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I know many Venezuelans. Some here in the US, some who have returned to Venezuela.
To a person, they loathe Chavez. He has destroed their country's basic civil liberties, strangled free speech and the media, and eliminated his oppostion through threats, blackmail, and bribery.
He is a textbook bully and megalomaniac who is headed for ruin. Unfortunately, his people will be forced to suffer for his abuses for many years to come.
No kidding? Wow, imagine that! A leader who destroys civil liberties! Tsk, tsk! My goodness! And even blackmail! How horrendous! Ya mean dat da gobernment dere takes bribes? Dat's too much! Ya mean dat his people gonna suffer for years to come! Dat shore is sumpin terrible!
Hey guys, rather than go after the easy targets, how about answering the hard questions?
Why is Chavez changing the constitution to extend his rule and allow himself to be re-elected when his term is up?
Why is he refusing to renew the liscenses of media stations that are in opposition to his party?
Why is he banging his shoe at the UN and going for photo ops with fru-fru airheads rather than serious meetings with those with the intelligence and boldness who would dare to speak truth to power?
I think a lot of his social reforms are great. I'm happy to see him take power away from the wealthy and the corporations, but is he consolidating it in his own hands or is he really returning it to the people, as he claims? It sure doesn't looks like the former from here.
The greatest leaders in history have recognized that too much power concentrated in any one man's hands is a bad thing. That's where our constitution comes from. Thats why there's not a guy with a last name of "Washington" or "Jefferson" in the white house. It's also why certain people need to be impeached right now.
Chavez doesn't seem to recognize this, so I don't think he's destined to be one of the greats, but rather another Putin, Castro, Bush, or worse...
In this case, it seems like the lesser of two evils is still evil.
In this case, it seems like the lesser of two evils is still evil.
Thoughts?
Ultimately, why is it any of our concern? I mean if it is human rights violations that bother us, then why do we continue to invite the likes of Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan to the White House when he is a well known iron fisted butcher and has openly acknowledged ridding Kazakhstan of "Democratic reformers"?
Do me make efforts to reign in the likes of Mugabe of Zimbabwe or even raise issue with China's human rights violations or treatment of their workers?
Does Venezuela pose some form of security risk to the United States? Being Venezuela spends 1.6 billion(1) dollars annually on its military budget, I don't think that is much to be concerned about considering we spend twice that amount each week in Iraq alone.
Are the people of the United States which spends in two years the same amount of money as the entire rest of the planet on weapons have something to fear from the military of nations that are using 30 year old Soviet technology?
How my government reacts to tin pot dictators with big egos, big mouths and small brains is more of a threat than the actual dolts giving lip service. If we actually fear people like this, then we have become a nation so steeped in fear, so paranoid, and so much the fool that we will swallow any line of bovine excrement.
I wish the folks down in Venezuela the best, however my first concern is the state of my own family, country, and of my countrymen. When our own backyard is clean enough that we can worry about how others take care of their own. Until then, there is plenty to do within our own borders and within our own government.
Ultimately, why is it any of our concern? I mean if it is human rights violations that bother us, then why do we continue to invite the likes of Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan to the White House when he is a well known iron fisted butcher and has openly acknowledged ridding Kazakhstan of "Democratic reformers"?
Do me make efforts to reign in the likes of Mugabe of Zimbabwe or even raise issue with China's human rights violations or treatment of their workers?
Does Venezuela pose some form of security risk to the United States? Being Venezuela spends 1.6 billion(1) dollars annually on its military budget, I don't think that is much to be concerned about considering we spend twice that amount each week in Iraq alone.
Are the people of the United States which spends in two years the same amount of money as the entire rest of the planet on weapons have something to fear from the military of nations that are using 30 year old Soviet technology?
How my government reacts to tin pot dictators with big egos, big mouths and small brains is more of a threat than the actual dolts giving lip service. If we actually fear people like this, then we have become a nation so steeped in fear, so paranoid, and so much the fool that we will swallow any line of bovine excrement.
I wish the folks down in Venezuela the best, however my first concern is the state of my own family, country, and of my countrymen. When our own backyard is clean enough that we can worry about how others take care of their own. Until then, there is plenty to do within our own borders and within our own government.
Though I find Chavez worrying ( his idea of being president for life is pretty scary), at least I feel he has had his people at heart and had managed to achieve a hell of a lot for the poorest people in Venezuela and South America. He is seen as a "robin Hood" of sorts.
I certainly do not condone his dictatorial ways in any way but he is incredibly popular , is seen as a National hero by the poorest and has managed to launch what looks like a South American unity which was but a dream until recently. He needs moderating yes perhaps but I can't say IMO he compares that unfavourably with the Texan idiot who launched an illegal and immoral war, on spurious reasons and on lies, who has managed to really hurt the economy, has made the world a more dangerous and unstable place, is only interested how to line his and his friends pockets ( all multi-billionaires already) and who has made America the laughing stock of the world.
Is Chavez democratic, not entirely ( though he does have a majority who support him) but Bush certainly can't claim that title either.
Democratic rights in the US have become completely eroded since his presidency and at least Chavez is thinking about the poorest.
What Chavez, Da Silva and Morales are doing is no bad thing in my books if it helps South America ( a continent I adore with people I love and who deserve better than what has been given to them since the conquest)and I am also pleased that Michelle Bachelet seems to be doing well too. It seems to me that for once South America is heading towards the right direction and that is what scares s many people. If they do well , we won't be able to exploit them quite as much and that's not something we are too fond of in the West...
As Hugo Chavez was being re-elected to a second six-year term as Venezuela's President last December,
a close Chavez ally, is a driving force behind the campaign to eliminate presidential term limits in Venezuela — a reform that Chavez's critics fear would let him rule for life and create a left-wing dictatorship.
You've got to admit, I said, given Latin America's brutally autocratic history, that whenever an oil-rich, radical populist like Chavez makes it easier for himself to rule indefinitely, it raises more flags than a Caribbean regatta.
I think the Chavez fears that when he leaves the presidency his successor will simply succumb to the bribes and our interference and let the aristocrats resume their oppression. This is not an unrealistic fear as a prosperous peasantry is heresy to the Eurocentric plutocrats that used to loot the country.
Doc1 – the government does not, and never will, rule my life. If you are one of the people that “will do whatever it takes to rule” then we may just have to discuss your lack of morality.
I just want a support system in place to reduce the risk when I really screw up. Kind of like an entrepreneur with a rich family to support him through the first few bankruptcies. Takes the edge off the risk
No kidding? Wow, imagine that! A leader who destroys civil liberties! Tsk, tsk! My goodness! And even blackmail! How horrendous! Ya mean dat da gobernment dere takes bribes? Dat's too much! Ya mean dat his people gonna suffer for years to come! Dat shore is sumpin terrible!
I fail to see the humor in your post. Chavez is a thug who is turning his country into an authoritarian parody of socialsim. You may find that humorous. The Venezuelans do not.
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