Who's afraid of Hugo Chávez?

Dear David Lehmann,

I have just read your “Why we should bother about Chavez and his politics” on the Financial Times.

You start your piece with a question: “Who is afraid of Hugo Chavez?”

It is clear from what you write that you are afraid. But judging both from what you write and the reality in Venezuela and South America, it seems you are afraid not of Hugo Chavez but of democracy and social justice. It doesn’t surprise I read your article on the Financial Times, a paper obviously not too concerned for those hundreds of millions of people exploited by those actors and interests that represent the core of the FT’s business.

Finally, as a new Christopher Columbus, you show the way: “This is where Europe can play a creative role”.

In that part of the world, Europe is “playing a creative role” since A.D. 1492, genocide after genocide, war after war. I think it’s time to stop being so “creative” and leave people and peoples live their lives as they wish.

President Chavez and his excellent work in defence of democracy and social justice is just one example in today’s world’s panorama, where more and more people organize, demand rights and resist injustice and violence brought to them by a very well “creative” consortium of state-corporate interests. If you need to know these interests by name, please ask the FT.

Kind regards,
Gabriele Zamparini