There once was a time when Fidel Castro was the gadfly of American foreign policy in Central and South America. The Cuban dictator, who took power during the 1959 revolution, repeatedly slammed the supposedly inherent corruption of American capitalism while proclaiming communism as the way of the future. Castro spoke out against American corporations, the state of public affairs in the United States, and the economic and travel sanctions levied against Cuba. The collapse of the Soviet Union has silenced Castro for some time, but it seems that as his death draws nearer, he is preparing His protégé to take on the duties as American Enemy #1 on the Western Hemisphere. Hugo Chavez is the leader of Venezuela whose leftist propaganda and extreme antics are doing nothing but hurt to the Venezuelan people by alienating Venezuela from the rest of the world, while drawing the intense ire of the Bush administration. Chavez became President of Venezuela in 1998 on a platform of aiding Venezuela’s impoverished masses and challenging the free trade ideas coming from the United States. Chavez called for socialist intervention with regards to private industries in Venezuela. He began programs to combat disease, illiteracy, malnutrition, poverty, and other social problems. There have been significant drops in unemployment during the Chavez regime, along with major increases in literacy among the Venezuelan population. Yet for all these good things that Chavez has done for the poor, he faces strong accusations of wrongdoing from all parts of the Venezuelan populace. Many Chavez supporters have slammed his regime for being plagued by the same cronyism, political patronage, and corruption that Chavez had sworn to fight against. Some even claim that corruption has increased under Chavez’s watch. Venezuela’s trade unionists and indigenous communities have held peaceful rallies to demand that labor and land reforms be expedited. Chavez faces major accusations from the middle and upper classes of Venezuela. These accusations include electoral fraud, human rights violations, and political repression. Many of Chavez’s opponents accuse him of being an extremist militant and revolutionary dedicated to the destruction of Venezuelan democracy for the sake of his own ambitions. There is no doubt, according to Chavez’s opponents, that Venezuela has begun heading in a more authoritarian direction under Chavez, especially with regards to the use of the criminal justice system to harass anyone who opposes Chavez. Members of the Western news media have also portrayed Chavez in a negative light, accusing him of being, among other things, an ideologue. US News published an article in 2003 accusing Chavez of supporting Middle Eastern terrorists in their fight against the United States. U.S. officials claimed to have evidence that Chavez had been providing terrorists with identity documents, such as passports, and money to fund terrorist operations. Chavez has also been accused of helping leftist guerillas in Colombia and throughout all of South America. There have also been accusations of the use of torture by the regime against political opponents. Cases of police brutality and intimidation of witnesses have also been documented. Legislation was passed to stifle dissent within the populace against the Chavez government. And these are only the domestic problems. Venezuela’s issues abroad have not been any better. The Summit of the Americas took place in Argentina this past month, and President Bush attended in the hopes of promoting the Free Trade Area of the Americas. However, rather than discussing the issue in a civilized manner with the national leaders of other countries of the Western Hemisphere, Chavez showed his true colors as a demagogue and a rabble-rouser by denouncing President Bush before the masses of protestors that had come to condemn Bush. The situation has exploded even further with the defense of President Bush by Mexican President Vicente Fox. After Fox spoke out in defense of President Bush, Chavez triggered an international incident by telling Fox not to “mess with” him. When Fox and the Mexican government demanded that Chavez apologize, Venezuela responded by withdrawing their ambassador, and Mexico returned the favor in kind. This is yet another example of Chavez’s dangerous arrogance. We know that Chavez is an extremist, but what should the Bush Administration do about it? First things first: thank President Fox for his defense of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Although Fox has had many differences with Bush over Iraq and U.S. border security, he has been a good ally, and he should be commended for this. Second, the Bush Administration must garner the support of other Western Hemisphere nations as part of its effort to isolate Chavez. The fact of the matter is that while Pat Robertson’s call for Chavez’s assassination was extreme, Chavez’s actions towards his own populace and towards the entire world have been dangerous. Chavez must be dealt with, and quickly, for otherwise this rabble-rouser might become a more serious problem for the economic ideas being pushed forth by the United States and the rest of the free world.
