The War on Democracy

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n his second inaugural address, President Bush pledged to 'bring democracy to the world'. In a speech lasting 23 minutes, he mentioned the words 'democracy' and 'liberty' 21 times. Most of the world, it is fair to say, will have recoiled, many in fear...

Bush's speech was significant because it finally emptied noble concepts like 'democracy' of their true meaning - government, of, by and for the people. Never before have people in the west shown such disenchantment with the democracy they vote for and the version they get. Never before has most of humanity registered such alarm at the ambitions of a great power.

The War on Democracy demonstrates the brutal reality of the America's notion of 'spreading democracy'; that, in fact, America is actually conducting a war on democracy, and that true popular democracy is now more likely to be found among the poorest of Latin America whose grassroots movements are often ignored in the west.

John Pilger conducts an exclusive interview with President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Pilger also goes to the United States and in some remarkable interviews, speaks exclusively to US government officials who ran the CIA's war in Latin America in the 1980s. This reveals more about US policy than all the statements and postures of recent times; it also reveals how what's happened in Latin America is a metaphor for how the rest of the world is being 'ordered.'

The War on Democracy , however, is a hopeful film, for it sees the world not through the eyes of the powerful, but through the hopes and dreams and extraordinary actions of ordinary people. Although set mostly in Latin America, it is a metaphor for all the world.

The thrust of John Pilger's latest film is a constant theme in all his work: that great, rapacious power is far from invincible and that people power is enduring. Photaographed in high definition video, few films have been as timely as The War on Democracy .

'The War On Democracy is brilliant. John Pilger is the world's most important documentary film maker. He exposes the myths of U.S. empire, and also shows us the growing resistance to U.S. domination and neoliberalism. Pilger asks the bold questions that the establishment media have not asked, reminding us of the power of journalism and documentary film to help us understand the world -- and change it.' Anthony Arnove, author, Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal and (with Howard Zinn), Voices of a People's History of the United States

'The War on Democracy demonstrates the brutal reality of the America's notion of 'spreading democracy'; that, in fact, America is actually conducting a war on democracy, and that true popular democracy is now more likely to be found among the poorest of Latin America...This thought-provoking documentary will stir up some ideas and encourage politicians as well as the citizens who elect them to find a way to make significant social changes for the benefit of all classes...Recommended for university students who are interested in Latin American studies, Latin American history, culture, and political science.' Dana Ward, Anthropology Reviews Database

'This is a film that can provide important visual evidence that will set the story straight once and for all about the nature of the coup against Hugo Chavez in Venezuela in 2002. The sections on Chile and Guatemala, for example, were particularly enlightening. But it is Mr. Pilger's interview with Duane Clarridge, the chief of the CIA's Latin America division from 1981-1984, which is absolutely essential viewing. It is rare to capture on film a more honest, combative, and bone-chilling defense of the U.S. policy of destroying 'uncooperative' democracies abroad than Clarridge will provide.' Steven S. Volk, Department of History and Director, Center For Teaching Innovation and Excellence, Oberlin College

'John Pilger did an excellent job at pulling it all together and gives us a powerful resource that will help us understand what U.S. foreign policy is really about. I highly recommend it!' Roy Bourgeois, Founder, School of Americas Watch

'A War on Democracy leads the viewer to confront U.S. Latin America policy head on. Pilger is a master guide through the maze that is Latin American history and the continuous attempts of the U.S. government to thwart democracy and exploit the people of Latin America. What Pilger does best is allow us to see that there is hope and ultimately the people of Latin America will be victorious.' Eric LeCompte, National Coordinator, School of Americas Watch

'John Pilger and his associates have a lot to answer for! They have dared to present harsh, stubborn facts about American foreign and national security policy in a period where we have been propagandized to avert our eyes from the multiple truths of things, events and conditions as they are. They have shown not only the arrogance, but also the stupidity of leaders and their advisors who deceive others and themselves. And finally, these American leaders seek to demean, damage, if not destroy the chances that the defenseless and the wretched have to teach us, the well heeled but deceived so that we will cease acting like heels, fools, and occupiers. This film is an important teaching tool that should be used at the college level and beyond, in commercial theaters, unions, and churches.' Marcus Raskin, co-Founder, Institute for Policy Studies, co-Author with Bob Spero, The Four Freedoms Under Siege: The Clear and Present Danger from Our National Security State

'An unsparing assault on US political hypocrisy in the Western Hemisphere. Nevertheless, if we can't rely on the world's greatest democracy to protect human rights in the Americas, John Pilger assures us there are lots of little people who are ready, willing and able to do so for themselves--whether the US likes it or not.' Dr. Timothy McGettigan, Professor of Sociology, Colorado State University, Pueblo

'Put[s] forth troubling views on contemporary American society and our place in the world...Presents a powerful picture of a people attempting to rise above injustice and take control of their future.' Library Journal

'Thoughtful and thought-provoking...Very highly recommended viewing for civil rights activists, political reformers, and the general public in this current political season,The War On Democracy is a welcome and necessary addition to academic and community library collections.' The Midwest Book Review

'It is to be applauded for its extensive interviewing, its selection of government officials (active and retired), and a host of witnesses to tragedies throughout Latin America, and unabashed critical analysis. Recommended.' Michael J. Coffta, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Educational Media Reviews Online

'Perhaps the most poignant moment in John Pilger's latest documentary, The War on Democracy, comes during an interview with Sister Dianna Ortiz, the U.S. nun tortured by Guatemalan security forces in 1989. 'I've heard people say that what happened in Abu Ghraib is an isolated incident,' she says, with a mix of outrage and disbelief. 'And I just shake my head and say: Are we on the same planet? Aren't you aware of our history? Isn't history taught in the classroom about the role of the U.S. government in human rights violations?' The answer, of course, is no. And that is the film's raison d'etre: to tell the story of U.S.-sponsored terror in Latin America.' NACLA Report on the Americas

'You'll come away feeling angry, inspired, informed and thoroughly entertained...the strength of Pilger's absorbing and emotive film lies both in the broader context it provides and the dots it skilfully connects...The great struggle on the Latin American continent of the last 500 years is largely unknown in the West, it is an ongoing story of control, empire and resistance that Pilger has successfully captured at what could be a pivotal moment. * * * *' TheDocumentaryBlog.com

'Extraordinary documentary. A fascinating look at the social and economic history of a continent which is frequently overlooked in the news. The United State's own notion of democracy comes across as positively Orwellian...[Pilger's] passion for the subject and dedicated research pay off superbly...[and] make for gripping viewing. A brilliantly-researched and sometimes shocking insight into the democratic position of those countries whose dealings with America are more along the lines of slave than political poodle.****' Empire

'A necessary, provocative film from a daring filmmaker who has proven among the most insightful and accurate advocates in the world for truth.' Danny Glover

'Distressing but essential look at the US government's continued decimation of Latin America. Presented in his trademark forthright yet respectful style, this is much more than just a history lesson, it is also a beautifully shot account of hope. Pilger interviews everyone from Presidents to the poorest residents in this portrait of the haves and have nots.' London Daily Mirror

' The War on Democracy is a powerful piece. Respected journalist and documentarian John Pilger distinguishes himself from the current crop of high profile polemicists like Michael Moore due to his sheer body of work...[and] solid reportage...What is presented in The War on Democracy is a scary affirmation of one's worst fears with regard to the cheapness of human life at the expense of worldwide financial interests.****' Film Review magazine

'Dynamic and emotionally effective...the passion and integrity of the polemic is never in doubt...and Pilger's assertions...are urgent and lucid.**** Film of the Week' Time Out, London

' The War on Democracy is John Pilger's convincing account of America's shameful role in undermining people power...it's heartfelt, sincere and often enlightening viewing.' The Observer, London

'It's not often that the audience claps at a film [critics'] screening (in fact, this is the first time I've experienced such emotion), however, this film is delivered with such skill and astonishing facts...that it's not at all surprising. A powerful and poignant story that allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called war on terrorism. Don't miss.' Southwark News

'Such concern with language and the media as instruments of dissimulating injustice or speaking the truth for the disenfranchised gives The War on Democracy a political force in the very wildest sense: it's little wonder that Harold Pinter praises Pilger.' Sight and Sound

'I have no hesitation in commending The War on Democracy ...The stirring effect it has on audiences is bound to boost its chances in cinemas. It was enough to trigger a round of applause from the normally staid press audience I watched the film with... John Pilger continues in the tradition of the campaigning journalism of George Orwell.' The Big Issue, UK

'There is no doubting the force of the arguments here...this is a compelling documentary.' Radio Times

'Exhilarating.' London Sunday Times

'Pilger does not try to be a comedian like Michael Moore...the truth of his story is plain enough.' The Guardian

'If you liked Fahrenheit 911 , you'll like this. One of the most powerful documentaries of the year...makes you look at the world in a new light.****' London Daily Mirror

'The War on Democracy is a great primer on Latin American politics...essential viewing: a compelling, deftly argued documentary which asks probing questions about modern democracy while setting the record straight on the US relationship with Latin America.' www.lastnightwithriviera.blogspot.com

'[John Pilger's] documentaries inspired a generation of young people to take up the fight for global justice throughout the 1980s...It is a great to know that such a powerful documentary has made it to the big screen...You get goose bumps when you see how dirt poor people are prepared to take a stance... It's great stuff... dramatic in a cinematic way... The War on Democracy will leave you extremely angry with the world but in a positive way...A 'must see'.' Creative News Weekly

'Alarming and absolutely riveting.' ShadowsOnTheWall.co.uk

'The War on Democracy sees John Pilger doing what he does best, and doing it at the absolute top of his game...See this film. The six o'clock news won't look the same after.' The Dominion Post, New Zealand

'The history of U.S. involvement in Latin America - while well-known to those of us who study the region - should be part of the basic curriculum in U.S. schools. Then maybe in mainstream America it will begin to be understood that it matters significantly more what the foreign policy of the candidate is than the candidate's bowling score. And maybe unnecessary wars that kill hundreds of thousands can be avoided.' Common Prejudice

'Interesting narrative in the recounting of various foreign policy strategies and mistakes of U.S. Latin America policy in the past fifty years.' Teaching Sociology

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Main credits

Watt, Michael (film producer)
Pilger, John (film director)
Pilger, John (screenwriter)
Pilger, John (reporter)
Young, Wayne (film producer)
Martin, Christopher (film director)
Martin, Christopher (film producer)

Other credits

Directors of photography, Preston Clothier, Rupert Binsley; editor, Joe Frost; composers, Jesper Mattsson, Makoto Sakamoto.

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

John Pilger, US-backed suppression, popular democratic movements, Latin America, spreading democracy, second inauguration address, President Bush, democracy, ; liberty, grassroots movements, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela, US government officials, CIA war in Latin America, people power, Evo Morales, Bolivia, Otto Neustald, CNN, Pedro Carmona, Bolivar, Howard Hunt, General Rios Montt, Phllip Agee, Fidel Castro, Jose Serrano, Victor Jara, Henry Kissinger, Augusto Pinochet, Duane Clarridge, Joseph Blair, School of the Americas, El Mozote, Diana Ortiz, Hermenia Concha, Felipe Portales; "The War on Democracy"; Bullfrog Films

WEBVTT

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[music]

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Guatemala is going to enter a
new era in which there will be

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prosperity for the people together
with liberty for the people.

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[music]

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The question is,

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why are we supporting El Salvador? No, the question
was why are we killing priest in El Salvador?

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The answer is we\'re not, now you keep
quite. President Christiani is trying to

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do a job for democracy and the
left-wing guerilla must not

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take over El Salvador.

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[music]

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America will not impose our
own style of government

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on the unwilling. Our goal instead is
to help others find their own voice,

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attain their own freedom,
and make their own way.

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[music]

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This film is about the struggle
of people to free themselves

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from a modern form of slavery. Richard
Nixon, president of the United States

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once said of Latin America, \"People
don\'t give a shit about the place.\"

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He was wrong. The grand design of the
United States as a modern empire

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was drawn on the hopes of an entire
continent known contentiously

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as the backyard. The extraordinary
witnesses in this film

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describe a world not as American presidents
like to see it, as useful or expendable.

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They describe the power
of courage and humanity

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among people with next to nothing. They
reclaim noble words like democracy,

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freedom, liberation,
justice and in doing so

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they\'re defending the most basic
human rights of all of us

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in a war being waged against all of us.

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[music]

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This is Caracas

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capital of Venezuela. One of the richest
countries in Latin America thanks to

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huge deposits of oil. The rich in Venezuela

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live in leafy suburbs with
names like country club,

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the spiritual homes, a Miami in Washington.

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[music]

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The majority live in what
are known as barrios,

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on hillsides in breeze block
houses that defy gravity.

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In the past

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these people have been invisible,
excluded from their own society.

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Today they display the
confidence of those who know

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an extraordinary change
has come to their lives.

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This is Hugo Chavez,

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President of Venezuela,
the voice of the barrios.

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Chavez and his supporters have
won 10 elections in 8 years.

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[music]

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He\'s the symbol of an awakening
of people power driven by

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great popular movements that
are unique to Latin America.

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It\'s no surprise that Chavez with the help

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of aggressive media coverage has become
a hate figure in the United States

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because what he represents is another way
and a threat to American domination.

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[music]

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All right,

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now Hugo Chavez the criminal, speaking criminal government of
Venezuela offering. Criminal? Criminal, it\'s a criminal government.

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In my opinion and in the opinion of a lot of
people in our government Hugo Chavez represents

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an extreme threat not only to our nation but to our
hemisphere. He should have been killed a long time.

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By whom? And anyone who believes otherwise.
By whom? By, by, by anyone.

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(inaudible). Do you want a cup of coffee?
Yes, Gracias.

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Do you want a cup of coffee?

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Do you want a glass of milk?
Do you want a glass of water?

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English lesson one. Let me ask

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about you personally. I mean,

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traveling with you for the last couple of days
I\'ve seen a man who\'s clearly deeply committed

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to what you want for the Venezuelan people.

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Could you describe where that came from?

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Simon Bolivar is venerated in Latin America
as the liberator from Spanish colonialism.

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Bolivar believed that freedom only came

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when people united against all
invaders no matter their disguise.

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[music]

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Today the people of Latin America are
again rising up against an empire built

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on an extreme form of capitalism
known as the Washington consensus.

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Whole countries have been
privatized, put up for sale.

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Their natural wealth sold to
foreign companies for peanuts.

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In Venezuela they\'ve said, \"No more.\"

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[music]

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This is La Vega,

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a barrio of a million people.

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Mariela Machado has lived
her most of her life.

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She knows,

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what it\'s like to be
excluded in her own country.

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[sil.]

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This is called a mission. It\'s
a kind of parallel government

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designed to bypass the old bureaucracy and
deliver real benefits to ordinary people.

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This is raw democracy, a
triumph of the grass roots.

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Today they\'re discussing the
dream of owning their own homes

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for the first time.

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[music]

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Soon after Chavez was elected in 1999

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Venezuelans voted on a constitution.
And this little blue book

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has become a best seller ever since.

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This is one of the chain of
supermarkets set up in the barrios

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funded by the proceeds of oil.
Here prices are kept low.

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And on the back of rice and soap powder
packet a printed people\'s rights

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under the constitution. Does it really
mean something to you to see it there?

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[sil.]

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For some of his supporters
Chavez has not gone far enough.

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Familiar obstacles remain from the past,

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the strife filling beau racy
and widespread corruption.

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And although poverty has fallen
dramatically in recent years it\'s far

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from eradicated.

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When you drive in from
the airport at Caracas,

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the one thing that shocks
a first time visitor

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are the barrios, the number of poor people.

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Why is it in Venezuela, which
earns so many billions of dollars

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in oil money that there\'s
still is this poverty

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in spite of all the changes you\'ve made?

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The daily struggle

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is made easier here. Ten years ago this
clinic would not have been dreamed of.

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Now all over the Venezuela ordinary
people have free healthcare,

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many seeing a doctor for the
first time in their lives.

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[music]

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For the first time children of the
poorest have a full day at school

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and at least one hot meal a day.
They\'re learning history and music,

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and dance often for the first
time, and all of this is free.

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Under the Constitution
the poorest housewives

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are now paid as workers.

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[music]

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[non-English narration]

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There\'s now close to full literacy

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thanks to classes like this.
Catering to those like

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Mavis Mendez, age 95, now reading
and writing for the first time.

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[sil.]

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[music]

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This is East Caracas,

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home to some of the wealthiest people
on earth and what they call here,

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the middle class. I dropped in on John
Vink, who agreed to show me around

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his grand house. Ah, this is
uh, such a striking house.

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Thank you. My goodness. Thank you.
Yes, you, you been here long,

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have you? Is this? Yes, I did. This is the
family home? My family home. We grew up here.

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John Vink has traveled the
world collecting object art.

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Have you collected all the
silverware, chandelier? Is that the?

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Yes, that, that one I brought from Spain. Yeah. This is a collection
that blue. That\'s why I have them over there so they don\'t break.

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This is from Peru. Mmm. This silver.

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Hmm. But you\'re, you\'re thinking of leaving. Yes. Hmm. Yes.
Why, why is that? Well, the situation of the uh, country.

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Hmm. It\'s, it\'s getting day, day
by day worse. And uh, so uh.

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In, in what way? Can you?
In a political way. Yeah.

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We thought that the gentleman that\'s now in
power that he would change the whole situation.

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Because it was a mess but
now it\'s a whole mess.

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John Vink\'s view is echoed by
Venezuelan\'s powerful media,

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mostly privately owned. It combines banality
with hard-line anti-Chavez politics.

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A number of journalist now say,

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well there is censorship.
They have been censored.

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How can that be? They speak out every morning,
they have their shows every day. They speak out,

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you know, constantly against the government
every day. I mean how can they say this?

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I don\'t know if you have seen the programs that they have. I
have. Oh, well, anybody that comes to Venezuela spends Tuesday\'s

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looking at these channels. Notice
there\'s no censorship in Venezuela.

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You just have to sit down and
see those uh, opinion programs

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between 6:00 and 8:00 in the morning.

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I mean, I don\'t that in any part of the
world you hear the things that they say

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about President Chavez, about his cabinet, his
ministers, the governors, the policies, whatever.

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I mean it\'s, you know, obscene
in some kind, in some ways.

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It seems to me that everything
including the weather

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is being blamed on Mr. Chavez.

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Nobody blames Mr. Chavez for the weather because it\'s the only thing
left which still works, okay. All the other thing fell apart entirely.

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We\'re talking here 19 uh, 14, uh,

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Revolution, Russia, this is
what\'s taking place here.

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And if you go out. Uh, uh, wait a minute.
But we\'re seating here

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in your uh, wonderful apartment. Thank you
very much. Overlooking, overlooking Caracas.

00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.999
In Venezuela you say, And,
and if you\'re comparing

00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.999
this with bolshevik, Bolshevik Revolution
there\'s no, there are no revolutionaries

00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:14.999
banging on your door and uh, none of
your companies have been invaded.

00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.999
Your good life hasn\'t really
changed, it hasn\'t changed has it?

00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.999
Yeah, but as I said before, it is now on a
wait and see position. If I had come today

00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.999
on a two year contract as I did in 1976, I would
fulfill my contract, pack my luggage and go,

00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:34.999
because I don\'t see any more future.
His critics accuse

00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:39.999
Chavez of building another
Cuba, of being another Castro.

00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.999
And although he recently announced
temporary presidential powers

00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:49.999
that bypass parliament he maintains that
his aim is solely to speed up reform.

00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.999
The irony is that unlike Cuba,

00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.999
capitalism has never had it better here.

00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.999
At the Caracas motor show Ferraris
and other luxury cars are sold.

00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.999
Smart restaurants and private golf courses

00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.999
and weekends in Miami are booming.

00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.999
What this class has lost is political power

00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.999
over a huge oil economy. I think
Venezuela because it is an oil economy

00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.999
its middle and upper classes are very much

00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.999
biased towards the U.S. and the American
way of life. In a way they think

00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.999
they are cosmopolitan. They don\'t feel that
they are from this country or that country.

00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.999
They belong to the world. They belong to
this kind of privileged people of the world.

00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.999
Miami? Miami, New York, Paris.
We, we are old Miami.

00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.999
Miami is our second home. We discovered Miami because
Miami family was, you know, it was a village.

00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.999
And we were so rich, you know, we
went to Miami, we bought houses,

00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
apartments, bungalows, uh, boats, uh, cars.

00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.999
Everything we bought there in Miami. We were the owners
of Miami. And so we, we are, we are very U.S. minded.

00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.999
In the old Venezuela

00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
the United States played the part of a
mafia godfather. The deal was simple,

00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.999
for supplying endless cheap oil the
Venezuelan rich kept a large slice

00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.999
of the profits. The election
of Hugo Chavez ended the deal.

00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.999
Obviously the Venezuela\'s important because
they\'re the third largest supplier of petroleum.

00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.999
Um, I would say that Mr. Chavez

00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.999
and the State Department may say this, probably doesn\'t
have the interest of the United States at heart.

00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.999
We have been concerned with some of the
actions of um, Venezuelan President Chavez

00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:55.000
and his understanding of what a
democratic system is all about.

00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.999
In Washington of Miami

00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.999
and the country clubs of
Caracas getting rid of Chavez

00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.999
became an obsession.

00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
In early 2002 secret plans were
laid by the Venezuelan opposition

00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:40.000
with the media leading the attack.

00:21:55.000 --> 00:22:00.000
Anti-Chavez protesters took to the streets.
Their anger inflamed by the media.

00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
The campaign to overthrow Chavez came
to a head on April the 11th, 2002.

00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:25.000
And Anti-Chavez protest march was
called in the center of Caracas.

00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
What they didn\'t know was that there was two
marches that day. The other one was led by

00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.999
Chavez supporters outside the
Presidential palace, known as Miraflores.

00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
The two rallies

00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
were supposed to be kept apart but then an
extraordinary series of events unfolded.

00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
Without warning the opposition marchers

00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:05.000
were redirected to the Presidential
palace by one of the organizers.

00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:20.000
People tried to stop the march from changing
course but the organizer was having none of it.

00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
The opposition marchers were suddenly
herded towards government supporters.

00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
As they approached the
palace shots rang out.

00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
[music]

00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
They were being fired

00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
upon by snipers who shot them one by
one, many with a bullet to the head.

00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
[music]

00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
Soon afterwards

00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
these pictures began appearing
on anti-government TV,

00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:15.000
blaming the shooting on Chavez
supporters on a city bridge.

00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
However, as this camera angle reveals

00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
there were no opposition marchers
on the street below the bridge.

00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
What the TV pictures

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
did not show was this, the people on the bridge
are clearly trying to protect themselves,

00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
crouching down to avoid the bullets
of unknown snipers above them

00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
and anti-Chavez police units below them.

00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
The people on the bridge

00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:15.000
were actually defending themselves.

00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
Within hours

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
these military chiefs appeared on
television they too blame Chavez

00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:38.000
and his supporters for the killings.

00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
It was all a setup.

00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
The CNN correspondent in
Caracas Otto Neustald

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.999
later revealed that the generals had recorded
their statement before the shooting.

00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:18.000
Soon the Presidential Palace was surrounded

00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
by renegade army officers.
Inside Hugo Chavez

00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
was delivered an ultimatum,
resign or be bombed.

00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
One of his cabinet
ministers broke the news.

00:26:55.000 --> 00:27:00.000
Okay.

00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
Okay.

00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:15.000
[sil.]

00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
Hugo! Hugo!

00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
[sil.]

00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
The plotters announced that
Chavez had resigned. He hadn\'t,

00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
he was kidnapped.

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.999
The following morning

00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.999
an unelected dictator was sworn in. He was
a leading businessman called Pedro Camono.

00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:55.000
[sil.]

00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
In one amazing proclamation

00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:30.000
democracy was demolished, piece by piece.

00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:40.000
[sil.]

00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:50.000
[sil.]

00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
In the United States the broadcast
media carried the same pictures

00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
and the same story used to justify
the coup. The Bush administration

00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.999
made it clear it is happy with the change in
leadership in the country responsible for

00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:49.999
15% of America\'s oil imports.
Anthony Mason has our report.

00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
In the end this is what triggered
the overthrow of Hugo Chavez,

00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
Armed gangs loyal to the
Venezuelan president firing on

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
thousands of anti-government protesters. After
16 people were killed and hundreds wounded

00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
last night soldiers surrounded
the presidential palace.

00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
At the White House the spokesman of
President Bush rubber stamped the story.

00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
Let me share with you the administration\'s
thoughts about what has taken place in Venezuela.

00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
We know that the action encouraged by the Chavez government
provoked this crisis. The Chavez government suppressed

00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
peaceful demonstrations, fired on unarmed peaceful
protesters resulting in 10 killed and 100 wounded.

00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.999
That is what took place and a transitional
civilian government has been installed.

00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
Back in Venezuela three years of modest

00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:45.000
democratic reform had been overturned.

00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
The plotters and their friends
had everything to celebrate

00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
or so they thought.

00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
[music]

00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
The next morning distraught people began

00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:25.000
phoning one of the independent
radio stations still broadcasting.

00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:48.000
But hope had not gone,

00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
the truth began to emerge that
the resignation of Hugo Chavez

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
had been faked. His wife
Maria confirmed this

00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:13.000
in a call to the radio station.

00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.999
And the people in the barrios

00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
started to fight back. Down
from the shanties they came

00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
to rescue their president.

00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:38.000
[music]

00:32:55.000 --> 00:33:03.000
[music]

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
Hundreds of thousands
surrounded the palace demanding

00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.999
the return of Chavez.

00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:35.000
Faced by such people power the army turned.

00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
[music]

00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
Brought on by huge crowds

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
the Presidential guard who had
gone into hiding retook the palace

00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:10.000
and the plotters fled.

00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.999
[sil.]

00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.999
Just 48 hours

00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:50.000
after being kidnapped
Chavez was back in power.

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
As ordinary Venezuelan celebrated
the defense of their democracy

00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
some of the leading plotters fled to Miami.

00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
And within days it was clear that Washington
had cast its shadow over the failed coup.

00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
The Bush administration had gone
along with the lies of the plotters.

00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
We know that the action encouraged
by the Chavez government

00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
provoked this crisis. As
these CIA documents show

00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:05.000
it was fully warned, and knew
all about their conspiracy.

00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
Washington claims that it
warned Chavez about the coup.

00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
This is denied by the
Venezuelan government.

00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
Washington not only knew what was going on it
was backing and funding the coup indirectly.

00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
Documents recently released show that
the Bush administration schanneled

00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
millions of dollars to the Venezuelan opposition
in the months leading up to the coup.

00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
The money was handed out by its
principal aid agency US Aid

00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
and an organization called,
National Endowment for Democracy.

00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:54.999
The, during the six month period
prior to the coup in April 2002,

00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.999
the U.S. government invested more than $2
million in to financing these organizations.

00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
That they knew at least six months before were
planning uh, to overthrow the government.

00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
Uh, you\'re essentially saying
um, post hook ergo puckter hook

00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.999
because it happened after. And what was
that again? Uh, that post hook. I don\'t.

00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.999
Post hook. John I don\'t think our viewers understand that. If you
could translate. Because, uh, just because it happened after

00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
we provided support to these groups
doesn\'t, doesn\'t mean that it happened

00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
because we provided support. Ah, of course, yes.
To these groups. Uh, it is illogical falsity.

00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
Right. Um, we did, we provide,
the, we would be very open

00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
and transparent about what kind of support. Yes. We provided through
the National Endowment for Democracy and other institutions.

00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.999
In fact, the National Endowment

00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.999
for Democracy handed out money to groups whose leaders
were given cabinet positions in the short illegal regime.

00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:54.999
An official in Washington
explained that this was merely

00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.999
part of President Bush\'s freedom agenda.

00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.999
But I, I want to be just very explicit about
this. Okay. Because, because there is,

00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
I think it\'s very important in… in the interest of
fairness. Mmm. To understand that the United States

00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.999
did not support that coup.

00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
President Bush has promised to rid the world of evil
and to lead the great mission to build free societies

00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
on every continent. To
understand such an epic lie

00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
is to understand history, hidden
history, suppressed history,

00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.999
history that explains why we in the West
know a lot about the crimes of others

00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
but almost nothing about our own.
The missing word is empire.

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
The existence of an American empire is rarely
acknowledged or it\'s smothered in displays

00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.999
of jingoism that celebrate war and
an arrogance that says no country

00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:54.999
has a right to go its own way
unless that way coincides

00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.999
with the interest of the United States. For
empires have nothing to do with freedom,

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.999
they\'re vicious. They\'re about
conquest and theft and control

00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.999
and secrets. Since 1945 the United States

00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.999
has attempted to overthrow 50 governments
many of them democracies. In the process

00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.999
30 countries have been attacked
and bombed causing the loss

00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.999
of countless lives.

00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:29.999
In my lifetime the following countries
in Latin America have been assaulted

00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
by the United States directly and indirectly.
Their governments replaced dictators

00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
and other pro-Washington leaders.

00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
One of the first to be
attacked was Guatemala.

00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
One of the small countries of
central America, known dismissably

00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:55.000
as Banana Republics.

00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
This is Guatemala City

00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
as seen from the air. People
who live in this city

00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
dress very much like the people in our own
southern states. There are many churches

00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.999
and people go to church regularly. They
speak Spanish of course, as most of them

00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.999
are Spanish descent.

00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.999
In fact, most of the people of Guatemala are not of Spanish
descent they\'re indigenous Mayan people and very poor.

00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:34.999
In the 1950s 2% of the
population of Guatemala

00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
controlled the natural wealth in
collision with giant U.S. corporations,

00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
like the United Fruit Company,
which dominated banana growing.

00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.999
[music]

00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.999
On the board of United Fruit was John Foster Dulles,
who happened to be U.S. Secretary of State.

00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:59.999
His brother Allen happen to run the CIA.

00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.999
Both were Christian fundamentalist
who regarded any opposition

00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
as the work of communism and the devil.

00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.999
In 1950,

00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.999
this man Acobo Abenz(ph) became the first
Guatemalan leader to be democratically elected

00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.999
by a majority of his people who saw in him

00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:29.999
the hope of social justice. He
was the Hugo Chavez of his day.

00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:34.999
What was going on in Guatemala is that there
was the democratically elected president umm,

00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:39.999
in 1950. Acobo Abenz who, who sought to
institute a series of new deal style reforms

00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.999
in which the State had a greater
role in both developing the economy

00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.999
and redistributing wealth. And the
centerpiece of that was a land reform.

00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.999
Abenz was far from radical. His
land reform policies were modest.

00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
But Washington was having none of it.

00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.999
Howard Hunt was then working
for Allen Dulles\' CIA.

00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:09.999
So they said a decision has been made
at the highest levels of our government

00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.999
to rid Guatemala of the Abenz regime.

00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:19.999
And we would like you to participate in it.

00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.999
Uh, you will be uh, Chief of Propaganda,
Political Action. In Guatemala what the CIA

00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:29.999
did was mobilize every facet of American
pop, power. It didn\'t just isolate

00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.999
Guatemala militarily and diplomatically but
it used the techniques of social psychology

00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.999
in a nearly yearlong campaign which created

00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.999
a sense of crisis in Guatemala.

00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:49.999
What we wanted to do was have a terror campaign uh,
to terrify our Abenz particularly, terrify his…

00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:54.999
his troops much as the German stuca-bombers
terrified the population of,

00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:59.999
of Holland, Belgium, and uh, Poland
at the onset of World War II.

00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.999
And that\'s what they did

00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:09.999
so the United States could
control the economy of Guatemala

00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.999
destroying the dreams of its people.
We sowed confusion

00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:19.999
through the countryside. And of course, we had by this
time we had air craft flying over and dropping leaflets,

00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:24.999
and doing a little harmless bombing.

00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.999
A little harmless bombing
and a CIA terror campaign

00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:34.999
cost thousands of lives.

00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:39.999
Abenz the democrat now branded a communist

00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:44.999
was humiliated, stripped
naked, and photographed

00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:49.999
before being forced into exile.

00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:54.999
Richard Nixon, then Vice
President of the United States

00:43:55.000 --> 00:43:59.999
flew into congratulate the new dictators.
That Guatemala is going to enter a new era

00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:04.999
in which there will be
prosperity for the people,

00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:09.999
together with liberty for the people.
General Rios Mont

00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:14.999
was to be one of Washington\'s faces of
liberty. During his time as president

00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:19.999
in the 1980s thousands of people
were murdered by death squads,

00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:24.999
most of them indigenous
men, women, and children.

00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:29.999
His guns and helicopters
came from the United States.

00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:34.999
President Regan flew in to warmly
endorse the General, whom he described

00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:39.999
as a man of great personal integrity.

00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:44.999
In the CIA we didn\'t give
a hoot about democracy.

00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:49.999
I mean it was fine if, if a government was
elected and would cooperate with us. But um,

00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:54.999
if it didn\'t then democracy didn\'t mean a thing
to us. And I don\'t think it means a thing today.

00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:59.999
The crushing of Guatemala
was Washington\'s blueprint.

00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.999
Four years later Cuba,
just 90 miles from Florida

00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:09.999
threw down the first direct
challenge ending Cuba\'s humiliation

00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:15.000
as a North American colony. A playpen
for drug barons and the mafia.

00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:29.999
Washington would never
forgive Fidel Castro.

00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:34.999
Uh, under the government
each, we had uh, um,

00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:39.999
task force that were striking Cuba
constantly. We were attempting

00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.999
to blow up power plants. We were attempting
to ruin uh, sugar mills. We were attempting

00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:49.999
to do all kinds of things during this period. This is a
matter of American government policy, this wasn\'t the CIA.

00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:54.999
Cuba\'s achievements in health care

00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:59.999
and education are widely respected.
However, for not bowing

00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:04.999
to the greatest power on Earth the Cuban
revolution has paid a high price,

00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:09.999
a 45 year economic war
waged by the United States

00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:14.999
and the loss of vital democratic freedoms.

00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:19.999
How dare you, 90 miles from my country,

00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.999
the last 45 years with a different form of
government. How dare you haven\'t allowed

00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:29.999
American corporations to buy you out.
How dare you

00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:34.999
continue this arrogance that says,
that you will never succumb to us.

00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:39.999
Don\'t you know who we are? Don\'t you
know, who these corporations are?

00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.999
Don\'t you know your life would be better
if could drink Coke Cola every day?

00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.999
What justified the attacks on Cuba

00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:54.999
and other Latin American countries
was the so-called Red Menace.

00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:59.999
We all know the atomic bomb

00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.999
is very dangerous. Since it may be used
against us we must get ready for it.

00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:09.999
First, you duck and then you cover.
And very tightly

00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:14.999
you cover the back of your neck or your face.
Propaganda like this excused every American invasion,

00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:19.999
every toppling of a government,
every assassination,

00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:24.999
every act of terrorism. The real
threat was an orchestrated paranoia

00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:29.999
in the United States that became a
super cult called, anti-communism.

00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.999
The true goal of the United
States government is control.

00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.999
And they feel that, that if the United
States did not control the governments

00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.999
of Latin America, then somebody else would.
And the principal of government

00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:49.999
by the people, for the people, of
the people that is uh, just um,

00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:54.999
that\'s just silly.

00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.999
[music]

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.999
This is Santiago, the capital of Chile.

00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:09.999
In 1973, the national stadium

00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.999
was turned into a concentration camp as a
military coup backed by the United States

00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.999
overthrew the democratically elected
government of Salvador Allende.

00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.999
[music]

00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:29.999
The leader of the coup was a
fascist, General Augosto Pinochet,

00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:34.999
who rounded up Allende\'s
supporters and brought them here.

00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.999
A young medical student Roberto
Naverette was one of them.

00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:44.999
These changing rooms were used as
what when you were imprisoned here?

00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:49.999
They were used as uh, places where
people where kept inside here,

00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:54.999
50 or more. You can see that it there was
actually no room to move around here.

00:48:55.000 --> 00:48:59.999
Even, even all this places were
full of people sleeping here.

00:49:00.000 --> 00:49:04.999
And there were no blankets or anything.

00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:09.999
Even some people actually slept here.
There was no,

00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.999
there was very little room. When
they started torture you all?

00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:19.999
Yeah. What did they do to you then? The
techniques they used uh, where um,

00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:24.999
beating you, especially
in, in sort of places

00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:29.999
where it could become very
painful with a rubber truncheon,

00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:34.999
uh, and especially the genitals
and the soles of the feet.

00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:39.999
And you know, the arms and various places.

00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.999
[music]

00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.999
Over 2,000 people were confined
here, many of them never

00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:54.999
to be seen again.

00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:59.999
Victor Harra was Chile\'s greatest
balladeer. His songs had celebrated

00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.999
the popular democracy of the
government of Salvador Allende.

00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:09.999
He was taken to the stadium where
he was a source of strength

00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.999
for his fellow prisoners singing for them
until soldiers beat him to the ground

00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:19.999
and smashed his hands. In his last
poem, Smuggled Out of the Stadium,

00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.999
he wrote:\"What horror the
face of fascism creates.

00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.999
They carry out their plans
with knife like precision.

00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:34.999
For them blood equals metals.
How hard it is to sing

00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.999
when I must sing of horror
in which silence and screams

00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.999
are the end of my song.\" After
two days, they killed him.

00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:49.999
How old were you? I was uh, 18.

00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:54.999
18? Yeah. Huh. Does the
fear that you experienced

00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:59.999
there is that something that imprints
itself on the rest of your life?

00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.999
Yes, but we felt it was part of uh,

00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:09.999
what we were trying to build in this country.
What they were trying to build was a just,

00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:14.999
equitable democracy that took
control of Chile\'s economy

00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:19.999
from the United States and its proxies.

00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.999
For the invisible people of Latin America
Chile under Allende became an inspiration.

00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.999
In Washington,

00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:34.999
President Nixon secretly plotted
to destroy the Chilean economy.

00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.999
\"We\'re gonna make the economy
scream\", said Nixon.

00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:44.999
In Santiago General Pinochet,

00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:49.999
America\'s man sent in his British made
bombers against the Presidential palace.

00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:54.999
It was September the 11th, 1973,

00:51:55.000 --> 00:51:59.999
a date that held an infamy
and irony 28 years later.

00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:04.999
My wife and our children were at the house

00:52:05.000 --> 00:52:09.999
and they had a marvelous view
of the uh, of these planes,

00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:14.999
uh, winging over and then dipping down. And,
and sending their bombs into the (inaudible).

00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:19.999
From inside the palace
Allende refused to leave.

00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:24.999
True to his promise not to surrender the
government for which the ordinary people

00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:29.999
of Chile had voted. He
broadcast this last message

00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:35.000
then he shot himself

00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:04.999
[music]

00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:09.999
With General Pinochet in power

00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:14.999
Washington again denied it had
destroyed another democracy.

00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:19.999
We have no contact with any of
the people that carried out

00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:24.999
the military coup. And therefore the
coup that overthrew Allende was done uh,

00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:29.999
without conduct, contact
with the United States.

00:53:30.000 --> 00:53:34.999
A very different story is told
by these secret documents.

00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:39.999
In October 1970,

00:53:40.000 --> 00:53:44.999
the CIA cabled its man in Chile,
\"It is firm and continuing policy

00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:49.999
that Allende be overthrown by a coup.\"

00:53:50.000 --> 00:53:54.999
When that happened three years later a U.S.
official cable backed back to Washington:

00:53:55.000 --> 00:53:59.999
\"Chile\'s coup d\'etat was close to perfect.\"

00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:04.999
Fascism is a word that\'s often misused

00:54:05.000 --> 00:54:09.999
but you\'ve experienced it,

00:54:10.000 --> 00:54:14.999
the real thing. Yeah. I
think so, I think I.

00:54:15.000 --> 00:54:19.999
When… when did you realize that you were

00:54:20.000 --> 00:54:24.999
ensnarled by fascism? When did it manifest
itself? I, I think it was, it was evident

00:54:25.000 --> 00:54:29.999
from the very beginning, the just the ferocity,
the shear brute force that they use,

00:54:30.000 --> 00:54:34.999
the disregard for any
kind of human dignity.

00:54:35.000 --> 00:54:39.999
I mean, their, their aim was
really to make you into a thing.

00:54:40.000 --> 00:54:44.999
And I think in order to protect themselves
because if they made you into a thing then they

00:54:45.000 --> 00:54:49.999
didn\'t have to have human feelings
towards you. They dehumanized you,

00:54:50.000 --> 00:54:54.999
from the very beginning. Once again a
Latin American elite was delighted

00:54:55.000 --> 00:54:59.999
to be rescued by fascism. A
country has to be well set.

00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:04.999
Has to be well run, well worked, and
see that everyone does the work,

00:55:05.000 --> 00:55:09.999
\'cause if they don\'t the
country goes to the dogs.

00:55:10.000 --> 00:55:14.999
And this is the one man that
has been able to hold them.

00:55:15.000 --> 00:55:19.999
I don\'t believe there is any torturing done in
this country. Because you understand one thing,

00:55:20.000 --> 00:55:24.999
why torture somebody
when you can shot them?

00:55:25.000 --> 00:55:29.999
This is what where they tortured

00:55:30.000 --> 00:55:34.999
and killed them, Villa Grimaldi
was once a palatial home

00:55:35.000 --> 00:55:39.999
in a suburb of Santiago. Under
Pinochet it became a place of horror.

00:55:40.000 --> 00:55:44.999
Today it\'s a memorial to its many victims.

00:55:45.000 --> 00:55:49.999
Sara De Witt, then a student activist

00:55:50.000 --> 00:55:54.999
was a survivor. What was the date

00:55:55.000 --> 00:55:59.999
that you were arrested? You remember? Oh yes. I
was picked up on December, the 3rd of in 1975,

00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:04.999
7:00, on the dot. So, the (inaudible)

00:56:05.000 --> 00:56:09.999
had been in power for about 18 months?

00:56:10.000 --> 00:56:14.999
Yes. So when I realized, you know, uh, someone
had put, what I imagine it was a gun drawn

00:56:15.000 --> 00:56:19.999
on my back, and saying, and said
to me, um, \"Don\'t make any noise,

00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:24.999
don\'t try to run because we will shot
you.\" Huh. You are coming with us.

00:56:25.000 --> 00:56:29.999
In a strange wooden tower
like this, in spaces the size

00:56:30.000 --> 00:56:34.999
of a dog\'s kennel, people
were tortured to death.

00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:39.999
[music]

00:56:40.000 --> 00:56:44.999
They took me to this room, you know, they were
punching me, hitting me, grabbing my nipples.

00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:49.999
Telling me that I as a whore. So
they asked me to take off my clothes

00:56:50.000 --> 00:56:54.999
and they tied, they tied me up. And then
I, they tried giving me electricity.

00:56:55.000 --> 00:56:59.999
Now the electricity was all
the time inside my vagina,

00:57:00.000 --> 00:57:04.999
in my breast, and then it was going
round, you know, round my body,

00:57:05.000 --> 00:57:09.999
my legs, my arms. And when they did
that, you know, they would stop ask me,

00:57:10.000 --> 00:57:14.999
asking me questions, you know.
And then touching me everywhere.

00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:19.999
Um, shouting and abusing. And then they would
go, they continue with the electricity.

00:57:20.000 --> 00:57:24.999
Duane Clarridge was head of the
CIA\'s Latin American division

00:57:25.000 --> 00:57:29.999
in early 1980s. DUANE CLARRIDGE
Chile, the only reason it exists

00:57:30.000 --> 00:57:34.999
is because of Pinochet.
At a huge human price?

00:57:35.000 --> 00:57:39.999
What human price? Give me a break. For thousands who were
disappeared and murdered? Thousands, thousands. You count them.

00:57:40.000 --> 00:57:44.999
What thousands? Well, see I. And don\'t talk
to me, talk to me about Truth Commissions.

00:57:45.000 --> 00:57:49.999
I\'ve seen their names. Yeah, yeah. In
the cemetery in Santiago. Yeah, I.

00:57:50.000 --> 00:57:54.999
You are saying, you\'re saying they\'re fakes. Yeah, they\'re not
thousands, they\'re not thousands. Well. There aren\'t thousands, sir.

00:57:55.000 --> 00:58:03.000
[music]

00:58:05.000 --> 00:58:09.999
There are thousands. Each name documented
by human rights organizations.

00:58:10.000 --> 00:58:14.999
Some of them remembered here on the
memorial wall at Villa Grimaldi.

00:58:15.000 --> 00:58:19.999
You have a couple of friends
there, like Jacqueline.

00:58:20.000 --> 00:58:24.999
Yes, yes. I have friends. Uh,
mainly people from my training,

00:58:25.000 --> 00:58:29.999
you know, I go to the, there is
a girl there, Jacqueline Rugae,

00:58:30.000 --> 00:58:34.999
another one Cecilia La Brine,
she was pregnant, Cecilia.

00:58:35.000 --> 00:58:39.999
Three months pregnant when they took her.
They took another woman, Elizabeth Recas,

00:58:40.000 --> 00:58:44.999
she was seven months pregnant. She was missing
as well. Doesn\'t bare thinking about, does it?

00:58:45.000 --> 00:58:49.999
No, because um, sometime, you know,

00:58:50.000 --> 00:58:54.999
I think about what were
they feeling, you know,

00:58:55.000 --> 00:58:59.999
when they were being killed, and why.
You know and,

00:59:00.000 --> 00:59:04.999
well sometime I think I think too much and
I start feeling you know, like the pain.

00:59:05.000 --> 00:59:09.999
What do you feel when you are being
killed and in such a way. I find it,

00:59:10.000 --> 00:59:14.999
well I find frightening really. Yeah.

00:59:15.000 --> 00:59:19.999
Because you wish, you know, that you could have
done something for them. Such an isolation,

00:59:20.000 --> 00:59:24.999
you must feel totally, I don\'t know, I don\'t
know, what do you think really. Alone.

00:59:25.000 --> 00:59:29.999
Yeah, very, very much alone.

00:59:30.000 --> 00:59:34.999
[sil.]

00:59:35.000 --> 00:59:39.999
It was a period in which almost everybody

00:59:40.000 --> 00:59:44.999
in the present uh, situation regards
as a dark time. In which the CIA

00:59:45.000 --> 00:59:49.999
played a major role. That\'s right.
They played a major role in over,

00:59:50.000 --> 00:59:54.999
overthrowing uh, what, what\'s his name?
Uh, what\'s his name was Salvador Allende.

00:59:55.000 --> 00:59:59.999
Yeah, yeah, fine. Okay. He was democratically
elected. Right, Okay. Is that Okay

01:00:00.000 --> 01:00:04.999
to overthrow a democratically
elected government? I it depends on

01:00:05.000 --> 01:00:09.999
what your national security interest are.
Are you denying that Pinochet

01:00:10.000 --> 01:00:14.999
caused huge suffering in that country?
I don\'t, I, I am a huge,

01:00:15.000 --> 01:00:19.999
I don\'t buy that, that he committed crimes.

01:00:20.000 --> 01:00:24.999
I agree. Okay. But it\'s worth it? Huh? Is that
what you\'re saying, those crimes are worth it?

01:00:25.000 --> 01:00:29.999
Yeah, yeah in, sometimes unfortunately
uh, things have to be changed

01:00:30.000 --> 01:00:35.000
in a rather uh, ugly way.

01:01:05.000 --> 01:01:09.999
By the late 70s most of Latin
America was controlled by dictators

01:01:10.000 --> 01:01:14.999
including those like Pinochet who are
openly fascist. All of them were backed

01:01:15.000 --> 01:01:19.999
directly and indirectly
by the United States.

01:01:20.000 --> 01:01:24.999
They sent their henchmen to be trained here
at the School of the Americas in Georgia.

01:01:25.000 --> 01:01:29.999
Officially it was described as
little more than a boy-scout camp

01:01:30.000 --> 01:01:34.999
teaching American values, such
as respect for human rights.

01:01:35.000 --> 01:01:39.999
In fact from these manuals
were taught interrogation

01:01:40.000 --> 01:01:44.999
and torture techniques. Major Joseph Blair

01:01:45.000 --> 01:01:49.999
taught at the School of the
Americas in the early 1980s.

01:01:50.000 --> 01:01:54.999
The doctrine that was taught was that if you
want information you use physical abuse,

01:01:55.000 --> 01:01:59.999
you use uh, false
imprisonment, you use, uh,

01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:04.999
threats to family members,
you use virtually

01:02:05.000 --> 01:02:09.999
any method necessary to get what you want.

01:02:10.000 --> 01:02:14.999
Torture? And killing. Killing?

01:02:15.000 --> 01:02:19.999
Killing. If there\'s someone you don\'t want you kill them.
If you don\'t, if you can\'t get the information you want,

01:02:20.000 --> 01:02:24.999
if you can\'t get that person to shut up or stop
what they\'re doing, you simply assassinate them

01:02:25.000 --> 01:02:29.999
and you assas-, assassinate them
with one of your death squads.

01:02:30.000 --> 01:02:34.999
[sil.]

01:02:35.000 --> 01:02:39.999
This is a death squad in action in El
Salvador. Actually it\'s the National Police,

01:02:40.000 --> 01:02:44.999
many of whom were trained at
the School of the Americas.

01:02:45.000 --> 01:02:49.999
Here on the steps of San Salvador
Cathedral they\'re gunning down mourners

01:02:50.000 --> 01:02:54.999
attending the funeral of Archbishop Romero,
who was murdered as he said mass on

01:02:55.000 --> 01:02:59.999
March the 23rd, 1980. This
man Robert Dovinsa(ph)

01:03:00.000 --> 01:03:04.999
gave the order to kill the Archbishop.

01:03:05.000 --> 01:03:09.999
Major Dovinsa was Washington\'s
dirty secret in El Salvador.

01:03:10.000 --> 01:03:14.999
He was trained at the School of
the Americas. According to the

01:03:15.000 --> 01:03:19.999
Truth Commission and the whole. Oh, please.
Sway of. Well, come on.

01:03:20.000 --> 01:03:24.999
John if this is where we\'re
going you\'re wasting my time.

01:03:25.000 --> 01:03:29.999
Well. That\'s, that\'s all bullshit. Those
people all had agendas. So, it\'s bullshit

01:03:30.000 --> 01:03:34.999
that the Salvadorian
military uh, were murdering…

01:03:35.000 --> 01:03:39.999
They did some bad. Tens of thousands of people?
No. I bet you can\'t count more than 200

01:03:40.000 --> 01:03:44.999
in the whole 10 or 12 years.

01:03:45.000 --> 01:03:49.999
We can count 200 in this one village alone.

01:03:50.000 --> 01:03:54.999
They were mostly women and children
systematically murdered in just one day

01:03:55.000 --> 01:03:59.999
and night in December 1981,
in the village of El Mozote.

01:04:00.000 --> 01:04:04.999
The killers belonged to a special
battalion of the El Salvador army

01:04:05.000 --> 01:04:09.999
trained by the United States.
There were few survivors.

01:04:10.000 --> 01:04:15.000
[music]

01:04:40.000 --> 01:04:44.999
You\'re taking stuff

01:04:45.000 --> 01:04:49.999
from these propaganda mills and I\'m not
interested. What, what are the propaganda mills?

01:04:50.000 --> 01:04:54.999
All these things, these truth thing, and all
of that. They\'re nothing but propaganda mills.

01:04:55.000 --> 01:04:59.999
Do, do you really think that? I know so. You, you
have. Are they all, they all conning us, lying us,

01:05:00.000 --> 01:05:04.999
Amnesty International? Amnesty International
is right in the middle of it.

01:05:05.000 --> 01:05:09.999
During the 1980s, the years of Ronald Regan

01:05:10.000 --> 01:05:14.999
in the White House a trail of carnage and
grief was blazed across Central America.

01:05:15.000 --> 01:05:19.999
I reported America\'s war against Nicaragua

01:05:20.000 --> 01:05:24.999
which had the tenacity to overthrow a
Washington backed dictator, Samosa.

01:05:25.000 --> 01:05:29.999
The CIA attacked Nicaragua

01:05:30.000 --> 01:05:34.999
with death squads known as the Contra.

01:05:35.000 --> 01:05:39.999
Why did Washington attack such tiny
countries? Because the weaker they are

01:05:40.000 --> 01:05:44.999
the greater the threat. People who can
free themselves against all the odds

01:05:45.000 --> 01:05:49.999
are sure to inspire others. What right,

01:05:50.000 --> 01:05:54.999
have you, when I mean you, the CIA,

01:05:55.000 --> 01:05:59.999
the United States government or any
foreign power, what right do you have

01:06:00.000 --> 01:06:04.999
to do what you do in other countries?
National security interest.

01:06:05.000 --> 01:06:09.999
But that\'s a divine right, isn\'t it.
Because. I don\'t. People that you do it to

01:06:10.000 --> 01:06:14.999
have no say this. Uh, uh, well,
that, that\'s just tough.

01:06:15.000 --> 01:06:19.999
We are gonna protect ourselves and we\'re gonna go on
protecting ourselves because we end up protecting all of you.

01:06:20.000 --> 01:06:24.999
And let\'s not forget that! Right, right.
No, I won\'t.

01:06:25.000 --> 01:06:29.999
We\'ll intervene whenever we decide it\'s in
our national security interest to intervene.

01:06:30.000 --> 01:06:34.999
And if you don\'t like it, lump it.
Get used to it, world.

01:06:35.000 --> 01:06:39.999
We\'re not gonna put up with nonsense.

01:06:40.000 --> 01:06:44.999
And if our interests are
threatened we\'re gonna do it.

01:06:45.000 --> 01:06:49.999
In Guatemala the United Nations described
the Washington backed campaign

01:06:50.000 --> 01:06:54.999
against the Mayan people as genocide.

01:06:55.000 --> 01:06:59.999
An American Roman Catholic
nun, Sister Dianna Ortiz

01:07:00.000 --> 01:07:04.999
experienced this at first-hand
as a missionary. In 1989

01:07:05.000 --> 01:07:09.999
after speaking out about the brutal
treatment of the indigenous people

01:07:10.000 --> 01:07:14.999
she was kidnapped.

01:07:15.000 --> 01:07:19.999
In 1989, November 2nd I…

01:07:20.000 --> 01:07:24.999
[sil.]

01:07:25.000 --> 01:07:29.999
Woo, Okay.

01:07:30.000 --> 01:07:34.999
I was

01:07:35.000 --> 01:07:39.999
abducted and I was put

01:07:40.000 --> 01:07:44.999
in a police car, blindfolded,

01:07:45.000 --> 01:07:49.999
and taken to a military installation

01:07:50.000 --> 01:07:54.999
in Guatemala City, known as the
Politecnica, which still exist today.

01:07:55.000 --> 01:07:59.999
I was.

01:08:00.000 --> 01:08:04.999
Taken to a basement

01:08:05.000 --> 01:08:09.999
and I still remember to this day

01:08:10.000 --> 01:08:14.999
upon entering the building

01:08:15.000 --> 01:08:19.999
the clandestine prison,

01:08:20.000 --> 01:08:24.999
hearing the screams of
people being tortured.

01:08:25.000 --> 01:08:29.999
Can we stop? For 24 hours

01:08:30.000 --> 01:08:34.999
she was tortured and gang raped.
During her ordeal

01:08:35.000 --> 01:08:39.999
she identified the leader of the gang as
a fellow citizen of the United States.

01:08:40.000 --> 01:08:44.999
I, I came out a totally um,

01:08:45.000 --> 01:08:49.999
different person. Yeah. Um.

01:08:50.000 --> 01:08:54.999
Yeah. But also with new eyes

01:08:55.000 --> 01:08:59.999
and more attuned to the hurting,

01:09:00.000 --> 01:09:04.999
the brokenness, the, the
oppression, the deceit

01:09:05.000 --> 01:09:09.999
of my government. I\'ve heard
people say that what happened

01:09:10.000 --> 01:09:14.999
in Abu Ghraib is an isolated incident.

01:09:15.000 --> 01:09:19.999
And I have to just shake my head, and
say, you know, are we on the same planet.

01:09:20.000 --> 01:09:24.999
You know, aren\'t you aware of our history,

01:09:25.000 --> 01:09:29.999
you know. Isn\'t history taught

01:09:30.000 --> 01:09:34.999
in the classroom about the
role of the U.S. government

01:09:35.000 --> 01:09:39.999
in human rights violations?

01:09:40.000 --> 01:09:44.999
By the late 1980s
Washington\'s policy changed.

01:09:45.000 --> 01:09:49.999
Dictators like Pinochet were seen
as an unnecessary embarrassment.

01:09:50.000 --> 01:09:54.999
And new and innovative way of
controlling nations was launched.

01:09:55.000 --> 01:09:59.999
Good morning, and welcome. It\'s good

01:10:00.000 --> 01:10:04.999
to have you all here to help celebrate the
launching of a program with a vision and a,

01:10:05.000 --> 01:10:09.999
and a noble purpose. The National
Endowment for Democracy is just as

01:10:10.000 --> 01:10:14.999
we\'ve been told, more than bipartisan. The
establishment of the National Endowment

01:10:15.000 --> 01:10:19.999
goes right to the heart of America\'s faith
in democratic ideals and institutions.

01:10:20.000 --> 01:10:24.999
It offers hope to people everywhere.
Like any new brand

01:10:25.000 --> 01:10:29.999
it had it snappy name, democracy.
It was largely fake,

01:10:30.000 --> 01:10:34.999
an illusion of marketing and spin.
This brand of democracy meant that

01:10:35.000 --> 01:10:39.999
whoever you voted for the policies
would be broadly the same.

01:10:40.000 --> 01:10:44.999
And your countries economy would
be in step with the United States.

01:10:45.000 --> 01:10:49.999
Washington would be your
closest friend or else.

01:10:50.000 --> 01:10:54.999
In the 1990s, these democracies
in name replaced dictatorships

01:10:55.000 --> 01:10:59.999
in Latin America with Chile
providing the model.

01:11:00.000 --> 01:11:04.999
[music]

01:11:05.000 --> 01:11:09.999
This is the commercial
center of Santiago, Chile.

01:11:10.000 --> 01:11:14.999
On the surface today everything
seems normal, modern, prosperous.

01:11:15.000 --> 01:11:19.999
To the Bush administration Chile is
the very model of economic success,

01:11:20.000 --> 01:11:24.999
a laboratory experiment according
to the magazine Business Week.

01:11:25.000 --> 01:11:29.999
Much of life has been privatized.
There are now billionaires

01:11:30.000 --> 01:11:34.999
and the rich are getting richer.

01:11:35.000 --> 01:11:39.999
Pinochet fixed the country. Who says? He.

01:11:40.000 --> 01:11:44.999
The United States says?

01:11:45.000 --> 01:11:49.999
No. The world-bank says, the Inter-American Bank says,
everybody says it. He brought about a economic miracle

01:11:50.000 --> 01:11:54.999
in Chile. And I\'m saying
he had the brains for it

01:11:55.000 --> 01:11:59.999
but had the brains to hire all these people, Chileans
who had studied at the University of Chicago,

01:12:00.000 --> 01:12:04.999
who knew something about
real, real economics.

01:12:05.000 --> 01:12:09.999
Real economics were advocated by Milton
Freedman, an extreme rightwing economist

01:12:10.000 --> 01:12:14.999
at the University of Chicago.
Freedman was invited

01:12:15.000 --> 01:12:19.999
to perform his laboratory experiment
on the economic life of Chile.

01:12:20.000 --> 01:12:24.999
The families of the tortured and
disappeared were silent witnesses.

01:12:25.000 --> 01:12:29.999
Without irony he called his
experiment, Shock Treatment.

01:12:30.000 --> 01:12:34.999
Please be seated. Thank you all very much.

01:12:35.000 --> 01:12:39.999
It\'s uh, an honor for me to be here to um,

01:12:40.000 --> 01:12:44.999
pay tribute to a hero of
freedom, Milton Freedman.

01:12:45.000 --> 01:12:49.999
He has used a brilliant mind
to advance a moral vision.

01:12:50.000 --> 01:12:54.999
We have seen Milton Freedman\'s
ideas at work in Chile

01:12:55.000 --> 01:12:59.999
where a group of economist
called the Chicago Boys,

01:13:00.000 --> 01:13:04.999
brought inflation under control and laid
the ground work for economic success.

01:13:05.000 --> 01:13:09.999
[music]

01:13:10.000 --> 01:13:14.999
This is the other side

01:13:15.000 --> 01:13:19.999
of the economic miracle. Chile
today is a deeply unequal society.

01:13:20.000 --> 01:13:28.000
[music]

01:13:30.000 --> 01:13:34.999
This shanty town

01:13:35.000 --> 01:13:40.000
is just minutes from
Santiago\'s smart hotels.

01:14:05.000 --> 01:14:09.999
[music]

01:14:10.000 --> 01:14:14.999
We found this couple living and
freezing in the shanty town.

01:14:15.000 --> 01:14:20.000
They\'re homeless and a week old baby.

01:15:10.000 --> 01:15:14.999
Chile is a democracy now in theory.

01:15:15.000 --> 01:15:19.999
A complicated voting system splits the vote

01:15:20.000 --> 01:15:24.999
and discourages real reform. It\'s
a product of General Pinochet,

01:15:25.000 --> 01:15:29.999
based on a constitution that\'s
also a product of Pinochet.

01:15:30.000 --> 01:15:34.999
The General may be dead but the
power of the military remains.

01:15:35.000 --> 01:15:39.999
It\'s all very modern, the media is safe

01:15:40.000 --> 01:15:44.999
and many believe it\'s wise to be silent like
the graves of their forgotten compatriots.

01:15:45.000 --> 01:15:50.000
It\'s ashington\'s ideal democracy.

01:16:40.000 --> 01:16:48.000
[music]

01:16:55.000 --> 01:16:59.999
This is Bolivia another
laboratory experiment.

01:17:00.000 --> 01:17:04.999
The majority of the population of this spectacular
brutalized country, high in the Andes,

01:17:05.000 --> 01:17:09.999
have also been invisible until recently.

01:17:10.000 --> 01:17:14.999
[music]

01:17:15.000 --> 01:17:19.999
The indigenous people, the Imara
and Ketura carry memories

01:17:20.000 --> 01:17:24.999
of a culture and civilization and
wealth long before the Spanish arrived

01:17:25.000 --> 01:17:29.999
500 years ago.

01:17:30.000 --> 01:17:34.999
They remember how a single hill of silver
underwrote the entire Spanish empire

01:17:35.000 --> 01:17:39.999
while they became the poorest.

01:17:40.000 --> 01:17:44.999
This is the National Congress of Bolivia.

01:17:45.000 --> 01:17:49.999
Until recently the faces here were almost all
White. The descendents of a tiny Spanish elite

01:17:50.000 --> 01:17:54.999
which plundered the nation\'s riches,

01:17:55.000 --> 01:17:59.999
hemorrhages the indigenous majority to
serve them. It was a pattern of control

01:18:00.000 --> 01:18:04.999
repeated all over Latin America. The
pattern has been broken in Bolivia

01:18:05.000 --> 01:18:09.999
with the rise of social movements
of the kind never seen before.

01:18:10.000 --> 01:18:14.999
And whose democratic home is
Westminster or Washington

01:18:15.000 --> 01:18:19.999
or any other so-called model but in
the streets, the mines, the barrios,

01:18:20.000 --> 01:18:24.999
the fields. Governments that
defy this popular power,

01:18:25.000 --> 01:18:29.999
this true democracy do
so at their own peril.

01:18:30.000 --> 01:18:34.999
[music]

01:18:35.000 --> 01:18:39.999
This is El Alto, the highest city on Earth

01:18:40.000 --> 01:18:44.999
and perhaps the poorest.

01:18:45.000 --> 01:18:49.999
[music]

01:18:50.000 --> 01:18:54.999
The occupants of this cemetery on the
roof of the world are mainly children.

01:18:55.000 --> 01:18:59.999
Protected they say by the
sacred mountain (inaudible)

01:19:00.000 --> 01:19:04.999
El Alto overlooks Bolivia\'s capital of Paz.

01:19:05.000 --> 01:19:09.999
[music]

01:19:10.000 --> 01:19:14.999
Juan Delfin, a priest

01:19:15.000 --> 01:19:20.000
and a taxi driver has lived
here for most of his life.

01:20:00.000 --> 01:20:04.999
When I first came to Bolivia in the 1960s

01:20:05.000 --> 01:20:09.999
El Alto barely existed. The
million people living here

01:20:10.000 --> 01:20:14.999
are peasants runoff their land, the
miners made redundant by policies

01:20:15.000 --> 01:20:19.999
similar to those imposed in Chile.

01:20:20.000 --> 01:20:24.999
Infrastructure that didn\'t make
a quick buck was privatized.

01:20:25.000 --> 01:20:29.999
The message was clear, sell
it, strip it, or scrap it.

01:20:30.000 --> 01:20:35.000
The indigenous people were scrapped.

01:20:55.000 --> 01:20:59.999
And yet the people here have held together,

01:21:00.000 --> 01:21:05.000
their sense of identity, their community.

01:21:25.000 --> 01:21:29.999
In the year 2000 the people of
Bolivia second city culture Bamba

01:21:30.000 --> 01:21:34.999
fought an epic struggle to win back
their most basic resource, water,

01:21:35.000 --> 01:21:39.999
from a foreign consortium dominated
by the American corporation Bektel.

01:21:40.000 --> 01:21:45.000
And they won.

01:21:50.000 --> 01:21:54.999
Three years later in 2003,
Bolivia\'s power brokers

01:21:55.000 --> 01:21:59.999
were about to get another shock.

01:22:00.000 --> 01:22:04.999
This is Gonzalo Sanchez
Delsada, known as Goni.

01:22:05.000 --> 01:22:09.999
He was brought up in Washington.

01:22:10.000 --> 01:22:14.999
His English is better than his Spanish.
They knew him here

01:22:15.000 --> 01:22:20.000
as El Gringo.

01:22:40.000 --> 01:22:44.999
When Goni was elected
President of Bolivia in 2003,

01:22:45.000 --> 01:22:49.999
he backed that amounted to a fire
sale of the country\'s resources.

01:22:50.000 --> 01:22:54.999
Almost everything was up for
grabs including Latin America\'s

01:22:55.000 --> 01:23:00.000
second biggest gas reserves.

01:23:15.000 --> 01:23:19.999
The people of El Alto fought back,
blocking the roads leading into the Paz.

01:23:20.000 --> 01:23:28.000
[music]

01:23:45.000 --> 01:23:49.999
[music]

01:23:50.000 --> 01:23:54.999
Goni\'s response was the traditional
Latin American way, he sent in the army

01:23:55.000 --> 01:23:59.999
to crush descent.

01:24:00.000 --> 01:24:04.999
Scores were shot dead.

01:24:05.000 --> 01:24:09.999
[music]

01:24:10.000 --> 01:24:15.000
Many were brought to Juan Delfin\'s church.

01:24:40.000 --> 01:24:48.000
[sil.]

01:25:10.000 --> 01:25:14.999
Tens of thousands of people
poured down into La Paz.

01:25:15.000 --> 01:25:19.999
Like the people of Venezuela\'s barrios
demanding the return of their president

01:25:20.000 --> 01:25:24.999
they demanded their country back.

01:25:25.000 --> 01:25:29.999
If the rich and powerful of
Latin America had a nightmare

01:25:30.000 --> 01:25:38.000
this was it. Goni fled to the United States

01:25:45.000 --> 01:25:49.999
and is today living in a
smart suburb of Washington.

01:25:50.000 --> 01:25:58.000
In October 2004, the Bolivian
Congress ordered his arrest

01:26:00.000 --> 01:26:04.999
on charges of bloody massacre.
George Bush has said,

01:26:05.000 --> 01:26:09.999
\"Governments that harbor terrorist
are as guilty as they are.\"

01:26:10.000 --> 01:26:14.999
[non-English narration]

01:26:15.000 --> 01:26:19.999
This extraordinary mural was painted
by Juan Delfin. It\'s a cry of freedom

01:26:20.000 --> 01:26:25.000
from an entire continent.

01:27:00.000 --> 01:27:04.999
[music]

01:27:05.000 --> 01:27:09.999
In 2005, the people of Bolivia

01:27:10.000 --> 01:27:14.999
took an historic step. For the first
time ever an indigenous person

01:27:15.000 --> 01:27:19.999
was voted president in a landslide.

01:27:20.000 --> 01:27:24.999
Like Chavez in Venezuela, Eva
Morales offered a new democracy

01:27:25.000 --> 01:27:30.000
and a new beginning.

01:28:15.000 --> 01:28:19.999
In Latin America there\'s now a host
of leaders offering new beginnings.

01:28:20.000 --> 01:28:24.999
Of course, history is crowded with
heroes who offer new beginnings.

01:28:25.000 --> 01:28:29.999
The respectability of great
power and its gains, and deals,

01:28:30.000 --> 01:28:34.999
and plunder always beckon.

01:28:35.000 --> 01:28:39.999
If these new leaders succumb their biggest
threat may not be from Washington

01:28:40.000 --> 01:28:44.999
but from the people on the hillsides.

01:28:45.000 --> 01:28:53.000
[music]

01:30:40.000 --> 01:30:44.999
Muchas gracias John. I
want to see you again.

01:30:45.000 --> 01:30:49.999
What happened here at the
National Stadium in Santiago,

01:30:50.000 --> 01:30:54.999
Chile has a special place in the
struggle for freedom and democracy

01:30:55.000 --> 01:30:59.999
throughout Latin America and the world.
The vow is never again.

01:31:00.000 --> 01:31:04.999
And yet it has happened again at Guantanamo
Bay and all the other secret places

01:31:05.000 --> 01:31:09.999
where imperial power regardless
of its democratic pretentions

01:31:10.000 --> 01:31:14.999
hides and tortures its perceived enemies.

01:31:15.000 --> 01:31:19.999
The questions raised in this film are
urgent. Are the lives and dreams

01:31:20.000 --> 01:31:24.999
of the ordinary people of Chile like the people
of Venezuela, like the people of Bolivia,

01:31:25.000 --> 01:31:29.999
like the people of Nicaragua,
like the people of Vietnam,

01:31:30.000 --> 01:31:34.999
and Iraq, and Iran, and
Palestine expendable,

01:31:35.000 --> 01:31:39.999
worth only a few seconds in
the news if they\'re lucky?

01:31:40.000 --> 01:31:44.999
The answer is no. And those who see the
world through the eyes of the powerful

01:31:45.000 --> 01:31:49.999
should be warned, people are rising
from the tyranny and oblivion

01:31:50.000 --> 01:31:54.999
to which we in the West have consigned them.
Indeed their resistance is well underway

01:31:55.000 --> 01:31:59.999
as this film has shown. I would say
it never stopped and is unbeatable.

01:32:00.000 --> 01:32:05.000
[music]

Main content

The War on Democracy

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