Educational Media Reviews Online

Crossing Our Borders starts out as a look at the dictatorships that have beset so many Latin American countries, and the reasons they continue to thrive. But it shifts its focus to become a passionate call for the removal of one specific dictator, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The video was directed by Venezuelan native Gladys Bensimon and narrated by actress-singer Maria Conchita Alonso, who was born in Cuba but moved to Venezuela as a child after Fidel Castro took power in Cuba. Alonso has worked in the U.S. for over two decades, but says she is concerned about the state of life in Venezuela and her many family members there.

Over half of the video’s running time is spent on Chavez, and the many offenses he has committed. Human rights violations are rampant. Media outlets have been closed down when they speak out against Chavez. His government does little to stop drug trafficking (20-25% of the supply of refined cocaine now goes through Venezuela as its departure point, one speaker says) and it supports the FARC terrorist movement in neighboring Colombia. The video also charges that Iranian terrorists come into Venezuela and get false Venezuelan documents allowing them to come into the United States.

The crushing poverty throughout Latin America makes a fertile breeding ground for dictators who say they will improve conditions for all poor people when they come to power. Michael Rowan, an American author who formerly lived in Venezuela, says in the video that 200 million of the 500 million people in Latin America live on $2 a day or less. New York University professor Patricio Navia adds that this issue of inequality must be addressed before democracy can thrive in the region.

The filmmakers don’t offer any suggestion as to how the difficult problems of inequality in Latin America can be addressed. Although they obviously want Chavez removed, they don’t say how his successor can bring democracy to Venezuela. What is to stop a future president from replacing the left-wing dictatorship of Chavez with a right-wing dictatorship, and perpetuating human rights problems?

The video’s presentation has some problems, too. The narration appears to have been written in Spanish and rather stiffly translated into English. The subtitles used for Spanish-language speakers produce clumsy translations sometimes. And some of the references in the video may not be understood by those not familiar with Latin American history.

The video has some informative material about Chavez and the state of Latin America. The problems outlined above mean, however, that it only can be recommended with reservations.