CHAVEZ: That argument has no weight; it is as if someone said that this Nazi, who they captured some time ago in Brazil, who was there for years, was protected by [Brazilian President] Fernando Enrique Cardoso… From the time that we had the first unconfirmed information that Montesinos was in Venezuela, we acted.
It is only a hypothesis… [But] just as it was said that I protected Montesinos, it’s been said that I gave weapons to the Colombian guerrillas and to drug traffickers, that I support subversive movements in Ecuador and indigenous rebels in Bolivia, and that I instigated the rebirth of the guerrillas in El Salvador. This is a tall tale! This cannot be coincidence. This is an international campaign to ruin my reputation.
We do not have a relationship with the guerrillas. We decided not to continue the line of previous Venezuelan governments who declared that the guerrillas were the common enemy of Colombia and Venezuela. The guerrillas are not our enemy, unless they attack Venezuela, which has not occured. What we’ve done is facilitate the paths for a dialogue to peace.
First, that I deeply respect Cuba and its revolution. Whoever analyzes our political and economical steps can easily determine that the ones who say that there is a process of “Cubanization” in Venezuela are either crazy or ignorant. They are trying to frighten people inside and outside the country… Our revolution is not communist; we are not proposing the elimination of private property. Now, if you tell me that Venezuela is heading to the combat of infant mortality, to increase the level of education, of sports, then we are on the same path as Cuba.
I am not against the United States. I am against hegemonies of any kind because they have been the cause of many injustices. That old policy of imposition, of acting as the world’s sheriff–it does not suit anyone in the new century. The 21st century, instead of being unipolar, must be multipolar. No one wants the United States to fall apart; it should conserve its economic, political strength, its democracy. What’s more, we are contributing to it; every day we are sending 1.2 million barrels of petroleum to the United States, and we have seven refineries there, as well as 14,000 gas stations that distribute fuel to Americans the whole day. We have positive relations with the United States on all fronts.
It doesn’t bother me, but my profile doesn’t fit any of these terms. Strongman? I am simply a man, neither strong nor weak, assuming a specific responsibility. If there is any strength, it is that of the Venezuelan people. Caudillo? No, I lead a process with the support of millions; it’s a collective leadership. Nor am I a populist. Populism is a degeneration of democracy.
“Gabo” is an extraordinary person. He interviewed me when we flew together from Havana to Caracas and he penned that enigmatic expression. After having spoken with me, he must have asked himself: “This man spoke to me of justice, of revolution, of Bolivar, of integration, of equality; he’s a friend of Fidel. What is he really going to do?” What I swear is that I will not pass into history as a despot; I would rather pass into history as a martyr.
