Posted on 08/01/2006 5:30:47 PM PDT by Kitten Festival
Globalization: Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is having a grand time cavorting around the world on his Axis Of Evil tour. But we notice he's disgusting as many countries as he's wooing. Vietnam is the most interesting.
Chavez blew into Hanoi on Monday and right away began praising Vietnam's government in exactly the way it didn't want: by hailing communism.
"Vietnam, with its valor, defeated imperialism not only on the battlefield, but also has maintained socialism in the ideological arena," the South American dictator intoned.
Uh-huh. To Vietnam's officials, who've been trying diligently to integrate their nation into the world economy, that's an era they'd like to say "tam biet" — no thanks — to as they seek more trade.
They kept Chavez away from the old war museum of shot-down U.S. fighters, not thrilled with the idea of him extolling the defeat of "the empire" that they're just now trying to trade with.
To the Vietnamese, Chavez must have had the weirdness of Austin Powers anachronistically released from a 1960s time capsule, exuberantly proclaiming the failed ideologies of the era. It was something they were already more than a little familiar with.
Chavez was oblivious to Vietnam's 30 years of communism and the isolation from the world that cost it decades of development.
Vietnam still is not completely de-communized, but its doi moi capitalist reforms, begun in 1986, have taken it a long way toward prosperity. It's not there yet, but it's moving in the right direction.
Everyone knows communism has been a disaster for Vietnam.
Millions of Vietnam's talented people fled on leaky boats into pirate-infested waters. Many more died in its gulags and camps.
Inside Vietnam, collective farming destroyed rice and other staple crops, bringing on food shortages. Investment was absent. Vietnam's influence was nil. And its neighbors ...
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
I don't know, but I imagine that Hugo will buddy up to him quickly.
Vietnam, China and Russia are all the same... Using capitalism to prop up their militaries, than using the militaries to destroy the US. Fidel wanted to do that as well, but the US embargo prevented that for most part.
By the way, Venezuela is still more capitalist than Vietnam.
Valero is another Venezuelan gas brand. They are also trying to sell heating oil discount to Taxachusetts.
Valero is a US company based in San Antonio
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