Chavez Swears In New Venezuelan Minister for Women’s Affairs

Caracas, April 25, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Life long fighter for women’s rights and former Communist Party member, María León, was sworn in by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, as the first minister for the newly created Ministry of Women’s Affairs on Thursday.

Speaking to a congress on “What women propose to the Minister for Women’s Affairs,” representing 300 different women’s organizations from around the country, the new minister said, “The Bolivarian government…has dignified Venezuelan women during these nine years of struggle.”

She pointed to increased participation of women in politics and the state, where women now account for one third of parliament and the heads of the Supreme Court, of the National Assembly, and of the Electoral Council, as well as the Attorney General and the Human Rights Ombudsperson are women.

León indicated that social security and improving social indicators for women in areas such as housing, health and maternity assistance as well as increasing access to science and technology, cultural participation and education would be key priority areas for the new ministry.

Within the women’s congress twelve workshops debated various issues confronting women and made a series of recommendations relating to women and the legal system, political participation, communication policy, the prevention and eradication of violence against women, building international cooperation, and solidarity between women’s movements and the education and empowerment of women.

Proposals were also made around the cultural and economic participation of women, the struggle against poverty, health, housing and women’s participation in municipal affairs.

“There are a lot of proposals that have been developed in order to guarantee the economic stability of women. We also want to create entities that ensure that the media respects the image of women,” the minister said.

“This ministry will work and struggle to continue vindicating the role of women within Venezuelan society” she added and assured that the conclusions of the congress would provide the framework for a plan of action for the Women’s Affairs Ministry until December 2008.

Chavez, who spoke to the congress, sustained that the subjugation of women is one of the biggest abuses that history has known and assured that “without the Venezuelan women there would be no authentic revolution.”
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3388

Read his op-ed* on how to destroy democratic governments in South America with "free trade" for the fascists in Colombia, and win hearts and minds with "swift action" by the U.S. in support of "friends and allies" in South America. (I think he means the white separatists in Bolivia, who want to split the country up and take the gas/oil reserves with them--which might bear fruit for the Bushites this May--and also the recent U.S./Colombia bombing/incursion against Ecuador which almost started a war between Colombia and Ecuador/Venezuela).

With the destabilization and toppling of social justice governments--if the Bushites are successful (which I don't think they will be)--will go all the progress made for women's rights, and for the rights of the poor majority, in the oil-rich Bolivarian democracies (Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia), and possibly in other leftist countries--Argentina (close Bolivarian ally) and Chile (both with women presidents), Brazil, Uruguay, Nicaragua and Paraguay. (Interestingly in Paraguay, the leftist, Fernando Lugo--a former bishop (known as "the bishop of the poor")--who was just elected last Sunday, had said that he wanted a woman VP candidate on his ticket. I don't know why that didn't happen--but at least he expressed the willingness. And the rightwing then put up a woman against him. But the voters were not fooled--she was just the tool of a very, very corrupt, rightwing establishment.)

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*"The Smart Way to Beat Tyrants Like Chávez," by Donald Rumsfeld, 12/1/07
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113001800.html

How dare he! He hates the Venezuelan people. He's a vile dictator!

:sarcasm:

--is not too keen on reproductive rights.