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Visions of the Left Emerge in Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela - Dramatic differences emerged this week among Latin American leftists at Venezuela's World Social Forum, highlighting the region's diverse views.

About 1,000 marchers paraded through Caracas on Friday to call attention to causes ranging from land reform to anti-globalization. The crowd was dominated by supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, but one small group calling itself Radical Critics held a sign accusing the Venezuelan president and other leaders of not taking a hard-enough stance against corporate capitalism.

Chavez has used a windfall in oil profits to funnel millions of dollars into programs for the poor while extending preferential oil deals to China, Argentina and other countries in an effort to line up alternative trade partners to the United States, the No. 1 buyer of Venezuelan oil.

Some radical leftists argued Chavez's government should stop working with transnational oil companies altogether.

"Real social fighters like us cannot be indifferent," said Maria Aparecida Barros, a 21-year-old Brazilian.

Yorlys Alvarez, a Venezuelan watching from the sidewalk, was visibly irritated by that message.

"It's wrong for them to come here and talk badly about my president," she said. "If they don't like Chavez, they should go home."

Some 70,000 people were signed up for the six-day forum, organizer Moises Lares said.

Many urged the rejection of "neoliberal" economic policy and the U.S. Plan for a Free Trade Area of the Americas. Some discussed cooperatives and Soviet-style communism, while others suggested the free market can be fair if guided by a social conscience.

Chavez called capitalism a global scourge on Friday and urged activists to do "battle" against U.S. Imperialism. His message drew thundering applause from thousands in attendance, but some said they were more concerned about other issues.

"The forum definitely has a pro-Chavez spin, and I think some of the issues, like women's rights, homosexuality and domestic violence, haven't received enough focus," said Ibrivria Fried, an 18-year-old student from the University of Vermont.

"A lot of people at the forum are careful about how they speak about Chavez because it's being hosted here," she said.

Hundreds held their own alternative forum, accusing the main event of straying from its freethinking leftist roots and serving as a propaganda tool for Chavez's government.

Enzo Tomatis, a 24-year-old Peruvian student activist, said he wholeheartedly supports Chavez's socialist and anti-imperialist ideology, but is uncomfortable with the former paratroop commander's military history.

"Chavez has great programs. The problem is that he's from the military," Tomatis said. "I'm against rule by a caudillo."

The main gathering, timed to coincide with the market-friendly World Economic Forum in Switzerland, has featured hundreds of panel discussions on subjects including poverty, U.S. Imperialism, Marxism and racism.

"It's great to hear the different points of view," said Jose Mejias, a 22-year-old Quechua Indian from Bolivia. "After all the debates, I still don't know whether there is one left, or two lefts or more. The only thing I know is there are many people concerned and working to change the world."

The forum came as leftist leaders appear on the rise in Latin America, capitalizing on disillusionment with old political classes seen as corrupt and incompetent.

Hundreds of young people camped out in parks, sharing food, music and at times marijuana, while some older, generally wealthier visitors dined on sushi at the Hilton.

Roselyne Clement, an activist from Montreal, was among those who camped in the drizzle and said she would never have stayed in a corporate hotel.

"For me, it's like a contradiction," she said.

"What it means to be of the left is in full debate in Latin America, and there is no consensus," said Margarita Lopez Maya, a Venezuelan historian who was among many speakers at the forum, which ends Sunday.

By JORGE RUEDA - Associated Press Writer

Sheehan Considers Challenging Feinstein

CARACAS, Venezuela - Cindy Sheehan, the peace activist who set up camp near President Bush's Texas ranch last summer, said Saturday she is considering running against Sen. Dianne Feinstein to protest what she called the California lawmaker's support for the war in Iraq.

"She voted for the war. She continues to vote for the funding. She won't call for an immediate withdrawal of the troops," Sheehan told The Associated Press in an interview while attending the World Social Forum in Venezuela along with thousands of other anti-war and anti-globalization activists.

"I think our senator needs to be held accountable for her support of George Bush and his war policies," said Sheehan, whose 24-year-old soldier son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004.

Feinstein's campaign manager, Kam Kuwata, said the senator "doesn't support George Bush and his war policies."

"She has stated publicly on numerous occasions that she felt she was misled by the administration at the time of the vote," Kuwata said by phone from California.

But with troops committed, Feinstein believes immediate withdrawal is not a responsible option, Kuwata said.

"Senator Feinstein's position is, let's work toward quickly turning over the defense of Iraq to Iraqis so that we can bring the troops home as soon as possible," he said.

Sheehan accused Feinstein of being out of touch with Californians on the issue.

She said she would decide whether to run after talking with her three other adult children. The Democratic primary will be held in June, and candidates must submit their statements for the voter guide by Feb. 14.

Kuwata said Feinstein and Sheehan appear to have a fundamental disagreement over whether troops should be pulled out right now. "That's why they have elections, and if she decides to file (paperwork to run), so be it," he said.

Sheehan said running in the Democratic primary would help make a broader point.

"If I decided to run, I would have no illusions of winning, but it would bring attention to all the peace candidates in the country," she said.

Sheehan, 48, who lives in Berkeley, Calif., said she would head to Washington on Sunday for protests against Bush's State of the Union address on Monday, and then return to California to discuss her idea of running against Feinstein with her son and two daughters.

"I can't see _ if they think it's going to help peace _ that they would be opposed to me doing it," she said.

Sheehan and other peace activists met Saturday with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, himself a critic of Bush and the Iraq war.

"He said, why don't I run for president?... I just laughed," she said.

By IAN JAMES - Associated Press Writer

Chavez Backs Sheehan Plan for Bush Protest

CARACAS, Venezuela - Cindy Sheehan, who gained international fame when she camped outside President Bush's ranch in an anti-war protest, plans to pitch her tent again, Venezuela's president said Sunday as he urged activists worldwide to help bring down "the U.S. Empire."

Hugo Chavez, an arm around Sheehan's shoulders, told a group of activists that she had told him "she is going to put up her tent again in front of Mr. Danger's ranch" in April.

In some of his strongest recent comments aimed at Washington, Chavez condemned the Bush administration and said his audience should work toward ending U.S. Dominance.

"Enough already with the imperialist aggression!" Chavez said, listing countries from Panama to Iraq where the U.S. Military has intervened. "Down with the U.S. Empire! It must be said, in the entire world: Down with the empire!"

Chavez said Sheehan had invited him to join her April protest at Bush's Texas ranch.

"Maybe I'll put up my tent also," Chavez said, to applause from an audience invited to his weekly broadcast on the final day of the World Social Forum, an annual gathering of anti-war and anti-globalization activists.

Sheehan, whose 24-year-old soldier son, Casey, was killed in Iraq in 2004, thanked Chavez for "supporting life and peace." She said earlier that she was impressed by his sincerity when they met privately on Saturday.

"He said, 'Why don't I run for president?'" she said. "I just laughed."

Sheehan, who lives in Berkeley, Calif., said Saturday that she is strongly considering challenging Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein because the lawmaker will not support calls to immediately bring the troops home.

Sheehan, 48, said running in the Democratic primary in June would help "bring attention to all the peace candidates in the country."

Sheehan, who was visiting Venezuela for the six-day forum, said she will decide whether to run after talking with her three adult children in California.

Sheehan accused Feinstein of being out of touch with Californians on the war in Iraq.

Feinstein's campaign manager, Kam Kuwata, said the senator did not support Bush and felt she had been misled by his administration. But with troops committed, Feinstein believes immediate withdrawal is unworkable, he said.

"Senator Feinstein's position is, 'Let's work toward quickly turning over the defense of Iraq to Iraqis so that we can bring the troops home as soon as possible,'" Kuwata said in an interview Saturday.

On Sunday, when Chavez passed the microphone to Sheehan on his show, she blamed Bush for the killings of innocents in Iraq.

Noting that the singer and activist Harry Belafonte recently called Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" on Chavez's show, Sheehan said: "I agree with him."

Chavez said his government would help protest the war in Iraq by supporting a drive to gather petitions and delivering them to the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. Chavez, who before the war in Iraq had friendly relations with Saddam Hussein, has been a frequent and strident critic of the war.

By IAN JAMES - Associated Press Writer

We have not been "hit" since 9/11

Sheehan, just back from Caracas, where she praised Venezuela's anti-American president, Hugo Chavez...
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Cindy Sheehan and Ramsey Clark gathered yesterday at the Busboys & Poets restaurant and bookshop at 14th and V streets NW for what they billed as a forum on "The Impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
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"Cindy for the Senate!" called out moderator Kevin Zeese, a Ralph Nader acolyte. "It's important for us to stop thinking as Democrats and Republicans and break out of this two-party straitjacket," argued Zeese, a third-party candidate for Senate in Maryland.
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After the participants made their urgent calls for impeachment proceedings, John Bruhns, identifying himself as an antiwar Iraq veteran, rose for a clarification. If Democrats don't first "gain control of one of the houses" of Congress, he wondered, "how else can we impeach this monster?"

... Bruhns, wearing a crew cut and business suit, disagreed. Somebody in the audience called for him to "shut up."

Left, Right, Moderate, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green if you voted for W and company are they what you really wanted? What did you expect?

He'll protect us from manimals. Manimals scare me.