Watching Ricky Martin from a leaky-squeaky rancho in the Venezuelan barrios

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Monday, May 26, 2003 By: Oscar Heck

VHeadline.com commentarist Oscar Heck writes: I recently watched a Canadian TV program called “Venture,” where Amy Chua was interviewed. Amy Chua has recently written a book called, “ World on Fire”, which I will soon buy.  What Amy Chua said in the interview brought back memories … memories of Venezuela and of many other countries worldwide.

She spoke of “democracy” and how “democracy” (as understood by western standards) almost automatically implies “free-market-economy”. In other words, most westerners believe that democracy and free-market-economy goes hand-in-hand, regardless of socio-economic structures.

Her basic premise appears to be that “western-style democracy” can “work” in some parts of the world but that it does not “work”, and even creates a negative effect, in many other parts of the world, especially in those parts of the world where the economy is traditionally held and controlled by an “ethnic” minority.

She gave the example of Indonesia, which became open to “democracy” in the late 1990s and how the economy essentially backfired (even though the USA praised the fact that Indonesia finally became “democratic”). She mentions that traditionally, the Indonesian market-economy (including the boom) was controlled by the 3% “Chinese ethnic minority” along with a minority of corrupt Indonesians (and others).

Amy Chua intimated that once “democracy” began to flourish, the Chinese ethnic minority (and their minority corrupt Indonesian cohorts) began to get richer and richer while the vast majority of Indonesians became poorer and poorer. As well, the traditionally restrained majority of Indonesians (the people that basically never had a voice) began to speak up against oppression and corruption to the point that the Chinese minority “left” Indonesia (with billions of dollars, of course ú est. US$40-100 billion) in order to escape further assaults upon them.

She also gave another example … when she attended a conference at a university in South Africa. After the conference, the “white” professors would invite many of the conference-goers to their “place”. Their “places” were huge ranches, fully equipped, and “apt” to receive many guests. Amy Chua brought up an additional example. In the USA, if a USAP from a small “poor” hamlet in the outback of Arkansas (e.g.) watches Bill Gates on TV, that person will most probably not “curse” Bill Gates for being so rich, for two reasons: Bill Gates is also a USAP and it is “envisionable” for the “poor” USAP to dream that his/her child may one day be like Bill Gates.

• In many countries throughout the world, it does not work that way.  In the USA, Canada, and most “western” civilizations, there are reliable infrastructures and social services that are common to the majority.

In many other countries, a person only has access to reliable health-care, education, banking, etc, if one comes from the “ethnic minority” … and not from the majority. Therefore, once “democracy” enters the picture and the minority rich get richer, the poor get poorer and more and more frustrated and angry.

She contends that this syndrome started about 15 years ago and will be on the increase worldwide. As I understood her, she also believes that, although western-style-free-market-democracy has its merits, it must not be exported blindly. If entire reliable infrastructures (accessible to the majority) were to be exported simultaneously along with free-market-democracy, then that would perhaps work … however, it is not realistically doable.

She mentions that it is not realistic to expect a formerly “non-democratic” country to go from “non-democracy” to “western-style democracy” overnight (quick democracy). It took “western” countries, 40 or 60 or 100+ years of refinement and fine-tuning to arrive at a system that includes the “majority” and that is accessible to the “majority.”

Coming back to the example of Bill Gates. In Venezuela, a young person watching Ricky Martin on TV from his/her leaky-squeaky “rancho” in the barrios could never aspire to be another Ricky Martin. However, a young Venezuelan person watching the same show on TV from his/her “humble” seven-bedroom-five-bathroom summer cottage on the Caribbean can certainly aspire to be another Ricky Martin. The reliable infrastructures in Venezuela have traditionally been mostly accessible to the “minority.”

• I argue that even if the opposition and the USA and others believe that Venezuela had a “democracy” before Chavez, they are not telling the real truth.

What Venezuela had was a pseudo-democracy controlled by a small minority and not accessible to the majority. It will take years for Venezuela, under Chavez or others, to arrive at what could resemble a western-style democracy.

• I believe that Chavez is opening the doors towards this future. I also believe that it is unfair and unjust for the opposition (and the USA) to propagate the idea that Chavez is a communist or that the pre-Chavez Venezuela was a true “democracy.”

True democracy in Venezuela will be achieved when all Venezuelans will have equal (or almost equal) access to reliable infrastructures such as health-care, education, social services and equitable treatment.

If Venezuela’s opposition would concentrate on such issues rather than scream and yell about how they are losing their grip on the traditional economic control that they have inherited, then the Venezuelan opposition might have a fighting chance to attract people from the “majority” towards their side.

Chavez is attracting people to his side because he is actually trying to get things done, unlike the destructive actions that the opposition has been betting on in the last year or so.

• I believe that Amy Chua has some very interesting and valid points … and some of her points apply very well to Venezuela.

For all you “scholarly types” out there, Amy Chua is a professor at Yale Law School. She is also from the “ethnic Chinese minority” in the Philippines. She is not a communist-loving, peace-and-love, anti-USA, anti-globalization hippie terrorist activist.

Oscar Heck oscar@vheadline.com