna, a facially pierced young Mexican immigrant union member of Unite/Here, standing next to a beautiful, well dressed Venezuelan soldier. When we had to pass through security I forgot I had my pocket knife with me so when they asked if we had anything of that nature I gave it to them. They told me they wouldn’t be able to give it back after security collected the banned items, but that I could take my seat, and then come back and get it and hide it outside, which I did with the help of another Venezuelan soldier. We traded our passports in for state of the art translation equipment and took our seats, wearing our Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign t-shirts.</p> <p>Behind us a woman from PDVSA, the Venezuelan State Oil Company (CITGO in the US) thanked us for coming to Venezuela and told us that we were very brave to tell the truth about what the US government is doing to the poor and underprivileged in the US. We thanked her and said that the Venezuelans were the brave ones. As we watched the crowd waiting for Chavez, just radiating joy, drumming on skin drums and dancing in their red shirts, I suddenly was conscious of the profound truth of our words to her. The Bolivarian movement represents the spirit of the Global South - the fragile force that stands in the way of the destruction of the world by the forces greed and imperialism led by the U.S. government.</p> <p>Instead of charging $1000 a plate to see him as Bush might, Chavez has his soldiers pass around bottles of water and pear juice and ham sandwiches. We are told by the Venezuelans that his speeches are long and he doesn’t want us to get tired or thirsty and leave before he finishes. Free food and water provided by volunteers are a consistent component of most of the events we have been to this week. Because the last bus leaves at 10 pm we are told there are also plenty of government buses waiting outside in case his speech finishes late. From what I have seen in the past week, the Venezuelan government tends to be very maternal and concerned about the details of people’s welfare. I have been told to look with a critical eye for signs of fascism in this government but instead, I see a compassionate, nonjudgmental people who are very sincere in their effort to make a difference.</p> <p>Chavez starts his speech by saying “Welcome people of the Earth, you are the substance and spirit of the Earth. Never forget that.” You can tell that Chavez has a background as a teacher because his speech begins with a long and complex history lesson about the effects of imperialism on South America in the 20th century. For me as a citizen of the United States, the most moving part of his speech is when he tells the audience to remember that the people of the United States are not their government and that they should not forget that the poor are the same everywhere. He goes on to say “I want you to imagine something with me, I want you to imagine that the US government has a new administration that becomes concerned about the problems of the world. I want you to imagine that government decides to spend the 440 billion dollars it is currently spending on its military on education, on healthcare, on food assistance. How far could that go? Let us not blame the people of the US for the acts of Bush. Let us instead try to help them to get the kind of compassionate government that they deserve. Let us help them to create that reality.”</p> <p>On the way out I retrieve my pocket knife, which is exactly where I left it. </p> <p>More at Binghamtonimc.org</p>