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Hugo Chavez Frias, Rest in Power
Eres de los muertos que nunca mueren!

3/05/2013  

What this man meant, and means, to the global south and to all those striving for a better path for humanity, can not be overstated. I am saddened almost beyond words. Part of me wants to just curl up and be sad. But I also feel that it is critical to find the words, and to keep circulating them, saying them over and over. Viva Comandante Chavez! Viva la revolucion! Viva el socialismo bolivriano!!

This is a scary and vulnerable moment for the people of Venezuela and anyone who would resist imperialist aggression. Reactionary forces led by the US have already tried to launch a coup against Chavez more than once, and there is little doubt they are trying something as we speak. They are salivating at the prospect of picking off one of the major symbols of resistance, and everyone who cares about pushing back against empire should be on high alert.

This is not paranoia or rhetoric. Even if it was a documented case of cancer, I wouldn't put it past these bastards to have had a hand in it. The shit they have tried on Fidel strains credulity, but is well documented. Regardless, eternal vigilance and all that... Shields up, people! We are about to be subjected to a virtual tsunami of horseshit in the US press, all part of a predictable and longstanding campaign to destabilize Venezuela and undermine the people's revolution. DON'T BE FOOLED!! Americans, usually fast asleep, are far too quick to accept the bullshit our government spews while fomenting coups and unrest throughout the hemisphere and the world. Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, Panama, Haiti, D.R., Chile... the list is endless... there is almost no country the US government has not tried to fuck over in pursuit of its own imperialist agenda--NO MATTER WHO IS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, no matter his race or party, or so-called 'philosophy.' This is how the machine works--keep your eyes, minds and hearts open.

In fact, it is often when the so-called "left" is in power (as laughable as that notion is for anyone paying attention) that forces of reaction try to sneak in a quick victory, under cover of darkness as it were. Obama's assault on Social Security and his "austerity" crap is a perfect example. All the scenarios being floated are the right wing's wet dream, and would be unthinkable without the “Democratic” cover.

On a global scale, of course, things are even worse. There is no denying the criminality of the US government toward the sovereign nations of its own hemisphere, and no White Hat big enough to make us look like the good guys. The US government and the forces it represents have simply, tragically and consistently been on the wrong side at every possible juncture.

Now is the time to sharpen and call out these differences between "us" and "them." Imperialism, capitalism, The Powers That Be--whatever you want to call them, thrive by fomenting a false "unity" while sowing discord on any issue of any significance. Now is the time for unity and solidarity with those still resisting empire, both in this hemisphere and around the globe. The US and NATO military machines encircle the globe like the insidious octopus that they are, and anyone in the way of global domination will be crushed. That means killed if necessary, as well as demonized, plotted against, attacked, manipulated, scared and threatened into submission. People who don’t realize this are defining themselves against the vast majority of the world’s population, for whom there actually is a real world beyond the corporate asskissing media bubble within which Americans live and sleep—mostly sleep.

The recolonization of Africa, the planned and brutal destruction of Libya, the funding, arming, training and cover for nominally islamist thugs—all reveal a cynicism and an arrogance that is infuriatingly familiar to most citizens of this hemisphere beyond US borders. It is, in plain fact, the past happening over and over again, this time with islamist instead of Marxist antiheros in the reactionary narrative—except, of course, when they are “our sons of bitches.”

There will be more struggles to come, more stops on this same train, more lessons to be learned, forgotten, ignored and heeded. But the rage and despair we feel is important to express in all its raw power. Slogans perfectly fine when our hearts are heavy—they are often all we can muster. So here goes: US keep your bloody, criminal hands off Venezuela, and keep your thugs and spies out of the global south! THIS is the test, folks... which side of the global struggle are you on?

Keep on marching, striking, fighting, talking, convincing, defending, supporting---it is of paramount importance at this moment. Ni un paso atras, nisiquiera para coger impulse! Te queremos, Comandante Chavez! Eres de los muertos que nunca mueren. MOURN THE DEAD and FIGHT LIKE HELL FOR THE LIVING!!

© 2013 Daniel Patrick Welch. Reprint permission granted with credit and link to danielpwelch.com.

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Writer, singer, linguist and activist Daniel Patrick Welch lives and writes in Salem, Massachusetts, with his wife, Julia Nambalirwa-Lugudde. Together they run The Greenhouse School.. Translations of articles are available in over two dozen languages. Links to the website are appreciated.