BBC: “Venezuela’s National Assembly has given initial approval to a bill granting President Hugo Chavez the power to rule by decree for 18 months.”
Washington Post: “As Chavez accelerates his country’s shift toward ’21st-century socialism,’ a decision not to renew RCTV’s broadcast license is among the government’s more dramatic steps, and one that has caused serious concern among free-press advocates.”
What a dirty shit he is. Let him have his backward hillcountry. I feel sorry for his people.
Aaron,
This “backward hillcountry” is largely that way because “his” people are under his control. But it’s neither his country nor his people; he’s simply the head of the government, which as far as I know, doesn’t confer any ownership status over a people or a land. (And while I’ve never been to Venezuela, I hear it’s both beautiful and very far from backwards).
Dictatorship is not unfamiliar with oil producing nations. This is why I am not surprise of the turn of events that has, unfortunately, happen in Venezuela.
In my opinion, this matter is between the people of Venezuela, and I hope that the US government will re-frame from intervening. The citizens of the US do not need another redux of “Bitter Fruit”. For those who are familiar with US-Latin America Foreign Policy history will know what I mean.
Chavez certainly wants to officially become the “Robert Mugabe” of Venezuela.
What do the neighbors think? An oil dictatorship next door with “Bolivarian” ambitions would worry me. (I live in New Jersey, so I’m not all that concerned about Venezuelan-backed Chavezista guerrillas, but if I lived in Colombia, I might think differently.)
So begins the end of the Venezuelan economy.
See, I always thought socialism (at least classically) was supposed to be about the DEvolution of power back to the worker, the community. Isn’t it funny that so-called “socialist” governments always create grotesque cults of personality around an all-powerful leader?
Look up the Communist Party of Venezuela. It fully endorsed Chavez’s rise to power and his government along with the Communist Party of Cuba openly endorsing him. And other governments such as the one of Lula da Silva which the Communist Party of Brazil endorses along with Evo Morales which the Communist Party of Bolivia has endorsed.