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For the first time, many Venezuelans have access to education, job training, housing, and health care.

The joke is that Chavez is not really a departure from previous administrations in terms of his economic philosophy. There is no Republican Party in Venezuela, and never has been. The spectrum there among mainstream political parties runs from pro-business socialism to leftist socialism to ex-guerrilla socialism. It is precisely the populist politics of previous administrations that has driven the country into the ground. Chavez has simply promised, and delivered, more of the same.

And his more aggressive applications of "more of the same" have had the predictable effect of driving the economy further into the ground.

The mainstream parties were unable to confront him ideologically because at heart, they agree with him. This is why they imploded when he ran for office, and this is a big reason why they have been unable to unite around a competing ideology. They know he's a bad guy, but in political and economic terms they are unable to explain why.

True, he is in bed with the FARC and with Castro, but they can't articulate why that is bad. So he rolls right over them again and again.

The idea that prior to Chavez, Venezuelans didn't have access to health care and education is simply silly. But if there is some good that comes from the several thousands of Cuban doctors deployed without medicines around the country, in bartered payment for free oil to Cuba, it still doesn't explain how rural health programs justify turning Venezuela into a FARC ally, or making the US into a propaganda whipping boy. The US has no interest in stopping him from setting up medicine-free clinics around the country, we couldn't care less.

The claim that Venezuelans for the first time have access to education, job training, housing and health care is absolute nonsense.

Education (including university) has been free since before the constitution of 1961 was passed. Next time any of you happen to bump into a chavista official with a degree from a Venezuelan university ask them how much had she/he paid for their education. It's good fun to see the contorsion of their faces when one asks such a question, specially as I did with Luis Britto Garcia during the Q&A session in a conference in Frankfurt University.

Job training? See above. If they were to refer to technical training or apprenticeship programmes (as in the EU), where have these been implemented?

Housing: official figures show that during Hugo Chavez' administration the number of houses constructed for the poor has actually decreased from 90.000 units/year to 6.000 units/year.

Health care: if rubbing saliva on patients and curing everything from paludism to cancer with aspirin can be construed as a successful health care system (Mision Barrio Adentro with the Cubans) then yes Chavez' plans have benefited the poor. However if one factors that the central government has deviated funds of the already existing free health system of the country to fund its health mission then one finds reality being starker.