‘Country’s problems can be solved’
Venezuela in the Chavez era: a reporter’s view
Pushing our infant son in a stroller, my wife and I stepped out of the terminal at Simon Bolivar International Airport and were approached by several taxi drivers offering to take us to Caracas. One of them, a soft-spoken young man in his 20s, offered the lowest fare by far, and I handed him one of our bags.
The small white car crawled up the hill in the darkness, then slowed and stopped. Doors opened. Two men burst into the car, one in the front passenger seat and the other in the back seat, pressing against my wife.
“Be calm,” the young man in the back said, holding up a revolver so that we could see it, a frightened look in his eyes.
“Don’t worry, nothing’s going to happen to you,” the man in the front said, turning another gun on me. “Don’t look!”
That ordeal eight years ago introduced me to life in Venezuela, a country where events often collide in unpredictable and dramatic ways and where a wide gap frequently separates the reality on the street from the socialist-inspired dreams that President Hugo Chavez has instilled in his followers.
During more than eight years covering Venezuela, I have gained more street smarts, become a tougher, more resourceful reporter and developed a deep affection for this country where I’ve met many warm, free-thinking people.
Venezuela’s many long-term challenges, such as crime, corruption, a troubled economy and bitter political divisions, can seem as vast as the sea of crude oil that Venezuela sits atop. And with Chavez battling cancer, the country could be headed for big political shifts and possible turmoil.
A couple of years after the robbery, I found myself sitting in the passenger seat of a Toyota 4Runner while Chavez drove through the lush, green plains of Apure state.
In our interview, he talked about his years as an army officer plotting against the government and how growing up in the rural plains had shaped his radical ideas.
“What hurts me most is poverty, and that’s what made me a rebel,” Chavez said.
When he slowed and lowered the tinted window, passers-by gawked and then broke into a run, screaming, “Presidente!”
Chavez clasped hands and plant- ed kisses, while they asked him for help replacing shacks with houses or treating sick relatives. Chavez promised to rescue them all.
It was a role I saw him play many times: the larger-than-life leader supporters expected to solve their many problems.
With hundreds of others, I stepped into the mud-brown waters, and we stroked out into the middle of the Orinoco. The challenge was staying on course amid the strong currents, which knocked some swimmers off track. I was proud to make it to the other shore with the majority.
Now this, too, seems like a fitting way to think of the challenges that lie ahead for Venezuelans.
While some people call the situation hopeless or insist that one political camp or the other holds the answers, I take the view that the country’s problems can be solved. The challenges are many, but Venezuela has plentiful oil earnings, creative entrepreneurs, and a strong sense of national identity that transcends the pro- and anti-Chavez political divide.
They must now make it across a turbulent stretch, aiming for the shores of a better future as a united nation. (AP)