The death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has brought out the malicious and carnal glee of the corporate press, who report breathlessly not only on his mortal passing but an end to the Bolivarian Revolution. They are the voices of their vampire Wall Street bosses, who delight in owning more of the earth, no matter how much misery they may cause for millions.
In fact, Chavez was beloved by the vast majority of Venezuelans, poor, Indian, and African, who saw in him their rising in the world. Upon his death, seven nations declared days of mourning in his honored memory: Cuba, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Iran. Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa decreed three days of mourning and called Chavez an inspiration of the revolutionary transformation sweeping throughout Latin America. Argentina’s President Cristina [Fernández de] Kirchner also ordered three days of mourning to mark the passing of Chavez. For millions of Latin Americans, Chavez brought dignity to them by refusing to play the puppet for El Norte, the U.S. Empire. He helped found ALBA, the International Latin American Bank, and became, in Fidel Castro’s retirement, a son of his spirit who learned from his mentor how to resist the empire.
According to virtually every newspaper in America, Chavez was anti-American. Why? Because he refused to bow, scrape, and kiss the boots of Empire? Because he wanted the oil wealth of the nation to be used for Venezuelans instead of investors on Wall Street? How many of us know that Citgo provided low-cost heating oil to over one and a half million Americans, and that Citgo, a wholly owned subsidiary of Venezuelan oil, did so with Chavez’s blessing? Would an anti-American make sure that over a million Americans are warm in winter at reduced cost? Chavez was anti-imperialist, and he opposed how the U.S. ran roughshod over Latin American countries, and their independence, at will.
When he took to the rostrum of the UN and said, “The devil was here yesterday”, and that “the place smelled of sulfur,” he was a global hit, except for U.S, puppets. The devil was U.S. imperialism, still a dangerous, drone-invading, bomb-dropping threat to millions worldwide. Chavez, on the other hand, was loved and admired by millions both in and out of Venezuela. ¡Viva Hugo Chavez! From in prison nation, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
