Hugo Chavez is no angel, but sometimes he can make a lot of sense. He won't let the Western powers forget they are still *imperialist empires, who may fight in the name of Democracy, but wield a sword called Capitalism. And the Venezuelan president being staunchly opposed to this, won't let anything that reminds him of past imperialist exploitations remain in the country in the name of restoring Venezuelan pride either, even if that means **changing a waterfall that had been named after American pilot Jimmy Angel since 1937.
It's easy to put this off as another one of Chavez's anti-Western political stunts, aimed at depicting himself as a saviour in his people's eyes, and further consolidating power. And it is. But here's why it makes sense:
History. The Monroe Doctrine. When America became a world power after gaining its independence from Great Britain, President James Monroe warned that the Americas were to be colonized no further by Europe nations. Why? Because they were to be colonized further by the United States. To make a long story short, the U.S. saw South America as a new frontier to capitalize on, as the European imperialist powers once had. But the United States was new at the colonizing game, and failed horribly, just like its predecessors once had; and South America continued to suffer under the rule of prop dictators, previously put there to support the Western imperialist agenda.
The seeds of discord had been sown in the South. A couple of civil wars later, from the war torn soils of Venezuela, an anti-Western champion of the exploited indigenous people rises to power and prominence in the form of Hugo Chavez. It wasn't hard to see that one coming, was it?
Technically, he is right. But, now Chavez is playing a dangerous game. The psychological one. Reclaim what is ours, inspire Venezuelan nationalism, hate the West for taking your pride as Venezuelans away. (I'm pretty sure ol'Jimmy didn't have that in mind when he discovered the falls.) Nationalism is great to a extent, but the same fervor Chavez seeks to stir is what is in the makings of imperialism, the very thing he purports to hate. And only time will tell if his good intentions in the name of Venezuelan pride boil over into ambitions that impede onto another nation's sovereignty, or maybe worse...his own people's rights. Because if the Venezuelans want to call the waterfall Angel falls or Kerepakupai meru, then that choice is their right, and no decree from Hugo Chavez in the name of anything can change it.
*Read the history of Capitalism and Imperialism. (Capitalize meaning to take advantage of, or exploit. Imperialist meaning unequal economic activity pertaining to support of an empire).
**http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091221/sc_afp/environmentvenezuelapoliticsnative_20091221035737
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