Venezuela Foreign policy, or rather, Chavez one

Daniel's Venezuela News and Views (Venezuela) ^ | Dec. 19, 2004 | Daniel Duquenal

[Kitten Festival]

Foreign policy considerations do not need to be very complicated. If one were to consider foreign policy as based on the type of alliances and trade deals that are supposed to guarantee a maximum of safety for one country, and a maximum of prosperity for its inhabitants, Venezuela natural and principal partnership would be with the United States, with essential side links toward Colombia, the Caribbean and to a lesser extent the rest of South America. Europe would be a purveyor of luxuries and Asia of electronics. Why?

As the geographically closest supplier of oil after Mexico and Canada, Venezuela could negotiate tightly with the US to get a good deal on other import-export matters besides barrels of oil.

Colombia is the only neighbor with whom we can trade easily and its agricultural vocation suits Venezuela who is less gifted on this respect.

The Caribbean is the Venezuelan mare nostrum. We can supply it with tourists and feed stuff so they can buy our gas and energy with what the other tourists bring.

All of these with minimum transportation costs, a common language (English is spoken by all business people).

Now, before I criticize Chavez foreign policy I must say that this very simplified scenario was never seriously considered. Past governments were only too happy to bicker with Colombia when the internal situation was tense. The US was never considered a potential partner but rather a wanna-be colonial power, who too often gave the natives reasons to be weary.

But what Chavez is doing now makes no sense for Venezuela. It might not even make sense for him.

[Kitten Festival]

A smart conservative Venezuelan blogger points out that if Chavez had just one little brain, he'd be bending over backwards to be friends with the US. He doesn't. He also (read the whole thing) points out that Chavez's problem is, he thinks he's too big for Venezuela. What a thug.