Quote:
Originally posted by Rich
[... I can't wait to see what they sell you guys before invading Venezuela to remove Chavez, and how easy they tell you it will be. [/B]
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Offending the Global Dictator
Predictably, Venezuela's remarkable social transformation under Chavez has made him a target for
"regime change" in Washington. As the enforcer of neoliberalism and elite control, the United States has overthrown many governments in Latin America and around the world for attempting to redistribute wealth. Through coups, invasions, assassinations, covert wars and economic coercion (in short, state terrorism), the USA has perpetrated the genocide of about half a million Latin Americans since 1950.
Particularly galling to the oil-driven Bush Administration has been Chavez's petroleum strategy, as well as his foreign policy. Venezuela is the second largest supplier of oil to the USA and a founding member of OPEC. Chavez has revitalized the oil cartel, sought closer relations with other oil producers such as Iran and Libya (considered enemies by the USA) and slashed Venezuelan oil output, causing prices to nearly double to more than $20 a barrel. He has also doubled the royalties charged foreign oil companies in Venezuela, including ExxonMobil, the biggest USA company. To finance his social spending, Chavez has moved to take control of the revenues of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the national oil company, which had been run for the exclusive benefit of its management and employees. The Venezuelan government depends on oil income for half of its budget, but only 20 percent of PDVSA's income went to the state, 80 percent being taken for "operating costs," another term for managerial corruption.
So, are you going to go liberate the poor Venezuelians ....
