Cold War view of today's Venezuela

[Judi Lynn]

Cold War view of today's Venezuela
December 11, 2007

YOUR DEC. 4 editorial ("Democracy stirs in Venezuela") on Venezuela's recent national referendum strongly echoed the opinions of the Bush administration, failed to provide needed balance, and displayed a misunderstanding of dramatic changes taking place in Venezuela.

more stories like thisThere seemed to be little interest in challenging the Bush administration's double standard in how it approaches Venezuela's democratic institutions. On Nov. 30, the White House claimed that free and fair elections could not be held in Venezuela, while on Dec. 3 it celebrated the results. Your editorial did the same thing. Are Venezuelans to think that our democratic institutions can only be considered acceptable if the results agree with US policy?

While international election observers, the international media, many governments and international institutions, and various members of Congress recognize the transparency of our electoral system, US editorial pages have been filled with condemnations of President Hugo Chávez and mischaracterizations of Venezuela's political, economic, and social process.

In recent years, Latin America has become a different region. Unfortunately, many in the United States choose to look at Latin America in the same frame used during the Cold War. Editorial pages have an incredible chance and a difficult responsibility to promote dialogue and debate. But it does not seem like this is happening.

BERNARDO ÁLVAREZ HERRERA
Venezuelan ambassador

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2007/12/11/cold_war_view_of_todays_venezuela/
Washington

[EFerrari]

1. The Ambassador is right on.

Venezuela is lucky to have him in public service.