Chavez Denounces Effort to Give Venezuelans Political Refugee Status in the U.S.

[BayCityProgressive]

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=2252

Mérida, March 28, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com)— On Monday, five Representatives of the U.S. Congress made a formal request to U.S. President George W. Bush to give temporary legal status to Venezuelan immigrants in the country, claiming that "there exists a dictatorship in Venezuela." Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez responded yesterday, accusing the United States of developing an international campaign against him.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Connie Mack, Lincoln Díaz-Balart and Mario Díaz-Balart, all Republicans from the state of Florida, and Jerry Weller, Republican from Illinois, sent a letter to the U.S. President to ask him to order the Department of Homeland Security to temporarily stop the deporting of Venezuelans.

"We strongly believe that the Chávez government in Venezuela at this time is persecuting its citizens for their political views," said the representatives in the letter released on Monday, March 26th at a press conference in Miami.

"Time has come to admit formally that Chávez has established a dictatorship in Venezuela," said the Cuban-U.S. Republican Lincoln Díaz-Balart.

"What dictatorship?" responded Hugo Chávez yesterday on his TV and radio program, Aló Presidente. "We are installing an anti-dictatorship… The United States is the one who is a dictatorship. They threaten, coerce, invade and destroy countries," he said.

[muntrv]

1. Chavez was ELECTED, so how can he be a dictatorship?

[ShaneGR]

2. I hate to agree with Republicans... but....

Regardless of whether or not Chavez is a "dictator", if Venezuelans want to come to the US to make a better life for themselves they should be allowed to do so.

Please note that I have no information suggestion political persecution of Venezuelans being deported back to their country.

[Gabi Hayes]

4. it's call IMMIGRATION. do a little reading

there are VERY strict guidelines for being considered a political refugee

christ on a pancake

[ShaneGR]

9. What about journalists in Venezuela critical to Chavez?

Like this one here:

http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2006/03/16/anti_chavez_reporter_sentenced_to_house_arrest/

[1932]

56. You might find this article interesting...

Lara emphasized that all journalists in Venezuela that are currently being prosecuted are facing trial not for practicing journalism, but for having committed crimes. “It seems absurd to me that {the IAPA} is trying to make it appear to the rest of the American continent that someone being prosecuted for swindling is representative of Venezuelan journalists,” said Lara, referring to the case of Gustavo Azócar, who is being tried for embezzlement.

The communications ministry also released a communiqué, in which it stated that, “The report’s clear purpose is to simulate the existence of a confrontation between the government and journalists. That is not the case. {The confrontation} is about citizens being sued by other citizens that believe they are victims of petty crimes such as fraud, embezzlement, perjury and defamation.”

The communiqué counters the eleven instances of alleged government restrictions of freedom of press in the IAPA report. Instances include the one day closure of a local newspaper, El Impulso, which was closed and fined because of tax evasion charges. Another instance that the report mentions and is challenged by the ministry is a judge’s prohibition against the publishing of the official investigation files of the murder of Public Prosecutor Danilo Anderson. Also mentioned is the case of Nelson Mezerhane, a co-owner of the oppositional TV channel Globovision, and the journalist Patricia Poleo, who are being accused of having been co-conspirators in the Danilo Anderson murder.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1922

Her defense attorney, Claudia Mujica, said Pacheco has 2 and a half months left in her sentence, and that there will be no police presents at her house, according to the Venezuelan government’s ABN. According to El Universal, Pacheco was originally sentenced to nine months in prison, but the judge essentially substituted this sentence with parole, mandating that she periodically appear every 15 days before the court.

During this period, Bellorín accused Pacheco of continuing to defame him in her column, published in the Venezuelan daily El Nacional. The editorial page of El Nacional is known for its almost manic opposition to the Venezuelan government, similar to that of the Wall Street Journal. According to El Universal, Bellorín said he asked to be given space in the paper to reply to the allegations, but was not allowed to, so he brought charges against the journalist for continued aggravated defamation.

Pacheco publicly apologized to Bellorín last month, thereby avoiding the possibility of being convicted on these charges, which could have led to three more years in prison. In Venezuela, receiving the forgiveness of the offended party in defamation cases can lead to the charges being dropped. According to El Universal, the attorney’s of Bellorín and Pacheco worked out the apology.

...

Immediately after the apology, Bellorín said he would wait to see how well the media covered the apology before offering his pardon, which he eventually did. The allegation against Bellorín that led to the original case was that he had forged a grade he had obtained in a tax law course, while in his fifth semester of his law degree in the University of Santa María. Later Pacheco accused him of mistreating his girlfriend in her column, reported El Universal.

According to El Nacional, after last Wednesday’s ruling, Bellorín said that he would keep his promise not to bring any more charges against Pacheco, even though he could appeal the ruling that allowed her to carry out the rest of her prison sentence under house arrest rather than in jail. Venezuelan prisons well known for their brutality, and in Venezuela it is not uncommon for wealthy people to avoid jail on the basis of health or wellness grounds.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1921

[BayCityProgressive]

5. they already have the right to come here

legally. This would give them the right to come here and seek "political asylum" like we allow Cubans to do. It is part of an effort to paint Venezuela as a horrible place to live and a dictatorship. They did the same to Cuba. if you can't beat them, smear them!

[originalpckelly]

17. It's a decidership.

[Gabi Hayes]

3. how long before US citizens begin to seek asylum in Venezuela?

if another fascist, I mean republican, steals the presidency again, I'll seriously consider it, cause this country will become irretrievably authoritarian if a goon like Giuliani gets in office

mark my words.....

[Colobo]

8. Chile is much better; a sane leftist country

with strong democratic institutions and respect for capitalism. It is the most stable economy (and democracy) in Latin America for a reason.

[BayCityProgressive]

10. Venezuela is the fastest growing economy

in the region. It is also a democracy. I see where you are coming from now...if you are anything other than capitalist you are not "sane". Just so you know, Chile has good relations with Venezuela, their leader is a socialist, and they have state owned enterprises as well...

[Colobo]

20. Careful with that

Bachelet is a socialist in ideology, but not in practice. Just like Alwyin, Frei and Lagos (Chile's presidents since 1990), Bachelet has no intention to change the economic structures of the country, because they have actually worked well. Not perfect, but better than any other Latin American country.

Bachelet and Chavez have a good relationship, but it's not even close to the kind of relationship he has with Evo Morales or Nestor Kischner, for example.

[BayCityProgressive]

23. They are in different situations

I agree with you, she isn't trying to make any fundemental changes..she is mostly funding social services. They do have a very successful state owned copper company. She has a totally different set of circumstances though. She is representing a broad moderate front that wont he elections. The people of Venezuela demanded more left-wing change because of their economic situation in the 90's and they backed a more left-wing coalition of parties. Chavez has become more left wing as the people demanded it. They are both doing what is wished by the majority in their own country and I support them both.

[Colobo]

6. There are many Venezuelans here in Tampa Bay

that have left for political reasons. Quite a few of them campaigned against Chavez in the last referendum and say they have been blacklisted as enemies of the state, and they have denied services, both private and public. I have no reason to doubt what they say; after all, they have sold their properties over there and left their homeland to come live over here quite modestly (my friends are all low-middle and middle class over here), struggling with finding stable jobs, learning English and, most of all, waiting for the day they can come back without fear of being persecuted for political reasons.

Several of them are very good friends of mine; excellent additions to our community. Venezuela's loss is our gain.

[BayCityProgressive]

7. Very doubtful

they sound like freepers who are disconnected from reality and make up stories that are blatantly untrue just because their rival won a fair election. There have been no internaitonal stories of this happening.

[ShaneGR]

11. LOL, an entire community is simply "making things up"??????

Because they're freepers? Huh? Why is it so hard for some people to do a google search on chavez plus political persecution. There's only like a zillion stories.

[BayCityProgressive]

15. you could google nearly any world leader

with a derogatory word and get hundreds of hits...try Hillary Clinton...

[Gabi Hayes]

44. show me where he said "entire community"

that's a typical trick of those who abuse language to make their point seem more reasonable

what percentage of the Venezuelan emigre population does this person speak for? is it a representative sample?

is it comparable to the Cuban emigre population of South FLorida, which is hugely consisted of members of the property owning class and their descendants, who made their fortunes during that wonderful Batista regime

at least be more honest in your presentation, and don't mischaracterize what other people say

thank you

[Colobo]

51. To be fair and honest

The people I'm talking about were wealthy in Venezuela and some have a very negative opinion about their fellow countrymen who live in poverty. It seems like there is a real hatred between the classes down there... all of that mixed with a little bit of racism.

[Gabi Hayes]

55. I wasn't talking about you...the person who mischaracterized what you said.

thanks for clearing that up, btw

sounds more like what my own preconceptions conform to

BTW, my brother worked in Caracas (for Caterpillar and GE) in the late 70s, early 80s....Lima before that, and felt very guilty, I guess, when he thought about it, for the way he lived in both cities (INSANELY better than in the US), and was daily confronted with the GRINDING poverty all around him. he's still a capitalist, but has trouble dealing with it. he socializes with his business acquaintances as little as possible, because they're mostly of the Battista/Carmona breed.

[Colobo]

13. Freepers? Most of them think both Bush and Chavez suck

in fact, two of them are active Democrats who came to work CRYING when Bush lost in 04. I was a Republican then, and could not believe it.

[Richard Steele]

14. Yes, highly doubtful indeed. nm

[Gabi Hayes]

16. har de har: SOME SAY Chavez is a vicious dictator, who HATES

his people, and is intent on furthering his COMMUNIST conspiracy, intended to enslave the entire South American continent.

isn't that what Otto Reich says?

and did you catch that Reuters article? sounds like all the distorted BS that claims Chavez is shutting down all the media outlets, rather than refusing to renew ONE license of a TV station that continued to broadcast material that openly called for the overthrow of his government, material that would get someone prosecuted for treason under the new PATRIOT-driven climate in our wonderful democracy

[BayCityProgressive]

19. the media

openly called for the violent overthrow of the government. just in case these anti-Chavez people don't know...that's illegal here and Bush would have punished them much more severely..

[LittleClarkie]

31. I will take this person's first hand knowledge over your

speculation anyday. You assume they are freepers because they disagree with your re: Chavez. Please.

[BayCityProgressive]

36. that's cool

go for it. :hi:

[Gabi Hayes]

39. see post 37 for thoughts on 'first hand' knowledge

too funny

[Gabi Hayes]

37. that's HILARIOUS! first hand knowledge? do you know the meaning of first hand?

he's citing what people who SOLD their property to move to South FLorida TOLD him. is that what you consider first hand knowledge?

like I said, hilarious!

you know what South Florid is the major hotbed of?

do you know what CANF is?

do you know who Orlando Bosch is?

[Colobo]

42. First, Tampa is not South Florida

It's Central Florida, in fact, the Western coast of Florida. Second, Tampa is Democratic territory, and the Cuban community here is, for the most part, not related to the extremists in Miami. Most of them have been here since the late 19th century, and tend to vote Democratic. We also have lots of recent immigrants in their 20s who are very liberal and want relationships with Cuba normalized and dislike Bush with passion.

By the way, the few of my Venezuelan friends that can vote are registered Democrats, like most Hispanics in Central Florida are.

[Gabi Hayes]

47. sorry about that....missed the TAmpa Bay bit. I assumed it was S. Fla.

that said, what I know about the area (have friends there, and have been to Fla six times in the last year) including the two very right wing newspapers in Tampa and St.Pete, has always led me to believe it's very conservative. and ALL the radio there, except for one little college station is as horribly right wing as you can imagine.

I know that's Katherine Harris' district, and the stolen congressional election is from around there.

will check in with my friend who lives there, and see what he has to say about the scene, but whenever we talk about politics, he always complains about how wingnutty is there.



sorry to seem antagonistic, but if you've seen some of the outrageous lies told about Chavez over the last few months, you might understand my responses.

thanks for the info about the Cubans there. what sort of interaction do they have with the CANFers? any at all?
besides getting blown up?

[Colobo]

49. Look

First, I respect your views on Chavez and the Latin American left in general. I'm more of a skeptic, as you have probably noticed (let's say very cautious).

Now, in terms of Tampa, well, we do have several conservative people here, especially in East Tampa and in some areas of Pinellas County. Pasco County, north of Tampa, is Republican territory. Still, our newspapers lean left (the St. Pete Times a bit more than the Tribune). The mayor of Tampa is Pam Iorio (Democratic) and she just won re-election. We have several right wing AM stations that carry Boortz, Hannity, Savage, O'Reilly and they are pretty big over here. NPR is the only left-leaning alternative. USF is weird, because the president and her cronies seem to be Republicans, but the faculty and the student body is overwhelmingly liberal, as reflected by our school newspaper (The Oracle, who has been moving to the right lately, though).

In terms of our Cuban population, we do have CANFers over here, don't get me wrong, but they are a small number. They are concentrated in the West Tampa area, and most of them are senior citizens. Again, most of the Cubans here are "Tampeños" who lean Democratic and have, if anything, an interest in getting closer to their roots in the island, and recent, young immigrants who don't see the world as the old school exiles do. Still, most of them depise Castro (that's why they are here), but want open relationships with the island and most simply HATE Bush.

[Gabi Hayes]

57. Re: papers.... that's not the impression I got when I was in town, but since

you live there, I'll cede that to you, but NPR is decidedly not left anymore

the fact that they occasionally report actual news separates them from most of the M$M, but they've changed a LOT in the last 20 years. I doubt you'd find a consensus here that considers them leftleaning anymore. lots of us call it National Petroleum Radio. compared to most other media sources, yes. that's a no brainer. their treatment of Chavez is as one-sided as any you'll find anywhere in US media, but that's a monolith, anyway. the show Marketplace is particularly egregious.

thanks for the insight on the demographics, btw

maybe we can get together sometime

[Richard Steele]

61. Actually, he's only CLAIMING that he's citing...

...what people who SOLD their property to move to Florida TOLD him.

He's offered no proof that these people actually exist, you know.
We have to take him at his word just to elevate these claims to the level of "hearsay".

And, given some of his other recent posts here, I'm personally
not willing to extend him that much credit.

[lvx35]

12. Yep, Bush makes Chavez look like a hero again.

Its true...

Venezuela:0
USA:1
Nazi Germany:1


The "wars started by invading other countries" scoreboard does have Hugo Chavez looking a little better than us.

[Gabi Hayes]

22. US 1?????? you forgot quite a few there, didn't you?

can you say Panama?

that little island with the runway?

CUBA? twice.

Mexico?

Philippines?

does overthrowing governments count, too?

Iran

Chile

Guatemala

Nicaragua (semi-failed attempt...repeated incursions caused failure in infrastructure/economy, resulting in RW government elected)

Greece

Haiti

Dominican Republic



I could go on.....

[Hippo_Tron]

18. I don't have enough information to accurately assess this...

So

:popcorn:

[BayCityProgressive]

21. sigh

I am used to this when posting anything about any country the US does not agree with. Even people here buy into the right wing hype. Is their country perfect? Not even close...but point me to one that is. It sure is hell pales in comparison to the atrocities and attack on human rights in this country. If you have facts and concrete sources it is one thing to have a debate...but when the debate consists of strawmen, personal opinions without grasp of facts, or the now famous "some people say"...you aren't going to get anywhere.

[Gabi Hayes]

24. hey...credit where credit is due. that was a huge step up from those

posters who usually blast away with their fact free diatribes, at best, when they're not blathering outright lies about Chavez seizing media outlets, murdering dissenters, and taking the poor rich people's property without paying for it.

how many of these threads spout up? at least one a day, yes?

[Colobo]

26. I'm glad you like and have faith in Chavez

it's fine. I respect that. I'm simply very wary of Latin American politicians, especially the strongmen of both sides that have been ruling us since the mid 19th century. We have seen populists revolutions become total failures (México, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua), we have seen crazy right wingers terrorize the masses in the name of foreign powers (México, Cuba, Dom. Rep., Guatemala, Nicaragua, Chile, Argentina and the list goes on). We have seen "moderates" rob their own people and run away.

I'm personally tired of our strongmen: from Rosas to Díaz to Trujillo to Bastista to Fidel to Stroessner to Pinochet and the never ending list. The pendulum has been swinging wildly for about two centuries, and the dreams of Bolivar, Martí, Hostos and Bello, among many other Latin American thinkers and heroes, have gone to hell.

Modern Chile is the only model that has worked. I wish all of our nations followed it.

[Gabi Hayes]

30. yeah....right... tell us how great their privatized pension system is working

for most people there

and don't use that phone Cato study

get real

[Colobo]

34. Who told you I think their system is perfect?

From what the region has, it's simply proved to be the best. The country is socially and economically stable, has voted for the center-left party since 1990, the right-wing opposition is healthy and party the Democratic process, and Chileans are not leaving their country in bunches.

Chile can be proud of its system, because it works. As soon radicalism came to power (in both Allende and Pinochet), the country saw its darkest hours.

[Gabi Hayes]

40. you know what, Allende never had a chance to make his brand of democratic

socialism work

care to tell us why?

dark days, indeed.

give me a break

[Colobo]

46. Allende was elected with the 36% of the popular vote

He had massive internal opposition from the start. Second, he tried to impose his brand of socialism in the nation by nationalizing most foreign industries and by the takeover of private land by the government, raised salaries while freezing prices, all of this leading to a whooping inflation rate (about 130-something%) and a deficit, not to forget the negative growth of the economy thanks to his brilliant policies... not to mention the great move from his part to isolate the country by pledging alliance to Cuba and North Korea in the middle of the Cold War.

Allende was the beginning of the problem. Pinochet was the terrible outcome.

[Gabi Hayes]

52. Interesting... who said, "Make the economy SCREAM!"....referring to Allende?

so, 38 percent means that there were at least three candidates, doesn't it? which means that percentage is pretty meaningless

http://en.allexperts.com/e/u/un/united_states_intervention_in_chile.htm

Efforts by the U.S. government to prevent Allende from taking office after his 1970 election are documented in U.S. materials declassified during the Clinton administration. For example, a formal instruction was issued on 16 October 1970 to the CIA base in Chile, saying in part, "It is firm and continuing policy that Allende be overthrown by a coup. It would be much preferable to have this transpire prior to 24 October but efforts in this regard will continue vigorously beyond this date. We are to continue to generate maximum pressure toward this end, utilizing every appropriate resource. It is imperative that these actions be implemented clandestinely and securely so that the USG and American hand be well hidden..." <2>,

There is no doubt that U.S. officials ordered measures up to and including support for a potential coup to prevent Allende from taking office, although there are conflicting views as to whether the U.S. later pulled back from this position.

>>>>me here. they're breaking their backs here, bending over to be fair and balanced. the overwhelming evidence is that the US played a central role in the coup. lots of sources on that.


Economic Intervention....the tip of the (provable) iceberg

After the Allende government won office, the U.S. began high-level planning to ensure the Marxist experiment would not succeed. This would be achieved by, among other strategies, massive reduction in economic aid. U.S. National Security Council documents, later ordered released by U.S. President Bill Clinton <4>, include decision memorandum no. 93, dated November 9, 1970, written by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and addressed to the heads of diplomatic, defense and intelligence departments. This document stated that pressure should be placed on the Allende government to prevent its consolidation and limit its ability to implement policies contrary to U.S. and hemisphere interests, specifically, the President has directed no new bilateral economic aid commitments be undertaken with the government of Chile .

Between 1964 and 1970 (under President Eduardo Frei), over $1 billion in economic assistance flowed into Chile; during Allende's tenure (1970-73), disbursements were non-existent or negligible . The reduction in aid was combined with the fall in the value of copper from a 1970 high of US$66 to a low of US$48 per ton, which undermined Allende's proposed restructuring of the Chilean economy. As the program was dependent on government spending, this caused a decline in the socio-economic circumstances of Chile's poorest citizens.

[Colobo]

54. That's true as well

The U.S. was a central part of the problem. Pinochet is a product of this country's interventionism.

[Gabi Hayes]

58. Allende never had a chance. that's been the problem, and contiunes to be, whenever

US/multinational forces have a chance to take root.

you know they'll do everything they can to oust ALL progressive governments in South America, and, unfortunately, said pressure in almost every country mitigates against free societies, cause even when a popularly elected leader assumes power, the ironic pressure to introduce antidemocratic measures to protect incipient democracies from outside 'influence' often leads to the same repression that led to democratic movements in the first place.

colonial repression dies hard, just as the forces of economic concentration are hard at work here to turn this country into a modern version of the third world, that regions like Central/South America are struggling to turn into nothing but a gruesome, distant nightmare

[Hippo_Tron]

27. There is generally a lack of concrete sources on the subject

The US media is, for the most part, heavily biased against Chavez but I don't think that the link provided above is exactly neutral either. The article also didn't state for what reason they were seeking refugee status. If they were persecuted merely for political dissent then I might be favorable to their situation. But if they were violently trying to overthrow the government, we'd have them jailed in the United States and I don't see why it should be any different in Venezuela.

[Colobo]

29. Most of my Venezuelan friends

are young couples in their 20s, very well educated, and there is nothing that leads me to believe they could have been part of any sort of violent movement against the government. I do believe they could have been vocal opponents, but not really violent.

[Hippo_Tron]

35. I will take that into consideration, but that's not enough for an assessment

It's very easy for me to make judgments about US affairs because I live here and also have an endless source of information via the internet and to a lesser extent on TV. Also, I've studied US History extensively. None of those are the case with Venezuela.

[Colobo]

38. Latin American politics are extremely complex

It's worth to take a good look at them.

[Hippo_Tron]

43. I have, I just can't form a strong opinion yet

I hope that some day I will be able to do so. Studying other countries is interesting because it allows me to empathize with my friends who aren't political junkies and don't know enough about US politics to have strong opinions like I do.

[BayCityProgressive]

33. nope you are right

for future reference..whenever I post formt hat site..it IS slanted towards Venezuela. I definately don't want to seem like I am trying to hide that. It is really hard to find unbiased info on any country the US doesn't like. Usually you either find media in full support of the country and the US media and it's friends around the world that attack them... If you find any good info, by all means post it though.

[Gabi Hayes]

25. here's a VERY helpful hint in trying to analyze any information upon which

you might stumble:

Bush, and the right wing really really HATE him, and tried to overthrow him

does that help factor in what you might think about the situation there?

[Hippo_Tron]

28. Nope, Bush invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam Hussein

Doesn't mean that I think Saddam Hussein was a good guy.

[Gabi Hayes]

32. OK...I see where this is headed

have fun

[Hippo_Tron]

45. I'm just saying, the right wing doesn't like him isn't a good enough reason for me to like him

It does, however, give me good reason to not take at face value anything that the right wing says about Chavez.

[Gabi Hayes]

48. didn't say you had to like him. I don't really LIKE him so much. he's

not perfect, but he represents the aspirations of a populace that has been treated like animals for centuries, first by the Euros who invaded their land, then by the multinationals, whose influence (abetted in almost all Central AMerica, and much/most of S. America by US State Department/Military/CIA factions) is probably even more malign, in the long run, than the original colonialists.

anybody who stands up to them should be given MUCH more an even evaluation than Chavez gets here on a socalled progressive board

[Colobo]

53. Keep in mind, dear Gabi

the Venezuelan conflict, ethnically speaking, is not really between Indians and Euro-descendants, but between mulattos, some mestizos and Euro-descendants, unlike Bolivia, for example, where you do have a real Euro vs. Native ethnic and socioeconomic battle.

The African element in Venezuela is much, much stronger and relevant than the Native element. In fact, one of my Venezuelan friends said once, while talking trash about Chavez: "That ugly mulatto monkey is destroying the country." Me being a Latin American of African descent looked at her surprised, and she said: "You know I'm talking about him, not you! I'm just saying..."

So... :)

[Gabi Hayes]

59. the ethnic tension is overridden by the economic disparities, I would have to say.

for example: I used to live in Arlington, Virginia. I rented a house in a very nice neighborhood in the north of the county.
there was no notice of skin color there; lots of people of many races lived together in equanimity

but, travel to south Arlington, Alexandria, where the poverty lines were drawn in a distinctly obvious manner, and the racial situation emerged out of, what?

my guess is the most important color with which one has to contend is green, not black brown red coffee. I'll bet that racist from Venezuela had some money, or did when he/she lived there. from what my brother told me, and what I've read, the racial lines drawn in Venezuela have much more to do with one's economic/social station in life than one's color. the people in Venezuela with money are very infrequently mestizo, si?

[Colobo]

60. Class weights more than race, but race still matters

The darker you are, usually the poorer you are. Rich or powerful non-whites are the exception in Latin America. The high classes are very much in touch with their European ancestry, and racism is still very strong, especially from them against any non-white element who tries to become part of their social circle. You have mention Batista's case in Cuba. Do you know that Batista was hated by the white elite that had him in power? They called him "El mulato lindo" (The pretty mulatto). He tried to claim he was of Native American descent to be more accepted, but nobody believed him.

In fact, one of the most famous stories about Batista is that he once tried to join a white social club in Havana called the "Habana Yatch Club" (In the 50s, Cuba had racially divided social clubs- for mulattos and blacks, for whites and some for people of both races). When the people inside the club realized he was approaching the place (it was at night), they turned off the lights of the building, as a signal of rejection. Batista was their strongman, but still a mulatto that had no right to be in a white social club.

Don't let appearances fool you: class is the most important thing in Latin America, but race is in a very close second. Chavez is not only hated because of his politics, but because of who he is and who he represents: he is a mulatto representing the poor mestizo and mulatto masses of the country.

[Balbus]

50. LOL! Good answer!

They certainly didn't plan for that retort :thumbsup:

[SlowDownFast]

41. I want refugee status...

in order to move from the US to Venezuela.