Either the story is not valid or President Chavez is not a giant.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2003 By: Charles Hardy

VHeadline.com commentarist Charles Hardy writes: Once upon a time there was a country in which many giants lived. The ordinary citizens greeted each other with a "Hello," "Good morning," "Good afternoon" or whatever would fit the occasion. The giants greeting to one another was always the same: "Don't fall."

The night when the Mexican intellectual, Don Miguel Alvarez, told me that fable he could see that I didn't get the point. He very kindly asked me, as though it was a part of the story, "Do you know why they greeted each other that way?"

"No,"I responded.

"They were so big they knew that if they ever fell they would never be able to get back up again."

I went to sleep that night pondering his words and woke up the next day with them imbedded in my mind ... the story was about Venezuela.

We have been living in the land of the giants during the past year.

First, there were the Generals and Admirals who thought they were so important that they could claim a part of the city of Caracas as territory for their own battle. Time would show that officers without soldiers backing them are simply imitation Mona Lisas, who are quickly removed from the museum when their lack of authenticity is discovered. They, had their admirers ... for a moment.

Then there was Pedro Carmona Estanga ... who after rising to the presidency of the big business organization Fedecamaras ... quickly thought he could be President of the country. His deportment displayed an act of momentary insanity, extreme insensitivity or total lack of wisdom.  You do not change the name of a country and wipe out the Constitution, the Congress and the Supreme Tribunal within hours after taking power.

Gradually, the triumvirate of Carlos Ortega, Carlos Fernandez and Juan Fernandez emerged. How they came to be the spokespersons for the Coordinadora (anti-) Democatica is a story that those on the inside will have to tell some day.

Today Carlos Fernandez is under house arrest; Carlos Ortega is in hiding; and Juan Fernandez had to notice on March 8 that there weren't the masses that used to be present when he and the others would mount the platform to speak ... even television coverage of the event that day wasn't what it used to be.

The triumvirate started a fight that they thought they could win. They were wrong, and the damage they did to others is incalculable.

Not only that, just think about the following: PDVSA is now going almost full speed again ... with more than 10,000 less employees, most of them executives and office workers!

To make matters even worse for the trio, the rest of the Coordinadora is happy with their absence. It gives them a chance to try to regroup. Among those who remain, there are still other giants. Will they too fall?

However ... is the story of the giants really applicable in Venezuela?

What about President Chavez?

Shouldn't he be put in the category of giant also? He fell.

Why was he able to get up?

Either the story is not valid or Chavez isn't a giant.

I like the second thesis, and think it could be helpful to understanding what is really happening in Venezuela.

Here's another story that you might have already heard. In one part of the ocean there were some giant fish that were eating all the little ones. A few of the tiny creatures got together and decided that they better think of something or they, too, would be eaten.

What they decided to do was to swim in formation so that they would look like a big fish and thus scare their aggressors away ... they did it, and it worked.

I would like to propose that Chavez is just a little fish, not a giant one. He may not even be at the head of the movement. A woman said to me one day, "I'm not a follower of Chavez. Chavez is following my ideas!" Listening to Chavez on 'Alo Presidente' it is not uncommon to hear him say to someone,  "That's a great idea!"

Thus, when Chavez was kidnapped, the organized fish didn't depend on him and didn't stop swimming. It turned around, tightened its ranks and because of its great size, it scared the giant fish away and the little fish Chavez was freed.

Those giants are going to try to come back.

But remember: the little fish have grown and the big fish haven't been eating as well as they used to. It is not going to be easy this time. Personally, I suggest that the big fish learn to make friends with the little fish. The little fish are willing.

Don't underestimate the importance of such an event if it can happen.  A lot has transpired the past year.  The blue Caribbean waters that touch Venezuela seem to be mingling with the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

It appears that some of them have already touched Brazil and Ecuador ... and, Bolivia has always wanted the entrance to the ocean that was taken away from her years ago by Chile.

If the big fish and little fish can learn to live together in Venezuela, the message might travel through all the waters of the world ... and the world will be better for what Venezuela has suffered.

Maybe even the giant fish in the United States, England and Spain could learn from the lesson before it is too late.

Charlie A native of Cheyenne, Wyoming (USA), VHeadline.com columnist Charles Hardy has many years experience  as an international correspondent in Venezuela. You may email him at: hardyce2@yahoo.com