>The Bolivarians wanted power so that real reforms could be implemented. All
>the oligarchs have to offer is more of the past and the removal of Chavez.
>It is ridiculous to suggest that Venezuela is on the brink of a totalitarian
>tragedy. It is the opposition that has attempted to take the country in that
>direction. The Bolivarians have been incredibly restrained. When I asked
>Chavez to explain his own philosophy, he replied:
>
>'I don't believe in the dogmatic postulates of Marxist revolution. I don't
>accept that we are living in a period of proletarian revolutions. All that
>must be revised. Reality is telling us that every day. Are we aiming in
>Venezuela today for the abolition of private property or a classless
>society? I don't think so. But if I'm told that because of that reality you
>can't do anything to help the poor, the people who have made this country
>rich through their labour and never forget that some of it was slave labour,
>then I say 'We part company'. I will never accept that there can be no
>redistribution of wealth in society. Our upper classes don't even like
>paying taxes. That's one reason they hate me. We said 'You must pay your
>taxes'. I believe it's better to die in battle, rather than hold aloft a
>very revolutionary and very pure banner, and do nothing ... That position
>often strikes me as very convenient, a good excuse ... Try and make your
>revolution, go into combat, advance a little, even if it's only a
>millimetre, in the right direction, instead of dreaming about utopias.'
>
>And that's why he won.
Good stuff. Will the ultras now declare Chavez a sellout?
Doug