The Patrick Henry Democratic Club 2008 World Leaders of the Year Hugo Chavez, Venezuela & Evo Morales, Bolivia (tie)

Hugo Chavez has been the voice for 99% of the Venezuelan people who have been pushed down by the 1% of the population that exploit the masses for their own greed. When Chavez took over Venezuela, he knew that 99% of the population lived in poverty and in danger of starvation and tragedy from a corrupt oil cartel. He forced the oil companies to give some of the profits from Venezuelan oil to the 99% of the population that need the money for survival. Chavez took unused corporate lands and gave them to the people to farm. Chavez’s work has helped increase the standard of living of average Venezuelans. Venezuelans enjoy universal health care regardless of whether they are employed. Venezuela has no death penalty and prisons from which escape is easy. The people of Venezuela love their government. They are not afraid of it.

While the United States is finally acknowledging that blacks can be President, Hugo Chavez, black and Native Venezuelan, was proclaimed the first non-white President of Venezuela when he was elected in 1998. The United States had the opportunity to elect a black President in 1988 but fell behind Venezuela by ten years in this regard.

Chavez has his enemies. Rich oil executives and CIA operatives have tried to undermine his government. In fact the CIA kidnapped Chavez in 2002, but the people flocked to the streets and demanded the return of their beloved leader. The CIA was forced to return Chavez. As in the United States, the rich corporations have controlled the Venezuelan media and have used that media to attack their own President. Still, the people of Venezuela love Chavez as no other leader has been loved. When referendums have been forced on the Venezuelan people by the American Government, Chavez has won a super-majority of votes. Even when opposition supporters tried to shoot Chavez supporters standing in line to vote, the Venezuelan people refused to leave the line as they did not want to lose their leader. American leaders who are owned by corporations that want to profit off the Venezuelan resources have put down Chavez. Americans who have thoroughly studied the situation in Venezuelan find Chavez to be an exemplary, humane and kind leader.

Evo Morales is the first indigenous leader of Bolivia since the Spanish Conquest. In 2005, angry at continued corruption in former Bolivian President Carlos Mesa’s government, the people of Bolivia took to and blocked the streets to the capital, paralyzing the corporate-controlled government. The Bush Administration, which sided with the corporations, tried to prevent the election of Morales. Bush failed and Morales won. Morales was first elected President of Bolivia on December 18, 2005 in an election that had the participation of 84.5% of the electorate. One of the first calls to Morales following his election was from Hugo Chavez, who called to congratulate Morales on his victory. Morales assumed office on January 22, 2006. In 2008, Bolivians voted to keep him in power by more than a 2 to 1 margin.

Morales has worked to promote social justice, land reform, environmental reforms, and universal health care. Like Chavez, he has stood up to the drug cartel, to Bush, to free trade and to racism. Though, he has not gotten as much publicity as Chavez, Morales has been instrumental in moving a corporatocracy into a democratic state where the people are put first.

Young Dems