[Cicero]

It's the curse of South America. First they get oppressive right-wing dictators, then they throw them out and get oppressive left-wing dictators. Periods of free and honest government are very few and far between. The whole sorry situation is pretty well summed up in Conrad's greatest novel, "Nostromo."

Chavez makes Peron look like a positive genius of good government.

[brickdds]

It's the curse of South America. First they get oppressive right-wing dictators, then they throw them out and get oppressive left-wing dictators

Chavez is a left wing dictator, but was proceeded by a stable, albeit corrupt democracy for 40 years; the longest stable democracy in South America. It is good to see the Venezolanos are finally reaching critical mass with this clown. If not for the fact that there are so many poor people there whose vote counts as much as the educated, he would not be in this position. They simply viewed him as representing the lesser of two evils without much foresight. Nearly 10 years ago the people in this country made an eerily similar decision blinded by their own ignorance and the mantra "... it's time for a change."

[vbmoneyspender]

The problem they have in Latin America is that they are looking for the gov't to solve their problems. And they think that that can be done by making the gov't less 'corrupt'. People, though, have been looking for such a magic formula as long as gov'ts have existed and they have never found such an elixir and they never will. The point that has to be made is that any gov't that isn't limited is going to be corrupt and is going to get more corrupt as time passes. I wish people would stop focusing on this idea of 'solving corruption' and instead focus on limiting gov't so that they can be self-reliant and free and rich.