“Hugo Chavez was the first president of Latin America to declare himself of African descent. In an interview with Democracy Now in 2005, Chavez reaffirmed the importance of his and Venezuelan peoples' historic ties to the continent, stating: "And one of the greatest motherlands of all is no doubt, Africa. We love Africa. And every day we are much more aware of the roots we have in Africa... Racism is very characteristic of imperialism. Racism is very characteristic of capitalism." ”
—Why Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution matter to Africa
Hugo Chavez's Legacy with Afro Venezuelans
ebony.com
The controversial leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, his staunch commitment to socialism and defiant rejection of capitalism earned him friends and foes throughout the Americas. A polarizing and complex figure portrayed as both Savior and Satan, history will regard him as both a democratically elected autocrat and revolutionary who played an instrumental role in the resurgence of theLatin American left.“Chávez, an icon in Venezuela,” reads the March 5th edition of the Spanish language international publication La Prensa Libre following the announcement President Hugo Chávez succumbed after a lengthy, public battle with cancer.
While conflicting headlines fuel the discourse as to whether the Chávez legacy is that of one who constricted Venezuelan human rights or drastically reduced poverty, gains made in Afro Venezuelan communities through his radical socio-economic programs should not be overlooked.
As Venezuela’s first multiracial president, Hugo Chávez Frías broke the mold of wealthy European descended oligarchical by rising to power from the nation’s mixed race working class majority in 1999. Many regard Chávez regarded as the first Latin American president to proudly embrace indigenous and African ancestry thereby breaking the racist paradigm of power and imperialism in the region. In an interview with Democracy Now on September 20, 2005, he stated:
“When we were children, we were told that we have a motherland, and that motherland was Spain. However, we have discovered later, in our lives, that as a matter of fact, we have several motherlands. And one of the greatest motherlands of all is no doubt, Africa. We love Africa… And I’m so proud to have this mouth and this hair, because it’s African.”
Perhaps it was this pride that led President Chávez, El Comandante, to promote some of the most racially progressive programs in this hemisphere.
African descendants in Latin America comprise approximately 26 percent (150 million) of the total population, but represent nearly 50 percent of its poor. Whereas the region has made steady gains in the alleviation of poverty in Black communities through national and international programs such as the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, Venezuela has experienced a remarkable turnaround.
Prior to the Bolivarian movement, the status of Afro Venezuelans largely resembled others in the region that were subjected to historic racial and economic discrimination; the redistribution of oil revenues into social programs cut Venezuela’s poverty from 55% in 1995 to 26.4% in 2009. Halving the poverty rate has left an indelible impact Black communities who for the first time had regular access to free education, healthcare and guaranteed housing thanks to the implementation of Chávez’s Social Missions.
In addition to these reforms, President Chávez mandated a series of measures to counteract structural racism towards Black Venezuelans and decreed the National Council for the Development of Afro-Descendant Communities to advance the cause. On May 10, 2005 the nation commemorated its inaugural Afro Venezuelan Day (El Día de la AfroVenezolanidad), which honors Black revolutionary hero José Leonardo Chirino who led a revolt of Black and mulattos against colonial authorities in 1795. Concordantly, the government recognized May as national Afro descendant month and instituted the teaching of Afro Venezuelan history into its statewide curricula.
Furthering its commitment to ending racial disparities, the Chávez administration passed the Organic Law Against Racial Discrimination in 2011, which holds the power to establish “mechanisms to prevent, respond to, punish and eradicate racial discrimination by any person, group of persons, public authorities, and private institutions, and civil, economic, political, cultural, and social organizations.” And also in 2011, Venezuela changed its national census to reflect a question that would allow its citizens to identify themselves as Black for the first time.
As the result of numerous reforms, President Chávez held widespread and unwavering support amongst Afro Venezuelans whose votes led him to a decisive victory in his third and final electoral term.
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Hugo Chavez dies
Conservatives, despite not really liking him, do not celebrate or gloat at his passing. Some discuss what positive effects may result for the Venezuelan economy and South American politics from him no longer being in power.
Margaret Thatcher dies
Leftists throw actual parties celebrating the death of an old woman who hasn’t been in power for over 20 years.
Hugo Chavez Has Died
According to Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro, reports the AP & Reuters.
Update: Our cheat.
50 truths about Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution.
venezuelanalysis.comPresident Hugo Chavez, who died on March 5, 2013 of cancer at age 58, marked forever the history of Venezuela and Latin America.
1. Never in the history of Latin America, has a political leader had such incontestable democratic legitimacy. Since coming to power in 1999, there were 16 elections in Venezuela. Hugo Chavez won 15, the last on October 7, 2012. He defeated his rivals with a margin of 10-20 percentage points.
2. All international bodies, from the European Union to the Organization of American States, to the Union of South American Nations and the Carter Center, were unanimous in recognizing the transparency of the vote counts.
3. James Carter, former U.S. President, declared that Venezuela’s electoral system was “the best in the world.”
4. Universal access to education introduced in 1998 had exceptional results. About 1.5 million Venezuelans learned to read and write thanks to the literacy campaign called Mission Robinson I.
5. In December 2005, UNESCO said that Venezuela had eradicated illiteracy.
6. The number of children attending school increased from 6 million in 1998 to 13 million in 2011 and the enrollment rate is now 93.2%.
7. Mission Robinson II was launched to bring the entire population up to secondary level. Thus, the rate of secondary school enrollment rose from 53.6% in 2000 to 73.3% in 2011.
8. Missions Ribas and Sucre allowed tens of thousands of young adults to undertake university studies. Thus, the number of tertiary students increased from 895,000 in 2000 to 2.3 million in 2011, assisted by the creation of new universities.
9. With regard to health, they created the National Public System to ensure free access to health care for all Venezuelans. Between 2005 and 2012, 7873 new medical centers were created in Venezuela.
10. The number of doctors increased from 20 per 100,000 population in 1999 to 80 per 100,000 in 2010, or an increase of 400%.
11. Mission Barrio Adentro I provided 534 million medical consultations. About 17 million people were attended, while in 1998 less than 3 million people had regular access to health. 1.7 million lives were saved, between 2003 and 2011.
12. The infant mortality rate fell from 19.1 per thousand in 1999 to 10 per thousand in 2012, a reduction of 49%.
13. Average life expectancy increased from 72.2 years in 1999 to 74.3 years in 2011.
14. Thanks to Operation Miracle, launched in 2004, 1.5 million Venezuelans who were victims of cataracts or other eye diseases, regained their sight.
15. From 1999 to 2011, the poverty rate decreased from 42.8% to 26.5% and the rate of extreme poverty fell from 16.6% in 1999 to 7% in 2011.
16. In the rankings of the Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations Program for Development (UNDP), Venezuela jumped from 83 in 2000 (0.656) at position 73 in 2011 (0.735), and entered into the category Nations with ‘High HDI’.
17. The GINI coefficient, which allows calculation of inequality in a country, fell from 0.46 in 1999 to 0.39 in 2011.
18. According to the UNDP, Venezuela holds the lowest recorded Gini coefficient in Latin America, that is, Venezuela is the country in the region with the least inequality.
19. Child malnutrition was reduced by 40% since 1999.
20. In 1999, 82% of the population had access to safe drinking water. Now it is 95%.
21. Under President Chavez social expenditures increased by 60.6%.
22. Before 1999, only 387,000 elderly people received a pension. Now the figure is 2.1 million.
23. Since 1999, 700,000 homes have been built in Venezuela.
24. Since 1999, the government provided / returned more than one million hectares of land to Aboriginal people.
25. Land reform enabled tens of thousands of farmers to own their land. In total, Venezuela distributed more than 3 million hectares.
26. In 1999, Venezuela was producing 51% of food consumed. In 2012, production was 71%, while food consumption increased by 81% since 1999. If consumption of 2012 was similar to that of 1999, Venezuela produced 140% of the food it consumed.
27. Since 1999, the average calories consumed by Venezuelans increased by 50% thanks to the Food Mission that created a chain of 22,000 food stores (MERCAL, Houses Food, Red PDVAL), where products are subsidized up to 30%. Meat consumption increased by 75% since 1999.
28. Five million children now receive free meals through the School Feeding Programme. The figure was 250,000 in 1999.
29. The malnutrition rate fell from 21% in 1998 to less than 3% in 2012.
30. According to the FAO, Venezuela is the most advanced country in Latin America and the Caribbean in the erradication of hunger.
31. The nationalization of the oil company PDVSA in 2003 allowed Venezuela to regain its energy sovereignty.
32. The nationalization of the electrical and telecommunications sectors (CANTV and Electricidad de Caracas) allowed the end of private monopolies and guaranteed universal access to these services.
33. Since 1999, more than 50,000 cooperatives have been created in all sectors of the economy.
34. The unemployment rate fell from 15.2% in 1998 to 6.4% in 2012, with the creation of more than 4 million jobs.
35. The minimum wage increased from 100 bolivars/month ($ 16) in 1998 to 2047.52 bolivars ($ 330) in 2012, ie an increase of over 2,000%. This is the highest minimum wage in Latin America.
36. In 1999, 65% of the workforce earned the minimum wage. In 2012 only 21.1% of workers have only this level of pay.
37. Adults at a certain age who have never worked still get an income equivalent to 60% of the minimum wage.
38. Women without income and disabled people receive a pension equivalent to 80% of the minimum wage.
39. Working hours were reduced to 6 hours a day and 36 hours per week, without loss of pay.
40. Public debt fell from 45% of GDP in 1998 to 20% in 2011. Venezuela withdrew from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, after early repayment of all its debts.
41. In 2012, the growth rate was 5.5% in Venezuela, one of the highest in the world.
42. GDP per capita rose from $ 4,100 in 1999 to $ 10,810 in 2011.
43. According to the annual World Happiness 2012, Venezuela is the second happiest country in Latin America, behind Costa Rica, and the nineteenth worldwide, ahead of Germany and Spain.
44. Venezuela offers more direct support to the American continent than the United States. In 2007, Chávez spent more than 8,800 million dollars in grants, loans and energy aid as against 3,000 million from the Bush administration.
45. For the first time in its history, Venezuela has its own satellites (Bolivar and Miranda) and is now sovereign in the field of space technology. The entire country has internet and telecommunications coverage.
46. The creation of Petrocaribe in 2005 allows 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, or 90 million people, secure energy supply, by oil subsidies of between 40% to 60%.
47. Venezuela also provides assistance to disadvantaged communities in the United States by providing fuel at subsidized rates.
48. The creation of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) in 2004 between Cuba and Venezuela laid the foundations of an inclusive alliance based on cooperation and reciprocity. It now comprises eight member countries which places the human being in the center of the social project, with the aim of combating poverty and social exclusion.
49. Hugo Chavez was at the heart of the creation in 2011 of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) which brings together for the first time the 33 nations of the region, emancipated from the tutelage of the United States and Canada.
50. Hugo Chavez played a key role in the peace process in Colombia. According to President Juan Manuel Santos, “if we go into a solid peace project, with clear and concrete progress, progress achieved ever before with the FARC, is also due to the dedication and commitment of Chavez and the government of Venezuela.”
