Some of us believe that debate and political discussion is healthy in a representative form of government. In Venezuela, however, there is one subject that is beyond debate or discussion and that subject is the country’s leader, Hugo Chavez. Apparently to criticize the Mussolini of Latin America is to destabilize the country, or so Chavez would have us believe. That certainly sounds like “democracy” to me.

During Mass in the city of Barquisimeto, Cardinal Rosario Castillo, rightly criticized the Venezuelan president for eroding democratic freedom in the country. Castillo warned that Venezuela had “lost its democratic path” and was headed toward dictatorship. Naturally, the Cardinal was correct and nowhere is that more evident than in Chavez’s response. "This is part of a provocation, part of a conspiracy, there is nothing innocent about this. It is a plot to destabilize the country," Chavez noted during his weekly television and radio show. This is the archetypical rote response given by Chavez and his cronies when he is criticized. Chavez attempts to sidestep the issue, by putting his critics on the defensive accusing them of imagined conspiracies and efforts to remove him from power.

In reality Chavez is succeeding only in solidifying his hold on power, while his empty promises go unfullfilled. Recently a conference of bishops in the country, challenged Chavez’s assertion that his “revolution” was benefiting the poor, something we at the Phalanx have said all along. Indeed, under Chavez, the poor have faired even worse, but Chavez’s master skill in the art of distraction has shielded this reality from public view, the fact that Chavez practically controls the media certainly aides that cause.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/01/15/chavez.church.reut/