Dear
Minister of the Popular Power for Foreign Relations of the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro:
I
would like first of all to thank you for having favorably received,
toward the end of last year, my opinions regarding the restablishment
of diplomatic relations with the United States of America, as also
did the team of the then President elect of that country, Barack
Obama. On behalf of many Venezuelans and of many U.S. citizens of
both Hispanic and Anglo descent, I sincerely value your efforts to
improve the relationship between both governments.
In the
United States there has certainly been a misunderstanding not only
about the Venezuelan reality, but also about the reality in the rest
of the planet until quite recently. The acceleration of globalization
during the last two decades; however, has already started reversing
their unawareness for all things foreign. Every time more U.S.
citizens learn languages such as Spanish or Chinese and submit their
passport applications in order to travel to foreign countries. The
most recent example of this learning process can actually be seen on
the Globovisión news network interview to U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton, who documented herself before the interview,
learn the exact date of our independence and congratulated us for our
most important national holiday at the beginning of her interview. I
consider this detail as friendly toward our country.
The
U.S. Secretary of State explicitly acknowledges the right that
Venezuela and other countries have to maintain relations with other
nations, particularly with Iran and Cuba. What she clarifies is that
there are issues on Venezuelan foreign policy that the United States
do not agree with. Similarly, the Venezuelan government emits
opinions against or in favor of specific actions regarding U.S.
foreign policy. Both nations sovereignly have spaces to emit either
their support or opposition toward a number of issues in foreign
policy. Furthermore, in the United States they could argue that in
Venezuela continues the generations old practice of discrediting
anything that may come from the United States democracy.
I
agree with all of you that is is quite difficult to believe in the
sincerity of the intentions to restore any bilateral relationship as
so many previous misunderstandings persist. However, as the
legitimate diplomats representing all Venezuelans, including those
who openly sympathize with the U.S. institutions and economic and
technological achievements, and also those who amply question them,
you at the Ministry of the Popular Power for the External Relations
of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela have the duty of not being
afraid to the negotiations that you are undertaking with the U.S.
authorities. You have the duty to clarify which kinds of future
signals from the United States would not be qualified as awkward and
aggressive towards Venezuela, Latin America and the Caribbean.
We
maintain the hope that once more frequent clarifications and
amendments are proactively established among both parties, we will
approach the common objective that you seek: “for the good of the
relationship bewteen the government of the United States and the
Bolivarian government of Venezuela.”
Caracas,
July 8, 2009
Mayor
Ledezma is already getting the attention of OAS Secretary General
José Miguel Insulza and of the press. I back the suggestion from
Miranda state Governor Henrique Capriles Radonski, who advises
Ledezma to immediately suspend his hunger strike. Small businesses
located on Orinoco Avenue in Las Mercedes commercial district have
already lost much patronage in the last few days. In the current
economic juncture it is completely out of place to harm the little
business that is still left.
Mr.
Ledezma, citizens voted for you so that you work and preoccupy
yourself about the city's many problems, if you rest on a stretcher
you aren't doing that. This is similar to when the opposition
withdrew from the legislative elections on 2005 and was left without
a space at the National Assembly. If you conclude this hunger strike
alive, you will have to undertake extensive medical treatment in
order to recover your health. These are no longer Ghandi's times when
events occurred slowly and people could afford the luxury of wasting
their time. Please do not waste your time any longer, be creative and
find solutions. If you are unable or do not have the time to find any
solutions, I see no reason for voting for you again in future
elections. You also chose a terrible moment for this strike, because
Honduras will continue grabbing headlines for a long time to come.
Rivero & Cooper, Inc. RROOPSTR
Caracas,
July 10, 2009
Dear
Metropolitan Mayor of Caracas, Mr. Antonio Ledezma:
Thank you
for having considered the request from so many people who are
genuinely worried for your health and for your life. We are now
waiting for your full recovery in order to retake the leadership of
the Mayor office. You have demonstrated much creativity in the past
and many achievements; however, it is necessary to be even more
creative in order to obtain further achievements, despite being
slight. I am asking you, more than ever before, to look for ways to
meet the city's needs despite any new obstacles. Maybe the moment has
arrived for you to concentrate on the needs of the city of Caracas
and therefore I propose you to momentarily leave the political and
ideological struggles as a second priority. Please manage this city,
do the exercise on a daily basis of designing the solution for any
specific problem concerning the citizens who are not involved in
politics, so that by the end of 2010 you will have already achieved
solving 500 specific problems. In order to accomplish that you may
consider delegating the political and jurisdiction struggles on your
legal advisers.
Mayor
Ledezma, we need you today as an efficient manager, not as a
politician. I augur that if you make your energies available to
constantly back upon your management creativity, you will be able to
solve many petty problems in the present, which will imply further
political achievements for you in the medium run.