Hugo Chavez, a topic of frequent discussion at the Phalanx, has captured the spotlight again, but then again isn’t that what he’s all about? Chavez, who no doubt, jumped at the chance to grant an interview to the BBC, lashed out at the United States and George Bush and repeated a claim that he has made rather frequently, the delusion that the US is planning to invade Venezuela to gain access to its oil wealth. Chavez has milked this fantasy for all it’s worth, using it as a rallying cry in his home country to ensure that the people will see him as their savior and ignore his tyrannical ways. Chavez asserted that the US is a terrorist nation and his hostile to Latin America; though his arguments lacked specifics and the all-accommodating BBC wasn’t about to actually press the South American strongman on any points of fact. Chavez also stated that George Bush should have no reason to fear him or his country, Chavez, however, is mistaken, Bush isn’t the one trying to foment a climate of fear, that is Chavez. Chavez is the one who makes wild, baseless accusations against the US, to instill fear into the hearts of his people. There in lies the essence of his power, his ability to distract and draw attention away from the plight of his people is legendary. In reality, Chavez has done nothing to help his people, with unemployment quickly approaching 20% (when Chavez took power unemployment hovered around 12%, now it exceeds 17% and still climbing) and nearly half the population is living below the poverty line. If anything, Chavez’s “reforms” have only made the situation worse. His socialist land grabs have discouraged foreign investment and limited job opportunities, while his failure to confront the organized drug cartels and other criminals have led to a murder rate which is 8x higher that of the United States, yet Chavez calls himself a champion of the people. Under his leadership, Venezuela’s economy remains woefully dependent upon the volatile oil market, accounting for nearly 80% of the country’s revenues. Given the fact that the nation’s oil revenue is controlled by the state, do you think Chavez would use that money to invest in his country, improving infrastructure and encouraging the development of industry and leading his people to self-sufficiency? No…of course not. Quite the contrary, Chavez’s efforts are destined to lead his people to greater dependency. To distract from this inescapable reality Chavez continues to pull one Mussolini after another, hoping to convince people the US is a boogey man hiding behind every door. The real enemy of Venezuela, however, resides in Caracas, not Washington.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4359386.stm