Why Hugo Chavez is My Number One Hero

by Dan Bacher

Hugo Chavez, the feisty leftist president of Venezuela, delivered one of the most electrifying speeches ever given to the United Nations when he called G.W. Bush “the devil” before the General Assembly on September 20.

The great speech, combined with Chavez’s previous history of making fun of Bush and Condoleeza Rice in his speeches and his commitment to serving the poor of Venezuela and the world, makes Chavez my number one hero in the world during a time when heroes are hard to find.

“Yesterday the devil came here,” said Chavez. “Right here,” crossing himself. “And it smells of sulphur still today.”

Chavez accused Bush of “talking as if he owned the world” and said “we could call a psychiatrist to analyze yesterday’s statement made by the president of the United States,” referring to Bush’s speech before the U.N. the day before.

In contrast with his ridiculing of Bush, Chavez openly praised Noam Chomsky, whom he described as “one of the most prestigious and American and world intellectuals.” He urged everybody to read Chomsky’s latest book “Hegemony or Survival: the Imperialist Strategy of the United States,” as he held a copy of the book and waved it in front of the General Assembly.

“As Chomsky says here, clearly and in depth, the American empire is doing all it can to consolidate it s system of domination. And we cannot allow them to do that. We cannot allow world dictatorship to be consolidated.”

As a result of Chavez's recommendation, the book rocketed on the bestseller lists nationwide, becoming the number one paperback on amazon.com!

In Chavez’s fiery address, he cited not only Chomsky on U.S. imperialism but Aristotle on the nature of democracy. Chavez blasted the U.S. for harboring a terrorist, Luis Posada Carrilles, responsible for the bombing of a Cubana Airlines plane in 1976.

He also castigated the U.S. and Israel for their aggression in the Middle East. “This is imperialist, fascist and genocidal, the empire and Israel firing on the people of Palestine and Lebanon,” he stated,

Chavez outlined his four-point plan for making the United Nations more democratic and effective, including:

• Expansion of the Security Council.

• Development of “effective methods to address and resolve world conflicts, transparent decisions.”

• Immediate suppression of the “anti-democratic mechanism” known as the veto of the Security Council.

• Strengthening the role and the power of the secretary general of the United Nations.

The members of the Assembly applauded wildly throughout the speech, particularly when Chavez described Bush as “el diablo.”

As he wrapped up his speech, Chavez exhorted the Assembly, “We want ideas to save our planet from the imperialist threat. And hopefully in this very century, in not too long a time, we will see this new era, and for our children and our grandchildren a world of peace based on the fundamental principles of the United Nations, but a renewed United Nations.”

He quipped, “And maybe we have to change location. Maybe we have to put the United Nations somewhere else; maybe a city of the south. We've proposed Venezuela."

On the following day during a visit to a Harlem church accompanied by actor Danny Glover, Chavez further made fun of Bush, calling him an “alcoholic” and a “sick man.” In previous speeches, Chavez has called Bush "the king of vacations" and "mister danger."

Unfortunately, while the Bush administration declined to comment on Chavez’s speech, two House Democrats, incredulously, castigated Chavez for comparing Bush to “the devil” and defended Bush. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called Chavez an “everyday thug.” Congressman Charlie Rangel, a persistent critic of the Bush administration, while praising the government of Venezuela for providing heating oil to low-income people in the United States, also chastised Chavez for his comments about Bush.

“It should be clear to all heads of government that criticism of Bush Administration policies, either domestic or foreign, does not entitle them to attack the President personally,” said Rangel. “George Bush is the President of the United States and represents the entire country. Any demeaning public attack against him is viewed by Republicans and Democrats, and all Americans, as an attack on all of us.”

I absolutely disagree with Pelosi and Rangel and consider Chavez’s address to be one of the most humorous, riveting and refreshing speeches by a political leader that I’ve ever heard or read. Chavez is describing Bush as how most of the world sees him – and Pelosi and Rangel somehow believe that criticism of Bush should be an exclusive right of U.S. residents and political leaders.

This is incongruous when you consider how the Bush administration and the Republicans have continuously attacked Chavez for being a “dictator” and despot” when, unlike Bush, he was elected democratically by a majority of the Venezuelan people in open and fair elections, in contrast to the stolen U.S. elections of 2000 and 2004 in the U.S.

Not only has the Bush regime constantly personally attacked Chavez, but Bush and the Republicans also engineered a coup attempt in Venezuela in 2002 to oust the democratically elected Chavez. However, because of massive outpouring of support for Chavez in the streets, the coup failed. Since that time, the U.S. government has funded the “opposition” in Venezuela in an attempt to bring the Chavez government down.

After what the Bush regime has done to Chavez and the people of Venezuela, Chavez is entitled to call Bush “the devil,” “a sick man," "mister danger," or whatever insulting term he feels like. Unlike Rangel and Pelosi, I don’t see Chavez’s ridiculing of Bush, the worst president in U.S. history and a war criminal, as an attack on “all Americans.” Bush is NOT my president – and I applaud Hugo Chavez for exposing Bush and his henchmen for the evil folks that they are!