Chavez thoughts
Thanks, Special K, for responding, and recommending the website. Several thoughts are drifting through my head:
1. Venezuela's oil wealth being used to raise the standard of living for its poorest citizens is much better than its accumulation in the hands of a few. If Venezuela can use this natural resource to reverse the legacy of colonialism and build a society of democratically minded people, so much the better.
2. My eyebrows raised at the headline "Chavez advances toward election without a rival." When I read that, I think "despot" (not necessarily "dictator"). Such a level of political dominance is not good for the soul, of an individual or a nation. But reading this article and others, it seems that the blame for a lack of functioning opposition cannot be laid on Chavez. I'm willing to accept for the moment that there's no foul play involved.
3. Special K mentioned the "network" that Chavez is building. An interesting little network it is, too. This is what worries me most about the direction Chavez is going. Part of my worry is selfishly nationalistic, I must admit. The unity of oil-producing nations increases their leverage over the oil-consuming nations, and I can't blame them for standing together.
On the other hand, one would hope that Venezuela's unity with Arab nations would not extend to their, shall we say, less noble aims. I would love to buy gas a Citgo and send my money to a democracy rather than a nation like Saudi Arabia. But the closer Chavez comes to things like supporting armed resistance against Israel and helping Iran gain greater leverage in world affairs, the more I wonder whether it makes any difference.
I was going to say above in my comparison of Venezuela and Saudi Arabia that at least the former allows missionaries to operate. Then I remembered that Chavez revived the missionaries-as-spies libel and threatened to kick out some SIL staff. Anyone know what happened to them?
1. Venezuela's oil wealth being used to raise the standard of living for its poorest citizens is much better than its accumulation in the hands of a few. If Venezuela can use this natural resource to reverse the legacy of colonialism and build a society of democratically minded people, so much the better.
2. My eyebrows raised at the headline "Chavez advances toward election without a rival." When I read that, I think "despot" (not necessarily "dictator"). Such a level of political dominance is not good for the soul, of an individual or a nation. But reading this article and others, it seems that the blame for a lack of functioning opposition cannot be laid on Chavez. I'm willing to accept for the moment that there's no foul play involved.
3. Special K mentioned the "network" that Chavez is building. An interesting little network it is, too. This is what worries me most about the direction Chavez is going. Part of my worry is selfishly nationalistic, I must admit. The unity of oil-producing nations increases their leverage over the oil-consuming nations, and I can't blame them for standing together.
On the other hand, one would hope that Venezuela's unity with Arab nations would not extend to their, shall we say, less noble aims. I would love to buy gas a Citgo and send my money to a democracy rather than a nation like Saudi Arabia. But the closer Chavez comes to things like supporting armed resistance against Israel and helping Iran gain greater leverage in world affairs, the more I wonder whether it makes any difference.
I was going to say above in my comparison of Venezuela and Saudi Arabia that at least the former allows missionaries to operate. Then I remembered that Chavez revived the missionaries-as-spies libel and threatened to kick out some SIL staff. Anyone know what happened to them?
posted by Chaka at 11:18 AM
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