A Little Insult Is All the Rage in Venezuela: ‘Pitiyanqui’

A Little Insult Is All the Rage in Venezuela: ‘Pitiyanqui’
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By SIMON ROMERO
Published: September 5, 2008
CARACAS, Venezuela — Just when Venezuelans thought they had their epithets down pat for describing — or disparaging — admirers of the United States, a new question popped up: What could be lower than “yanquis,” the less than endearing term that senior Venezuelan officials use for Americans?

The answer, according to President Hugo Chávez, a connoisseur of the spoken word, is “pitiyanqui,” a term that roughly translates as “little Yankee.” Employing the neologism in recent weeks to mock everyone from his political opponents to the nation’s moneyed elite and Honduran businessmen, Mr. Chávez has yet again displayed his knack for shaping the way that Venezuelans talk to one another.

“The pitiyanquis,” Mr. Chávez recently proclaimed, “should thank God that this revolution is peaceful, because we are many and if it were violent, there would not be a trace of pitiyanqui left on this Earth.”

After a few such rhetorical flourishes, “pitiyanqui” is suddenly on everyone’s lips, the bon mot du jour of broadcasters, comedians and political partisans. The term has caught on to an extent that eluded the president’s previous array of adjectives for people with pro-American leanings: “lackeys” or “tin soldiers” or, in the case of one Mexican president, a “lapdog of the empire.”

Spanish-language dictionaries refer to “pitiyanqui” as a portmanteau word, a marriage of the French “petit” (or little) with “yanqui,” someone who imitates Americans.

But for Mr. Chávez, the delicious new term appears to signify a breed of counterrevolutionary, a counter-radical chic of sorts, the type of Venezuelan who favors shopping sprees in Miami over paying allegiance to the fatherland. From his lips, “pitiyanqui” has become an appealingly contemptuous synonym for “sellout” and “oligarch.”

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/06/world/americas/06venez.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

But he does tend to be more clever than, say, the Associated Pukes, or Rotters--and a cut above Judith Miller (NYT/Bush Iraq war propagandist), although to the same purpose: grabbing resources (in this case, Venezuela's oil), re-imposing Corpo Rule on South America and war profiteering.

So, what's he up to by reporting on the Venezuelan epithet for the traitors who would sell their country to Exxon Mobil and the Bush Cartel (pitiyanqui, 'little yankee')?

It comes during a week when Brazil and Argentina just announced that they are going off the U.S. dollar, following last week's announcement by Honduras (Honduras!) that they are joining the Bolivarian trade group, ALBA, and close upon the election of the first leftist president (and first democratically elected president) of Paraguay, an inauguration attended by all the new leftist leaders in South America--the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay and Chile, at which the new Paraguayan president made a point of embracing the Bolivarians--the most leftist (Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador). Bolivia's Evo Morales had sent the following message to Lugo, when he was elected: "Welcome to the 'Axix of Evil.'"

A lot of bad news for the Bush junta. South America's leaders are even joking amongst themselves at what vile liars the Bushites and their Corpo 'news' media are.

The Bushite/Corpo strategy in dealing with the awesome, peaceful, democratic, leftist revolution that has swept South America is to try to personally demonize Chavez, one of its key leaders (and then Ecuador's and Bolivia's presidents as well), and to make this appear to be a struggle against "dictators" and "terrorism." But South Americans know this isn't true. For instance, Brazil's president recently said, of Chavez: "You can criticize Chavez on a lot of things, but not on democracy." (!)

With Brazil and Argentina leading the dollar rebellion, Hondurous joining ALBA, and the new leftist president of Paraguay allying with the Bolivarians--all critical failures of this utterly stupid and malevolent Bushite policy--Romero's article re-focuses the attention on Chavez. And--rather than, say, focusing on Chavez's great development projects with other countries (many new ones), or Venezuela's nearly 10% economic growth rate (with the most growth in the private sector), or other very positive things that are happening--Romero chooses to write about this epithet, 'little yankee,' a story seemingly designed to stoke up the hatred of the Venezuelan expat oiligarchy in Miami against Chavez and real democracy in Venezuela (maybe it will inspire yet another coup plot), and to dwell on a minor, gossipy little point, to the exclusion of far, far more important topics.

And here is how he concludes this bitter little propaganda hit:

“'If being pitiyanqui means loving liberty and progress, science and excellence, then I am a very Venezuelan pitiyanqui,' said Charito Rojas, a columnist for the newspaper Notitarde.

"Mr. Chávez promises to have the last word — leaving no doubt what that last word will be. 'The pitiyanquis of Venezuela will never return to governing this country,' he vowed last week in a visit to oil fields in eastern Venezuela, unleashing his pet term at least seven times. 'This country is free.'”

It's as if Mr. Romero is sharpening knives for the fascist opposition in Venezuela and South America, perhaps to further the evil Bushite scheme of carving up, first Bolivia (on-going U.S./Bush funding/support of the white separatists), then Venezuela (where there is also a fascist secessionist plot in the Venezuelan state of Zulia, on the Caribbean, where the Bushites have reconstituted the U.S. 4th Fleet--to alarms all over South America), and possibly also Ecuador (whose president is booting the U.S. military base out of his country).

"Liberty"? "Progress"? "Science"? "Excellence"? Under the Bush junta? Yeah, right. "We're Number One!"

The Number One assholes of the western hemisphere--with first class asshole writers at the NYT to sing our wonderfulness.

his foreign policy positions. They couldn't be more useful to him if they were a hired advertising agency. What IS the difference? They're not one bit better than Mark Penn.

They do have a serious problem with the truth. They don't respect it. They've had three reporters all notorious for their Venezuela smears: Francisco Toro, who had to resign from the Times after compromising them too wildly, and being outed as a member of assorted anti-Chavez groups in Caracas, Simon Romero, and Juan Forero, who went to the Washington Post to continue his dirtball craft.

Quite a deadly trio, isn't it?

All that, and Judith Miller, too!

This entire article was almost like a bad trip. It didn't come anywhere close to journalism, did it? What the hell has happened to the real news writers? Are they being held as prisoners somewhere like Guantanamo? I think they may all be dead, killed by the Democrat-killing Anthrax murderer.

A short time ago, I saw a post in LBN which says Panama is running a strong leftist female for the Presidency. I didn't have time to get right in there to focus on it yet, but will follow up later today. Thought you might find it interesting that even Panama is growing stronger too, by now, Panama, the country with the leader who was murdered as the "Economic Hitman" John Perkins says, by agents of the U.S. for his intention to improve the lot of the entire country, rather than the oligarchy.

Thanks! I hadn't caught that one! I loves me some BoRev!