Parade magazine is generally mostly fluff and no substance and hence not usually a topic of a blog like this one. In a way, that makes the discovery of the infiltration of right-wing propaganda into its society pages even more alarming.
Here is something worth noting, for those of you who haven't seen this elsewhere. Someone using the name Walter Scott writes a column about people in the news. The word is that Walter Scott is none other than Ed Klein, the well-known journalist who wrote an unflattering portrait of Hillary Clinton. Not unexpectedly, his column reveals his opinions about people in the news. The problem is that some people who are not as well informed as they should be may mistake his opinions as statements of fact.
The most recent example, appearing in the Oct. 9 issue of Parade and available online here after October 17, is a misinformative slur against the democratically elected president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. The statement is in the form of a Q/A, reproduced below.
"Q: I'm interested in where Fidel Castro gets the dough to shore up his bankrupt regime. Can you illuminate? -- Robert Henry, Los Angeles, Calif."
"A: In the wake of the collapse of the USSR, which bankrolled him to the tune of $4 billion a year, Castro has turned to Hugo Chavez, Marxist president of Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil-exporter. In addition to shoring up Castro, he's funding revolutionaries and terrorists throughout Latin America."
The errors in the Parade item are multiple. First, Chavez has stated that he is not a Marxist but does want to see that capitalism serves all of his people and not just the wealthy. He describes himself as a follower of Simon Bolivar, the South American leader who fought for the region's independence from colonialism and for the rights of the indigenous peoples to govern themselves. Aren't those the same values that we as Americans hold dear?
Second, Venezuela's relationship with Cuba is much more sophisticated than indicated in Klein's piece. Venezuela certainly provides assistance to Cuba, as it is fully entitled to do, but Cuba also provides assistance--in the form of medical personnel--to Venezuela. That is a neighborly quid pro quo that we would do well to emulate instead of mocking.
Third, there is no evidence that Chavez funds "terrorists" in Latin America. True, Venezuela has considerable oil wealth, and Chavez has used that clout to tell oil companies that they should pay higher royalties so that Venezuela's oil actually benefits Venezuela's people. In that sense he has supported the indigenous peoples who have demonstrated against Big Oil as major polluters of their country who exploit the natural resources in return for precious little benefit to the natives. And when the upper class staged a coup against Chavez, which he claims with some evidence was supported by the United States, the population of Venezuela rose up and reclaimed their democratically elected president. That is not terrorism, but the People speaking with a strong voice as it must when its right to choose its own leader is threatened, whether from outside or inside.
Various commentators have noted the inaccuracies in this Parade statement. See, for example, this piece from FAIR, this piece from AlterNet, and this piece from Democratic Underground, and this piece from Blog for Democracy. The last link also provides a letter that the author wrote to the CEO of Parade Magazine. In the letter is included the following paragraph, worth quoting in its entirety.
"I was appalled by the answer to this week’s Personality Parade question regarding Fidel Castro. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is a democratically-elected, hugely popular, hardworking leader. Even after decades of oil wealth, Venezuelans suffered horrific poverty prior to his administration. Since elected, President Chavez has worked tirelessly to bring education and health care to his citizens. He has a vision for all of Latin America that includes improvement in education and health care across the region, which includes Cuba. There is no factual evidence that “he’s funding revolutionaries and terrorists throughout Latin America”. To suggest so is irresponsible and implies a lack of journalistic credibility affecting your entire magazine. "
The author goes on to suggest that Parade consider doing an in-depth feature on Chavez and his goals for Venezuela. Chavez does not pretend to be big buddies with Big Oil, but he is trying to make his country a better place for all of its people. Now that's an idea worth endorsing.
There is an interesting film about the attempted coup in Venezuela, called "Esta Revolucion No Se Televisara" (This Revolution Won't be Televised). It is live coverage of the coup, as it actually occurred, filmed by a crew that just happened to be in the Presidential Palace that day. It is worth seeing, if you get a chance.