After thirty years of Diplomatic relations between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Dominica, many Dominicans are still unsure of the true nature of the alliance.
That uneasiness was made more acute, after the nation listen to President Chavez speech during his last visit to Dominica – Chavez repeated many time that Dominicans and Venezuelans are one people, one nation, and that Africa and Europe are no longer the motherland – Venezuela is the Motherland.
Regardless of Chavez’s agenda, his overtures have to be viewed in the current context of rising prices of commodities , such as food and oil, and economic reality of the region. Nevertheless, few persons doubt that Chavez is using the oil wealth of Venezuela in other to establish closer relations with the Caribbean.
In my opinion, the difficulty with this situation is that many Dominicans have focused narrowly on the lavish developmental aid of Chavez than focusing on the fundamental issue at hand: do we support Chavez’s ideology and his vision of the motherhood of Latin American and the Caribbean.
