Hugo Chavez (28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013)
Do not get me wrong this is not anti-American, but what was the beef with the USA and Hugo Chavez? Yes, he was a dictator at one point, after instigating a military coup. Yes he detained loads of people on trumped up charges. But so has the USA!
He clearly wanted to give the poorest people of his country the best possible life, and, he initiated a decent housing policy, a reasonable health service and started a sensible education program for his people. Yet the USA sided with the right wing elements who wanted to keep a plutocratic society and deny basic human rights to the vast amount of its population.
Why would you want to keep a tiny elite in the situation they had become accustomed too? Why should anyone put up with less than 1% of the population having the benefit of 78% of the countries wealth? Chavez may have made jokes about the policy of George W Bush, but, history has shown that Bush was so wrong when 100,000’s of people had to die so that his idiotic policy of creating pro-US democracy via the barrel of a gun was implemented.
In the end Venezuela is a democracy. Maybe not a democracy that the US approve off, but nonetheless a democracy that the people of Venezuela supported and wanted.
Hugo Chavez may have liked to meddle in other peoples affairs but so do all governments. The funniest one I can remember was when he decided to give discounted oil to London so as to help Ken Livingston with his electoral bid for Mayor. Some of his meddling may not have been so benign but nether has other nations.
The saddest aspect of his tenure was that he and Obama could not get beyond the rhetoric and help bury old hatchets which would eventually lead to Cuba being treated with a more sensible policy. Cuba then could export its model of a health service and help millions and millions of people who do not have a decent health care.
The original concept of dictatorship by the proletariat may not have been a workable policy but also denying a decent house, clean water, opportunity to being educated, the chance of gainful employment and a responsive health service is the very least a nation should do for its people. Hugo Chavez by hook and by crook certainly brought this to his people. Some will argue that his policies are not sustainable. Well all those who argue this point are looking for more of the same tired old servitude and serfdom that has not worked and will ultimately lead to a vicious revolution. A reasonably fair distribution of wealth is always the best policy. Anyone who argues the opposite is just plain greedy or stupid or both.