Leftwing activists flock to Venezuela to soak up the socialist 'revolution'

[JohnnyCougar]

Source: The Christian Science Monito

Caracas, VENEZUELA - The "hot corner" stands in the center of Caracas, in Plaza Bolívar. It's a makeshift booth papered with fliers that marks itself as the "launching point to the revolution." There militants rail against imperialism and greedy Yankees all day.

But this is not the excesses and exuberance of a few hometown activists. Across Caracas, appeals for social revolt are the city's constant background music. No matter what you do during the day – jog, ride the subway, simply cross the street – it's there. The murals and banners that drape the city – of revolutionaries "Che" Guevara and Simón Bolívar, of Fidel Castro, and now, of course, of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez – are the curtains onto the hottest stage along the "revolutionary circuit" in the world today. And leftists from everywhere are swarming in to see the show.

Caracas in the early 2000s has become what Petrograd was under Lenin in the early 1900s. It's what Havana was in the early days of the Cuban revolution. It's what Chiapas, Mexico, became for a time in the 1990s when "Subcomandante Marcos" launched an armed struggle to help the indigenous people there – a magnet for socialists and students, radicals and revolutionaries, leftists and a few Hollywood luminaries.

Until recently, they didn't have anywhere to go. Socialism was in retreat, "revolutions" scarce. Then along came Mr. Chávez and his gambit to forge a "21st century socialism." Suddenly, Caracas is the new leftwing petri dish. "This is the most interesting social experiment in the world taking place today," says Fred Fuentes, an Australian who moved to Caracas last July, as he sips from a mug with the government motto "Rumbo al Socialismo" (On the way to Socialism). "Venezuela is the key place to be observing.

Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0325/p20s01-woam.html

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I want to take a trip down there sometime next year. I kind of want to do my own sort of journalism on the social change there. Someone needs to make up for the lack of real journalism about Venezuela here. Plus, it would be interesting to see another country and some of the scenery there. And some of the Venezuelan baseball leagues!

[Radical Activist]

1. I'd be more interested in going to Bolivia.

But it sounds interesting.

[Blue_Tires]

3. why Bolivia?

just wondering

[JohnnyCougar]

5. Same kind of revolution there

Although it doesn't get as much press because Bolivia doesn't have as much oil so we have no need to demonize Morales.

[Radical Activist]

8. The new socialist President Evo Morales

The first indigenous President the country has had. He seems like an interesting character that's trying to do good things. I've only read a little about him and I'm waiting to see how he handles things.

One thing that helped him come to power was the US ambassador during the 2002 election claiming he was tied to Al-Qaeda. Everyone knew it a ridiculous accusation and the fact that he was opposed by the US made him go up in the polls. He lost that election but won the next.

[JohnnyCougar]

9. Seems like a perfect formula for reelection in Latin America

Oppose the US.

It's too bad it has to be this way. I look forward to the day when the US treats the countries down there like friends, and not slaves.

[Taverner]

2. Reminds me of Managua during the Ortega Administration

[JohnnyCougar]

4. I don't really know if that's comparable, though.

Venezuela's revolution is much more peaceful. I think I would have been scared to go to Nicaragua at that point. I'm not scared to go to Venezuela at all.

[Taverner]

13. Nicaragua was only dangerous because of us

But Managua was a popular destination for leftist students

[JohnnyCougar]

18. True

I still would have thought twice about going there, though.

[selador]

25. tips for surviving in nicaragua

carry a surfboard.

decline to discuss politics.

worked for me

[Vidar]

35. You hit that nail on the head.

[sharesunited]

6. Daniel Ortega is the current president of Nicaragua.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_ortega

[Taverner]

10. Yes I know

I meant the 80's pre-Chamorro days

[biggerfishsmallpond]

7. i can't wait to go to Cuba

I want to visit some organiponicos. They helped keep the people fed and the Revolution alive.


Now I also want to drink Havana Club rum and smoke cigars in Vinales.

[Judi Lynn]

12. Absolutely beautiful photos. Thank you! n/t

[Ordr]

11. Ew, socialism.

:puke:

[fascisthunter]

14. Democratic Socialism (nt)

[Ordr]

16. Bah...well...I guess it's better than National

[JohnnyCougar]

19. It's not even that strident a brand of socialism.

It's a healthy mix of business and redistribution of wealth. The public sector has grown faster than the private sector under Chavez, despite all the "threatening" nationalizations we hear about. The only difference is that now the corporations are actually being taxed and paying their taxes, and that money is being used to nourish and educate the poor.

[fascisthunter]

22. You Just Described the New Deal and What Made America a Great Nation

and now we see a great decline from that America, where the wealthy are as filthy rich as the robber barons before the New Deal, while the majority struggles to survive for peanuts in comparison. I want to see a balance.

[JohnnyCougar]

23. Me too.

It's funny how all the conservatives I've talked to think that the New Deal was a failure. Ummm...okay. You need both business and government to become a strong nation. We HAD this figured out, Europe is realizing that right now and South America is following suit. The only nation that is regressing is the United States. It's sad.

[eridani]

30. You mean the private sector has grown faster, no?

Redistribute some income, and thousands of old and new businesses are delighted to help people spend it. The New Deal worked that way too.

[JohnnyCougar]

38. Let's hear it for trickle-up economics!

Yeah, that's what I meant. The private sector has grown faster than the public sector.

[struggle4progress]

29. Hey! Now I know you can't read German!

[Judi Lynn]

17. Too many scholars around here! n/t

[ronnie624]

31. Alright, If you insist.

For civility's sake, we'll call them 'scholars'.

[stimbox]

15. kick for later... n/t

[Lasher]

20. Hey look, they didn't call them 'leftists'

I thought all people south of the Rio Grande who don't agree with the US Republican party had to be called, 'leftists.' Isn't that a rule? Maybe a law even.

Edit: Well I see they got around to it all the way down in the second paragraph. I'm used to seeing it in the headline.

[MisterP]

21. my Nicaraguan coworker already invited me to a class in Caracas:

its two textbooks are Capital and the New Jerusalem Bible

[selador]

24. how many failed experiments

will we see in the "socialist petri dish" before people realize it's a hapless system.

blech

[freedomnorth]

33. Law of historical inevitability

will make those experiments numerous, and perhaps someday they will succeed.

[selador]

36. the definition of insanity

repeating the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

[LanternWaste]

41. So 'practice' is insanity?

So 'practice' is insanity?

[selador]

42. yes

in this case.

how many "eggs" are we going to have to break.

it's a crap system. doesn't work.

[LanternWaste]

45. I'll defer to them for the time being.

Well, better, smarter and wiser men than us believe it does work, so for myself-- I'll defer to them for the time being.

Never met a political/economic system that was completely fair or completely unfair.





"Practice is crap." What a hoot.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

44. One could say the same

about Reaganite/Thatcherite/Chicago-school economics, which has sown widening income gaps, deteriorated public services, and financial scandals and meltdowns wherever it has gone.

[JohnnyCougar]

40. They're already succeeding in Northern Europe.

[selador]

43. that's hardly

the kind of socialism we are referring to.

having a strong social safety net, while still maintaining mostly private control of industry is hardly socialism in the che, chavez, etc. sense.

[JohnnyCougar]

49. Are you sure?

That's really all Chavez is doing. The private sector of the economy has grown faster than the public one under Chavez. What do you have to say about that?

[JohnnyCougar]

39. Democratic socialism is working great in Europe

Take a look at the standard of living in the Scandinavian countries.

The private sector has grown faster than the public sector under Chavez. All he has done is tax business to redistribute wealth to the country's starving poor. What a concept!

[bean fidhleir]

47. *Real* socialism succeeds all the time.

Check out co-ops, credit unions, mutual insurance companies, the open-source movement...all socialism in action. Check out, too, the history of socialist city governments in the US: honest and effective in a time of great corruption. Also, while you're at it, look at Huey Long's record as governor of Louisiana. He refused to identify as a socialist because of the demonization he'd have suffered, but he did an astonishing amount for the poor during his short time in that office. He's the only southern politician of that time for whom even Black folks named their sons. He did such a good job that the wealthy elites hate him even today!

[PetraPooh]

26. I'm confused by the "lack of real journalism" comment. Are you suggesting

that the journalism here is any less propagandized? Or are you just saying you hope to be unbiased? That comment alone leads me to believe you will struggle with being unbiased.

[JohnnyCougar]

27. The US media's coverage of Latin America is horrendously biased.

I want to see things for myself and come to my own conclusions. And yes, I hope to be unbiased.

[PetraPooh]

28. OIC, I thought it was a slam against the Venezuelan's. My Bad. You Go!

[KillCapitalism]

32. Sounds like my kind of party!

Seriously, I'd go there if I could and join in.

I hear the weather is VERY nice in Caracas.

[freedomnorth]

34. Yes its a party

:toast:

[Mudoria]

37. And a bad one at that

:puke:

[fascisthunter]

46. Sorry But You are Mischaracterizing this Thread

we are not talking about communism. I'd appreciate it if you and others on here would stop making shit up to demean what is actually going on in Venezuala. Stop baiting posters if you want respect in return.

BTW - my family was wiped out by communism so I find your characterization as being extremely ignorant and offensive.

[Joanne98]

48. I would love to go there. I bet it's exciting.