ARCHIVES OF LEAD STORIES
March 24, 2005
Venezuelan officials challenge Bush policies during
Hub visit
Jeremy Schwab
After Hugo Chavez tried to take the reins of power in Venezuela
by coup, then won election as that country’s president following
his release from prison, he won few friends in the administration
of U.S. President George W. Bush.
Chavez’s regime ended its predecessors’ cozy oil relationship
with the United States, instead selling Venezuela’s petroleum
to the United States at the same price charged elsewhere. The
Venezuelan government became one of the most vocal critics of
the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas, for which Bush has
lobbied.
Bush and Chavez also have severe ideological differences. The
former is a free-market capitalist, the latter a social democrat
who believes the government should redistribute resources to the
poor.
When opponents staged a short-lived coup to replace Chavez, the
United States quickly recognized the conspirators only to see
a wave of popular support bring Chavez back to power.
Determined to improve the way their government is perceived by
the U.S. public, officials from Chavez’s regime visited
Boston last week to sow good will and revamp the sign over the
Charles River bearing the name of their national oil company,
Citgo.
During an address at Harvard University’s Taubman Building,
Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Maria Pilar Hernandez
ticked off a list of social, economic and educational achievements.
“In Caracas, until recently, people often died without the
chance to see a doctor,” she told the mostly Spanish-speaking
crowd, with a smattering of Anglophones tuned in via an interpreter.
“[The previous regime] invested a lot of money to create
big hospitals where there is very expensive technology, but they
only took care of people who lived close to the institutes. Poor
people who lived far away didn’t have access.
“We are going to poor neighborhoods, bringing doctors to
the towns. We are training doctors in social medicine.”
She listed other new programs, such as six-month scholarships
to study trades and micro-credit loans so people can start businesses
out of their homes.
She challenged her audience to question the Bush administration’s
posture toward Chavez’s government.
“For whom is Venezuela a threat?” she asked. “Not
for the poor or the unemployed. We have good relationships with
Columbia, Brazil, the countries of the Caribbean, Spain, France.
“Is Venezuela a threat to the United States?” she
asked. “Since Chavez came to power, instead of decreasing,
trade between our two countries has increased. Democrats and Republicans
in Congress have visited Venezuela and President Chavez. Don’t
worry, we are not going to invade the United States.”
When the laughter died down, Pilar Hernandez tossed veiled barbs
at Bush.
“Venezuela is a threat for people who think there is only
one way of thinking, and this way must be imposed on everybody,”
she said. “It is a threat to people who don’t believe
in investing in social programs that will improve the economy
of a country. Venezuela is a threat to everybody who uses terrorists
as a way to get their political way.”
Back
to Lead Story Archives
Home
Page
