Job Discussion Forums

[Ernie Cuba]

I'm a big fan of Hugo Chavez and his revolution inspires me. I'm wondering if anyone has any information on the possibilities of working for a state school there?

[naturegirl321]

You're joking right?

[Ernie Cuba]

No. I could take a huge pay cut to feel I was helping towards something I truly believe in.

[Guy Courchesne]

You should probably run that one past the Venezuelan embassy or consulate nearest you. You might run into considerable red tape or teacher unions when looking at state schools, as a foreigner.

[naturegirl321]

Agreed. If you want to go to Ven, don't get involved in politics. Try VENUSA.

[MELEE]

I know two people working at public universities in Venezuela at the moment, but they are both there are Fullbright grants. It seems Chavez is more than happy to accept help from the US as long as most of the public doesn't notice it.

[nineisone]

You might be a little late. The Bolivarian revolution was just rejected by Venezuelan voters and Chavez's Stalinist dreams of permanent rule foiled by his own governing coalition. If your prior teaching experience existed in Ethiopia and Cambodia, living in Venezuela might come with some sticker shock as it is one of the more expensive L.A. nations.

Good luck!

[Ernie Cuba]

The desired amendments to the constitution would have allowed Chavez to run for president an indefinite number of times, much like in many European countries including the UK. The United States is infact in the minority globally in its two term presidential limit.
Chavez put his ideas to a national referendum and gracefully accepted defeat, hardly Stalinist!

If only Bush put the Patriot Act to a national referendum.....

[Justin Trullinger]

HAng in there, Ernie. It's hard to say you're a "Chavist" without running into some odd reactions.

A few years ago when I was moving to LAtin America, some of the state universities were hiring. Just do an exhaustive web search of the Uni's pages themselves, in Spanish.

What are your qualifications like?


Hasta la victoria para siempre,

Justin

[Ernie Cuba]

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[nineisone]

The assertion that Chavez shares many of the same traits as Stalin is not an unfamiliar refrain. Take leftist scholar Saswat Pattanayak who has written at length about Chavez's Stalinist tendencies.

From an Excerpt he wrote in May:

"There is an attempt to portray RCTV as the evil incarnation of conspiring media that deserved to die. How could Chavez even allow it to exist for five years since he came to power? Many from the progressives are perhaps still in a stage of denial. This is a classic case of denial that permeated throughout during the Stalinist days when the Soviet leader exercised his cultural controls. For a long period, there was silence among the communists over the �high-handedness� of Stalin. After his death followed the last testament of Khrushchev, and the international condemnation of Stalin from most people even from the left.

Perhaps little too early to draw a comparison here, but it would be apt to indicate that �threat to life of the leader� has been the common grounds on which censorships worked in both Soviet Union and now in Venezuela. Chavez feels and rightly so, that there were attempts on his life by the forces supportive of the private channels, and the RCTV anyway was part of a coup to oust him from power before. So in all good sense, he would rather have the station shut down. Similar parallels can be found in the lifetime of Joseph Stalin who promulgated censorships in lieu of security to his own life and maintenance of socialist order in Soviet Union.

Just as Stalin was credited with improving Soviet industrial economy, so is Chavez with his ability to pay off the Venezuelan debts and making the country a strong contender for a role in the UN. Just as Stalin had a �personality cult� theory to haunt him after his death, Chavez and his comrade Castro have personified enough of their respective countries for the personality cult to emerge and dominate the communist worldviews too.

Let me make it quite clear that the act of Chavez in Venezuela in banning the one or two television stations is an act of gross censorship that�s unparalleled in world history. RCTV was no joke (although its programs were famous for their bad humor). It was the most important television channel to have been there in Venezuela for over six decades now. It was a major pillar media estate that drew viewership of majority of people in Venezuela. To shut down RCTV would be to shut down CNN in America or Zee TV in India. Isn�t it a big violation of human rights?

To confirm that it is, so far, even the liberal watchdogs have proclaimed their hasty judgments on Chavez. Amongst those who have condemned the closure of RCTV are not just the US Senate, or Chile�s Congress, but also the Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists and members of the European Parliament. The potential allies of Chavez have not just become distanced from him. With the closure of Globovision, his enemies have even started to grow.

Chavez has unleashed state power also to throttle opposition in his homeland. His police forces have confronted protesting crowds. Even one student is claimed to have been dead in firing." -end quote

I make note that many who now bring these comparisons to Stalin, USSR, et. al. were once his most ardent supporters. They are fleeing his revolution as fast as most who also supported that other great LA revolution in Cuba. As a leftist who has long supported left leaning movements in Latin America including the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and DaSilva's ascendancy in Brazil, I can not in good faith support Chavez based on his post-coup paranoia form of governance. Anybody who desires meaningful change in the region will support parties and leaders who advocate more responsible reform.

Nonetheless, I respect your opinion on Chavez's attempted revolution and will be interested to see how your view continues to be informed once you get inside Venezuela. Despite how "odd" my viewpoint may strike many here who contribute to the forum it is one shared by many who follow the region, including many who initially supported Chavez. Please respect mine as well.

As for your assertion about the Patriot Act not being brought to referendum by Bush and his Admin., I completely agree. However, I believe it would be a large error to embrace Chavez tenents simpily because his rule seems historically minor to Bush's. Such thinking smacks of moral relativism and I refuse to participate.

Good luck on your journey, love your idealism, and look forward to your further contributions to the board.

[Ernie Cuba]

First of all, if I were to google 'Hitler and Gerorge Bush', I would find some scholar somewhere who would tell me why they are alike. It doesn't mean that it is true or even give any credence to the theory.

Saswat Pattanayak explains that Hugo and Castro have created personality cults, I disagree with this. That they are personalitis and they have huge admiration is true, but nowhere in Cuba is there a statue of a living person, Chavez's face is not plastered (from what I know) all over the country.

I understand your reservations towards Chavez, sometimes his rough, shoot-from-the-hip language and disregard for diplomacy can make me cringe. But he seems to be a man with heart, he needn't have all this trouble, he could just approve NAFTA in Venezuela and take a nod from the US to fill a Swiss bank account. But he doesn't, he alleviates poverty in his country whilst making some serious enemies that could have him killed at any moment. That is a man, who to me, appears to be motivated by ethics and justice.

With regards to RCTV, this was a TV station that supported and financed a coup to overthrow a democratically elected leader, who paraded a new interim government live on air. Chavez kept them on air for another two years afterwards. He warned them to tone down their rhetoric but they still screamed on air for another coup. So he didn't renew their licence.

Tell me, in the US what would they have done to a TV station that bank-rolled and supported a coup on the President? What other country on earth would have been so patient and restrained?

[Guy Courchesne]

[nineisone]

All Good Points Ernie. I appreciate the exchange.

I would dispute your assertion that Chavez does not have a personality cult. In my foray into Venezuela, his face was on many a billboard not to mention his daily presence in long winded speeches on National TV, and his administrations demands that RCTV air these "discussions" was one of the main tenents of his "warnings" during his censoring of its content. The question you pose to me about the U.S. is a hypothetical which can not be fairly answered. Once again, bringing the U.S. in as a counter argument allows conclusions to be formed along relativist lines. The U.S. does regularly censor content. Does not make it right. As far as RCTV bankrolling the coup, you have fallen into the same type of conspiratorial traps of thinking that the Chavez regime promotes to gain its popularity. Please don't confuse organizing and bankrolling an opposition movement with funding violent overthrow.

I certainly acknowledge Chavez's democratic victories at the polls even if he came to power through force. Not a major problem. I have come to view Chavez and his promonitions as less that of a truth teller and more of a propogandist who sells ineffective archaic ideas and has convinced a large segment of the ill informed that he represents their interests while doing surprising little for them considering the boon of oil revenue he sits on (Which would have existed even if the Neo-liberal economic establishment had stayed in power).

I actually strongly oppossed the previous order that existed in SA and the Chicago Boys who ran the economic apparatus. Having been a journalist for the Guerrilla News Network, I was able to gain access to many involved in Chavez's previous governing coalition. I have spoken to many of them recently, and have noticed a complete 180 degree turn in their support of Chavez. This would include the key political party Podemos, which as I asserted before, represents a more responsible leftist approach to reforming Venezuela. I also had the opportunity of living amongst the exile community in South Florida at this time. I had initially written them off as elitists in pursuit of the dollar over concern for the betterment of Venezuela as a whole. Through the course of my time, I came to learn differently, and in light of what has occured under Chavez in the last 1-2 years, I now understand their concern over the grab for power he has made and the strongarm tactics he has used.

I can also speak as someone who is a socialist and was an avowed DeLeonist. I have had many a midnight discussion over what went wrong with the revolution in Russia and many in my circles feel very much the same that once again we are seeing history repeat itself, albeit in a slow way with new clothes and at a different level through this new Bolivarian revolution. You mention Chavez being a likeable guy who is ethical and wants to do the right thing. Other than his consistent diarrhea of the mouth episodes I can't really argue. Explains some of his popularity and the cult of personality that has willed his ideas to fruition.

All good points Ernie and I am pleased you are full committed to helping Chavez make this work. Maybe he will surprise me. But I feel history beckons otherwise. Once again good luck to you. Report back to us about your experience of teaching in Venezuela. I may well teach in Venezuela someday. Probably in Maracaibo, the seat of the opposition. I promise me and my friends won't bankroll any coup attempts.

I saw that Guy Corchesne posted here and was worried that I had upset him with some of my comments. As I greatly enjoy reading Guy's posts in this forum, I am glad you are enjoying the give and take. Please feel free to add your comments, especially from a historical perspective as it relates to Mexico's past.

Sorry about the long post with numerous grammatical errors.

Cheers