Coral Wynter & Jim McIlroy, Caracas
Oscar Rodriguez* is a Venezuelan exile who currently lives in the United States, but he visiting his homeland and is full of hope for the "Bolivarian revolution", which he had observed developing over the past decade.
He is normally resides in Miami, Florida, where the supporters of President Hugo Chavez are in a minority among the Venezuelan expatriate population. Chavez supporters are forced to live "in the closet" by the terrorist threats of the Venezuelan right wing and their anti-Castro Cuban allies, who are backed by the US government.
Rodriguez spoke to Green Left Weekly about his aspirations for the future of his homeland. He is involved in the Bolivarian Circles in the US, which are attempting to support the Venezuelan revolution and publicise the truth about Venezuela under difficult circumstances.
"In my youth in the late 1950s, I grew up during the dictatorship of Perez Jimenez", he explained to GLW. Marcos Perez Jimenez ruled Venezuela from 1952 to 1958.
"Through contact with the clandestine parties I began to learn how horrible the repression was at that time", Rodriguez said. "There was no freedom. I started to be involved in the left movement, and began to be part of their cause. While I was still in high school, a number of my political friends 'disappeared'."
After the Jimenez regime fell in 1958 and Romulo Betancourt was elected, "the repression soon started again". Rodriguez recounted how when Richard Nixon, who was US vice-president at the time, visited Caracas in 1960, "he found almost the entire city against him". "He was pelted with tomatoes and other objects. He returned to Washington and ordered Betancourt to crack down on the Communist Party and the other leftist parties. At that time, the Venezuelan CP was the biggest left party in the whole of Latin America.
"We members of leftist groups gathered in secret to denounce the repression, which seemed worse under 'democracy' than under the dictatorship. Many of my friends were in prison or disappeared. I felt that my country was sinking into a 'black hole'."
So in 1964, Rodriguez left for the United States. "I was away for 45 years, hoping every day for the changes that are going on today in the Bolivarian revolution. I call Chavez the saviour of my country."
Rodriguez said it was "like torture" to live in exile, "waiting every day for change to happen". But, "finally today, I am extremely happy to be back in the most democratic country in the world. Just read the Bolivarian constitution to see the truth of this [Venezuela adopted a new constitution in 1999 that enshrined the principle of participatory democracy]."
"I understand the difficulties facing this revolution, flowing from the results of 45 years of repression and economic destruction", Rodriguez told GLW. "Chavez came just in time to save the country from bankruptcy."
He said that the revolution inherited corruption, and class differences remain. "The revolution requires discipline and constant checks for it to survive. All that we are looking for in this revolution is to live on this earth in happiness, peace and social justice.
Rodriguez was relieved to escape the repression of Venezuela in the 1960s, but in the US he "soon noticed the discrimination faced by Black and Latino people". "I arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, where the majority of the population is Black. They faced discrimination from the police and [on] the buses, and restaurants were still racially divided in the 1960s." He said that racist discrimination still exists in the US, "but in a more sophisticated form now".
"I was not involved in political life in the US, but listened to Radio Havana every day for news of home", he explained. "I never quite adjusted to the North American way of life, to be truthful."
After Chavez was elected in 1998, "I started coming back to Venezuela to enjoy this chaotic, but vibrant, society, undergoing revolutionary change ...
"The majority of the Venezuelan community in the US, especially in Florida where I currently live, is against Chavez, mostly because of mass-media distortion and manipulation. We supporters of Chavez are largely 'in the closet'." But he believes that "the majority of the US population are in favour of him, including Latinos in general living in the states. During the Washington DC demonstration in November 2005 against the Iraq war, there were four blocks of people for Chavez, carrying banners and placards, and chanting slogans like 'Chavez for president'."
The "Bolivarian Circles", set up in the US and other countries to support the Venezuelan revolution, have frequent meetings to discuss the latest news from Venezuela and Cuba. "In Florida, they also organise public forums with guest speakers and show movies about the Venezuelan revolution in some universities and hotels. They need to provide strong security on these meetings, because of threats from anti-Chavez forces."
Rodriguez concluded: "In the time that I have followed the revolutionary process in Venezuela, I have come to believe that it will take at least 25 years to bring a new generation to fully understand the great freedom and democracy that this country now offers to its people. However, I notice the great support the Venezuelan people have for this revolution, and believe that the old system of government will never come back."
[*Name changed.]
From Green Left Weekly, June 7, 2006.
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