Job Discussion Forums

[ulock]

Is there anyone on the forum who is working in Venezuela? How about has worked there recently? I'm just wondering on a very broad level how it is...if there is work, if you feel threatened by the US, etc. Thanks!

[moonraven]

How's your Spanish?

If you don't speak Spanish, you will be limited to working in language schools servicing "escu�lidos" (oligrachs), and you will miss out on one of the most exciting educational programs in the world: the new Bolivarian schools.

If you truly want to experience Venezuela, learn some Spanish and proceed with an open mind. Another world is possible!

[amy1982]

moonraven-

i can speak spanish pretty well, and your reply piqued my interest... what is so interesting about the bolivarian schools?

[moonraven]

For the first time in Venezuela, pre-school has been made obligatory. (In the past, only the children of the wealthy attended (private) pre-schools.) The "simoncitos" provide a wholistic approach to education, incorporating the pedagogical orientation of Paulo Freire and giving meals to the students. The policy of providing meals for students applies at all levels of the Bolivarian schools--through university--as well as the wholistic educational model.

No one is denied access to education because of lack of financial resources. One of the first things that President Ch�vez did when he entered the presidency in 1999 was to have his salary deposited in a new foundation--which has also received donations from other people and organizations--designed to provide maintenance scholarships for students who otherwise would not be able to pursue a university education. When the Misiones (Robinson--Lieteracy, Ribas--high school sompletion and Sucre--university studies) dedicated to schooling were began in 2003, they incorprated several million people was had been marginalized by the dominantly private educational programs.

The Bolivarian schools at all levels provide a vibrant alternative to the elistism that prevailed in education in Venezuela during the years when neo-liberal policies of privatizing education were imposed by the World Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Instead of a a policy that keeps the people illiterate and ignorant in order to control them, the policy of the government of Venezuela is to empower all its citizens and encourage their full participation in all aspects of public life.

[devtmm]

Moon Raven your lack of common sense is only surpassed by your gullibility. These schools are used soley and expressly for indoctrinating the vulnerable and uninformed citizens of Venezuela. They are for brainwashing children into thinking that Chavez is a legitimate world leader and that socialism is a viable system.

Grow Up!!! Chavez is a dictator! I don't know what country your from "MoonRaven" but if you are from the US , I got news for you, according to Chavez you are part of the problem. Just because you are embarassed to be American doesn't mean that every crazy third world dictator that spouts outdated socialist rhetoric is the second coming of your probable hero Fidel.

Do the board a favor stop posting your Chavez propaganda. Ask some Venezuelans in the US what they think about CHavez. Most will tell you they fear for the lives of their loved ones that are still there.

Get a grip! And remember what country you'll go back to when your money runs out.

[amy1982]

[ElNota]

[ElNota]

CIA Classifies Venezuela as Top "Potentially Unstable Country"

Wednesday, Feb 16, 2005 Print format
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By: Eva Golinger - Venezuelanalysis.com

Porter Goss, the Director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (�CIA�) named Venezuela as the leading Latin American nation to be alarmed about in 2005. In testimony before the U.S.
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence regarding �Global Intelligence Challenges 2005: Meeting Long-Term Challenges with a Long-Term Strategy�, Goss classified Venezuela as a �potential area for instability� for this year. Considering Venezuela as a �flashpoint� in 2005, the CIA Director alleged that President Ch�vez �is consolidating his power by using technically legal tactics to target his opponents and meddling in the region.� Goss also raised alarm that Ch�vez is �supported by [Fidel] Castro.�

The other four Latin American nations named as areas of concern for 2005 are Colombia, Haiti, Mexico and Cuba, but Venezuela is at the top of the list. The CIA makes specific reference to upcoming elections in Colombia, Haiti and Mexico as the reason for the �potentially unstable� classification. In the case of Cuba, Goss refers to concerns over President Castro�s �declining health and succession scenarios� as the cause of alarm.

Venezuela is the only country referred to in this list of five as a cause of concern because of actions the Government is pursuing. Goss�s choice of the wording �technically legal tactics� evidences the U.S. administration�s push to label Venezuela as an �authoritarian democracy� or an �elected dictatorship.� Various State Department officials and communications media have been fiddling with implementing this change in semantics regarding Venezuela�s �peculiar situation� over the past year. Recently, Miami Herald columnist Andr�s Oppenheimer began referring to Venezuela as an �authoritarian democracy� a term contradictory in itself.

Furthermore, the use of the term �technically legal tactics� demonstrates the Bush Administration�s conundrum with Venezuela. While the U.S. Government has on numerous occasions publicly acknowledged that President Ch�vez has been democratically elected twice and won a transparent recall referendum by a landslide in August 2004, it has also launched a well coordinated campaign to isolate Venezuela internationally, labeling Ch�vez as a �negative force to the region� and a �threat to democracy.� The �technically legal� also shows that the CIA is struggling to find a way to justify regime change in Venezuela: �technically� Ch�vez�s actions are �legal�, but... [fill in the blanks].

Top Secret CIA documents declassified late last year and made public by this author evidence the CIA was involved in the April 2002 coup against President Ch�vez. The U.S. Government has also given millions in financing to over twenty anti-Ch�vez groups in Venezuela during the past few years, in an apparent attempt to support Ch�vez�s ouster. [see www.venezuelafoia.info].

Over the past few weeks, the U.S. has rigorously augmented its aggression towards Venezuela. Yesterday, Robert Zoellick, the new Deputy Secretary of State, referred to the Venezuelan Government as a �new breed of authoritarianism,� claiming �You win the election, but you do away with your opponents, you do away with the press, you do away with the rule of law, you pack the courts.� He also declared in his confirmation hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that �Ch�vez is carrying out anti-democratic activities, in the same way that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori did in the 1990s.� In 1992, ex-President Fujimori dissolved the Peruvian congress, purged the judiciary and suspended the Constitution in order to implement his policies authoritatively. He later
was charged with a massive corruption scandal and fled to Japan in self-exile.

Venezuelan President Ch�vez has not once suspended constitutional guarantees nor infringed on the separation of powers enumerated in the Constitution, despite a coup d�etat that briefly ousted him in April 2002 and a debilitating strike in the oil industry later that same year.


In an interview yesterday with Colombia�s El Tiempo, Marc Gossman, Sub-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, reiterated Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice�s declarations confirming the Bush Administration considers President Ch�vez �a negative force in the region� and is a cause of concern. Rice made the exact same statements in January during her confirmation hearings.

Media outlets in the U.S. have been incorporating such sentiments into editorials, opinion pieces and news stories over the past month, evidencing a coordinated campaign between the State Department and the media. FOX News Channel ran a three-part documentary at the beginning of February entitled
�The Iron Fist of Hugo Ch�vez� that portrayed Ch�vez as a �brutal dictator� who is �threatening U.S. interests.�

This past Saturday, February 12, the Miami Herald ran a front-page story declaring �Ch�vez Arms for Attack by U.S.� and alarmingly stated on the inside page, �Ch�vez Arms for War with the U.S.� The Herald story is the first to mention the world �War� regarding the tensions between Washington
and Venezuela.

The CIA�s latest classification of Venezuela as a leading cause of concern in Latin America could indicate an escalation of conflict between the two countries. President Ch�vez and members of his cabinet have made clear on numerous occasions that Venezuela wishes to maintain �respectful� relations with the Bush Administration. Apparently, Washington does not share this desire.

[ElNota]

Take a look at the article.

[shuize]

[Weona]

Hahahaha

[moonraven]

El NOta should have read the article before posting it.

Working in Venezuela is becoming more and more attractive as the economy continues to grow and diversify--just over 10% growth in GNP for first quater 2005. And being the number 1 country on the happiness scale doesn't hurt, either.

[eo-nomine]

[moonraven]

Qualifications depend upon the level you want to teach--there is a lot of difference between pre-school and university requirements.

You are going to have to go to Venezuela if you want to get involved in this project. And you will have to convince folks that you are sincerely interested in being part of this educational program.