--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, akasha_108 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "shempmcgurk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > > > ...and do you honestly think that the sort of distribution of wealth > > advocated by the likes of Chavez is a good thing? > > > What specifically is Chavez's distribution of wealth policy to which > you object? And try to stick to the specific point, not a lot of side > issues you may have with Chavez. What specifically is Chavez's > distribution of wealth policy to which you object?
Distributing Venezuela's oil wealth to help displaced victims of NO. It's a propaganda move -- as I've pointed out before -- inspired by similar past declarations by Castro. It is designed to demonstrate that socialism is a good thing for poor people whereas it is, of course, just the opposite. > > I don't have a firm opinion on the guy, but every time you rally > against him, I look the issues up and find the guy's actual policies > to be pretty mainstream. > > Chavez's Policies: > > Full legal and pay equality between women and men in employment. > > The recognition of housework as an economic activity that creates > surplus value and produces social wealth and well-being. > > Social security and a pension for housewives. > > A minimum wage, an 8-hour day, no compulsory overtime and the right > to paid holidays. Women, the lowest paid everywhere, who do a double > day of unwaged caring work on top of low-waged work, would benefit most. > > Protection from discrimination based on sex, race, politics, age, > religion and disability. Positive steps to favor those who may be > discriminated against, marginalized or vulnerable, and punishment of > those guilty of abuse or mistreatment. > > Recognition of Venezuelan sign language, and the use of subtitles in > TV programs. > > Recognition and protection of Indigenous communities, their social, > political and economic organizations, cultures, religious and health > practices, the collective ownership of ancestral land and knowledge. > Bilingual education in Indigenous areas. Women stress that it is their > work that has kept cultures and languages alive. > > Outlawing the patenting of genes, technologies and inventions > arising from ancestral knowledge or resources. > > No privatization of water; food security through sustainable > agriculture; protection of the environment. > > No oil privatization -- the State will keep 100% of oil shares. > > > > Always the poorest everywhere, women have the most to gain from all > these reforms. Despite the elite's power to frustrate change, there > have been remarkable achievements that we have not yet won in most > countries in spite of our own years of struggle. > > A strong commitment to tackling domestic violence and the machismo > of the justice system. > > A Women's Bank that puts money for income generation directly into > women's hands. > > Better child nutrition and greater school attendance through free > breakfast programs and a clampdown on schools illegally charging fees. > A dramatic drop in the infant mortality rate. > > The distribution of title deeds to land built on by squatters, > mostly woman-headed households in the shanty towns on the Caracas hills. > > A law distributing unused state and private land to rural people. > Women, including Indigenous women, are often the main agriculturalists. > > Subsidies of $1000-$2000 to small farmers -- a lot for people > earning $15 a month. > > > > "The Land Reform law provides for expropriation with compensation of > idle farmlands, as well as arable lands exceeding 12,350 acres in > areas of poor soil (350 acres in areas of rich soil), to be > redistributed to landless workers. It is also important to note > (though Hadden doesn't) that in the 1960's big landowners and ranchers > expanded their fences to expropriate most of the state-owned > marshlands the government intended for redistribution. Current stats > on land concentration are appalling: One percent of farms account for > 46% of farmland, one percent of the population owns 60% of arable > lands, and 40% of all Venezuelan farmlands lie fallow. As a result, > Venezuela is agronomically undiversified and chronically dependent on > oil and imports, while the urban population has exploded, causing > crime, unemployment, and pollution rates to soar. Even the > middle-class Chavez foes I spoke to said the need for land reform is a > no-brainer. " > > > > "In fact, the real story is that el proceso, the movement that swept > Chavez to power, is the embryonic manifestation of a new political > philosophy in which economic and institutional power is dominated by > neither the state nor big business interests, but instead is > decentralized and directly influenced through public, participatory > processes. Like it or not, el proceso is gaining strength and > captivating the imaginations of people all across Latin America, > especially in Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, and Bolivia. To > define the terms of the Venezuelan debate in traditional free market > vs. leftist-Marxist terms, as Hadden does, is as reductive as it is > disingenuous." > http://www.counterpunch.org/carlton01112003.html > > I sort of figured chaevez's anti bug governemnt and anti- oligarchical > control of would apeal to you. His bing in faovor decentralized and > public, participatory processes sounds kind of well - democratic -- > the thing we are fighting for in Iraq, yes? > > Regardless, since Chavez has been elected democratically, shouldn't we > respect the soverignty of the Venezualan people -- even if we would > not have voted for the same policies in our country? ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/JjtolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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