http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13061513
Even if he wins his latest referendum Hugo Chávez is diminished. He may soon be desperate
THIS ought to be a time of triumph for Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s self-proclaimed “21st-century socialist”. As he marks ten years in power this week, what he calls “savage capitalism” is wounded and seemingly at bay while his would-be nemesis, George Bush, has departed the White House. On February 15th Mr Chávez hopes to win a referendum that would remove all political term limits, a first step to realising his modest ambition to remain in power until at least 2030. In fact, neither Venezuelans nor their leader have much to celebrate.
Mr Chávez’s supporters—and it has to be recognised that these have until recently numbered around 60% of Venezuelan voters—claim that he has transformed his country for the better by empowering the poorer and darker-skinned among its citizens. Social “missions”, some of them staffed by Cubans, are said to have improved the provision of health, education and vocational training, as well as offering cheap food. But it is hard to assess the truth of these claims: strangely, openness and accountability have no place in “21st-century socialism”. Mr Chávez may not—yet—be a dictator, as some of his opponents aver, but he is an autocrat. The “defining features” of his Venezuela, according to a report last year by Human Rights Watch, a pressure group, include “discrimination on political grounds” and his government’s takeover of the judiciary.
Another is its increased dependence on oil. The fall in poverty owes everything to the surge in the oil price since 1999. Mr Chávez has harried private business; millions more Venezuelans depend on the state for jobs and handouts than a decade ago. The motor of economic growth has been public spending. The state oil company, run now as a political project, produces around a quarter less oil than it did a decade ago, while its debt has almost doubled.
The fall in the oil price, if sustained, thus threatens the country with savage socialist pain. So far Venezuelans have not felt this, because Mr Chávez has raided the reserves of the Central Bank. But the haste with which he has organised the referendum speaks of desperation. There were already signs that Venezuelans were starting to tire of their leader. In December 2007 they rejected his first attempt to abolish term limits (and to modify the constitution in a quasi-totalitarian direction).
whats the future for the utopian bolivarian dream?
Originally posted by generalissimoWhy are you wasting so much print on Chavez?? He's a small man on the world stage, and has very little power outside his own little country.
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13061513
Even if he wins his latest referendum Hugo Chávez is diminished. He may soon be desperate
THIS ought to be a time of triumph for Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s self-proclaimed “21st-century socialist”. As he marks ten years in power this week, what he calls “savage capitalism” i ...[text shortened]... ution in a quasi-totalitarian direction).
whats the future for the utopian bolivarian dream?
Originally posted by generalissimo😴😴
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13061513
Even if he wins his latest referendum Hugo Chávez is diminished. He may soon be desperate
THIS ought to be a time of triumph for Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s self-proclaimed “21st-century socialist”. As he marks ten years in power this week, what he calls “savage capitalism” i ...[text shortened]... ution in a quasi-totalitarian direction).
whats the future for the utopian bolivarian dream?
Originally posted by smw6869Nah... moving upmarket, me. I'm going to quaff some Chateau Scriabin '45, a drop of plonk that is not what it seems to be, not what it appears to be. Everything about it is uncertain, open to interpretation, needing translation, or a special knowledge of one sort or another to reveal its hidden meaning for the tongue. Everything about it is subtle, nothing is straight forward. And I reckon it'll get me wrecked.
Try Ba-Ma-Ba "33" Nam beer. They used to call it Tiger Piss. Guaranteed to bring you back into balance.