Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-11-28-Speech-3-272"
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"en.20071128.25.3-272"2
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"Madam President, Venezuela is a country of exceptional natural beauty and is very rich in natural resources. It has some of the world’s largest deposits of oil, coal, iron and gold. Despite its natural riches, the majority of Venezuelans have remained very poor, with far too many living in conditions of appalling poverty. Only a small minority belonging to a rich elite have benefited from the country’s riches.
Under those conditions of gross social inequality, it is no wonder that populist politicians like Hugo Chávez have emerged as saviours of the poor. It is also no wonder that Mr Chávez’s nationalisation programme was welcomed by most Venezuelans. They saw Hugo Chávez as someone who was going to lift them out of the misery of poverty and deprivation.
The same thinking applies to the forthcoming constitutional reform referendum. I am sure that referendum will secure the necessary popular approval, and it is too late now for public opinion to be changed. Therefore, what we will in essence have after 2 December is the emergence of another Fidel Castro. It seems that, just as one totalitarian leader is fading away in Cuba, another is being born in Venezuela. However, in diagnosing that sad reality, we should, perhaps, also ask whether we in the West are in any way to blame for how things are turning out in Venezuela.
We must do this not just so that we can be morally and politically correct academically, but also so that we can, in practice, prevent similar occurrences in the future. Sadly, it is apparent that, in our dealings, with Venezuela over the last few years, we have made numerous grave mistakes. Hugo Chávez got to where he is today partly because we have helped him through our foreign policy omissions and commissions. Therefore, in contemplating our strategy on how to deal with him in the future, let us start by saying ‘sorry’ to the Venezuelan people."@en1
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