http://young.anabaptistradicals.org/2006/09/15/yar-travelogue-from-venezuela-no-1/ let's activate something Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:07:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 http://young.anabaptistradicals.org/2006/09/15/yar-travelogue-from-venezuela-no-1/#comment-10921 Colombia, Ecuador and Chavez » Young Anabaptist Radicals Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:07:01 +0000 http://young.anabaptistradicals.org/2006/09/15/yar-travelogue-from-venezuela-no-1/#comment-10921 [...] The team’s statement also mentions the “saber-rattling by neighbors in the region”. I’d like to look at that saber rattling a little more closely. Specifically, the war-mongering coming from the party that was not directly involved in the incident, Chavez. In the fall of 2006 I went to Venezuela on my honeymoon and wrote four posts here (1, 2, 3, 4) documenting some of the reactions we heard to Chavez from people we met along the way. At the time we saw that there were a lot of good things going on in Venezuela, but it was also clear that Chavez’s leadership was problematic. While we were there he made his famous Bush-is-the-devil speech that boosted Chomsky to #1 on Amazon. It was a stunt that brought up conflicted response for me. While it was great to have Chomsky get some exposure, Chavez was clearly setting a polarizing and divisive course for himself and his country. [...] […] The team’s statement also mentions the “saber-rattling by neighbors in the region”. I’d like to look at that saber rattling a little more closely. Specifically, the war-mongering coming from the party that was not directly involved in the incident, Chavez. In the fall of 2006 I went to Venezuela on my honeymoon and wrote four posts here (1, 2, 3, 4) documenting some of the reactions we heard to Chavez from people we met along the way. At the time we saw that there were a lot of good things going on in Venezuela, but it was also clear that Chavez’s leadership was problematic. While we were there he made his famous Bush-is-the-devil speech that boosted Chomsky to #1 on Amazon. It was a stunt that brought up conflicted response for me. While it was great to have Chomsky get some exposure, Chavez was clearly setting a polarizing and divisive course for himself and his country. […]

]]> http://young.anabaptistradicals.org/2006/09/15/yar-travelogue-from-venezuela-no-1/#comment-21 Young Anabaptist Radicals » YAR Travelogue from Venezuela No 4: A Chávez Supporter Sat, 23 Sep 2006 23:42:18 +0000 http://young.anabaptistradicals.org/2006/09/15/yar-travelogue-from-venezuela-no-1/#comment-21 [...] Andrés told us that despite the good salaries offered, many Venezuelan doctors refused to work at the clinics because they didn’t want to support Chávez. Which brings us back to the criticism of Chavez from my first Venezuela post. Emilio said that you had to have the right political opinions to get a government job or contract. To some extent, this appears to be a two way street as many of the Venezuelan elite don’t want to work for a Chávez government. [...] […] Andrés told us that despite the good salaries offered, many Venezuelan doctors refused to work at the clinics because they didn’t want to support Chávez. Which brings us back to the criticism of Chavez from my first Venezuela post. Emilio said that you had to have the right political opinions to get a government job or contract. To some extent, this appears to be a two way street as many of the Venezuelan elite don’t want to work for a Chávez government. […]

]]> http://young.anabaptistradicals.org/2006/09/15/yar-travelogue-from-venezuela-no-1/#comment-6 Lora Sat, 16 Sep 2006 12:33:59 +0000 http://young.anabaptistradicals.org/2006/09/15/yar-travelogue-from-venezuela-no-1/#comment-6 Tim, posting on your honeymoon!?! Yeah, I've pretty much heard the same thing about Chavez--just as polarizing as Bush, although at the opposite end of the political spectrum. Colombian refugees love him, though, since they get a lot of the services there (no questions asked) that the Colombian government has steadly been cutting, even as Colombia is asking for more funding from the U.S. for the war on terror/war on drugs. Most of the analysis I read in U.S. news dismisses Chavez and most Latin American leaders as leftists, but it seems like they're more populists than anything. Keep us posted. Tim, posting on your honeymoon!?! Yeah, I’ve pretty much heard the same thing about Chavez–just as polarizing as Bush, although at the opposite end of the political spectrum. Colombian refugees love him, though, since they get a lot of the services there (no questions asked) that the Colombian government has steadly been cutting, even as Colombia is asking for more funding from the U.S. for the war on terror/war on drugs. Most of the analysis I read in U.S. news dismisses Chavez and most Latin American leaders as leftists, but it seems like they’re more populists than anything. Keep us posted.

]]>