If Chávez is ousted, however, it will not be because he is a brutal dictator. He may enjoy sparring with the United States -- after the election of Lula, he declared that Brazil would join Cuba and Venezuela in forming "an axis of good" -- but in the four years since he took office, his "revolution" has had more to do with de Tocqueville than Marx. Efforts to redistribute wealth have been few. Opposition political parties, as well as the press, operate freely in Venezuela, and the federal police -- once among the most feared forces in South America -- have not hindered even those advocating outright rebellion.Yeah, he really runs a dictatorship. Unlike what the mob in the street desire. Does no one know even basic history anymore?
...
It is this charge of repression that most infuriates Chávez's supporters. Not a single leader of the April coup, they note, is in jail, even though some of them continue to openly advocate his overthrow.
Chavez arms street thugs and turns them loose to shoot old women, young girls and men. Yeah, he's a real prince.
He was recently rebuked by his hand-picked Supreme Court for taking over Caracas police.
The moron wrote the book "How to Make Enemies and Alienate People."
The fact that his own judicial appointees, his own military appointees, and his own allies and friends are turning against him show you how heavy-handed he's been.
During my college years, I met several Venezuelans, two of them were Chavez' supported and voted for him.
Both of them have e-mailed me about their disillusion with Chavez. Both of them are out there marching against him.
" - Referendum to remove Chávez? That is not possible, don't waste time. I will not go in a referendum, I say that to the country and the world. It's like this: I won't go."
" - Referendum to remove Chávez? Look, that won't happen, forget about it. It won't happen."
" - Ah, no, no, forget about fairytales."
" - Not even if we suppose that they hold that referendum and get 90% of the votes, I will not leave. Forget it. I will not leave."
(Source: Official transcript 'Aló Presidente' N°128, Petare, 24/NOV/2002 04:59 PM)