Defending Chavez

Jamaica’s concerns were obvious and apparent in Mr Patterson’s address to the country on Sunday night in which he reported on President Chavez’s visit to the island last week and the benefits, primarily under Venezuela’s PetroCaribe initiative, that will flow from it.

Mr Patterson went out of his way to point out that Chavez’ offer of concessions on oil imports from Venezuela — available to other Caribbean nations, too — comes with "no strings attached".

Moreover, he felt it necessary not only to outline the specific benefits of the deal, but to appeal directly to Jamaicans for support in this effort to reach out to a country of the South even as Jamaica maintained "our historical links with the North".

There were, in Mr Patterson’s remarks, echoes of the ideologically turbulent 1970s when Michael Manley, Mr Patterson’s predecessor as prime minister, was on a path of democratic socialism and had emerged as key spokesman for the third world.

Manley’s standard bearing and relations with Fidel Castro placed Jamaica on a collision course with the United States, which saw in his defiant "third way" notions another leftist incarnation of the issues of the Cold War.

In some respects, President Chavez is a mirror of Manley of the 1970s, displaying many of the aspirations and contradictions, but with one substantial difference. Manley did not preside over a country that sat atop of one of the world’s largest reserves of oil.

Let’s be clear. This newspaper strongly values Jamaica’s relationship with the United States and other traditional partners. We hope that it will be maintained and strengthened to our mutual benefit.But we are also clear that foreign policy is primarily about the pursuance of domestic interest.

And there can be no interest of greater importance to Jamaica than its development and pulling the country out of poverty. One of the greatest threat at this time to energy-deficient Jamaica is the rising price of oil, which, this year, will cost the country US$1.2 billion — three times as much as four years ago.

Mr Chavez is the democratically-elected president of a friendly country with which Jamaica has long had good, fraternal and economic relations. He has offered this country concessions on its oil bill and other partnership agreements that will redound to the benefit of the Jamaican economy.

There is no evidence, from this distance, that Mr Chavez has interfered in the internal affairs of and engaged in aggression against countries with which Jamaica maintain friendly relations. Neither is there any credible evidence Mr Chavez’ presidency is against the will of the Venezuelan people. Indeed, not only has he twice won elections but was victorious in a recall poll.

In the face of the evidence, and taking into account its national interest, there seems no reason whatsoever to prevent Jamaica from maintaining good, healthy economic and other relations with Venezuela and for Kingston to sign on to the initiatives on offer from Caracas.

As Mr Patterson said, Jamaica has to widen its field of opportunities. (Courtesy Jamaica Observer)