This is a Blog of my trip to Venezuela with the Venezuela Information Office from August 13-18, 2004, as an official observer for the referendum on the Hugo Chavez government.
Saturday, August 14, 2004
<Marc> Tonite we met with an Afro-Venezuelan activist Jesus Garcia. He noted that
the referendum tomorrow is not just about the figure of one man, but the
hope of the people is at play with all of those historical
contractions. Specifically, the Chavez gov't has redistributed 3 million
hectares of land and 40 percent of that has gone to African and Indigenous
peoples. The Robinson Mission has brought literacy to marginalized
community. If Chavez is defeated tomorrow, these and other social programs
will be ended. This, Garcia emphasized, is what is at play tomorrow. And
the implications are not just for Venezuela, but for all of Latin
America. It is an alternative way to organizing society that puts the
needs of the people first.
Apparently Jimmy Carter said in an interview today that whatever happens
tomorrow, the process here in Venezuela will be more legitimate and
transparent than what happened in Florida in 2000.
____________________
Marc Becker
marc@yachana.org
http://www.yachana.org
</Marc> <!--11:20 PM-->
