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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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 Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:16 pm Post subject: Venezuela's Hugo Ch�vez cements his autocracy |
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Cash-and-Carry Rule
Venezuela's Hugo Ch�vez cements his autocracy with petrodollars and another push for 'reform.'
THE VENEZUELAN businessman told inspectors there was nothing but books and papers in his suitcase. So imagine everyone's surprise when Argentine customs officers opened the suitcase -- and found $800,000 in cash. The origin and destination of this money, which was being taken to Buenos Aires on Aug. 4, shortly before a state visit by Venezuelan President Hugo Ch�vez, is now the hottest mystery in South America. But what is clear is that the cash-filled suitcase is an apt metaphor for the way Mr. Ch�vez has been using petrodollars to build an anti-American network that includes the leaders of Cuba, Bolivia and perhaps Nicaragua.
Mr. Ch�vez seized the moment to unveil a long-awaited package of constitutional "reforms." As you might expect, they are self-aggrandizing and threatening to what is left of democracy in Venezuela. They would extend the presidential term and abolish term limits so that Mr. Ch�vez could get himself reelected every seven years, starting when his current six-year term expires in 2012. His last opponent for the presidency was a state governor; the proposed changes would weaken governors and mayors. Most menacing, Mr. Ch�vez wants to establish a "popular militia" alongside the regular armed forces. Perhaps this new force is the intended recipient of the 5,000 sniper rifles Mr. Ch�vez has just purchased from Russia.
This latest power grab is of a piece with other measures taken by Mr. Ch�vez since his reelection to a third term in December. He has been undermining existing governmental structures by channeling public works and welfare funds through "communal councils" under his control, a process he promises to accelerate under the revised constitution. He has nationalized telecommunications, electricity and oil enterprises and established a new socialist political party. He has forced an independent television channel off the air while plastering the public spaces of Venezuela with his own smiling portrait.
In short, Mr. Ch�vez's "21st-century socialism" looks depressingly like the 20th-century version: a bloated, repressive state headed by a hectoring strongman. Mr. Ch�vez has adjusted the model by adding certain methods of Middle Eastern petro-states, such as the use of cash to purchase popular support, or quiescence, at home -- and to buy allies abroad. Mr. Ch�vez's mentor, Fidel Castro, stumbled on the road to socialism for want of hard currency; Mr. Ch�vez can pump dollars out of the ground.
Though corrupt and corrupting, both for Venezuela and the hemisphere, Mr. Ch�vez's militaristic formula is undeniably potent, and no doubt he relishes demonstrating its power in polarizing combat with the weakening Venezuelan opposition. Hence the launch of yet another constitutional crusade. Since the opposition unwisely boycotted the past election, the entire National Assembly supports Mr. Ch�vez and is likely to approve his plan. The next step would be a national referendum this year, which might be Venezuela's last chance to prevent Mr. Ch�vez from setting himself up as president for life. |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/16/AR2007081602317.html?nav=rss_opinions
Down it goes. |
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Joo Rip Gwa Rhhee
Joined: 25 May 2003
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| Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:54 pm Post subject: |
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keane
Joined: 09 Jul 2007
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| Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:43 am Post subject: |
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Fun.
What's next? |
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Joo Rip Gwa Rhhee
Joined: 25 May 2003
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| Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 1:01 am Post subject: |
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If Bush doesn't give up power you will have a point.
Until that you are a troll. |
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 1:06 am Post subject: |
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| Joo Rip Gwa Rhhee wrote: |
If Bush doesn't give up power you will have a point.
Until that you are a troll. |
At last I agree with Joo about something. |
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Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 8:39 am Post subject: |
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| Do not mistake obsession and mental instability with mere trolling. |
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crusher_of_heads
Joined: 23 Feb 2007
Location: kimbop and kimchi for kimberly!!!!
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| Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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| BJWD wrote: |
| Joo Rip Gwa Rhhee wrote: |
If Bush doesn't give up power you will have a point.
Until that you are a troll. |
At last I agree with Joo about something. |
At least Johnathan Cretin threw a sandbag during the Red River Flood-right before calling an election. |
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Sincinnatislink
Joined: 30 Jan 2007
Location: Top secret.
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| Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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| So why did we just read an op-ed that jerks off its neolib readership? |
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keane
Joined: 09 Jul 2007
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| Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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5 neo-con posts, 4 rabid dog, gonna-insult-ya-cause-I-got-nothin posts.
You kids are consistent!
Show me a law Bush has put in place that he hasn't used, then explain to me why he felt the need to create and sign NSPD-51 and HSPD-20. <-- An example of debating the issues, since none of you seem to understand what that means.
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