During a visit to Venezuela, Argentinean President Nestor Kirchner signed an agreement with Venezuelas socialist President Hugo Chavez that will launch the Bank of the South (Bancosur) within four months, reported a February 22 Venezuelanlaysis.com article. Bancosur is part of the push, led by Venezuela, for Latin American integration to challenge US corporate domination. Chavez has promoted the bank as a source of cheap credit for countries in the region and a non-exploitative alternative to the First World-controlled International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
Stuart Munckton
Venezuelan foreign minister Nicolas Maduro and London Mayor Ken Livingstone signed an agreement on February 20 for Venezuela to provide discounted oil to London authorities. In return, London will assist with city management and environmental protection in Caracas.
“Today a new epoch begins”, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declared in his victory speech on December 3, having won the presidential election with the highest vote in Venezuelan history on a platform of deepening the struggle to build socialism. “That new era is the new socialist democracy. That era is the new socialist society.”
“We, and millions of people around the world … believe another world is possible, a world free from war, poverty and hunger. Here in Venezuela the [government of socialist President Hugo Chavez] along with the majority of the people in our country are fighting hard to build this new world, despite the attempts of the old elite and the US government to prevent us from succeeding.” This is what 25-year-old university student Germania Fernandez told Pablo Navarrete, according to a December 1 article on Venezuelanalysis.com.
Critics of Venezuelas socialist president, Hugo Chavez, finally feel vindicated (again), Venezuelanalysis.com editor Gregory Wilpert wrote in a February 6 comment piece. The Venezuelan dictatorship that they have been predicting for the past eight years has, according to them, finally come to pass for the sixth or so time.
“In my country, a surgery like that costs [US]$8,000”, said Roberto Andrade from El Salvador about the operation he received in Cuba that removed cataracts from both his eyes, completely free of charge, according to a January 10 Miami Herald article. “I make $12 a day. I would never, ever, be able to save that much.”
Venezuelas Leap Backwards was the headline verdict of the January 10 Washington Post editorial, which attempted to throw doubt on the legitimacy of the December 3 presidential election in Venezuela that returned socialist President Hugo Chavez to office with a record 7.3 million votes (63% of the total vote cast)."Venezuela's Leap Backwards" was the headline verdict of the January 10 Washington Post editorial, which attempted to throw doubt on the legitimacy of the December 3 presidential election in Venezuela that returned socialist President Hugo Chavez to
Sending shockwaves through the corporate elite, on January 8 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declared his government’s intention of reversing the privatisations that had been carried out by previous governments. Declaring “We’re on our way to socialism, and nothing and no-one can prevent it”, Chavez insisted, “All that was privatised, let it be nationalised”, according to a January 9 Associated Press report.
The atmosphere in the early evening has been a big celebration already, with fireworks and loud music in the city streets, and a large crowd already gathering near Miraflores Palace, according to Jim McIlroy and Coral Wynter, correspondents for Green Left Weeklys Venezuela bureau who were in Caracas on the day of the December 3 presidential election.
Venezuelas socialist President Hugo Chavez spoke for people the world over at the United Nations General Assembly in September when he attacked US imperialisms attempt to dominate the world and subjugate its people. Referring to US President George Bushs speech the day before, Chavez said: The imperialists see extremists all around. No, its not that we are extremists. What is happening is that the world is waking up and people everywhere are rising up. I have the impression Mr Imperialist Dictator that you will live the rest of your days as if in a nightmare, because no matter where you look we will be rising up against US imperialism.
Tongas pro-democracy movement has attacked the Australian and New Zealand governments for sending more than 150 soldiers and police to the Pacific nation, demanding the intervention end. The foreign forces have ostensibly been sent to help restore law and order in the aftermath of rioting sparked by Tongas monarch, King Siaosi Tupou V, announcing the closure of parliament for the year without implementing widely demanded democratic reforms.
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