OPINION & EDITORIAL
Dane’s sister could bring benefit
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Also by Kyle Szarzynski:
- Reps, Dems snuggle with each other, status quo (February 13, 2008)
- Animal torture: Another shameful UW insitution (February 6, 2008)
- Edwards lesser of three evils (January 21, 2008)
- The 'Gravy Train' unfairly railed on (December 11, 2007)
- John Edwards may prove best option (December 4, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Ashok, Chavez make bad duo (February 15, 2008)
- 'I feel disengaged' (November 19, 2007)
- Dane's not dead, so pay attention (February 6, 2008)
- Lapidus for County Board (March 30, 2006)
- Kumar discovers sensible politics (April 11, 2007)
by Kyle Szarzynski
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
I can’t think of a better way for Dane County to substantively establish solidarity with Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution than the current proposal recently introduced by Dane County Supervisor Ashok Kumar, District 5, and two other supervisors, to create a “sister city” relationship with the municipality of Andrés Eloy Blanco. The resolution has the power to not only affirm Dane County’s own progressive tradition but to offer support to a unique and promising brand of revolution in Latin America.
There are few figures more vilified in the United States than Hugo Chávez. Absurdly tagged as a thug and dictator by the Bush administration and its patrons in the mainstream media, his image in the consciousness of many Americans bears little resemblance to reality.
Such vitriol stems from the populist nature of political developments in Venezuela. As the head of a social movement that democratically ushered him into office in 1998, Mr. Chávez has presided over the redistribution of Venezuela’s oil and other natural wealth to the country’s dispossessed majority. In its attempt to create “socialism for the 21st century,” the country has given birth to widespread workers’ mobilization and other outpourings of popular participation. This fervor has, unsurprisingly, been met with a viscous backlash from both the country’s elite and U.S. imperialism — the culmination of which almost ousted Mr. Chávez from power in a U.S.-backed coup attempt in 2002.
“Part of the resolution’s focus,” said Mr. Kumar, “is to combat the campaign of misinformation coming out of Washington.” This is no casual endeavor, to be sure, nor is it futile. The Dane County resolution is merely an echo of similar agreements established with cities across the U.S., including communities in Harlem, the Bronx, Philadelphia and several Indian reservations.
But the bulk of Mr. Kumar’s enthusiasm for the proposal comes less from a desire to establish symbolic ties between two distinctly progressive groups of people — though this element is by no means marginal — than the more “concrete benefits” that such an agreement will bring. “There is definitely a level of politics, here,” said Mr.
Kumar, himself an unrepentant leftist, “but, for the most part, it’s about trade.”
This exchange of goods and ideas will bring tangible benefits to Dane County. Venezuela’s vast oil wealth, for example, could be sold to low-income residents at discount prices, as has been the case with other cities. In London, the Chávez government has provided discounted oil to subsidize the bus fares of 250,000 poor workers. In several U.S. cities, millions of gallons of heating oil sold at a 40 percent discount have allowed the impoverished to keep their homes warm during the winter.
In return, Dane County has much to offer Andrés Eloy Blanco, including our environmental programs, which are ranked among the best in the country. Dane’s successful commitment to preserving its clean air and water has produced a body of knowledge and sophisticated technology from which Andrés Eloy Blanco can benefit.
Contrary to the musings of my colleague Andrew Wagner in The Badger Herald last Friday (“Ashok, Chávez Make Bad Duo,” Feb. 15), the different attributes between the two communities can only enrich the relationship. “It is also a matter of differences and how we can benefit or complement each other from [them],” said Omar Sierra of the Venezuelan consulate. In this vein, the “sister city” proposal will foster intercultural understanding and create a win-win situation for both communities’ residents.
But the similarities between Dane County and Andrés Eloy Blanco — namely the proud tradition of cooperatives — can be incorporated into the agreement as well. Andrés Eloy Blanco is considered a focal point for the peasant cooperative movement in Venezuela, where government incentives have encouraged the worker-controlled business model. Dane has a similar richness and diversity of cooperatives throughout the county.
Anne Reynolds, assistant director at the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, has given her enthusiastic endorsement to the resolution. “A sister-county relationship with Andrés Eloy Blanco,” said Ms. Reynolds, “would help build connections between the cooperatives in both communities and support opportunities
for education and research.”
Of course, the proposal has few concrete stipulations attached to it — for now, it is only designed to establish good will and solidarity. As Mr. Sierra said, “It goes as far as we — and the people from both communities — want. It is like opening the door so that the civil society will build this up from zero.” The proposal, then, is only a “framework” for future cooperation.
In his column, Mr. Wagner expressed concern that the resolution would amount to putting Dane County in the “crossfire” of the bitter disagreements between the Bush administration and Hugo Chávez. At worst, it could be “interpreted by some as siding” with Mr. Chávez and his country’s political system. Though not the main motivation behind the proposal, I sincerely hope this is the case.
Kyle Szarzynski (kszarzynski@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in Spanish and history.
Anonymous (February 20, 2008 @ 2:14am):
if the badger herald were a slight better newspaper, it would start to question whether you're a mouthpiece
Anonymous (February 20, 2008 @ 6:53am):
*****I issue a challenge****** watch how this comment section will get a set of comments within about the span of ONE HOUR. They will ALL be pro-Ashok Kumar. I wonder why that is.
Anonymous (February 20, 2008 @ 9:13am):
Chavaz IS a thug and a dictator AND a THIEF.
Anonymous (February 20, 2008 @ 9:24am):
*****I issue a challenge****** watch how this comment section will get a set of comments within about the span of ONE HOUR. They will ALL be ANTI-Ashok Kumar. I wonder why that is.
Jackson Bravo (February 20, 2008 @ 9:52am):
Kyle, you always set them straight. This a smart proposal, and the benefits definitely outway the costs (because there really are none). Venezuela is a democratic country that could teach us about democracy. Thanks!
Anonymous (February 20, 2008 @ 10:41am):
Attack the message not the messanger. Why attack Kumar when you can address the actual issue. I consistently read the Badger Herald online and barrage of anti-kumar rhetoric and then supporters from the Kumar camp are forced to respond. PLEASE let's stop the attacking. The man is not running again, and even the conservative few who right against him have to admit he has worked tirelessly on behalf of students and low-income people.
Anonymous (February 20, 2008 @ 11:10am):
The opening line of your piece was all I needed to read. Sister cities should never be political in nature. Establishing "solidarity with Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution" is something a city government has no business taking part in. Madison should not use tax payer's money to support foreign revolutions.
I'm interested to hear your response.
Anonymous (February 20, 2008 @ 11:54am):
2:14
if you were a slightLY better commentator, you'd start to question your grammar skills.
Anonymous (February 20, 2008 @ 12:02pm):
HUGO HUGO HUGO! Great article; Great legislation; Great revolution!
Anonymous (February 20, 2008 @ 12:22pm):
So Kyle, who let us remember roots for the terrorists to win in Iraq (but don't question his patriotism!), now supports a neo-Stalinist thug. Awesome.
Anonymous (February 20, 2008 @ 1:59pm):
You know, aside from eradicating opposition parties, rigging elections since the 1998 initial election, and eradicating free speech by bringing all Venezuelan media under state control, oh, yeah, Chavez is great.
Anonymous (February 20, 2008 @ 2:02pm):
Kyle,
Sister city, fine. But calling Hugo Chavez a revolutionary is so pathetically naive that it undermines any rational point you could have made in this article. Chavez has been in power since 1998 and since then has done everything possible to extend it further, by cracking down on the opposition press, extending his term limits, and bulking up the military to threaten local government leaders.
He is a caricature of a Latin American demagogue who appeals to the poor and cuts a few ribbons but does nothing to help the country in the long-term.
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 3:01am):
That last comment was absurd. Chavez is no dictator, and this program is a step toward democracy not away from it.
Anonymous (March 5, 2008 @ 11:22am):
Hugo Chavez uses extortion because of EXXON
and shakes hard working Americans out of family budget money at the gas pump.
Chavez is as criminally smart as Joe Stalin and sooner or later gulags pop up, no free press, no free speech, no human rights and many socialist minded students admire this in him but would scream I have constitutional rights in America if this were to happen to them. Smart talk out of the socialist minded anarchist mouth!
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