By Howard Cox
On August 13, I wrote a Perspective article for The Nica Times outlining the complete failure of President Hugo Chávez in Venezuela (“Venezuela and Cuba: Blueprints for Failure,” NT, Aug. 27).
In the article, I included dozens of specific facts showing the Venezuelan economy is in a freefall and documenting the steady loss of freedoms for Venezuelans.
On Sept. 17, Dr. Carol Marujo wrote her own Nica Times Perspective article titled, “In Defense of Hugo Chavez,” in which she called my article “a rant” and said “I will address a few of the issues he raises.”
I’m still waiting for her rebuttal. She didn’t address a single fact that I wrote about. Not one. Her rebuttal was completely unresponsive to the issues I raised.
Instead, Dr. Marujo attempted mis-direction and the setting up of straw man responses – actually non-responses – as when she said, “One of the oppositions’ favorite ways to demonize President Chávez is to repeat the false claim that Venezuela traffics drugs.”
No where in my article did the subject of drugs appear. Since Chávez is clearly a supporter of the murderous narco-traffiers represented by Colombia’s FARC, I suppose she feels compelled to rush to his defense on this issue.
Dr. Marujo spends most of her article attacking past regimes in Venezuela and ignoring what Chávez has done in the past two or three years. So let’s review:
I wrote that Venezuela now has the highest rate of inflation in Latin America. I wrote that in the past year Venezuela’s economy has contracted, it’s production of oil has dropped by a third, the Bolivar has been devalued by 50 percent and Venezuela is now forced to import over 70 percent of its food.
Venezuela has also seen a spectacular rise in crime – the worst in Latin America, with more than 20,000 murders in 2009. The chances of being murdered in Caracas are now greater than they are in Bagdad.
And what are my sources supporting these facts? All of these statistics came directly from the Venezuelan government. Of course, they always add that all of Venezuela’s problems are the fault of capitalism and “the empire.”
Hugo Chávez has been in power for 12 years and accepts no responsibility for the disasters he has created in Venezuela.
When does Dr. Marujo plan to “address a few of those issues?”
She has accused the United States of investing $50 million to flood the media with disinformation. Where is her proof?
The only proof she offers is anecdotal. She writes that she traveled to Venezuela this year and, “Felt safe walking around Caracas.”
She added, “The people appeared healthy, relaxed, nicely dressed and going about their business. They were friendly and courteous and reminded me of Costa Ricans. On the clean, modern, public metro rail system men offered their seats to women. I saw no evidence of shortages of food or other consumer items.”
This is Dr. Marujo’s rebuttal of the facts I presented on Venezuela – the ones she refuses to address. She sounds like Oliver Stone.
Dr. Marujo told us of several Venezuelans she met with stories of how their lives have improved under Hugo Chávez. She apparently couldn’t find a single Venezuelan who disagreed with any of the government policies.
She asks the question, “Don’t the people of Venezuela have the right to determine their own destiny and how to use their own resources without massively financed interference from the United States?”
In Nicaragua, Hugo Chávez has sent a billion dollars to Daniel Ortega’s personal bank account, not to the Nicaraguan Treasury. This has been confirmed by many authorities around the world, including the International Monetary Fund.
Ortega and his wife are using this money to build a Cuban-style police state in this sad country. Venezuela has bought Channel 8 TV, which now broadcasts as much propaganda as Channel 4, the Sandinistas’ Multinoticias TV.
One can only imagine Dr. Marujo’s outrage if the U.S government had sent a billion dollars to the personal bank account of former President Alvaro Uribe in Colombia and bought a major TV Station in Bogota.
Do the words “cognitive dissonance” ring a bell?
I look forward to Dr. Marujo’s next Perspective piece, where hopefully she will address the issues I have raised in a thoughtful and persuasive way.
Howard Cox moved from Costa Rica to Nicaragua seven years ago. His wife is Nicaraguan and they have built a house and reside in Granada.
