Venezuela has been on my mind a lot lately. It is of course a country that makes world news, but being a gringo living in Latin America makes the senses a tad more acute on certain topics. In December there was the constitutional reform election in Venezuela and now some very good friends of mine have decided to move there to teach. It is a pretty exciting time for me to learn about Venezuela. However, what I find the most interesting is the conversation about Venezuela rather than the actual political situation.There is plenty of literature on the subject of Venezuela’s Bolivarian revolution, thus we do not need to waste each others time on it. If you do not know what I am talking about, well then it is good you are reading this essay.
Today, I want to discuss how people talk about Venezuela. The level of assumption and unquestioning dispositions is fairly incredible. It is down right shocking to hear what people say about Venezuela, so I would like to present some anecdotes I have experienced in the past six weeks. The people who I reference in the article are people we all would consider smart and savvy beings, which makes my story all the more intriguing.
First let’s talk about the December constitutional reforms. Never in my life have I seen such a flurry of hurrahs and relief over email, as the day The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) lost its vote on proposed constitutional amendments. I was a actually shocked, because I assumed two very important points:
- The reforms would pass without a single problem.
- Any gringo living in Latin America would be supporting the changes.
WRONG! Even the people from the United States who live abroad wanted to see Hugo Chavez and his party lose to the right wing. I expect this from the patriots back home, who are fed a terror storm of tales about Latin America. They (I use they not to distance myself from my fellow citizens, but as a way to differentiate people live in the U.S. or not) hear all of their government officials berate President Hugo Chavez as the coming of the end. However, those of us living abroad see what Latin America is like, right? Countless poor people, few environmental regulations, and growing hope that the world will get better. Upon receipt of my first “Thankfully he lost,” email I responded with this perfunctory email:
Unfortunately, I think it is just the opposite. A lot of local participatory democracy initiatives were lost because of this failure.
Most people did not respond. I have no idea what they were thinking, when they read my response. My guess is that they chalked it up to me being some nut job red, who refuses to see the light of reality. Or it went to their spam folder, either way the responses I received were few.
Who are these gringos that are sending these emails out? I thought they were like me. They are from the U.S. or Canada living in a Latin American country considering taking on the title of expatriate, but never committing to it fully. I assumed people who chose this path were people who understand that Latin Americans want change. If people hadn’t noticed, history has not been kind to the people of Latin America. I started to ask around about why people were so pleased with the outcome of the constitutional referendum in Venezuela. The answers came in.People began quoting wild statistics and facts about what Chavez wanted for Venezuela. These ranged from: he wanted to be a monarch; he wanted completely dismantle private industry; the state wanted to own the children; etc. Really? If this is true than I have been completely wrong. A monarch? This guy must be crazy. Then I thought about it and asked, “Wait, why hadn’t I read any of this?” I tend to read a lot, and I swear I had not run across anything like this before, so I decided to dig in.
Let’s look at the notion of the state wanting to own the children statement. A very good friend of mine brings this point up a lot. She knows a woman who lived in Venezuela, has a Venezuelan husband, and now works in one of the richest and most elite private schools in the country of Ecuador. Her yarns of the new Venezuela are nothing short of a World War II Nazi thriller. She claims the Venezuelan state will take ownership of your child at the age of 14. The entire country is going to hell, and is far worse than it used to be.My friend will concede that this point of view may be skewed, but she will not drop this “the state will own your children” bit. I decided to do a little bit of research, because this had to be coming from somewhere. I cannot fathom why the state would want your kids. I have found nothing close to what she has told me. I was discussing the lack of evidence with a second friend, who said “No Josh, it is true that they want to control the children. They do not want infants to leave Venezuela.”
Ok, now I am confused. Like a bad game of telephone, I have no idea what the story actually is. Which is it? Is it both? Had I been completely and utterly duped by the Hugo Chavez and the call for a new Latin America? I decided to go back to the internet and keep researching. Once again I found nothing. What was going on here? Why are two people who I consider smart, trustworthy folks telling me stories that I cannot confirm with any sort of evidence? Nor, for that matter, can they?
(If anyone has a website, article, book, video, anything on these matters PLEASE send it to me. I can take Spanish or English material.)
The only thing I can remotely find that comes near to this is a want by the Venezuelan government to have some national curriculum standards. And well, call me a commie, but I think one’s government should mandate that certain things are taught in every classroom. If I ever have kids I want them to learn about the Revolutionary War in the United States no matter what school they attend in the U.S.Still, I have no idea what anyone is talking about, when it comes to Venezuela. Has the U.S. mainstream media really forged our minds trusting unflinching globs of grey matter? Why aren’t we asking questions any longer? Why are we assuming everything is truth, and then using our own integrity to back up unfounded claims?
Then the big news hit. My neighbors have decided to take a job in Venezuela, near the coast, teaching at a private school. I am so happy for them. First off, the job sounds spectacular, secondly I have a place to stay when I visit Venezuela! (Give me a break, I am from the U.S., self interest is a genetic trait.) It never crossed my mind that this was anything less than truly amazing. I was so excited I started telling everyone I knew, but when I told folks they stammered, and looked away from me.
With a “Good for them, I know I couldn’t do it,” they quickly responded to me and changed the subject. What? Really? You can’t? Why not? We have all moved to Ecuador, quite possibly one of the most unstable countries in Latin America. They do not even use their own currency, the current president just hit his one year anniversary and people consider it a miracle, and the average income is under $500 a month! We can all live here in peace and harmony, but Venezuela is unheard of? It is one country to the north that quite possibly has one of the largest oil reserves on the planet, where people’s income increasing, and GDP is growing as well is incomprehensible? Really?
I am just using these 3 points as examples on researchable facts. How it could be so much better here (in Ecuador) than there (in Venezuela.) And please do not get me wrong, I mean no slight toward Ecuador. I love my country of residence, and we are making great strides in progress here. Someday I’ll talk about those as well, but not today (talk about delving into irrationality.)
One day my second graders told me “the U.S. is full of criminals with guns that shoot people all of the time.” I chastised my students for spreading false information, telling them to research before they speak in absolutes. I think about that memory when I hear my friends discussing Venezuela and I want to chastise all of us who assume without proof or even a follow up question. Our intelligence and discretion will always put us heads above others, but if we do not use these abilities in concert we might as well experience life through an artificial kaleidescope. It is pretty, fractured, and utterly fake. Life without understanding will condemn us to a future without hope.
I would like to make sure that the people I have mentioned in this essay know that I mean absolutely no offense or disrespect to them. I have many other examples on people proceeding forward with few facts, but I trust the opinions and personalities of the people mentioned. This is why the impact of our conversations is much greater to me. I do not judge them, but use their statements as proof, that even some of our most gifted brethren are affected by the propaganda put forth by the ruling classes.