Hugo Chavez Appreciation Thread (Chavez Fans Post Here!)

[durutti]

There are Chavez lovers and Chavez haters on DU. I'm glad there are vastly more of the former than the latter.

Here's to the Bolivarian Revolution!



(All Chavez fans most post here at least once!)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Viva Hugo! Hope he can keep the colonialists at bay.

[Mnemosyne]

2. Go Chavez!! Stay safe. n/t

[lonestarnot]

3. Mi Amigo y mi hermano. n/t

[AP]

4. Has anyone read his book?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1920888004/ref=wl_it_dp/102-1693845-7701715?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=I2IGBVQ2AKPN3Z&v=glance&colid=2YRWDUP4MTFCM

[not systems]

6. Thanks for the pointer. n/t

[DBoon]

5. Dude you rule!

Keep at it. You hsve more fans in the US than you know!

[Ms. Clio]

7. Viva Chavez! Viva Venezuela!

[The Magistrate]

8. Col. Chavez, Mr. Durutti, Is An Excellent Fellow

A Radical Liberal of the old nineteenth century school, which is just what great portions of the world today desperately need in their political and economic development.

[Minstrel Boy]

14. Why "Col.", and not "President"?

Calling Chavez "Colonel" evokes the "Strong Man" slander.

After having won two elections, a referendum, and reversed a coup, I think he deserves to be called "President." Certainly more than Bush. I don't think there's a leader in the world with a more legitimate mandate than Chavez.

You, of all people, ought to take greater care with honorifics.

[The Magistrate]

20. It Has A Good Sound, Sir

The political movement he reminds me of originated in military circles in the early ninetenth century, where officers saw reform of feudal ways as necessary for the augmentation of national power. It seems adviseable to call some attention to the old tradition of progressivity in armed forces, since it is customary on the left to view them as wholly reactionary instruments, which they have not always been, and need not always be....

[Dirk39]

9. The Leader of the Axis of Good...

"Everyday I become more convinced, there is no doubt in my mind, and as many intellectuals have said, that it is necessary to transcend capitalism. But capitalism can’t be transcended from within capitalism itself, but through socialism, true socialism, with equality and justice. But I’m also convinced that it is possible to do it under democracy, but not in the type of democracy being imposed from Washington..."

Hugo Chavez, WSF, 2004

[rman]

10. Appreciated

-

[Minstrel Boy]

11. Chavez strikes a blow against the empire

Something I posted to my blog last month. Lyrics are by David Rovics.

President Chavez's closing speech at the 2005 World Social Forum in Porto Alegre reminded me that so long as there are fascists, there will be anti-fascists. And the lyrics of folksinger Rovics continue to give me the hard-headed, honest hope that even when they win, their victories are neither eternal nor absolute, and will always meet resistance. We're way passed utopias here; we can't exactly kid ourselves anymore about building the New Jerusalem. But we may yet be able to light some more candles against the darkness.

And we do have our victories. The enduring fact of Hugo Chavez, for one. We need to remember that the bad guys don't always win. And nowhere do we find more examples of this than in Venezuela.

So a little mental hygiene today, on the side of the righteous angels who know what deserves rebellion.

Chavez addresses the World Social Forum


"When imperialism feels weak, it resorts to brute force.... They won't allow journalists to take pictures of the bodies of the dead soldiers, many of them Latinos, coming from Iraq. Those are signs of Goliath's weaknesses."

And when the time had come
And the Reich was at your door
When the fascist state was here
And they brought home the war...

April 22, 2002: the announcement Chavez has "resigned"


"If we don't make that better world possible, if we fail, and through the rifles of the U.S. Marines, and through Mr. Bush's murderous bombs, if there is no coincidence and organization necessary in the south to resist the offensive of neo-imperialism, and the Bush doctrine is imposed upon the world, the world will be destroyed."

When the Gestapo was in the city
And they had really taken power
When there was nothing left to do
Here in the final hour...

A soldier demonstrates solidarity during the coup


"One day the decay inside U.S. imperialism will end up toppling it, and the great people of Martin Luther King will be set free. The great people of the United States are our brothers, my salute to them.... We must start talking again about equality. The U.S. government talks about freedom and liberty, but never about equality. They are not interested in equality. This is a distorted concept of liberty. The U.S. people, with whom we share dreams and ideals, must free themselves… A country of heroes, dreamers, and fighters, the people of Martin Luther King, and Cesar Chavez."

Did you find a place to run to
And hope to live a few more years
When the slaughter was around you
Did you cover up your ears...

Protesters gather outside the presidential palace


"Everyday I become more convinced, there is no doubt in my mind, and as many intellectuals have said, that it is necessary to transcend capitalism. But capitalism can’t be transcended from with capitalism itself, but through socialism, true socialism, with equality and justice. But I’m also convinced that it is possible to do it under democracy, but not in the type of democracy being imposed from Washington. We have to re-invent socialism. It can’t be the kind of socialism that we saw in the Soviet Union, but it will emerge as we develop new systems that are built on cooperation, not competition."

Or did you set your sights...

The putchistas have fled the palace


"Privatization is a neoliberal and imperialist plan. Health can’t be privatized because it is a fundamental human right, nor can education, water, electricity and other public services. They can’t be surrendered to private capital that denies the people from their rights."

Take your aim and fire:

Chavez greeted, after the coup is overturned


Did you strike a blow against the empire?

[rhite5]

12. Count me in! n/t

[Mika]

13. Viva Venezuela! Viva Cuba! Viva the axis of good!

[Straight Shooter]

15. The right man in the right place at the right time.

Yes, I definitely appreciate Chavez, who is standing up against the Wrong man. He will likely change the history of the world in a very positive way. I wish him the best, and may Heaven protect him.

[Darranar]

16. Chávez is an excellent leader. May others follow his example. n/t

[Lydia Leftcoast]

17. Anyone who can get millions of people into the streets demanding

his reinstatement after a coup must have something going for him.

Also, his opponents are so clearly the Venezuelan equivalent of country club Republicans that I have no sympathy for them.

Ever since Reagan's immoral interventions in Central America in the 1980s, I refuse to take the government's word for who is an "enemy" and who is a "friend."

[sadiesworld]

18. To The Bolivarian Revolution!

:toast:

[JanMichael]

19. I'm certainly a fan.

He's got more of a "mandate" there that Bush does here.

[RBHam]

21. Hugo Chavez - standing up to the Bush Crime Syndicate...

Very brave man.

[Selatius]

22. I express solidarity with fellow socialists!

I wish Hugo Chavez all the best. It's a shame we don't have choices like him at the ballot box.

[Pastiche423]

23. Viva Chavez!

I greatly admire and respect what Chavez has done and is doing for his country and the world.......... and especially how he is proactively responding to whistle ass and company.

Permanezca seguro, Chavez.

[Blue to the bone]

24. I'm a fan, but there are some things about him that I wish he'd change...

First, let me say I live here in Venezuela and listen to almost all of his speeches. I don't care for some of the language he uses and I definitely don't care for his close ties to Castro.

On average though, he's doing a fine job and I support him.