Masopher's Mind

Gran Columbia is having its grand share of troubles. Populist Chavez has mobilized his new Russian bought arsenal to the border with Columbia while Columbia insists that the incursion into Ecuador to kill FARC was in hot pursuit. Oil and Cocaine, lethal combination because cocaine messes up the gas tank and oil can’t be snorted easily. They buy a whole lot of weapons however. Masopher has long suspected that Chavez might be supplying FARC but the truth is, FARC is mostly supplied by Americans. Cocaine for guns; simple trade. Chavez and Correa benefit from Uribe’s weakness. Columbia due to its dual income of drug money and anti-drug money has made it a regional powerhouse. Venezuela and Ecuador suffer from feeble governments who see international tensions as a distraction from their own internal struggles. Correa is a simple man glad for the Venezuelan pesos, so when Chavez says “Salto!” Correa responds “¿Como Arriba?” FARC has targeted both countries in the past using them as trans-shipment paths and refuge. The movement of troops has a dual purpose of threatening Columbia but also protecting the turf from FARC. Sadly, Ortega in his old age is right, killing old pragmatic FARC leaders is cool for internal politics but if FARC give up on Columbia, they have a whole lot of other targets, not to mention hostages which bear significant interest. If it wasn’t for the whole pretense at communism, Masopher would recommend that Gran Columbia come together dismantle the FARC and get rid of the secret US and French commandos skulking around the northern part of the continent. Because there is so much money at stake, Masopher sees a bit of talk a few hot words in sparring and a resumption of governing over Oil and coke countries.

Hugo Chavez: One of my favourite living politicians. El Presidente of Venezuala. Fighting with his internal demons, namely the banana republic oligarchy who were sadly not decapitated in a communist revolution. Sadly not because I wish death on them but because the interaction between the democratically elected charismatic leader and them confuses the issue as to his intentions. Because of their actions through coups and blatant ridiculous propaganda force him to cling to power and act more leftist than I think he truly is. Were it not for the polarizing influences of the old families, Venezuela would be more susceptible to more subtle machinations but with them in place it means Chavez has to keep up his wildly undiplomatic but highly entertaining antics. (His Spanish and US confrontations)

He is a new left that has emerged in South America, a so called Bolivarian, which sums up to nationalist/continental-ist left. A People proud of being a people and of course bucking the globalization policy originating from the U.S. Chavez is unwittingly playing up the goal of globalization, by uniting South America he will make it that much easier for what I think is the unification of the planet. However the argument as always is the semantics of how to get there. Bolivarianism is not Banana Republic vassalism that the oligarchs want and it is not becoming a client US state as in Columbia and El Salvador.

Without a doubt Chavez is remaking himself into a reincarnation of his mentor Fidel Castro, but without an overt betrayal/confrontation with the US the relations will sum up to just a charismatic blowhard in a chamber of sleepy old crooks. The US needs Venezuela and Venezuela needs the US and the world needs peace. So far he has resisted the temptation of “going dictator” but as mentioned, the oligarchs make him resisting temptation that much harder.

The US interest in Venezuela is complex. There is Oil and resources, religious and political lobbies that are losing steam because they don’t have any more Oil money and there is communism. Chavez courts communism openly and allies himself with former soviet clients as well as Russia. For the most part if it looks like a fish, swims like a fish and stinks like a fish then its probably a fish. But communism was a ludicorous and abysmally failed experiment which quickly turned into an industry centred around murder espionage propaganda and military. Surely he cant want that?!

So with all that background, France’s new president Sarkozy is doing some big swing politics. He wants South American anti-gov rebels to release a potentially valuable future ally which will give France a much needed foothold in the West. And he wants Chavez to do it. Chavez has at most militarily aided and at least sympathized with FARC. He can get the job done. Chavez is as well a neighbour and a regional influence (Bolivia, Brazil, the Caribbean, Ecuador, Argentina). He also builds relationships with almost everyone including the UK, Israel and Iran. Colombia on the other hand is a major supplier of US cocaine (and coffee!) and major customer of US weapons.

The tensions are obvious. Bolivarianism decrees that Chavez strengthen ties with anybody that leaders who will promote a united (socialist) South America and undermines anyone that adheres to US hegemony. The FARC is one example of USSA, and apparently Colombia’s military commander is another. Unfortunately the Franco-American ties are on a rebound and Chavez is…so Colombia’s President, Álvaro Vélez will find himself short on support.

Funnily enough, Vélez is Harvard and Oxford among other things, making his Political skills and leaning surprisingly pro-left. Simon Bolivar is the first President of Columbia. Aside from the FARC assassination of his dad, and Columbia’s relationship with the US, and of course political jealousy/vanity the two should get along.

References? I don’t need em, I don’t invent stuff I just read a lot and write. What have I read? Newspapers from around the world and wikipedia?

Last Night I cried. Not very strange, I don’t cry much but I do cry for movies about struggle and unfairness at times. Bruce Almighty and passion of the Christ (very unlikely pair I agree).  What was weird is that I was watching a documentary about President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Having done a profile on the man, I know about him; Populist, nationalist, socialist; Bolivarian, charismatic guy who will probably expend all his resources trying not to get killed by American/CIA Mercenaries and trying to remain ultra-popular. Not a villain at all however, Not even close to a dictator or a totalitarian. Venezuela finally emerged from a string of dictators and oligarchs, ultra rich European descendants living scornfully off the back of indigenous labour and national oil. A banana republic finally starts becoming a real republic and the guardians of the status quo conspire to kill the man who ushers in real democracy. The media, owned and operated by wealthy individuals assail his character and spread outright lies. Propaganda in its most blatant form is used by the rich, who fear the loss of their wealth. Chavez with his canny media savvy background fights fire with fire. Whether he keeps his head above the mud slinging is unclear but he combats slander with a call in show (with obvious planted calls).

In the third year of his presidency, the oligarch run media their rich toy soldier son, his aristocracy practically beaming off his head instigates a coup. Antigovernment sheep are herded against the pro-government sheep and then snipers (CIA trained or Mercenary) start popping shots at the clashing crowd. Shots ring out from the armed population and the coup begins. Chavez is blamed and the military lead by the old aristocrat toy general kidnaps the President and threatens to bomb the government. Here is where I cry as I watch a man who has only tried to help poor people being taken off to be executed.

Kidnapped and scattered the government watch the rich people install themselves in power and turn the country into a dictatorship, dissolving the constitution and abolishing human rights. Several days of repression follow until the palace guard gather their wits and realize that they have participated in reviving dictatorship. They retake the palace and the cockroaches of the government scuttle back into the light. The Vice president is installed even as he brays for Chavez to be spared and the poor soldiers across the country revolt against the rich-boys leading them. Had he been killed the country may have fallen into bloody chaos. Washington remained hands off, choosing words carefully but scowling menacingly and grumbling at Chavez’s socialist leanings which is implicitly dictatorial. Words like Columbian drugs and Castro are waved impotently around. Embroiled in Iraq and Afghanistan and without the pizzazz or subterfuge of a charismatic democrat administration or spare resources that were used in Central America, Venezuela takes a back burner. The coup failed and Chavez won’t present enough of a target for assassination. As long as the oil rolls in, DC doesn’t care if it’s the rich people or poor people in Venezuela who are earning the oil cash. Venezuela’s rich just were not rich enough or special-interest enough to warrant more than a few backhanded comments. I am sure that Pat Robertson and the like are well paid by the Venezuelan Christian Right but buying American patronage is an expensive undertaking reserved for the bankers of this civilization, drug cartels and techno-industrial empires. Chavez was freed and immediately springs back to his jovial self. He is a threat in terms of his influence in South America and the world. Once the oil runs out his legacy and the rest of us might get nuked for his troubles.

You see that book he’s holding? It is written by the most powerful and invisible intellectual even born in the United States. What he says is true and suppressed by American media and government. Noam Chomsky is not my favourite author despite me reading many of his books.