So Chavez, the leader of Venezuela, has ordered the exhumation of the remains of Simon Bolivar, the greatest of all South American military leaders, to prove a point. That's what it's always about with Chavez — proving a point.So why dig up this great savior, this man who single-handedly turned back hundreds of years of Spanish oppression? Well, to rewrite … sorry, to see if modern technology can shed more light on history.
See, Simon Bolivar died of TB in 1830. That's a long time ago, true, but they knew what tuberculosis was back then. So the charismatic Bolivar rode his horse up hill and down dale and inspired thousands to take up their arms and follow him into battle against the almighty Spain. A handful of countries owe their thanks to Bolivar's efforts.But Bolivar died of TB — at least that's what most historians tell us.
Chavez, though, has other ideas. He insists that Bolivar died at the hands of not some dread disease but some dread Colombian. And that is definitely fighting words in Colombia.
The Colombian in question is Francisco de Paula Santander, who served as Vice-president of the Republic of Colombia under Bolivar (the president) and later served as President of the Republic of New Granada.Santander and Bolivar started out as friends and allies but gradually grew apart as the events of the world overtook them (and they began to see each other as rivals for the people's affections). The disagreements came to a head in the late 1820s, when Bolivar declared himself dictator of Colombia and exiled Santander. Around this time, Bolivar narrowly escaped an assassination attempt and many people at the time thought that Santander was involved.
So, too, apparently does Chavez.
But why now, why this way? Modern relations between the two countries are already strained. Surely Chavez is just playing a game of one-upmanship. This couldn't possibly be a pretense for sanctions or incursions or some other such silly thing.
Stay tuned.
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