Sean,

I just read your piece and saw your video.  First, thank you for caring enough to attempt to find out truth for yourself.  While I agree that Chavez' Venezuela has bravely agreed to imperfectly be their own, I wonder what that means.  To paraphrase you, is there real revolution or just a broad-based cult of personality?  Please consider this statement and challenge.

My father and uncles, who are from a town just down the road from Chavez’ hometown in Barinas, grew up dirt poor in the 50’s and 60’s as sons of a proud and hard-working Venezuelan subsistence farmer.  They all fought to oust Perez-Jimenez, and all but my father were jailed as political prisoners.  Then in 1998 as fed-up professionals, ALL of them had high hopes when they voted for Chavez and against the Adecos and Copeyanos.  Now all but one harbors varying degrees of disgust over opportunities squandered during the past ten years in Chavez’ Venezuela.

One problem is bad management.  While Venezuelan poverty is –temporarily and significantly- down, one must wonder whether this is because of Chavez’ socialist ideology or because oil, which has traded at record highs, has enabled Chavez to give simple hand-outs?  In the late 60’s under plenty of US influence, Venezuela was a model among developing countries.  After all, how could six boys growing up on a farm with no plumbing have become successful doctors, lawyers, and engineers?  And where do most Venezuelan’s point toward when they proudly show off macroeconomic national accomplishments:  The Guri?  The highway grid?  The bridge over Lake Maracaibo?  The Caracas metro?  PDVSA?  All are products of policies executed during Venezuela’s roaring 60’s and 70’s.  But nowadays despite the revenue windfall, these accomplishments and others are in shambles.

Another problem is that though change in Venezuela certainly began as a groundswell in the 1989 Caracazo, that “ground” was fertile for vast corruption.  Nowadays one can buy most Chavista votes in Venezuela with a food basket and a bottle of Cacique, so what has really changed?  Despite widely touted land reforms, 80% of food is imported.  Subsidize food, but why not truly train the people to produce it themselves?  What about truly motivating the domestic production of durable goods?

Still another problem is disregard for the separation of powers.  Like you, I share my distrust in government.  So how can one trust an oil-rich former military Executive who has stacked and packed the Supreme Court and converted the Legislature into his rubber stamp while stumbling from one policy to the next?  -Bush is worse, but only because of the damage done overseas.  Now that the economics of Problem One above have caught up, Chavez selfishly proposes another quick attempt to abolish his term limit, this time as a legislatively proposed constitutional amendment to get around pesky procedural issues.  Fast forward to Venezuela In February of 2009, and it will be November of 2007 all over again.

You strike me as an impatient person.  Between your first visit in 2006 and your recent second, have you witnessed real progress?  Imagine my frustration when, after visiting year after year since the 1990's as a regular guy, I am concerned because I see more of the same economic inequities with even more dangerous political polarization and violent crime.

And my remaining Oficialista uncle, you ask?  I love him to death, but this month he is on his way to Curacao, where together with his family he will take advantage of the Venezuelan currency controls to make a quick buck at the expense of the resources that belong to all Venezuelans.

So here is my challenge to you: Follow the money.  Document the rampant flight of Venezuelan capital.  Partner with a group of ballsy young Venezuelan film makers to film real black market cash transactions to see how much money can be made.  All the while, see who is involved in Venezuela and why.  You may be surprised by the results.  Then ask yourself, is this real revolution or is this just another example of The People’s frustration coupled with the sad corruption that had plagued Latin America for decades?

Take a stab at it, and feel free to reach out to me if you want ideas on execution.

Juan Luis Jaramillo

Currently a New York City attorney and recently named a County Lead Counsel in Florida for Barack Obama’s Voter Protection Effort, I grew up in Venezuela and Florida, graduated from high school in a little town called Valle de la Pascua, and still have good Venezuelan friends who are of very modest means.