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SIGN ON: Women protest US award given to Venezuelan coup leader Gustavo Cisneros by war criminal Henry Kissinger The Global Women’s Strike condemns the outrageous decision of the Inter-American Economic Council to honor Gustavo Cisneros at its 2004 Winter Gala – it shows once more the total contempt of the US administration for people’s right to elect their own government. To recognize as a person who “has consistently sought to create an environment where business and government can work together in meaningful ways for the betterment of society”, a man who has systematically used his corporate wealth and media monopoly to illegally and violently attempt to force from office the democratically-elected government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, is particularly cynical. It is women in particular who elected and have overwhelmingly defended President Chavez, and women from the poorest areas who have most to gain from and have been most involved in the economic and social reforms Venezuela is undertaking to tackle poverty and corruption despite constant coup and assassination attempts from the likes of Cisneros. Gustavo Cisneros’ record is one of working for the “betterment” of the white, racist elite of Venezuela against the interests of the vast majority of Venezuelans who are people of color, and who, in oil-rich Venezuela, were left mired in poverty after 40 years of rule by the Venezuelan elite:
To add insult to injury, Henry Kissinger will be presenting this obscene award. Kissinger is himself a war criminal and a man reviled all over Latin America, the Caribbean and the world for leading the CIA overthrow of the democratically-elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973. He justified the coup which led to the disappearances of thousands of people and the exile of hundreds of thousands with the infamous statement: "I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves." He is responsible for similar US policies in Indonesia and Cyprus. He recently had to withdraw his appointment by President Bush to head a commission investigating 9/11 because his reputation was too unsavory to give any credibility to the findings. He cannot travel to many countries for fear of arrest. However these are not the only voices coming out of Latin America. From Jan 29 to Feb 9, Nora Castañeda, one of the foremost leaders of the Bolivarian revolution of Venezuela, will be in the US to provide people here with the truth about what is going on there and in much of Latin America. Nora Castañeda, appointed by President Chavez to head the Women’s Development Bank, will visit major cities across the US to speak on, “Creating a caring economy in Venezuela”. The tour is coordinated by the Bolivarian Circle of the Global Women’s Strike whose central demand is the return of military budgets, starting with the over $400 billion US budget, to “Invest in Caring, not in killing”. The GWS has organized this tour and supports the Venezuelan process because in the words of Nora Castañeda, ”We believe that the economy must be at the service of human beings, not human beings at the service of the economy. We want to create an economy based on cooperation and mutual support, a caring economy. …. We are building a different way of life.” Contrast this to the high priests of death giving and receiving awards at the Inter-American Economic Council on Jan 29th. Sponsors of Nora Castañeda's tour include: Vanguard Foundation; KPFK, KPFA, WBAI Radio; Danny Glover; Ed Asner, Harry Belafonte; Dolores Huerta; Greg Palast. We, the undersigned, condemn the Inter-American Economic Council's decision to honor Mr. Cisneros.
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