RateItAll: The Opinion Network

The U.S. needs to put him in check, but I am sure if the "Hildabeast" or Osama Hussein becomes President they will make nice with this dictator.

I liked when the Spanish King told Chavez to shut up. I would have done the same thing too.

Outside of the extremely deplorable speech he gave at the United Nations (of which a few cowardly members warmly applauded personal attack after attack against President Bush), what has Hugo Chavez actually done? This hypocritical monster has done little (if anything) for his country, which continues to suffer economically. He then has the gall to march into the U.N. like some conquering hero and calls Bush 'the devil', and then gives the sign of the cross- yet continues his un-Christian-like, vile rant- ending in a comtemptious threat. Like the spoiled, useless brat that he is, Chavez seems to crave attention, even in the worst possible way. His constant ranting and paranoia about how the United States wants him removed from power only reinforces the image of a guy who thinks too highly of himself. (Outside of your country, Hollywood and the leaderships of both Cuba and Iran, no one actually could give a crap about you, Hugo. Get a life for once!) And only a complete, destitute fool of little consequence (much like those who warmly greeted his taunts) would ever come to the conclusion that Chavez is a socialist visionary. If anything, Chavez is a communist thug and murderer who misguidedly thinks he's special.

Update (1): Congratulations, stupid people of Venezuela. You have now given this reprehensible thug the green light to lead as he pleases, and to eradicate any kind of opposition (regardless of how remote the threat may be to him) to his totalitarian dream of absolute power for himself. You have now given up everything, and as of December 2, 2007, you will cease to exist as a democratically-elected country (and elections are going to be a farce- not that they weren't already inside your pathetic nation). But you deserve it. You did this to yourselves- now live with it, morons.

Update (2): Fitman pointed out to me that Chavez lost his referendum election. I'll be the first to admit that I was wrong in castigating the Venezuelans...anyway, maybe there is hope in the world after all! =)

Chavez has benefited a lot from higher oil prices in recent years. Venezuela, being the 4th largest oil producer in the world, is very dependent on strong prices to keep the economy going strong. Had oil prices remained low like they did in the 1990's, Chavez wouldn't likely be in power today. His instincts are fundamentally undemocratic and socialistic in nature. Of course, his brand of socialism only benefits those who are in Chavez's political graces. Chavez enriches his supporters at the expense of all others. Venezuela's poverty rates have not improved significantly at all, despite Chavez's socialism and oil wealth.

Now this Sunday, Chavez's government will be holding a referendum on a series of "reform" proposals which will only serve to solidify his grip on power. In fact, should the voters approve these reforms; they will have essentially voted themselves out of a democracy, paradoxically. These constitutional changes will give Chavez the power to declare states of emergency in order to suspend freedom of expression and arrest people without charges; eliminate laws that prohibit Chavez from serving as President indefinitely; and it would abolish the Central Bank's political independence. Therefore, Chavez will have effective control over the media, military, the electoral tribunal, and the legislature and the judiciary. The only bulwarks against Chavez are the provincial governors, but their powers will be weakened by Chavez's proposals.

Chavez's new proposals are nothing more than a coup d'etat, an attempt to take political power for himself, while establishing a Castro-style political system. His goal is turn Venezuela into an ideologically socialist state. The only difference is that Chavez is sitting on top of massive oil reserves to fuel his power. Any student of history will see that Chavez is modeling his rise to power in the same style as Fidel Castro. I suspect that the upcoming constitutional proposals may pass, especially given how Chavez uses voter intimidation to get his way. Yes there is still democracy in Venezuela, that is, if you think that holding elections is the only criteria for having a democracy. Remember that Cuba and Saddam Hussein's Iraq all held elections as well--do these countries count as democracies? Troubling times for Venezuela indeed.

UPDATE: Well, Chavez's constitutional amendments didn't pass, by a narrow 51-49% margin. Chavez for his part conceded defeat, but claimed that he will return. In his eyes, the people were not ready for a ideologically socialist-Marxist state. People in Venezuela are clearly amenable towards having a welfare state, which is what Chavez has always run on, but not an ideologically Marxist state similiar to communist Cuba. There is a big difference between regular "free market" socialism, common in parts of Latin America and Europe, and the communist variety. That was the message Chavez got from the people. Let's see if he listens.

Do those who rant and rave [about this latest freely elected Marxist despot] ever consider asking themselves why a majority of Venezuelans chose him over the capitalists who ran against him?

BTW, when he called Bush, 'the devil', the first thought that came to my mind was, "Takes one to know one."

UPDATE:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071203/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/venezuela_constitution

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The hemisphere's newest clown, although he's neglected to choose a colorful outfit: while his nose lengthens every time he opens his mouth, he'd still be better with a fake one. --I'm not sure yet if he's a serious threat or just the newest demagogic windbag, a type of political mutant that our world seems to produce in abundance. Will he survive? For a while, since he plays his populace well. His recent alliance with Ahmadinejad says more about external perception of the U.S. than about anything connecting Venezuela and Iran, two of the most unlike nations on the planet. He wants to be Castro, but he's got neither the peculiar genius of that man nor the bloody history. Yet he's a youngster: we'll see.

Wants to be president for life. I like his initiative. Five stars.

Another in the interminable line of Marxist, Socialist, Communist purveyors of death. How many times must they try this experiment before they realize it's pretty unworkable. Is a friend of Joe Kennedy. I'll say this for the clan. Doesn't much give a shit who they deal with as long as they get what they want.

Boycott Citgo, but pass the Nestle chocolate please...

More of a direct threat to the US than Saddam was.

Here we have a South American Fidel Castro wannabe. He doesn't have the brains or charisma for it.

jj_frap.... you are really out of your mind saying that chavez is a socialist visionary... he is a evil criature with a clear objective... being the treasurer of a wear out system implanted by fidel castro on the early 60's... What do you think of a president that is helping others countries first than his country... that is to much to think about... and you don't have that ability... your brain is lacking oxigen...

You can tell there's a lot of dumb people on this site by the fact that King Faud, a theocratic dictator with human rights record that rivals North Korea and Burma, has a higher rating than this socialist visionary.

Another genuine socialist who puts the west to shame!!!

This man is a fool, but an unfortunate byproduct of a corrupt system. Latin America is a country of thievery. The rich people absolutely steal everything from the poor, all in the interests of maintaining their ungodly status. None of them are concerned with investing in their country's future. Miami Airport is a horrible example of how corrupt America's Southern neighbor is. Walking through the airport, it's hard to miss the Latin Americans in their garish, expensive designer clothes, nose high up in the air and completely devoid of manners. Is it really any surprise Communists THRIVE in Latin America? Anyway, Central and South America will continue to be the rathole it presently is until it wises up and learns to control the elitist bastards that dominate those countries. What Chavez needs to do, if he truly cares about reform, is do the right thing and go moderate. It's time for the corruption to end, but Communism is NOT the answer! **Not changing my rating, but for anyone that has the Discovery/Times channel, watch this special and see how outright socialist/COMMUNIST Chavez is. It's the one about his recall election. Everything at his rallies are red, his tie is red, his bodyguard wears a red beret, hammer and sickle flags fly around him, he talks about revolution, he's buying 50 fighter jets and 100K small arms. People call Bush a warmonger? Get ready for when this nutter becomes the South American Stalinpolean. Think all those anti-war crackpots are for real? No they're not, they're instantly for war when it comes to spreading their agenda.

From what I've seen, Chavez seems to be a pretty positive influence on Venezuela. He's made sure more of the countries' substantial oil revenue has gone to social programs, often to the chagrin of the wealthy elites. He's initiated a free healthcare program and a massive literacy program for Venezuela's poor. He has ended all racial discrimination in Venezuelan schools. Furthermore, Chavez has finally begun to end the absurdly skewed distribution of land in Venezuala (whereby 5% of people own 85% of the land) with the Ley de Tierras reform package which grants unused or disused private lands to poorer small farmers (with compensation), giving them a fair chance to work themselves out of poverty. To aid this efficient re-organization of Venezuala's agriculture, the Chavez administration has set up state-run food stores to buy food from smaller farmers and sell them at discounts to poorer urbanites. Although he has some autocratic tendencies, he can't really be accused of being undemocratic. He's won his presidential elections by a bigger margin than most democratic leaders in the world, and won the recall referendum on his Presidency fairly. He has a resounding mandate from the people, which is even more impressive given he was a third party candidate when first elected and given the fact that he's openly opposed by all five of the countries' mainstream TV networks. Any seemingly autocratic measure on the part of Chavez seems pretty mild considering the wealthy elites tried to oust him from power in a coup attempt in 2002 (this resulted in his arrest, but he was restored to power after a single day). Ultimately, in the process of trying to help his countries' poor, Chavez has taken on some powerful vested interests, and won. Chavez has recently avowed Democratic Socialism and, unlike many politicians who would make similar claims, that is a mantle he has earned.

He's well aware that he'll end up like João Goulart, Juan Bosch or Salvador Allende.

Not the best but better than his opposition, Friends there have medical treatment without me sending them stuff. Before Chavez they had nada. He needs improvement in the being democratic department but so do lots in South America.

Hugo Chavez is the man! I sure hope he wins that recall thing sunday. Oil for the people! what a concept! Ahoora Para Todos! deal with it you petroplutocrats!

Chavez never fails to make me laugh, whether it's his Dan Quaylesque spelling, mismanagement of the economy or his constant anti-American diatribes! Although I agree with America's policy of overthrowing him since he's a complete idiot I admire his courage and toughness in standing up to Uncle Sam. God bless Hugo!

Has lost control of his country. If he ends up blocking a public referendum on his presidency, as mandated by the Venezuelan constitution, he will have led Venezuela away from Democracy. It's time for him to step down.