Chavez Cannot Be White-Washed
By Sukant Chandan
07 March, 2013
Sons of Malcolm
Chavez has joined the ancestors. Usually it is only when the greatest of our revolutionary leaders pass away that the enemy and the enemy's infiltrators in our ranks start the white-washing of the personality to ensure that her/his potency is whittled away so our masses cannot imbue themselves for the purer revolutionary example that they set.
The enemy - the imperialist white power structure - has done this to all our revolutionaries They try to turn Malcolm X into a hippy figure stripped of his militant and consistently brave advocacy of the world revolution of the masses against imperialism and white supremacy, be it the Chinese socialist state acquiring the nuclear bomb, or his support for the Mau Mau resistance in Kenya and his support for Lumumba and then his subsequent support for the resistance in Congo against the lynchers of Lumumba masterminded by the imperialists. They have done this with Che Guevara , one of the greatest personifications of militant anti-imperialist and socialist internationalism that we have had in the last century.
They tried to turn Che Guevara into merely a romantic figure from a rich white family in Argentina, and not the Che Guevara who saw in the example of socialism in Asia - especially Vietnam, 'north' Korea/DPRK and China the best example of socialism for the world, not the Che who went to Africa (Congo) to struggle with our family there (and with the father of the current president of Congo) against imperialism.
They conduct this white washing against so many: including Steve Biko, Frantz Fanon and countless others. This is because they are a potent threat when they are passed, sometimes more so than when they were living.
Usually imperialism and its tools white wash our revolutionaries after they have passed away. However, the white washing of Chavez was well under way when he was alive, from early on in his leadership of the socialist and anti-imperialist revolution in Venezuela.
Why did this start when he was alive, while with the other figures quoted the white washing started after they passed away? It is because Chavez's leadership was at a time when the world revolution took a historical nose dive. Chavez leadership arose at the end of the 1990s, ie., the worse period of the entire century since 1914 because the 1990s was the period of defeat after imperialism and its allies smashed the Eastern Socialist Bloc of countries that, despite its limitations, was a beacon of socialism and direct support by all means necessary of the international world revolution for independence from imperialism.
The white washing of Chavez started from the early part of this leadership of Venezuela post-1999 because Chavez did not go along with the tide, he did not go along with what the western imperialism imbued left thought was fashionable. The white washing started because Chavez was true to our revolutionary legacy, ideologies, traditions and ancestors from the previous period of massive upsurge of revolutionary struggle led by China and and Mao Tse Tung and the other revolutionary newly independent and often socialist states of the GlobalSouth who had freed themselves, with support from the newly expanded anti-imperialist and socialist world, from imperialism and colonialism.
Chavez, like Morales, Correa, Lula and Dilma in the region, know very well who they are loyal to presently and historically, as they seem themselves very much a continuation of those who they and we have learnt from: the veteran movements and struggles of our peoples across the three southern continents.
The trendy liberal imperialists and fake socialists will champion everything about Chavez but that which is truly revolutionary about the Great Man, as they do with everything that is truly revolutionary, they turn it into a bougie boutique artefact, however, the onus is on our international family who stay loyal to indeed do likewise to Chavez and our traditions: i.e., stay loyal to Chavez in his entirety, and not that which is dictated by imperialist prejudice and radical posturing.
The difference between now and the revolutionary period of the 1950s-1980s is that there is not the kind of world revolutionary leadership we had in that period, because in that period due to the force and effectiveness of the revolutionary world leadership the fakes could not easily white wash our leadership as it was all to obvious and powerful what the nature of our leadership was. After the disaster of the collapse of the Eastern Socialist and Anti-Imperialist Bloc, the fakes could talk 'breeze' to quote the street parlance of our youth in london.
Here are some things that you will not find the snakes, fakes, fools and tools of imperialism raising high about Chavez. These are merely things to those who positively understand our struggle will find not to be controversial in the slightest, but the A B C of revolutionary leadership and strategy.
Chavez was loyal historically to our greatest revolutionary leaders, including one of the greatest: Mao Tse Tung, about whom he said was a " great strategist, great soldier, great statesman, and great revolutionary", and said to his Chinese comrades in the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese state that Venezuela was finally "standing up" for itself, just as China had done "under the leadership of the great helmsman, Mao ". ( Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution , Gott, p26)
Chavez aligned himself with some of the greatest veterans of the socialist and anti-imperialist struggle such as Robert Mugabe, arguably one of Africa's greatest revolutionaries who has continued to defy a veritable seige of war by imperialism since the late 1990s for the support he has given Africa against imperialism and the land reforms against white settler farmers in Zimababwe. Chavez gave Mugabe the most prestigious award in Venezuela, the sword of Bolivar on Mugabe's visit to the country in early 2004, and said to him in presenting the sword: " I give you a replica of liberator Simon Bolivar's sword [..] For you, who like Bolivar, took up arms to liberate your people. For you, who like Bolivar, are and will always be a true freedom fighter [...] He [Mugabe] continues, alongside his people, to confront the pretensions of new imperialists. " ( source )
Chavez understood that in the world today it is fundamental to develop close strategic relations not only with Peoples China, but also with Russia. While imperialism did not want to embarass itself too much, it was little reported that the Russians and Venezuelans made a historic victory for the world revolution in december 2008 when they had a joint military naval exercise in the Caribbean waters right under the nose of usa imperialism. Chavez recognised that Russia is a good and strong friend of the GlobalSouth that develops relations with respect and without any arrogance towards us, and has a powerful military that GlobalSouth countries can ally with in a common struggle against imperialism. Putin likewise commented on his comradeship with Chavez " Throughout the many years of our friendship, you have convinced me more than once that you are a true fighter, a brave man, a man of strong will. " ( Global Times ). Chavez also awarded Putin with the prestigious sword of Bolivar.
So many fakes and snakes supported the nato war on Gaddafi and Libya when Castro, Farrakhan, the Sandinista's Ortega and Morales, Correa and Chavez all stood by their comrade Gaddafi in the face of this imperialism onslaught. While the Libya issue remains the most illuminating chapter of modern history which showed up every one who was weak minded coward in the face of that massive imperialist offensive, it was Chavez was stood out early on in the attack and stated that Gaddafi had been " someone who has been my friend and our friend for a long time, without knowing what is happening in Libya ... I am not a coward, I am not fickle ."
While so many exposed their own fickleness and cowardice in the face of empire, Chavez showed the world what true comradeship, internationalism and revolutionary loyalty means. And how right were Chavez and Gaddafi too as to the real nature of that british-imperialist-led nato and allied death squad putsch, and how sorry and pathetic are those who still remain the cowards they exposed themselves to be at the time.
The fakes and snakes in our midst will now go all out to delete most of the above from the legacy and revolutionary life of Hugo Chavez, or will fundamentally disrespect the person of Chavez by criticising his choice of comrades and strategical approach. One can only treat this as pathetic, as none of these people are worthy of washing Chavez's socks, let alone passing judgement on someone who defined the minimum standards of revolutionary leadership of the last generation.
The white washing of Chavez is part and parcel of the constantly escalating imperialist campaign of war, distortion and lies against our peoples internationally, as Chavez was an internationalist leader respected by our masses throughout the world. However, it is especially in Venezuela and the region that imperialism will be taking their chance to roll back the advances made by our family in that region against imperialism, against white supremacy and for the rights of our land and people and for socialism. It is to be welcomed that the leadership in Venezuela has expelled some imperialists already and Foreign Minister Maduro, someone who is clearly one of the best leaders after Chavez's passing has stated: “ Venezuela's political and military leadership is united, we call on the people to close ranks, to unite forces, and to pray for our comandante ,” ( source )
Like our leadership is asking of their/our people in Venezuela, we likewise take this call to close our ranks tighter than ever with all our assertive GlobalSouth leadership from Beijing to Delhi, from Moscow to Harare, from Algiers to Caracas to join in prayer to inform our vigilance and loyalty in action to the challenges sent to us by our ancestors, with another great ancestor - our Dear Brother Leader Hugo Chavez - joining with them and inspiring us further.
Sukant Chandan is a London-based freelance journalist, researcher and political analyst. He runs two websites: http://ouraim.blogspot.com/ and http://sonsofmalcolm.blogspot.com/ and can be contacted at [email protected]
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