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What are your thoughts on Hugo Chavez? Is he an evil dictator, an authoritarian thug, a noble Bolivarian reformer? Personally I don't care for him (probably a crooked and power-hungry politician) but the fears of many seem to be overblown. THougts
i admire him for the fact that he stands up for what he believes in. he uses his country's wealth to help the poor people of his country and the countries that he calls friends.
The man of the people has managed to squirrel away over half a billion dollars in secret accounts. HC is dangerous and sadly he can get away with murder. And anyone who thinks the election was legit is incredibly naive.
No problem, I am somewhat of an isolationist myself....am aware of the US's sins but also aware that some people (in a backlash to the US is perfect crowd) take the whole "US is an evil monster" thing too far.
Since Chavez has stifled the media and opposition....he will last a lot longer as he can blame problems on everyone but himself. (See Fidel, who blames every ill in Cuba on the US and every success on his policies.)
He is wildly popular, people will be VERY reluctant to admit he's ever failed especially if they're being told he's their champion etc. Socialism doesn't work...that debate is over....eventually he will hit a brick wall but it might take 40 years. (We also know pure capitalism doesn't work either)
Well the USA is certainly no different than any other nation in the respect that it does not always do the right thing. In some cases it even does horrible things, but I don't think makes us a bad people, only a people as easy to steer as a Mercedes 500SL. I happen to think that people are neither good nor evil, only subject to respond in a given way to a given set of circumstances and stimuli. The people of Valenzuela are no different and if they are marketed too in an effective manner, then they can be made to believe that sunshine is death and death is not owning the latest Nike shoes.
Consider this, the United States has is bordered on top and bottom by two reasonably peaceful nations. Even though Mexico has immigrants flooding across the border, we are not worried about them launching a medium ranged scud at us. Now to the east and west we have to of the worlds largest oceans that separate us from the next nearest land masses by thousands of miles, nice buffer if you ask me. We are pretty reasonably protected from external threats, more so than just about any other nation on the face of the earth save maybe Australia. The down side to this protection is that it also acts as a barrier to cultural understanding of other nations and peoples. People in America believe they are number one, but yet the vast majority have never seen another country, so the claim is made on what they have heard, not what they have experienced.
How the people of the US view Hugo Chavez also tends to be based upon what people hear in a news piece that is often clearly hostile towards him. I can neither condemn him nor condone his actions, as truth be told, my ability to read Spanish is medicore at best, so I too often have to rely upon western or US sources of information. I do think he is doing what he thinks is best for his people, whether in actuality it is true or not. We here in the US all know what it is like to live under a President who also truly believes the things he says, whether true or not.
"How the people of the US view Hugo Chavez also tends to be based upon what people hear in a news piece that is often clearly hostile towards him. I can neither condemn him nor condone his actions, as truth be told, my ability to read Spanish is medicore at best, so I too often have to rely upon western or US sources of information. I do think he is doing what he thinks is best for his people, whether in actuality it is true or not. We here in the US all know what it is like to live under a President who also truly believes the things he says, whether true or not."
He strikes me as the kind of guy who wants to do what's best for his people and probably justifies (in his mind) his hoarding of power as an extension of such, "I know what's best for them," you know... a good way to rationalize bringing self-interest into the equation. The vast majority of people who recieve an excess of power will likely become corrupted by it, no matter how noble their intentions. Sort of like (you know)...
"How the people of the US view Hugo Chavez also tends to be based upon what people hear in a news piece that is often clearly hostile towards him. I can neither condemn him nor condone his actions, as truth be told, my ability to read Spanish is medicore at best, so I too often have to rely upon western or US sources of information. I do think he is doing what he thinks is best for his people, whether in actuality it is true or not. We here in the US all know what it is like to live under a President who also truly believes the things he says, whether true or not."
He strikes me as the kind of guy who wants to do what's best for his people and probably justifies (in his mind) his hoarding of power as an extension of such, "I know what's best for them," you know... a good way to rationalize bringing self-interest into the equation. The vast majority of people who recieve an excess of power will likely become corrupted by it, no matter how noble their intentions. Sort of like (you know)...
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so they say. When we look at how our own government operates and how our own people act on any given day, it can mystify the mind. So to think we can honestly assess this person accurately, seems a stretch of the imagination.
You're right... I would personally like to believe that he's a good guy who wants to do good things for his people but none of us live in Venezuela or have all of the information. He could be a corrupt dictator-wannabe or he could be what he says he is, I would prefer to see the latter, since I share a few of his professed political/social ideals (not to as radical an extent), maybe, but it's usually good to be cynical when it comes to evaluating politicians
I think the criticism of Chavez coming out of the US government is highly disingenuous, even if it picks up on a few accurate points. Where do they think Chavez gets the money to fund his government? It comes from Americans screaming out to buy his oil at $90 per barrel. If you despise Chavez, yet drive an SUV or something similar, you have no room to complain, since you are one of Chavez's financiers.
As one previous poster correctly pointed out, Hugo Chavez is little more than the resurrection of the caudillo tradition of Venezuela and South America. The military man turned populist statesman, who comes to power with promises of reform and abolishment of the old way of doing things.
He has his cult of personality. He has his puppet National Assembly granting him the power to rule by decree and the possibility of a presidency for life. The enemies of the new "Bolivarian Revolution" are the usual suspects: the "predatory oligarchs" of the old ruling class, the Church, the media, U.S. imperialism, and so on. Nationalization of industries for the greater good. Redistribution of oil profits to the poor through social programs. Expropriation of "unused" estates and factories to give to the landless peasants. Add to the list of his revolutionary goals the bankrupt ideas and philosophies espoused in the 50's and 60's by Comrades Fidel and Che.
Chavez will probably have a decent run of things until the promise of a new and better tomorrow is exposed for what it is; an unattainable illusion. Then he will suffer the fate of most caudillo's; overthrow and exile or assassination. He will either be replaced by another caudillo or perhaps the people of Venezuela will return their country to the tradition of democratic government that they enjoyed since 1958. In any event, when it is all said and done, Hugo Chavez will be just another footnote in the history books. A throwback to a style of dictatorship that should have been dead and buried long ago.
Exactly TonyT. So until the inevitable happens, why bother with him? An endless war of words just makes us look petty and creates a David and Goliath situation.
Exactly TonyT. So until the inevitable happens, why bother with him? An endless war of words just makes us look petty and creates a David and Goliath situation.
Ignore the clown.
AMEN! Fidel has long used such things as the US embargo as an *excuse* for problems in his country. (Forget that he can trade with just about every other nation on the planet )
I'd just ignore these guys and not give them the opportunity to paint themselves as the oppressed "little guy" defending their people from foreign devils.
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