Dear June:
Fantastic issue, one of the best yet.  And the cover!  Unforgettable, worthy of Life Magazine in its heyday.

David Stoll
Middlebury College

Dear June Erlick:

We will certainly lend this issue of Re Vista on Venezuela and recommend it to friends.

I think your choice of Dr. Coronil as guest editor for this issue was very wise, as he has certainly brought many diverse viewpoints together to provide a wide-ranging perspective on changes and continuities in contemporary Venezuela. On top of that, it is a beautiful publication; the layout and pictures are gorgeous.

Megan Morrissey
Communications Manager
Venezuela Information Office
media@veninfo.org

Hola June,
It was a very nice surprise to get a copy of  the ReVista on "Venezuela".
Te felicito, it is interesting and complex!  Almost finished reading it already.
Thanks
Chloe

Chloe Rutter-Jensen
Universidad de los Andes
Departamento de Lenguajes y Estudios Socio-culturales
Bogota, Colombia

Querida June,

Thank you so much for trying to encourage dialogue in Venezuela with your latest issue of ReVista. As a Fulbright Scholar here in Maracaibo, I’ve been surprised by the extreme polarization I’ve encountered here. Unfortunately, most Venezuelans at the Venezuelan-American center here were so turned off by the cover that they would not have opened the magazine had I not explained a little bit about it. They commented that it was “polemic,” unwilling to explore the “Chavez effect” they resent.

What, exactly, is the problem with the cover featuring a man sporting a t-shirt with Chavez’s head adorned with the symbolic red beret?  Everything, it would seem, to many folks here. I suppose I find this reaction here in Maracaibo fascinating because the cover does not merely show an image of Chavez, but the president as embodied by ordinary Venezuelans.  The cover very much reflects “the Chavez effect,” which is what some Venezuelans, if we can simply call them opposition supporters, find so disconcerting. 

In the context of November 23rd’s elections, the “Chavez effect” was not just perpetuated in the Chavista groups of ordinary Venezuelans pressuring voters at the polls. It is also reflected in the instances of ordinary Venezuelans who, fulfilling election duty, were required to help voters who can barely see.  In these cases, they actually press the buttons for them. An opposition acquaintance of mine had no shame recounting the story of assisting several such women who came to vote for the Chavista candidates. She admits to selecting the Chavista gubernatorial candidate but not following through with the other votes; unbeknownst to the voters, she selected opposition candidates for the other items on the ballot.  These aberrations on both sides are troubling.

The issue exposed me to critical thought that does not tend to appear in everyday conversations, especially in the heightened atmosphere of elections. With these elections over, the coming year will be an interesting one. I find myself in a strange place that I understand less, rather than more, with each day. I would be the last one to make any predictions on where the “Chavez effect” will take us next.

Un abrazo,
Denise Delaney
Harvard College 2008
Fulbright Scholar, Maracaibo Venezuela

Dear June:

Congratulations on the fall issue of the magazine. You did a job few, in any publications in Latin America (and especially in Colombia) have attempted to present their readers a balanced, honest, and useful review of what Chavez and his revolution represent. Hope to see in the future a similar effort about the Colombian critical situation, that even most Colombians apparently do not fully grasp yet.

Keep up your excellent work!

Un fuerte abrazo,
 
Leopoldo Villar Borda
Bogotá, Colombia

Dear June:
This is a call to collaboration with readers of ReVista. We are a community center in Santa Ana, CA at the forefront of a movement in change agency. As developers of public programs in Civics/Education/Cultural Arts/Healthcare, we would like to know if your readers are currently engaged in success stories through model cities, urban affairs or social programs. If they are, we urge them to contact us at americas@ruebenmartinezleap.org
We would like to develop a 12 month youth program conceptualized as a tour of model cities in Latin America. Our goal is to showcase real stories of urban centers faced with extraordinary challenges of poverty, corruption and crime that persevered because of creativity and intelligence. Then, we would like to mimic them in some way so that it is relatable for our youth at the street level in Santa Ana.
At the same time, we would like to provide our youth with much needed knowledge on our wonderful hemisphere and all of the cultures contained within our part of the world.
Thank you very much,

Sergio C. Munoz
Rueben Martinez L.E.A.P
1200 North Main Street, Suite 100D
Santa Ana, CA 92701
www.ruebenmartinezleap.org

FE ERRATA
Two photos in the article “Plants Under Stress in the Tropical High Andes” were wrongly credited. Author Fermin Rada took the photo on p. 85, but the two photos on page 86 were taken by Alexander Nieto, not by the author.