Chávez vs neoliberalism

DIE HARD III

Herman Tiu Laurel

3/11/2013

Daily Tribune

"Comandante Eternal," he is now called by some — to be preserved and placed in full view of his nation, his continent, and the whole world in the same manner as Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh, embalmed and exalted as a paradigm of leadership and heroism. If Latin America still had the body of Simon Bolivar who preceded Hugo Chávez by almost 240 years, the two would be placed side by side in the pantheon of the continent's heroes against colonialism and imperialism — first, against Spain and, today, against the government of the United States of America. But Chávez will be known for something more — the struggle against neoliberalism (the philosophy of economic greed that epitomizes Western imperialism today) and the pursuit of social justice and development under a "Socialism of the 21st Century."

And while there is another heroic military leader cum social reformer looked up to by some of our idealist young Filipino officers, both in the active service and elsewhere, in the person of Col. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a Turkish independence revolutionary statesman credited for modernizing and westernizing Turkey, the similarity ends there. Atatürk's militarist approach to social and political leadership, which continues to be an issue in modern Turkey today, as well as the shift in orientation that his state-led economic push eventually took by turning over state assets to capitalists, are without a doubt important distinctions.

It is most important to remember that Col. Hugo Chávez's ascent to leadership came as a logical development of the historical continuity of Latin America's aspiration for genuine independence; hence, the Bolivarian ideal from Simon Bolivar (just as idealist Filipinos continue to revere Rizal, Bonifacio and the Katipunan on their lips), simultaneous with the continuity of the progressive nationalist and socialist ideals that Chávez first encountered when he entered the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences in Caracas under a curriculum known as the Andres Bello Plan instituted by a group of progressive, nationalistic military officers.
Likewise, The Diary of Che Guevara, the Cuban revolution, and his constant contact with the Venezuelan progressive movements of the Left have all made a profound impact on the mind and vision of Col. Hugo Chávez.

Those ideals were mobilized into action when in 1989 the Venezuelan government accepted an International Monetary Fund proposal for "structural adjustments," embodied by what then evolved as the "Washington Consensus," in exchange for a $4.5-billion loan. That, of course, spelled the liberalization, deregulation, and privatization of the Venezuelan economy that involved increasing taxation, raising interest rates, plunging the domestic exchange rate, and the transfer of state assets to private interests. The implementation of these neoliberal "reforms" in turn caused fuel prices and other public utilities such as water to skyrocket, resulting in massive popular protests that government crushed with violent repression, causing deaths estimated between 3,000 and 10,000, leading to a declaration of a state of emergency.

Chávez, already organizing the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement since the early 1980s, sprung into action in 1992, when he led the MBR in a coup attempt against the neoliberal government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez, for which he was imprisoned.
In the aftermath of the failed coup, Chávez spoke on nationwide broadcast media calling on his soldiers to yield and famously accept defeat "por hora" (for now). For that, Chávez's dedication, courage and determination won him the adoration of the people.

Released from prison two years later, Chávez founded the Fifth Republic Movement, a social democratic party, and was elected president of Venezuela in 1998.
In 2007, this group merged with other parties to become the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. Thus, with the political ideology of Bolivarianism and his "Socialism of the 21st Century," Chávez launched the Bolivarian Revolution. He organized Bolivarian Circles as the foundation of democracy; nationalized the oil industry; funded health care and education (with 50,000 Cuban professionals in exchange for oil); and caused significant reductions in poverty, according to government figures. Even a UN study attests that poverty rates fell from 48.6 percent in 2002 to 29.5 percent in 2011 under Chávez.

But Chávez was not only to be a Venezuelan leader; he became a Pan-Latin American leader who used his country's oil wealth to support other progressive Latin American and Caribbean nations under ALBA (Alliance of Latin American Bolivarian States) and CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States). Chávez also became a leader on the world stage, linking Latin America with the rest of the anti-Western imperialist nations that include, among others, Iran, China, Russia and Muammar Kadhafi's Libya.

Chávez engaged the poor and progressive forces of the US as well by donating 200 million gallons of heating oil to ex-Rep. Joe Kennedy's charity, Citizens' Energy, in order to heat the US poor's homes, and even offered subsidized oil to the Philippines when he met with President Joseph Estrada in 1999.
Chávez could have done so much more for the world had he not met his untimely passing; but most likely, he will still continue to do so as our "Comandante Eternal," inspiring global change for people everywhere.

(Note: President Estrada will speak at the "Tribute to President Hugo Chávez" this Thursday, March 14, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., UP Diliman College of Science Auditorium, Velasquez St.; tune in to 1098 AM, Tuesday to Friday, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.; watch GNN's HTL show, GNN Channel 8, Saturdays, 8:15 p.m. to 9 p.m., 11:15 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m., and over at www.gnntv-asia.com, with this week's topic, "Malaysia Invades Sabah;" also visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com)