Venezuelan Funds Dry Up For Hugo Chávez Supporters In New York

Gracias, Juan Victor, for your article. As the producer of the documentary I want to let your readers know that the film is making its rounds in festivals. It has been screened in the South Bronx on three different occasions and as is the trend, those who have claimed that PetroBRONX had been “hyjacked” chose not to attend as they have chosen not to be a part of the process. These public & community screening have provided us with feedback, comments, & suggestions that we’ve taken into account in our documentary. It also gave the PetroBRONX Collective the chance to pursue its goals and form a support base.

I was there throughout the initial three years (& the two prior years), recording. In our recording, Domingo de la Cruz invites President Chavez to create a reciprocal network & support a collective of organizers & activists working in the South Bronx to address chronic social & environmental problems.

Those accused of having hyjacked the collective were those most involved. They took on the tasks, duties, and above all the responsibilities necessary and made the process transparent. At any point in time, anyone so interested could have attended & observed what was going on, how, by whom, & why.

The ties with Chavez & Venezuela were ties made with the thought in mind of being reciprocal with the people & their president who offered much needed support to those on the ground working to resolve chronic issues in the South Bronx. Movements & revolutions have their epi-center, as do earthquakes, Cuba, not Venezuela, is the epi-center for the model that took shape in Venezuela as the Bolviarian Movement. Its goal, as it is for PetroBRONX, is to reach out across borders and PetroBRONX is well aware of that. To add, the collective was taking steps towards those goals. That current was opposed by those whose own goals were self-centered and parochial.

Therefore political education became an integrated part of PetroBRONX’ mission. The objective is to demonstrate gratitude, second pledge mutual support, & third in spread the principles of the social movement by serving as a living example. By incorporating those aims in their respective programs & projects, service, improvement, and development was being undertaken at the local level and expanding outward. Attending forums, summits, conferences, and creating encounters in the South Bronx & other places (all of which PetroBRONX has done in the absence of those who would criticize or condemn the collective), screening the video and being present to answer questions, distribute information, etc the goal was being accomplished.

There are several things here that are ironic. First the claim of not being or supporting “sectarian” or politicized” groups. The choices made in year four (2011) along those very lines. If you are going to claim to be involved call it a movement or a revolution for the purpose of creating change, you can’t be neutral. Every funding entity has its goals, missions, focus, & prerequisites. If you don’t meet the above you are not eligible for funding. They are called criteria.

One criteria was that you had under a $300K annual budget. Second is that your central offices and target are of service is the South Bronx. Another is whether you have other funding resources. Most of those groups, projects, & programs not receiving funds in 2011 are groups who don’t have other funding resources. The PetroBRONX source was a prime source of revenue and an means or generating the momentum to become self sufficient. Take a tour of the areas where the current recipients are located and you will find that of four groups receiving funding under the Bolivar Foundation whose doors are locked.

Having been present and involved in the grant cycle, I know that among those who are receiving funding in 2011 whether or not they, in fact, met the criteria. From first hand experience, I know of the allowances & concessions made to permit those who don’t have the language skills to follow fill out an application let alone write a proposal. Those allowances have bitten PetroBRONX in the ‘you know where’.

While PetroBRONX may not be receiving funding from neither the Bolivar Foundation or CITGO (and they may never from this point on), the collective has managed to continue. It has taken steps to incorporate, pool their resources and merge out of necessity. AfterDark CATV PRO is continuing its documentation of the collective for a sequel documentary.

Gracias, de nuevo, Juan Victor por su periodismo. LKet me know if you want a Spanish language version.

Felix Leo Campos

Hola Víctor Fajardo.
Gracias por publicar el documento, es lo primero que se publica de forma abierta al publico, me gustaría que el presidente Hugo Chávez Frías pudiera leer esto en un momento de reposo en su Twitter.
No me arrepiento de haber actuado como lo hice, es mi conciencia la que habla, es mi sentir por un mundo mejor, ya que con dinero o sin el seguiré apoyando la justicia mundial y los nuevos cambios que se están produciendo en nuestra América, es momento de terminar con el hambre, la falta de medicina, las paupérrimas viviendas, la falta de educación liberadora, la justicia Social, entre otras. Eso mencionado anteriormente es lo que promueve el presidente Bolivariano y son las cosas que hay que darle soporte.

Saludo especial