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President
Chavez visit to London (14-16
May 2006)
- Media reaction
President Chavez arrived in London on
Sunday 14th May 2006 on a 2-day private visit. He was invited by Ken
Livingstone, London's Mayor. Chavez had just attended an official EU-Latin
America summit in Vienna while an alternative summit was also organised by
social movements. Both summits were dominated by the Bolivian president Evo
Morales's recent decision to nationalise his country's oil and gas resources,
and to ally with Cuba and Venezuela. There was infighting in the official
summit, with Chavez accusing Latin American leaders of being 'lapdogs of
imperialism' and urged them to go whole heartedly for socialism.
[The truth is that most of the Latin leaders are very
conscious of their European roots and do not wish to give up their links with
Europe.]
1. Chavez addressed a rapturous, foot stomping crowd of about 1000 at Camden
Town Hall. They chanted "Ooh ah, Chavez no se va" (Chavez don't go).
Present were the Socialists (like Tariq Ali), activists, civil rights lawyers,
etc. Chavez was among Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential
people today.
2. The Mayor issued a statement which included the following:
"Chavez deserves the
unequivocal support of every promoter of social progress and genuine believer in
democracy. Venezuela's huge oil wealth was hitherto scarcely used to benefit the
population. Now, for the first time in a country of over 25 million people, a
functioning health service is being built. 17 million people have been given
access to free healthcare for the first time in their lives. Illiteracy has been
eliminated. 15 million people
have been given access to food, medicines and other essential products at
affordable prices. A quarter of a million eye operations have been financed to
rescue people from blindness. These are extraordinary achievements."
3. Chavez became the second head of state - after the Queen - to be welcomed to
London's City Hall. But he did not meet Tony Blair. In February, Blair had the
nerve to admonish Chavez to "respect the rules of the international
community", ignoring his own gross violations of the UN Charter.
Chavez responded in his characteristic style:
"Don't be shameless and immoral, Mr. Blair. You are one of those who have no
morals. You have no right to criticize anyone about the rules of the
international community. You are an 'imperialist pawn' currying favour with
Danger Bush-Hitler, the No 1 mass murderer and assassin there is on the planet.
Go straight to hell, Mr. Blair."
4. And how did the British media react to the Chavez visit? They are all
rightwing, that is, serving power or profit in varying
degrees. For one thing, Chavez was at loggerheads with Blair. For
another, the visit was a non-state and non-Anglo event and the media were ill at
ease. They just could not report objectively:
- "Controversial left-wing President Chavez" (BBC TV news)
- "Is he a hero of the left or a villain in disguise?" (asked TV Channel 4)
- "controversial leader" (Daily Mirror)
- "aggressively populist left-wing leader" (Times)
- "left-wing firebrand", "a dangerous demagogue subsiding totalitarian
regime..." (Independent)
- "Chavez flies in to fill the despot-of-the-month slot at the Mayor's lunch
table" (Daily Telegraph)
Not a word about what Chavez has done for his people and neighbouring countries
(such as supplying cut-price oil to Cuba, helping to pay off Argentina's $2.3bn
debt to the IMF, providing free medical aid to neighbours).
The media played its dutiful role: controlling not
only what we think and know but also who to respect and who
to ridicule.
Most people don't have the time to access
alternative news sources. They therefore remain captive to their country's media.
Sources
1. Medialens Report - Ridiculing Chavez
16 May 06
2. Socialist Worker, Latin American Left in
Europe, 20 May 06
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