December 29th, 2002
Dear Senator,
Daily, the news headlines from Venezuela are disturbing, not just for what they say, but for what is left unsaid. Nowhere have I seen anything that can pass for balanced coverage of just why this country is in so much turmoil. Some things are perfectly clear: Venezuela is a country with vast natural resources that it sells to the world, including the United States. But it is also a nation divided starkly into haves and have-nots, and I think that all we hear about in the United States is the sad plight of the haves, at risk of losing their grip on Venezuela and its oil resources. Nor do we hear that most of the strikes are in fact not strikes, but rather lock-outs by the monied elite, designed to overthrow a constitutionally elected government. The truth is out there, one just has to look assiduously for it.
The pronouncements of the Bush administration leave me deeply concerned that our country is once again on the side of the oil oligarchy, applying money and pressure and support to the wrong side, creating a civil war where there should be a civil dialogue. There is nothing inherently evil in the government of Hugo Chavez; a clear majority of Venezuelans elected him, and it should not matter to us whether he is socialist or striped. Venezuela has a modern and well-written constitution; left alone, I believe that Venezuela can reconcile its differences in a constitutional manner. The events of last April, in which Chavez was temporarily overthrown and his successors quickly crowned by our ambassador, are clearly telling and demonstrate the extent to which we meddle in the affairs of sovereign nations. Enough, I say; let this not be done in my name. I ask you to speak up in the name of true democracy as practiced by other nations, not just our own vision of what is good for our smaller neighbors while convenient and profitable for the United States.
Sincerely,
Kurt