May 14th 2007

Emil Dauncey, participating in a VSC Tour over May Day, has written his impressions below.

I arrived in Venezuela about three weeks ago. My visit here was motivated by the media reports of the tyrannical authoritarian rule of President Hugo Chavez and his so called ‘Bolivarian Revolution’. Never having quite trusted the British media I was curious to find out what lay behind such strong allegations of military oppression and economic decline.

Upon my arrival at the airport I was at once taken aback. I am no stranger to Latin America or poverty, but my heart could not help but sigh during the 15 km journey from the airport to Caracas. The road winds through a landscape of densely packed shanty towns precariously perched on the hillsides. The poverty was evident and inescapable as was the contrast, upon arriving in the ritzy Altamira district, where my hotel was located.

I began my investigations in Petare, an impoverished and reportedly dangerous neighborhood, overflowing with the haphazard red brick and corrugated iron dwellings typical of slums. I expected to find misery, suffering and despondency, but was intrigued to find quite the opposite. The people were upbeat, cheerful and optimistic. They eagerly declared their glee and informed me of the new social programs that the Chavez government has introduced.

State sponsored discount supermarkets mean that the poor can now afford to eat, free education for all ages has meant the eradication of illiteracy and old people were for the first time experiencing free healthcare, which was impossibly expensive under preceding governments.

My travels have so far led me to far flung corners of Caracas and even beyond to Aragua state and the picture remains the same. The people of Venezuela have more than just hope but are actually experiencing real social change.

Most of us are already aware of the social and political changes taking place in Venezuela. Many of us have heard about the introduction of social missions in that focus on providing healthcare, nutrition and education to the impoverished and needy. However the Revolutionary process goes far deeper than social programs and even beyond the apparent benevolence of President Hugo Chavez.

Venezuela has suffered the relentless interference of the United States for many years, but aside from military action and economic sanctions, foreign intervention attacks in far more subtle and concealed ways. The current U.S. cultural hegemony has many similarities to the English occupation of Ireland, where local traditions, languages and religions were outlawed as a means of imposing an English monoculture and to undermine the value of native Irish culture; therefore creating an illusion of English cultural superiority.

In Venezuela the population has been bombarded with North American and European capitalist values through a ferocious media campaign directly funded by the United States National Endowment for Democracy. Of the 34 TV channels that I am able to receive in my hotel room, only 9 of them are produced in Venezuela and of these 9, only 2 have any kind of representation of local Venezuelan culture and traditions. Sports coverage is largely of U.S. and European leagues and Venezuela’s ‘tele-novelas’, (soap operas) echo northern values and aspirations. Not to mention news coverage which has overtly attacked Venezuela’s democratically elected government with outrageous lies and even assisted in the orchestration of 2002s opposition coup attempt.

The United States operates an effective strategy of cultural imperialism by barraging Venezuela with imagery of white North Americans, the American dream and the alleged successes of free market economics and it’s carefully crafted semantics of ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom’.

 The white middle classes of mostly European descent have been able to identify with this imagery and find justification for their bogus economic and cultural superiority. Meanwhile the gradual erosion of Venezuelan culture has devalued the contributions of the majority of Venezuela’s population, who are of African, indigenous and mixed descent, undermining their self esteem and reinforcing the illusion of their inferiority. Moreover, the values implicit in U.S. television are of individualism, competition and materialism, manifested in the imagery of big cars as sex symbols, beauty as being white and success as being measured in dollars.

Let’s take a look at Paris Hilton for example, one of the North’s current heroes. She doesn’t sing, dance or even do magic tricks. How has she been able to become such an icon? Paris Hilton represents the ideal capitalist citizen. She’s blonde, white, stupid, has rich parents and shops excessively. So deformed is our Northern culture that millions of little girls aspire to be her. Paris Hilton is the perfect role model for Northern anti-values. We have been tricked to believe that buying new shoes and eating McDonalds can meet our emotional and spiritual needs. We are living in an individualistic consumerist society desperately in need of a sense of community. And of course as long as we are busy shopping, we’re not asking any awkward questions, such as; why is half the world’s population living in poverty?

Venezuela has been a prime target of this cultural imperialism for many years and it has carved a deep rift between the rich elites and the working class poor. To the point that former beauty queen Irene Saez ran as a presidential candidate in Venezuela’s 1998 elections. Can you imagine Paris Hilton as president of the United States! Here in Venezuela many of the middle class actually believe that their votes should count as double based upon their self proclaimed intellectual superiority. If the ideals of the north are those that Venezuelans should aspire to we automatically exclude 80% from being considered as credible human beings as these ideals are beyond their reach or will. The contribution of African, indigenous and mixed race Venezuelans is overlooked and their role in society ignored, leaving them with low self-esteem and alienated from society.

In 1998 Hugo Chavez became president of Venezuela. Imagine the alarm of the middle classes as a mixed race soldier from outside of the traditional ruling classes was elected to be the most powerful man in Venezuela. As part of restoring power to the Venezuelan people he first had to restore their belief that they deserved and were capable of it.

The first thing Chavez did was to declare himself subordinate to the people and enshrined this in the country’s new constitution. He began the revival of Venezuela’s historical heroes and the context in which they came in to being; for example, the celebrated Liberator Simon Bolivar, who led the battle for Latin American independence. Bolivar was raised by La Negra Hipolita, a Venezuelan of African descent, whose role is now recognized in the naming of one of the missions that cares for children and their right to healthcare, education and three square meals a day.

 The constitution was amended to define all Venezuelans as equals regardless of faith, ethnicity or social class. Spanish continues to be the official language but alongside Venezuela’s indigenous languages.
 Columbus Day, which previously commemorated the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas and subsequent Spanish colonization, has been renamed the Day of Indigenous Resistance to commemorate the indigenous peoples struggle against the Spanish Empire.

The setting up of the Mission of Culture seeks to provide free cultural education, focusing on history and the arts from a Venezuelan perspective. The classes take place all over Venezuela, even in the most run down and neglected of slums and are open to all. I was fortunate enough to visit several classes given by the Mission of Culture and was amazed by the diversity and sophistication of Venezuela’s culture. In one class we analyzed the constitution and how it protects Venezuelan culture. In another class we learnt about traditional forms of music, musical instruments, their history and social context. We traced the origins of drum rhythms to West Africa and analyzed the fusion of indigenous musical styles with those of Spain. For many this is the first time that their ancestry has been recognized and certainly the first time it has been appreciated.

I also spent a great deal of time speaking with representatives of the Bolivarian teachers association, who have been working to redesign the school curriculum to incorporate the diversity of Venezuela’s citizenry. In the past history began with Columbus and the ‘glorious’ Spanish colonization, now it talks of African slave rebellions and Guaicaipuro and Tamanaco, indigenous chiefs, who resisted the Spanish invasions; The former lending his name to a mission, responsible for indigenous rights and culture.

The media has also been affected, with the rise of numerous community based television and radio stations, where the people themselves decide on and produce the content, ensuring that the media reflects their values and identity. A community TV station is required by law to provide at least 70% of its programming produced by the community and must be publicity free to avoid the imposition of agendas by corporate sponsors.

The revival of Venezuelan culture and the resistance to Northern cultural hegemony has allowed people to find themselves, to recognize their rich history and be proud of their contribution to society. Venezuelans now have a sense of dignity and believe in their ability and right to decide their own destiny. The people are able to appreciate their shared heritage and future. No longer do the poor feel alienated, but instead have found solidarity in their collective identity as Venezuelans. A new sense of community is emerging that brings people together instead of alienating them. Venezuela is becoming a humanistic society that is conscious of its rights and responsibilities and works together to achieve its goals. The battle for human rights, social justice and equality is now being fought by a 28 million strong community, not 28 million individuals.

My visit to Venezuela has challenged me in many ways. It has forced me to examine the source of my own values and ideals and question the moral basis on which they stand. I no longer feel that I can return to my sofa and existentially support the revolution. Apathy, inactivity and individualism are the buttresses of the capitalist system, which we have accepted as the inexorable status quo. Positive social change can not be a short term fad or fashion as it will always have its enemies seeking to exploit our differences. Venezuela has inspired me to assume my responsibilities as a member of the human race and shown me that a more just society is achievable. Capitalism may try and refute it, but as long as we share the same flesh, blood and bones we are undeniably all people and bound by the same rights and responsibilities, regardless of the contents of our wallets, the car we drive or even the colour of our skin. We must tear down our white picket fences and burn the net curtains that have held our collective consciousness as prisoner. It is time to get off the sofa, get talking and get organized. Another world is possible all we have to do is believe it.