[NYTr] Colombian Elites Fear Chavez's Growing Influence Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:09:49 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Upside Down World via Venezuelanalysis Sep 24, 2007 http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/904/1/ http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/2637 Colombian Elites Fear Chavez's Growing Influence by Paul Haste - UpsideDownWorld Not since his Colombian vice president, Francisco de Paula Santander, conspired to assassinate Caracas born SimCB3n BolCB-var in BogotCB! in 1828, has a Venezuelan so stirred political opinions and passions in its neighbour as President Hugo ChCB!vez has done. BolCB-var survived the infamous C"b,KBlack September NightC"b,b" attempt against his life, but ColombiaC"b,b"s continued opposition to his united Latin America dream disillusioned him, until, dispirited and disheartened, he resigned as president a short time after. In 2007, Colombians are once again contesting and debating a Venezuelan leaderC"b,b"s ideas - this time, President ChCB!vezC"b,b"s C"b,KBolCB-varian revolutionC"b,b" and his hope to reprise the LiberatorC"b,b"s C"b,Kone AmericaC"b,b" dream. That these ideas come replete with new inspiration drawn from Marx, Lenin, and even Trotsky, have sharpened the debate in conservative Colombia and heightened the eliteC"b,b"s fear that ChCB!vezC"b,b"s influence could upset their closed, privileged political order. In several Colombian states, particularly on the Caribbean coast, Bolivarian circles have been organised, taking after the barrio and union organising committees in Venezuela, and ColombiaC"b,b"s leftist opposition Polo DemocrCB!tico coalition organises amongst the 2 million Colombian immigrants in Venezuela, ensuring that the revolutionC"b,b"s ideas are brought back into Colombia. In Barranquilla, ColombiaC"b,b"s principal Caribbean port, barrio and social activists, union organizers and some Polo DemocrCB!tico members have united in the Corriente Bolivariana Colombiana (Colombian Bolivarian Current), a political organisation that claims almost 5,000 members and has 50 candidates standing in the October local elections. Jorge Urueta, one of the Bolivarian candidates, explains that the movement began among Colombian immigrants in Caracas, "at first in response to President C_lvaro UribeC"b,b"s reelection" in 2006. Returning immigrants then continued to organise in Colombia itself, "increasing gradually in numbers," says Urueta, "until there are now Bolivarian movements in at least 5 states." "This is a social movement against poverty in Colombia," says Oscar Manduca, a Bolivarian organiser and candidate in AtlCB!ntico state on the Caribbean coast. "VenezuelaC"b,b"s revolution can help change things here through solidarity and cooperation across the frontier." In some communities near BogotCB!, where Colombians have elected leftist activists to local consejos and juntas, cooperation agreements have been signed with Venezuela that grant scholarships to allow workersC"b,b" children to study in Caracas, and offer free medical care to the poorest who cannot afford ColombiaC"b,b"s privatised health care. Carlos Felipe FlCB3rez organizes the Movimiento Bolivariano de Colombia S A (sin armas) - the Bolivarian Movement of Colombia (without arms) - that is presenting an electoral challenge to the rightist caudillos that control politics on the Colombia frontier in Santander state. He explains that no Bolivarian activist "receives even one peso from Venezuela. Agreements are made to benefit workers and the poorest, not politicians." In the October elections, ColombiaC"b,b"s Bolivarian candidates hope to gain at least 20,000 votes, and more positions on local consejos and juntas. A national congress is planned to take place in December to decide on issues such as the Bolivarian movementC"b,b"s relation to the Polo DemocrCB!tico, and to elect candidates to contest future Senate and Congressional elections. These small steps taken to bring VenezuelaC"b,b"s Bolivarian ideas to Colombia have now received encouragement from an extremely unlikely source - far right Colombian President C_lvaro Uribe, who recently invited President ChCB!vez himself to negotiate with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc), and try to make progress towards ending their war against the state. ColombiaC"b,b"s elite are incensed at the invitation to ChCB!vez - editorials and columnists have devoted unprecedented space to criticising their own president, and to their fears about ChCB!vezC"b,b"s "intervention" in ColombiaC"b,b"s politics. "The president has given ChCB!vez a golden opportunity to interfere in our affairs," wrote columnist Rafael Nieto in the pre-eminent political affairs magazine, Semana. "Now ChCB!vez doesnC"b,b"t need to explain if he wants to say something about Colombia, and intervention in our politics will be difficult to manageC"b,B& Polo DemocrCB!tico leaders going to Caracas and Bolivarian officials in BogotCB! could become a daily occurrence." SaCB:l HernCB!ndez, writing in the pro government newspaper, El Tiempo, agrees. "ChCB!vez will install himself in the heart of Colombian politics," he wrote, questioning why "Uribe has invited him when there exists such an abysmal ideological differenceC"b,B& this inconceivable act is the equivalent of the intervention of a Soviet leader in the affairs of the United States during the Cold War.C"b,b" Even the liberal El Espectador complains that the invitation "gives ChCB!vez an opportunity on a silver plate to intervene in politicsC"b,B& he could obtain leadership in Colombia that hasnC"b,b"t been possible until now.C"b,b" ColombiaC"b,b"s media has been implacably hostile to Venezuela and its Bolivarian revolution since ChCB!vez was first elected president in 1998. It is standard to use terms such as "dictator", "caudillo" and "communist" in news coverage, and there is little attempt to learn what is actually happening in Venezuela, or to try to understand why ChCB!vez is so popular. Venezuelan commentator Gabriel Bustamante believes that ColombiaC"b,b"s journalists "donC"b,b"t know, and donC"b,b"t want to know, anything positive" about the changes in his country. "Revolutions threaten their privileges, so there is a need to create C"b,KChCB!vezphobiaC"b,b" - an excessive and irrational fear about ChCB!vez and even BolCB-var to try to stop Colombians being influenced." "ChCB!vez is a traditional, dictatorial caudillo, and he intends to export his revolution with aggressive diplomacy," comments El Tiempo, to prove BustamanteC"b,b"s point. Curiously neglecting to mention any far right military dictatorships, the editorial continues, "Caudillos like ChCB!vez have historically impeded the consolidation of liberal democracy in Latin America." Further comments in ColombiaC"b,b"s limited media have been even more extreme, indicating that the elite would prefer that the war continues rather than ChCB!vez gain influence in Colombia through his efforts to end it. "DonC"b,b"t forget that ChCB!vez is an extremely active politician with aspirations to unite the Americas," writes Alfredo Rangel in the business magazine Cambio. "Peace in Colombia will advance his ideas, and that would threaten our institutional stability and our conservative political culture." C_lvaro Forero TascCB3n, in El Espectador, is more explicit: "Now ChCB!vez is invited he wonC"b,b"t leave. It has been difficult for ChCB!vez to have influence in Colombia because it is a conservative country, but he has been patiently waiting and his interference was just a matter of time, but it is preferable that the war continues than ChCB!vez be involved in ColombiaC"b,b"s affairs." This critical reception to the invitation to ChCB!vez has had some effect - Uribe curtailed ChCB!vezC"b,b"s visit to Colombia in August, and forced the Venezuelan president to meet him at an isolated hacienda rather than allow his presidential motorcade to travel through the capital. A meeting with opposition Polo DemocrCB!tico leaders had to be held after midnight, in private at the Venezuelan Embassy, and even ChCB!vezC"b,b"s request to visit BolCB-varC"b,b"s historic hacienda in central BogotCB! was denied lest he came into contact with ordinary Colombians. The government has also responded to increasing cooperation between the Colombian opposition and VenezuelaC"b,b"s Bolivarian revolution. A Corriente Bolivariana Colombiana political meeting in Baranoa on the Caribbean coast was raided by the presidentC"b,b"s DAS intelligence service in May. Fifteen agents arrested visiting Venezuelan Congressional deputy JosCB) Luis Pirela, who had come to finalise an agreement offering scholarships to children to study in Caracas, and forced him into a military helicopter. Pirela was then unceremoniously deported on the La Guajira desert frontier between the two countries. A short time later BaranoaC"b,b"s mayor, Carlos Zambrano, began to receive death threats from the far right paramilitaries, but remained defiant. "It is normal for movements with similar politics to have contact across frontiers," said, Zambrano. "No one can deny that America is involved in ColombiaC"b,b"s politics even to the point that the US sends helicopters and guns to fuel the war. All that we are doing is arranging scholarships for poor children to study." "Colombia does not accept foreign interference from any country," a DAS statement said after this incident, apparently without irony. "Colombia does not accept attempts at destabilizing our democracy that respects liberties," while El Tiempo justified the raid, claiming that contacts between Colombians and VenezuelaC"b,b"s Bolivarian revolution were "contrary to the free determination of the people." Constitutional experts disagreed. Lawyer Juan Manuel Charry said there was no crime that an elected deputy from Venezuela visited an elected mayor in Colombia, and legal expert Francisco JosCB) Sintura pointed out that ColombiaC"b,b"s constitutional law "only prohibits rebellion, sedition, asonada and conspiracy. A law prohibits foreigners from participating in election campaigns, but that is not what is happening here." However, as Colombia is a highly militarised state, the Armed Forces Commander, Freddy Padilla, thought it appropriate to comment too. "I donC"b,b"t think there is interference from the Venezuelan government on the Caribbean coast," he stated, apparently disagreeing with the intelligence serviceC"b,b"s assessment. But he then said, "Bolivarian circles are spreading all over Latin America, and particularly here in Colombia we want to prevent this from happening." This statement raises the question as to how the Colombian military, while accepting that there is no "foreign interference", will then "prevent" Colombians from organising political movements influenced by VenezuelaC"b,b"s Bolivarian revolution - particularly as the intelligence service states that Colombia "respects liberties." ColombiaC"b,b"s elite has never been so isolated in Latin America as they are now - just PerCB:, MCB)xico and some Central American states still share their rightist economic liberalism and deference to the United States. But now ordinary Colombians are beginning to gain confidence and inspiration from President ChCB!vez and VenezuelaC"b,b"s Bolivarian revolution. Sources: La CB:ltima esperanza, report in Semana, BogotCB!, 3 de septiembre de 2007 LatinoamCB)rica, en la mira chavista, Eduardo Posada CarbCB3, El Tiempo, BogotCB!, 1 de junio de 2007 Amenazas de muerte para alcalde, Alfonso Cervantes, El Tiempo, BogotCB!, junio de 2007 CB?QuCB) sucede en Colombia y por quCB) su importancia para Venezuela?, David Javier Medina, Aporrea.org, Caracas, 9 de septiembre de 2007 Diputado chavista hablCB3 de plan para C"b,KPresidencia bolivarianaC"b,b" en Colombia, Roberto Llanos Rodado, El Tiempo, BogotCB!, 29 de mayo de 2007 Por el liderazgo en AmCB)rica Latina, SimCB3n Consalvi, El Nacional, Caracas, 2 de septiembre de 2007 CB?QuCB) estCB! cocinando ChCB!vez?, SaCB:l HernCB!ndez, El Tiempo, BogotCB!, 4 de septiembre de 2007 Ingreso inusual de funcionarios venezolanos a Colombia viene desde el 2005, segCB:n el DAS, report in El Tiempo, BogotCB!, 29 de mayo de 2007 ContribuciCB3n a la paz en Colombia, Vladimir Villegas, Aporrea.org, Caracas, 7 de septiembre de 2007 El fenCB3meno ChCB!vez en AmCB)rica Latina, report in El Tiempo, BogotCB!, 20 de mayo de 2007 ChCB!vez, el nuevo protagonista, editorial in El Espectador, BogotCB!, 19 de agosto de 2007 La caja de Pandora, Rafael Nieto, Semana, 27 de agosto de 2007 La sin salida de ChCB!vez, C_lvaro Forero TascCB3n, El Espectador, BogotCB!, 27 de agosto de 2007 LCB3gicas ParadCB3jicas, Alfredo Rangel, Cambio, BogotCB!, 25 de agosto de 2007 * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us Our main website: http://www.blythe.org List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr =================================================================