By Johan Galtung
ALFAZ, Spain, Mar 8 2013 (IPS)

That his life and his deeds had black dots is part of the story but should not prevent us from seeing the greatness of a maker of history. First, in his own country, Venezuela, Hugo Chávez lifted those at the bottom up from misery, into economic wellness, political participation, cultural pride (in their often African, or Indian, blood), social dignity – going far beyond Gini coefficients to measure increasing equality.

Johan Galtung

Second, he did the same for Latin America, he helped lift the bottom countries up, under the name of the iconic Simón Bolívar: Cuba and Nicaragua, Ecuador and Bolivia, Brazil…to mention some.

Of course the two policies are related. Colombia, with its long record of violence from 1948 to 2013, is a pariah country and can only be lifted up by lifting up those at the bottom, attacking flagrant inequality. Chávez and his fellow leaders, Fidel Castro and Daniel Ortega, Rafael Correa and Evo Morales, Lula da Silva, are on line.

A formidable team, doing far more than the European leaders who are trying to manage their crisis. The late essayist-journalist Christopher Hitchens interviewed Chávez some years ago, asking him about his similarities and differences with Fidel Castro. Chávez answered that when it came to U.S. imperialism they were of one mind, in complete solidarity.

But then he added: however, Fidel is a communist who believes in a one-party state headed by the communist party; I am a democrat to the left, believing in a multi-party state and free elections; Fidel is a Marxist who believes in the public, state sector of the economy only; I believe in a mixed economy, public and private; Fidel is an atheist, believing in scientific atheism; I am a Catholic and take note of the fact that Jesus lived among the poor.

Too dissonant for some Anglo-American minds to handle. Very meaningful in Latin America, however, particularly when so many leave the Catholic Church, joining the evangelicals.

The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, as a political programme: not lifting the bottom up to Heaven, but to a better reality in this world. Many countries have the oil money to do so, and the majority of poor to give them democratic legitimacy. But Chávez did it, inspiring and sharing with other Latin American leaders and peoples, and beyond, the world.

Is Venezuela economically sustainable? The economy is in trouble, there is a lack of investments, debt to the Chinese is piling up (a minor point as long as oil flows to China rather than to a U.S. now turning tar sands into sink holes).

The key factor is to make former marginalised, excluded slum dwellers contribute to the economy, strengthening both production, supply, and demand. Many feel threatened by the poor and the race factor, including Chávez himself: “Will they treat us the way we treated them?” And, will they outcompete us?

Some will sabotage — too late to kill Chávez, but maybe some of the economy. Many countries will feel threatened by poor countries coming up, for the same reasons and one more: will that inspire our own downtrodden people to do the same?

Could blacks in the U.S. and Gulf states be interested in a (con)federation with Caribbean countries populated the same way, by slavers from Liverpool?

Somebody is working 24/7 for Venezuela not to succeed, for sure. But it may be too late. The egg has been stood on its end, and it was Chávez who did it.

There are questions beyond Venezuela’s future on the horizon. It will be difficult for economists to stick to their trickling down illusions given Chávez’s bold moves. But positive discrimination is sometimes an indispensable shock therapy to lift up those in misery — women all over the world, non-whites, Malays in Malaysia, dalits in India, even if it “destroys market mechanisms” – for the short time it took to have an effect in Venezuela.

Economists should help with lifting up those at the bottom, including in countries that do not have oil wealth, not only to show the problems, but also because it will be difficult for Christian theologians to disregard this challenge: Jesus lived among the poor, not only preaching on the Mount, but feeding, nursing, comforting, with compassion, on earth.

Chávez was not a theologian entering that intellectual landscape, mined for two millennia where every step is wrong, for some, for many. He acted.

This eternal debate inside the church is by no means new, as Hans Kung writes in his superb “Is it time, at last, for a Vatican Spring?” (International Herald Tribune, Mar. 1, 2013). If not, says Kung, “the church will fall into a new ice age, shrinking into an increasingly irrelevant sect”.

Kung himself could turn it around, as pope, for the whole world. It will also be difficult for left wing extremists to see Fidel Castro’s line as the only possible one. Western democratic legitimacy, diverse-symbiotic economy and strong ethical motivation may carry us further.

But the West has a tendency to confuse violence with conflict, ceasefire and disarmament of “rebels” with solutions, multi-party electoral democracy with mediation; and the rule of law leaves out acts of omission and human rights leave out people’s rights. A genius makes us think, and act, differently, thereby making history. Chávez was one. Thank you, Hugo!

(END/COPYRIGHT IPS)

Excerpt:

Miguel Díaz Canel (right) is now the No. 2 in the Cuban government. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños/IPS

By Ivet González
HAVANA, Feb 26 2013 (IPS)

The new faces in key positions in parliament and other branches of the Cuban state will need to prove their charisma and potential political leadership, possibly in a more participative way, in the context of current economic and social changes, analysts say.

The new leaders “will have to earn their promotion to their new appointments by their performance in putting into practice the ‘updating of the model’ (as the economic and social reforms are called) and by the popularity and prestige they achieve among their fellow citizens”, Carlos Alzugaray, a diplomat and university professor, told IPS.

At the first meeting of the National Assembly of People’s Power, the island’s single-chamber parliament, on Sunday Feb. 24, Raúl Castro was re-elected president of the country and Miguel Díaz Canel, a 52-year-old graduate of military academies with a solid career in the ruling Cuban Communist Party (PCC), became first vice president of the Council of State.

Díaz Canel takes over the second most important government position from José Ramón Machado Ventura, a member of the so-called “historic generation” of the Cuban revolution that was victorious in January 1959, made up then of young people who fought against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista (1901-1973).

The 82-year-old Machado Ventura, and the 73-year-old commander Abelardo Colomé, another historic leader, gave up their posts “in favour of the promotion of the new generation”, said Castro in the closing speech of the day, which had opened the eighth legislative period (2013-2018).

Castro announced that the next five years would see “the gradual and orderly transfer” of the most important posts.

Lázara Mercedes López Acea, the 48-year-old president of the PCC in Havana, and Salvador Valdés Mesa, the 67-year-old secretary of the Workers Central Union (CTC), the only trade union in Cuba, were also elected vice presidents of the 31-member Council of State.

Gladys Bejerano, the Comptroller General of the Republic, and commander Ramiro Valdés, were re-elected vice presidents, and Machado Ventura took up the last of the five vice presidencies.

Half of the 612 seats in the Cuban parliament, which are renewed every five years, are occupied by candidates elected in national elections, while the rest are elected by representatives of social organisations and the different sections of the PCC, the only legal party on the island.

Political dissidents in Cuba denigrate the electoral system and claim that their parties, none of which has legal recognition, should have the opportunity to present candidates.

The National Assembly elected its leaders at its first session after the general elections of Feb. 3, with the presence – for the first time since August 2010 – of Member of Parliament Fidel Castro, the historic leader of the revolution and elder brother to Raúl. Esteban Lazo, a long time leading member of the PCC, is now president of the Cuban parliament.

Ana María Mari Machado remained vice president of parliament, and Miriam Brito stayed on as secretary. The National Assembly held a direct, secret vote for a group of candidates to the Council of State, which is the supreme representation of the Cuban state under the constitution. The Central Committee of the PCC participates in the selection of the candidates.

The average age of members of the new Council of State is 57. Thirty-nine percent are Afro-descendants or of mixed descent, and nearly 42 percent are women. Lazo said the authorities wish to increase the proportion of women in the Council, and in all the country’s institutions.

Raúl Castro declared that this five-year period will be his last term of office as president, “independently of when the constitution is perfected”.

In 2011, the Sixth Congress of the PCC agreed to limit important state and government positions to a maximum of two consecutive periods, and to establish a maximum age for the holders. Making these changes binding, as well as other reforms introduced since 2008, requires constitutional modification by means of a referendum.

“The new leaders will not be able to govern Cuba as Fidel and Raúl Castro have done, because they lack the charismatic legitimacy and the authority they (the Castros) had as leaders of the historic generation,” said Alzugaray.

In some quarters called the “transition” and in others the “successor generation” or the changing of the guard, this phenomenon is “desirable and normal” according to the diplomat. In his view, this group faces the challenge of fomenting “a more collectivist and democratic model of leadership (and) expansion of public spaces for political deliberation” as well as more active citizen participation.

Member of Parliament Lisette Conde noted that young people are keen to be represented in Parliament.

“Our greater participation in the present legislature is an opportunity to express our opinions and experiences,” this 20-year-old lawmaker, the youngest in the National Assembly, told IPS.

Conde, a medical student who was elected by the 10 de Octubre municipality in Havana, said the process of changes in the country is “very important” for youth.

Updating the Cuban economic model, along with social and institutional adjustments, is now “entering questions of wider scope, complexity and profundity,” said Raúl Castro. A decree-law with new regulations, and greater openness to foreign investment, may emerge this year, he said.

The National Assembly is also planning to discuss and design a labour code to deal with the needs of the growing private sector and other forms of non-state activity. The Cuban authorities are preparing a programme for development up to 2030, which will set guidelines for the economic reforms.

(END)