Why black liberals like Harry Belafonte and Danny Glover loved Hugo Chavez
theGRIO REPORT - While many Americans considered the late Hugo Chavez to be an authoritarian dictator and foe of the U.S., for some liberal African-American entertainers like Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte, he was an ally...
On the other hand, Chavez was an alleged dictator and human rights violator, who “played the oil card” and all but destroyed freedom of speech to keep his record untarnished. In the past, the Washington Post has criticized the Chávez administration for “silencing its opponents,” as the large majority of mass media in Venezuela is privately owned but subject to state control.
Thus, embracing Chavez could potentially be damaging for a celebrity who promotes equal liberty and social justice, especially if they gained financially.
“Many entertainers, particularly those seeking a financial reward have flocked to Hugo Chavez,” Thor Halvorssen, president of the Human Rights Foundation explains. “Danny Glover received a massive payoff, which could be deemed a bribe in return for public support, and fawning over Chavez. That bribe was in the form of a budget for a movie that was never made, supposedly about Haiti…Now why is Venezuela financing a Glover movie about Haiti when most Venezuelans live on less than $1 a day?”
“Harry Belafonte also received payouts from the government of Hugo Chavez as did Oliver Stone,” he continues. “Others simply are simpatico to Chavez because they agree. Many entertainers who have some obsession with how evil the United States is will always find common cause with Hugo Chavez because they will see someone who is reflecting their opinions…Many of these people, ostensibly well-intentioned entertainers that did not get pay-offs, are unfortunately either extremely ignorant or willfully ignoring things like the crime wave and the levels of corruption.”
Halvorssen previously articulated his opinion in an essay for FoxNews.com, through which he identifies a laundry list of accusations against Chavez. According to his piece, Chavez “exemplified imperialism” by intervening in the governments of other Latin countries, incited a continental arms race, and offered asylum for leaders of the FARC terrorist organization of Colombia. Halvorssen additionally condemns poor living standards in Venezuela despite “massive oil revenues,” and adds that “street crime has grown under his government to the point that Venezuela has one of the top five per capita murder rates in the world.”
Despite Chavez’s polarizing presidency, Halvorssen also suggests it is unlikely these celebrities will be hurt by their affiliation with the former leader.
“Too many people respond to Chavez emotionally rather than with the facts at hand, and that’s what’s so sad about it. Too many people were emoting their politics. Not Danny Glover, he was simply in it for the cash,” he says.
Or, as Sawyer and Kozloff suggest, Chavez’ work reverberates for many people.
“Chavez had legitimate aspirations to help African-Americans, a group which historically suffered racial discrimination just like the Afro Venezuelans,” Kozloff comments.
Adds Sawyer, “For the reasons [already mentioned] and his embrace of his Afro-Venezuelan heritage, Chavez is popular in the African-American community and among the broader American left. Chavez contributed a lot and often criticized the U.S. imperial use of its power, racism and neglect of its poor and minorities. Like Castro before him, those ideas resonated with people like African-Americans in the U.S., who appreciate criticism of the US from the left and appreciate left wing populism.”
Follow Courtney Garcia on Twitter at @CourtGarcia
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