We, the defense, would like to make a closing statement to reaffirm our arguments as presented throughout the course of the trial of our client, Hugo Chavez.
The facts of this case, as we have demonstrated, are clear.
However, we the defense would like to remind the jury that we live in a Western society, with Western ideals, cultures, traditions and language. The society that we are passing judgement on is clearly not, therefore, please keep this in mind when casting your vote.
There are three charges under consideration today:
1.) Chavez' regime is a dictatorship;
2.) Chavez' regime is not democratic;
3.) Chavez' regime is becoming dictatorial.
I put it to you, ladies and gentleman of the jury, that this man is being persecuted purely because his leadership is seen as forceful.
Chavez leads a modern hybrid of 21st century socialism, that is positive for Venezuelans, particularly those who need help the most.
Hugo Chavez is not a dictator.
Thank you.
Jade, I know I shouldn't inject myself into the proceedings (I'm supposed to be the judge, and you already complained of judicial bias) but, as a Venezuelan, I'm not sure what you mean by saying Venezuela is a non-Western.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, Venezuelans had a relatively stable "liberal" democracy from 1958-1989 (at least - 1989 marks the "Caracazo"); Venezuela was colonized by the Spanish empire and its native population more or less destroyed (so if Spain is a Western country, Venezuela inherited a lot of its cultural traditions from them); Venezuelans were among the first to rebel against the Spanish empire, and did so in the name of the universal declaration of human rights and with all the language of the French revolution; and so on. Consider also that most latin American countries are classified as "free" by freedom house (except for Cuba and Venezuela), so it does not seem to be simply the case that latin Americans are not suited to liberal democracy. Can we simply say that Venezuela is non-western, and hence something else necessarily must fit?
None of this is to imply that Chavez is or is not a dictator - but is the problem that you are trying to point to really culture or economics? (E.g., the inequalities in Venezuela - this is not a culturally specific thing!)