Free Republic

In the age of A.O.C., the lesson must be learned again. Conspicuous by its absence in much of the mainstream news coverage of Venezuela’s political crisis is the word “socialism.” Yes, every sensible observer agrees that Latin America’s once-richest country, sitting atop the world’s largest proven oil reserves, is an economic basket case, a humanitarian disaster, and a dictatorship whose demise cannot come soon enough. But … socialist? Perish the thought. ... the Venezuelan regime’s admirers used to speak of “21st century socialism,” as it was dubbed by Hugo Chávez. The late Venezuelan president, said Britain’s Jeremy Corbyn, “showed us...

Citizens turned out in massive crowds to add their signatures to the recall referendum against Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro. And for good reason. The country is in a state of paralysis: frequent blackouts; food, medicine and vaccine scarcities; closed-down factories and frequent looting. Chaos and anarchy hang over the nation that not so long ago was the most rich and advanced in Latin America. Without a doubt the fault of the country's dire situation is on the late president Hugo Chávez. His socialist policies devastated Venezuela's flourishing economy. But in a less obvious way, Venezuelan citizens are also to blame....

Hugo Chávez announced earlier this month he'd like to expropriate much of Los Roques' private property for state tourism — including yachts like Alvarez's, which el Presidente says would be better used for ferrying visitors. "Expropriating a boat is completely absurd," says Alvarez, 39. "I don't see how they can take away something you've worked hard for and bought." Actually, Chávez has made it look pretty easy during his 12 years in power. His socialist Bolivarian Revolution has nationalized and expropriated everything from utilities to ranches to golf courses — and with his re-election bid approaching next year, seizing a...

BY TIM JOHNSONtjohnson@herald.com A Venezuelan army soldier directs traffic at the entrance to a gas station in Caracas on Thursday, the 32nd day of a nationwide strike. Chavez and his opposition traded allegations Thursday on the state of Venezuela's oil industry, saying that oil production would return to its normal level of 3 million barrels a day within 45 days. ANDRES LEIGHTON/AP WASHINGTON - President Hugo Chávez pledged Thursday to return oil production to normal within 45 days in strike-crippled Venezuela, but U.S. analysts dismissed his claim and fretted over a sharp decline in U.S. crude imports.The Energy Department...

Venezuela's foreign minister warned late Tuesday that it could no longer guarantee regular oil shipments to the United States after Washington placed sanctions on the Venezuelan state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), this week. The spat underscores long-running tensions over what Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez sees as America's disproportionate, unjust exercise of power on the world stage. “There are several proposals that are being evaluated by President [Hugo] Chávez to respond to the United States’ imperialist pretensions,” said Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro, according to the Miami Herald. A close associate of Chávez accused the US of trying to...

While the idea of naming a U.S. Naval ship after labor leader Cesar Chavez has roiled some, California Democrat Sen. Barbara Boxer is thrilled that the activist will be receiving the honor. Boxer called Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus Tuesday to thank him for the decision. “I applaud Secretary Mabus for continuing the Navy’s rich tradition of naming these supply ships after pioneers, explorers and visionaries by honoring César Chávez, who worked tirelessly to promote fair working conditions and equal rights for all Americans,” Boxer said in a statement. “This is a fitting tribute to Chávez, who served in...

One person is murdered every two hours in Venezuela. The murder rate in the South American country has more than quadrupled since Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999. There were 54 homicides per 100,000 people last year, a rate only exceeded on the continent by El Salvador, where there were 70 homicides per 100,000 citizens. "The problem is not so much the criminals, but rather the government's inaction and lack of policies," Briceño blames an ineffective justice system and high rates of corruption. The capital city, Caracas, has the highest murder rate on the continent

U.S.-Russia diplomacy is currently dominated by issues such as Iran, missile defense, and the post-Soviet republics. But the Obama administration must not ignore Moscow's role in facilitating the dangerous Venezuelan arms buildup and the nuclear ambitions of Hugo Chávez. On September 13, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez announced triumphantly that Russia had agreed to extend his government a $2.2 billion credit line for the purchase of sophisticated military hardware, including tanks, missiles, and air-defense systems. Chávez insisted that these arms purchases "are necessary for our national defense." But U.S. officials think otherwise--and with good reason. "What they are looking to purchase...

June 30, 2009, 1:00 p.m. The Honduran Counter-CoupBy the Editors At first blush, the news from Honduras sounds like a sad return to Latin America’s past: A democratically elected president has been exiled by the military. But make no mistake: The Honduran soldiers who escorted Pres. Manuel Zelaya from his home on Sunday were acting to protect their country’s democracy, not to trample it. Moreover, they had the full support of the Honduran Supreme Court, which had rejected Zelaya’s bid to hold a referendum on “constitutional reform.” The proposed referendum, illegal without an act of Congress, aimed to launch...

Rocked by plunging oil prices and waning influence abroad, the Venezuelan president is attempting another power grab. The irony could hardly be richer: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the self-proclaimed “21st-century socialist” and “Bolivarian revolutionary,” who has spent years nationalizing his country’s oil fields and tormenting foreign energy firms, is now asking Big Oil for help. As The New York Times reported last week, Venezuelan officials “have begun soliciting bids from some of the largest Western oil companies,” including Chevron and Royal Dutch/Shell. Chávez has grossly mismanaged his domestic energy industry, and the steep drop in oil prices has exacerbated the...

Now are rough times. For all of us. This is where we stand: Liechtenstein/Saudi Arabia: Business as usual, minor sources of irritation Venuzuela: INRI - IN a moRon CommunIst we trust, that'll do the trick! Germany/Switzerland/Austria: High tax, some captial, medium sized car, can't afford fuel, decent house, nothing left of our former empires. USA: Moderate tax, nice eating out, nice car, heavy debt, some capital, some fuel, no home. Japan: Small tax, microscopic car, no future Italy, Spain: Heavy tax, small car + vespas, Fascist tradition, government debt, Catholicism, nice food Norway: Heavy tax, small car, dried cod (lutefisk),...

The federal government is investigating the takeover last year of a leading American manufacturer of electronic voting systems by a small software company that has been linked to the leftist Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chávez. The inquiry is focusing on the Venezuelan owners of the software company, the Smartmatic Corporation, and is trying to determine whether the government in Caracas has any control or influence over the firm’s operations, government officials and others familiar with the investigation said. The inquiry on the eve of the midterm elections is being conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United...

On the same day Colombia said it had captured a Venezuelan national guard officer carrying 40,000 AK-47 assault rifle cartridges believed to be intended for leftist guerrillas, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela said Saturday he would withdraw a decree overhauling intelligence policies that he had made earlier that week. The rare reversal by Mr. Chávez came amid intensifying criticism in Venezuela from human rights groups. The capture of the Venezuelan officer in eastern Colombia could reignite tensions between the neighboring countries over Venezuela’s support for the rebel group FARC. Colombia’s attorney general, Mario Iguarán, said Saturday that security forces had...

<p>Venezuela's proposed budget includes more than $250 million for 'anti-imperialist' groups in the United States and Latin America.</p> <p>In an ambitious push to extend President Hugo Chávez's revolutionary ideology, the Venezuelan government's draft 2008 budget includes more than $250 million to finance pro-Chávez groups and ''anti-imperialist'' movements in the United States, Central and South America and Mexico.</p>

Caracas, VenezuelaIF President Hugo Chávez has dreamed of turning Venezuela into a Cuba with oil, the Venezuelans who oppose him have discovered the perfect antidote: the student movement. At the time of last month’s referendum on Mr. Chávez’s efforts to remake the Constitution to his liking, I got to know some of the “chamos,” as the student activists are known. What struck me was not only how effective they were, but how different their movement was from almost all its many antecedents in the region. Most important, the Venezuelans are not calling for socialist revolution, but for liberal democracy. Instead...

Today the people of Venezuela face a constitutional referendum, which, if passed, could obliterate the few remaining vestiges of Venezuelan democracy. The world is saying little and doing less as President Hugo Chávez dismantles Venezuela's constitution, silences its independent media and confiscates private property. --snip--With diplomatic, economic and communications institutions designed for a different era, the free world has too few tools to help prevent Venezuela's once vibrant democracy from receding into dictatorship. But such a tragedy is not preordained. In fact, we face a moment when swift decisions by the United States and like-thinking nations could dramatically help, supporting...

Now that Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez has shown his hand and officially announced that he will seek to become president for life, let me offer some suggestions on what the Venezuelan opposition, Latin American democracies and the United States should do to return democracy to that country. Chávez, as you may know, announced last week that he will ask his 100 percent loyalist National Assembly to change the constitution and extend the presidential term from six to seven years and allow him to run indefinitely. In addition, he asked to end the autonomy of the Central Bank, and to create...

The Venezuelan president bonds with regimes that the rest of the world -- and his own compatriots -- shun. THE LATEST Global Attitudes survey by the Pew Foundation contains a lot of bad news for the United States, but there was one relative bright spot in Latin America: Venezuela. According to Pew, 56 percent of Venezuelans say they have a favorable view of the United States, a higher number than in Britain or Canada. Seventy-one percent say they like U.S. television and movies and a stratospheric 84 percent feel positively about Americans. Though only 23 percent say they have confidence...

POLITICAL democracy will take root in Latin America only when it is accompanied by economic and social democracy. --snip-- The stakes here go well beyond Venezuela and Mr. Chávez. I recognize how difficult it is to govern democratically. This is a challenge that faces all the leaders of our region. Presidents may be elected democratically, but it is more important to govern democratically, even with an opposing press that reports different opinions. When one voice is silenced, we all become mute. When one thought is eliminated, we all lose some awareness. And when a space for the expression of ideas...

Win would push Chávez closer to socialist dream The Dec. 3 vote in Venezuela is a choice between two systems, and a test of the popularity of Hugo Chávez's `socialism for the 21st century.' BY STEVEN DUDLEY In President Hugo Chávez's Venezuela, there are signs of a maturing revolution: At a recent rally, young supporters who have spent a good part of their youth with Chávez in power sang with the elder Chavistas revolutionary favorites like Uh Ah, Chávez no se va -- the ''Chávez will not go'' jingle popularized during his defeat of a recall referendum in 2004. The...