First I saw Chuck Todd talking about the significance of the book, Las Venas Abiertas de America Latina, the Open Veins of Latin America. Every mention I have seen of the book was along the same lines as Todd's, giving the impression that the book was an attack on the USA. Todd kept on saying that the book was an indicator of the mindset of leftwing thought in Latin America, and of course it is, but to treat it as a polemic against our country is simply wrong. It is history. Yes, it has a strong viewpoint, but a very compelling and fact-based viewpoint.
From the beginning, the book sets forth two roles that nations play. Countries like USA, England, Spain, all the colonial powers, have traditionally had the role of taking wealth, and the poor countries, the corresponding role of giving it. And out of this historical colonial setup has evolved the modern day situation, which is still evolving, but in which the historic origins are easily recognized.
Americans need to be familiar with the facts that this book presents, more than we are. I think Europeans are more familiar with it. Obama no doubt is, but in giving the book, Chavez is symbolically saying, Americans need to be conscious of how we got to where we are, if our countries are going to get a better relationship. Americans tend to swallow the one-sided propaganda on our news about Venezuela, without thinking about the control over Venezuelan resources that USA and Europe have had, and control over the Venezuelan government. Being ill informed, too many people fail to understand the strength of Chavez's domestic support and the reasons for it.
It was many years ago that I read Las Venas Abiertas, and I found it tough going at the time. But later Galeano wrote something covering some of the same ground, in a wonderfully accessible format. His trilogy, Memories of Fire, Memorias del Fuego, is history composed of vignettes, beautifully written, in a style reminiscent of fairy tales, and also of good, accessible journalism. He tells centuries of history of the America in stories one or two pages long, covering subjects including Tupac Amaru, the last leader of the Incas, Al Capone, and a host of others in between, in chronological order. I went to a book tour event in Washington DC when Galeano came out with this book, and his was a good-humored, pleasant modest and witty presence.
We Americans are really smart about a lot of things, but the particular mind control that has evolved here has made it really hard to free ourselves of false assumptions and encouraged ignorance about world history and politics. Just as white Americans tried to forget the history of slavery and terrorism against the captive Africans who helped build our country, the developed world and especially the USA have tried to bury the memory of the atrocity and theft that was part of enriching the privileged of the world at the expense of the colonialized lands. I wish that Chavez had given Obama Memories of Fire instead of Las Venas Abiertas, but it was still a good thing to do.