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"Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Barack Obama, is Preparing for War in South
America"; Interview with Eva Golinger

by Mike
Whitney

Global
Research, December 18, 2009

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friend

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article

Mike
Whitney----The US media is very critical
of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He's
frequently denounced as "anti-American", a
"leftist strongman", and a dictator.  Can you
briefly summarize some of the positive social,
economic and judicial changes for which Chavez is
mainly responsible?

Eva Golinger----The
first and foremost important achievement during
the Chávez administration is the 1999
Constitution, which, although not written nor
decreed by Chávez himself, was created through his
vision of change for Venezuela. The 1999
Constitution was, in fact, drafted - written - by
the people of Venezuela in one of the most
participatory examples of nation building, and
then was ratified through popular national
referendum by 75% of Venezuelans. The 1999
Constitution is one of the most advanced in the
world in the area of human rights. It guarantees
the rights to housing, education, healthcare,
food, indigenous lands, languages, women's rights,
worker's rights, living wages and a whole host of
other rights that few other countries recognize on
a national level. My favorite right in the
Venezuelan Constitution is the right to a
dignified life. That pretty much sums up all the
others. Laws to implement these rights began to
surface in 2001, with land reform, oil industry
redistribution, tax laws and the creation of more
than a dozen social programs - called missions -
dedicated to addressing the basic needs of
Venezuela's poor majority. In 2003, the first
missions were directed at education and
healthcare. Within two years, illiteracy was
eradicated in the country and Venezuela was
certified by UNESCO as a nation free of
illiteracy. This was done with the help of a
successful Cuban literacy program called "Yo si
puedo" (Yes I can). Further educational missions
were created to provide free universal education
from primary to doctoral levels throughout the
country. Today, Venezuela's population is much
more educated than before, and adults who
previously had no high school education now are
encouraged to not only go through a secondary
school program, but also university and graduate
school.

The healthcare
program, called "Barrio Adentro", has not only
provided preventive healthcare to all Venezuelans
- many who never had access to a doctor before -
but also has guaranteed universal, free access to
medical attention at the most advanced levels.
MRIs, heart surgery, lab work, cancer treatments,
are all provided free of cost to anyone (including
foreigners) in need. Some of the most modern
clinics, diagnostic treatment centers and
hospitals have been built in the past five years
under this program, placing Venezuela at the
forefront of medical technology.

Other programs
providing subsidized food and consumer products
(Mercal, Pdval), job training (Mission Vuelvan
Caras), subsidies to poor, single mothers (Madres
del Barrio), attention to indigents and drug
addicts (Mission Negra Hipolita) have reduced
extreme poverty by 50% and raised Venezuelans
standard of living and quality of life. While
nothing is perfect, these changes are
extraordinary and have transformed Venezuela into
a nation far different from what it looked like 10
years ago. In fact, the most important achievement
that Hugo Chávez himself is directly responsible
for is the level of participation in the political
process. Today, millions of Venezuelans previously
invisible and excluded are visible and included.
Those who were always marginalized and ignored in
Venezuela by prior governments today have a voice,
are seen and heard, and are actively participating
in the building of a new economic, political and
social model in their
country.

MW---On Monday, President
Chavez threw a Venezuelan judge in jail on charges
of abuse of power for freeing a high-profile
banker. Do you think he overstepped his authority
as executive or violated the principle of
separation of powers? What does this say about
Chavez's resolve to fight
corruption?

Eva
Golinger----President Chávez did not put anyone in
jail. Venezuela has an Attorney General and an
independent branch of government in charge of
public prosecutions. Chávez did publicly accuse
the judge of corruption and violating the law
because that judge overstepped her authority by
releasing an individual charged with corruption
and other criminal acts from detention, despite
the fact that a previous court had not granted
conditional freedom or bail to the suspect. And,
the judge released the suspect in a very irregular
way, without the presence of the prosecutor, and
through a back door. The suspect then fled the
country.

This is part of
Venezuela's fight against corruption.
Unfortunately - as in a lot of countries -
corruption is deeply rooted in the culture. The
struggle to eradicate corruption is probably the
most difficult of all and will probably not be
achieved until new generations have grown up with
different values and education. In the meantime,
the Chávez administration is trying hard to ensure
that corrupt public officials pay the
consequences. That judge, for example, engaged in
an act of corruption and abuse of authority by
illegally releasing a suspect and therefore was
charged by the Public Prosecutor's office and will
be tried. It has nothing to do with what Chávez
said or didn't say, it has to do with enforcing
the law.

MW---Why is the United
States building military bases in Colombia? Do
they pose a threat to Chavez or the Bolivarian
Revolution?

Eva Golinger----On
October 30th, the US formally entered into an
agreement with the Colombian government to allow
US access to seven military bases in Colombia and
unlimited use of Colombian territory for military
operations. The agreement itself is purported to
be directed at counter-narcotics operations and
counter-terrorism. But a US Air Force document
released earlier this year discussing the need for
a stronger US military presence in Colombia
revealed the true intentions behind the military
agreement. The document stated that the US
military presence was necessary to combat the
"constant threat from anti-US governments in the
region". Clearly, that is a reference to
Venezuela, and probably Bolivia, maybe Ecuador.
It's no secret that Washington considers the
Venezuelan government anti-US, though it's not
true. Venezuela is anti-imperialist, but not
anti-US. The US Air Force document also stated
that the Colombian bases would be used to engage
in "full spectrum military operations" throughout
South America, and even talked about surveillance,
intelligence and reconnaisance missions, and
improving the capacity of US forces to execute
"expeditionary warfare" in Latin
America.

Clearly, this is a
threat to the peoples of Latin America and
particularly those nations targeted, such as
Venezuela. Most people in the US don't know about
this military agreement, but it they did, they
should question why their government, led by Nobel
Peace Prize winner Barack Obama, is preparing for
war in South America. And, in the midst of an
economic crisis with millions of people in the US
losing jobs and homes, why are millions of dollars
being spent on military bases in Colombia? The US
Congress already approved $46 million for one of
the bases in Colombia. And surely more funds will
be supplied in the future.

MW---What is ALBA? Is it
a viable alternative to the "free trade" blocs
promoted by the US?

Eva Golinger----The
Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas - Trade
Agreement for the People, is a regional agreement
created five years ago between Venezuela and Cuba,
and now has 9 members: Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Antigua and
Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and
Dominica. ALBA is a trade agreement based on
integration, cooperation and solidarity, contrary
to US trade agreements which are based on
competition and exploitation. It promotes a way of
trading between nations that assures mutual
benefits. For example, Venezuela sells oil to Cuba
and Cuba pays with services - doctors, educators
and technological experts that help to improve
Venezuela's industries. Venezuela sells oil to
Nicaragua and Nicaragua pays with food products,
agricultural technology and aide to build
Venezuela's own agricultural industry, which long
ago was abandoned by prior governments only
interested in the rich oil industry. ALBA seeks to
not just provide economic benefits to its member
nations, but also social and cultural advances.
The idea is to find ways to help members develop
and progress in all aspects of society. ALBA
recently created a new currency, the SUCRE, which
will be used as a form of exchange between member
nations, eliminating the US dollar as the standard
for trade.

MW---Are US NGO's and
intelligence agents still trying to foment
political instability in Venezuela or have those
operations ceased since the failed
coup?

Eva Golinger----In
fact, the funding of political groups in
Venezuela, and others throughout Latin America
that promote US agenda, has increased since the
April 2002 coup against President Chávez. Through
two principal Department of State agencies, USAID
and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED),
the US government has channeled more than $50
million to opposition groups in Venezuela since
2002. The USAID/NED budget to fund groups in
Venezuela in 2010 is nearly $15 million, doubled
from last year's $7 million. This is a state
policy of Washington, which the Obama
Administration plans to amp up. They call it
"democracy promotion", but it's really democracy
subversion and destabilization. Funding political
groups favorable to Empire, equipping them with
resources, strategizing to help formulate
political platforms and campaigns - all geared
towards regime change - is a new form of invasion,
a silent invasion. Through USAID and NED, and
their "partner NGOs" and contractors, such as
Freedom House, International Republican Institute,
National Democratic Institute, Pan-American
Development Foundation and Development
Alternatives, Inc., hundreds of political groups,
parties and programs are presently being funded in
Venezuela to promote regime change against the
Chávez government. US taxpayer dollars are being
squandered on these efforts to overthrow a
democratically elected government that simply
isn't convenient for Washington. Remember,
Venezuela has 24% of world oil reserves. That's a
lot!

MW---How
hard has Venezuela been hit by the economic
crisis? Do the people understand Wall Street's
role in the meltdown?

Eva
Golinger----Actually, the Chávez government has
taken important steps to shelter Venezuela from
the financial crisis. People here in Venezuela
absolutely understand Wall Street's role in the
crisis and know that the US capitalist-consumerist
system is principally responsible for causing the
financial crisis, but also the climate crisis that
the world is facing. The Venezuelan government
took preventive steps against the financial
crisis, such as withdrawing Venezuela's reserves
from US banks two years ago, creating cushion
funds to ensure social programs would not be cut
and diversifying Venezuela's oil clientele so as
not to be dependent solely on US clients.
Recently, several banks have been nationalized by
the Venezuelan government and others have been
liquidated. But this was more due to the
mismanagement and internal corruption within those
banks. The Venezuelan government reacted quickly
to take over the banks and guarantee customers'
savings would not be lost. In fact, it's the first
time in Venezuela's history that no customers have
lost any of their money during a bank liquidation
or takeover. This is part of the Chávez
Administration's policy of prioritizing social
needs over economic gain.

MW---Here's an excerpt from a
special weekend report by Bloomberg
News:

"Americans have grown
gloomier about both the economy and the nation’s
direction over the past three months even as the
U.S. shows signs of moving from recession to
recovery. Almost half the people now feel less
financially secure than when President Barack
Obama took office in January...Fewer than 1 in 3
Americans think the economy will improve in the
next six months....Only 32 percent of poll
respondents believe the country is headed in the
right direction, down from 40 percent who said so
in September." (Bloomberg)

The
frustration and disillusionment with the US
political/economic system has never been greater
in my lifetime. Do you think people in the United
States are ready for their own Bolivarian
Revolution and steps towards a more progressive,
socialistic model of
government?

Eva Golinger----The
rise of Barack Obama neutralized a growing
sentiment for profound change inside the US.
Hopefully, the slowdown in US activism will only
be temporary. South of the border, there is
tremendous change taking place. New social,
political and economic models are being built by
popular grassroots movements in Venezuela, Bolivia
and other Latin American nations that seek
economic and social justice. I believe strongly
that models in process, like the Bolivarian
Revolution, provide inspiration and hope to those
in the US and around the world that alternatives
to US capitalism do exist and can be
successful.

The US has a rich
history of revolution. There are many groups
inside the US dedicated to building a better, more
humanist system. Unity and a collective vision are
essential aspects of building a strong movement
capable of moving forward. Every nation has its
moment in history. This is the time of Latin
America. But there is great hope that the people
of the US will soon unite with their brothers and
sisters south of the border to bring down Empire
and help build a true world community based on
social and economic justice for all.

Bio.--- Eva
Golinger, winner of the International Award for
Journalism in Mexico (2009), named “La Novia de
Venezuela” by President Hugo Chávez, is a
Venezuelan-American attorney from New York, living
in Caracas, Venezuela since 2005 and author of the
best-selling books, “The Chávez Code: Cracking US
Intervention in Venezuela” (2006 Olive Branch
Press), “Bush vs. Chávez: Washington’s War on
Venezuela” (2007, Monthly Review Press), “The
Empire’s Web: Encyclopedia of Interventionism and
Subversion”, “La Mirada del Imperio sobre el 4F:
Los Documentos Desclasificados de Washington sobre
la rebelión militar del 4 de febrero de 1992” and
"La Agresión Permanente: USAID, NED y CIA". Since
2003, Eva, a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College
and CUNY Law School in New York, has been
investigating, analyzing and writing about US
intervention in Venezuela using the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) to obtain information about
the US Government’s efforts to destabilize
progressive movements in Latin America. Her first
book, The Chávez Code, has been translated and
published in six languages (English, Spanish,
French, German, Italian & Russian) and is
presently being made into a feature
film.

Mike
Whitney is a frequent contributor to Global
Research.  Global
Research Articles by Mike Whitney

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