The German Che Guevara



German weekly Die Zeit published recently an interesting piece about Heinz Dieterich, the prominent idealogue of the Bolivarian Revolution, aptly titled Der Deutsche Che Guevara (The German Che Guevara). Mr. Dieterich, a trained sociologist residing in Mexico who left Germany more than 30 years ago, is well known in leftist circles across Latin America, but seems to be virtually unknown in his country of origin.
Die Zeit covered Mr. Dieterich's recent visit to Berlin, where he lobbied on behalf of his Latin American clients (Hugo, Fidel, Raúl and Evo) in front of a group of aging German leftists who were attending an event in the Berlin Kulturbrauerei. Following his talk, Mr. Dieterich met up (in the VIP Lounge) with fellow socialists Gregor Gysi (key politician of Germany's Left Party) and
Lothar Bisky, the editor of Neues Deutschland (formerly, the official party newspaper of the - now defunct - GDR. The paper, in its new incarnation, is still popular in East Germany.) who came accompanied by none other than the Venezuelan Ambassador.

Mr. Dieterich's busy schedule also included a talk given to the discussion circle Ossietzky-Gesprächskreis which had somebody in the group posing the appropiate question: How come you know all these Latin American politicians? Where upon Dieterich replied: They're the only ones who listen to me and my social theories. Dieterich has, famously, coined the term Socialisms of the 21st Century, an alternative view of Socialism which, according to Die Zeit, seems more like a dated and, at the same time, Utopian cocktail mix of ingredients from the former German Democratic Republic, Cuba and Cyberspace.

Another interesting tidbit from the Zeit article: Dieterich's relationship with Chávez seems to be cooling due, in part, to his increasing disgust with Chávez's inner circle of Yes Men and Dieterich's friendship to Raúl Baduel, who suddenly became persona non grata ever since he started criticizing Chávez publicly. Apparently Dieterich has been pressured to renounce his friendship to the former Minister of Defense but has refused to do so.

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