Is the election of President Hugo Chavez more hope for the African Diaspora in The Americas and abroad than the U.S. Presidential Election?

South African Police shot down Strikers 

The African Diaspora lurches forward into uncharted dark times.  Like an updated Charles Dickens novel, we, Her children, exist between greed, corruption, and poverty.  It's the best of times for our elite. South Africa is now politically "free" and governed by the famed liberation organization, The African National Congress, (ANC).  But the ANC does nothing to check corruption and supports the wealthy white aristocracy of old, including the min owners. Taking a page from the former white Apartheid government, the police are still allowed to shot dead Blacks workers who dare strike against dangerous work conditions and low pay.

 In the United States, the world's most powerful nation, A Black man is President.  But Blacks 

continued to be the last hired, first fired, marred in double digit unemployment, imprisonment, and pandemic murder rate. To added insult, the Black community have never been used as political pawn as much as we have by this President.  Meanwhile, the wealthy 2 percent continue to loot and pillage every source of public and private coin available aided and abetted by "our" Government.  

And for Black South Africa and Black America, there is no longer a direct enemy to point to or focus on. And truth be told, we are our worst enemy.

 South Africa was suppose to reshape and propel Africa into the progressive civilization that it once was, and connect Black Americans- who helped destroy Apartheid- to our lost African heritage.  None of this happened.  About six years ago, I read an article in The New York Times Magazine about the creation of an elite class of Black South Africans. There was a picture of a Black South African exiting his BMW, talking on a cell phone, carrying his golf clubs to an elite country club that was formally off limits to Black-Africans under Apartheid.  I knew then that Nelson Mandela's revolution had failed, because when the ANC assumed control of South Africa, instead of junking the capitalist system that fueled Apartheid, for a progressive model designed to benefit the masses of Black Africans grievously wronged under Apartheid, they embraced American Capitalism .  The end result is a broken mirror of America. A vast and growing ravine between rich and poor, endemic corruption, and violence.  The only difference between us and them, is their masses are too poor to be mesmerized by the circuses of corporate and religious entertainment that keeps Black Americans pacified.

Meanwhile across the Atlantic Ocean in Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez continues a radical experiment of wealth redistribution began by Fidel Castro. America's continued economic choke-hold on the Cuban People and Government, has in many ways stalled and in certain ways, reversed the Revolution. But it still serves as a roll model and inspiration for the bold and brave, like President Chavez. 

In Venezuela's last election, President Chavez pole-vaulted over the "moderate" American favored candidate, winning another six year term to continue an economic model that doesn't placate America and the western world. This model is organic to the masses of South America, called, Simón de Bolívar Socialism. The results continue to both improve the economic lots and equally important, raise the level of political and social consciousness of the masses. Meanwhile, South Africa denigrates to yet another African quagmire while Venezuela rises as a symbol of hope of what the bold and just can achieve.

 President Chavez, who recognizes himself firmly in the African Diaspora and publicly embraces his Black African blood, is copying the foundations of what was done by the late Muammar Qaddafi, building a Trans-African Movement.  But President Chavez is using a more enlightened and non cynical model. Further President Chavez is now able to forge ahead with what could be, world changing projects by expanding, The Bank of the South, which promotes development though out Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa, with out the exploitative and detrimental polices of the International Monetary Fund, and creating;

Petrosouth to marshal and pool oil and gas resources of the above continents. President Chavez noted that the European oil companies continue to exploit and evade taxes in Africa- as opposed to paying a 30 percent tax now demanded by Venezuela-,

Telesouth, a TV and  radio station, broadcasting alternative progressive voices to Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and

The University for the South to educate and train the youth of the above continents to run the above projects  

 It's ironic that in the next three weeks, America will hold Presidential elections, but the last elections in Venezuela might means more to Black Americas in terms of progressive policies, no matter who is elected.