‘Doralzuela’ cheers passing of Chavez
While Caracas mourns the passing of Hugo Chavez, Venezuelans in South Florida have been celebrating the death of the man who they claim forced them to leave their homeland.
The city of Doral, affectionately dubbed “Doralzuela” by residents, is located 12 miles west of central Miami and is home to the largest Venezuelan community in the US.
The mayor of Doral, Luigi Boria, left Venezuela in 1989, reacting to the news of Chavez’s death he said, “everybody here is happy it looks like democracy is coming back here to Venezuela.”
Six hundred people gathered at local Venezuelan restaurant El Arepaz to hear the news of the president’s death, Fabiola Shilling the head of human resources for the restaurant said Venezuelans had come to the US for many different reasons, some seeking political exile from a socialist government they opposed and some fleeing due to increased security fears in the South American country.
Increased concern for his personal safety caused Andres Malave, a Venezuelan student, to make a recent move to the US. He, like many around him, claimed he was not celebrating the death of Chavez but rather the potential for change in the country.
“I’m not happy about his death I’m happy about the change that’s going to happen in Venezuela, I hope that the change is going to be good,” he said.
There has been much speculation about how the relationship between Venezuela and Washington will change following President Chavez’s death. Now Venezuelans living in the US have taken the discussion one step further by calling for a reinstatement of their country’s consulate in Miami.
The consulate was closed 14 months ago on Chavez’s orders after Obama declared the Venezuelan consul persona non grata. It meant that more than 300,000 Venezuelans had to travel almost 900 miles to vote in Venezuelan elections.
As millions queue to pay their respects to their iconic leader, citizens on the other side of the Caribbean, now more than ever, want to make sure their voices are heard at the start of a new political day for Venezuela.