Quote:
Originally posted by directfiesta
[B]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 ....
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I know it wasn't reported much in the US after it went bad, but in April 2002 the CIA organized a coup against democratically elected Hugo Chavez. As that article says, he nationalized the oil industry, and he also spoke out against Bush's "war on terror". He said they were "fighting terror with terror". Pedro Carmona was brought to the White House in February 2002, and Washington amazingly gave it's official support to the coup after one day. A democratically elected official overthrown by a military coup, and Bush supported it. The coup lasted two days, the US didn't anticipate the popularity of Chavez, and an uprising brought him back to power. He's now threatening to cut of oil to the US, and he's promising a 100 year war if the US invades.
They didn't make the same mistake in Haiti, when they decided democratically elected and hugely popular Jean Baptist Arastide, American actually had the nuts to send troops to help the coup and call it peacekeeping, Canada and France help them. They made sure to escort him to the other side of the world so the people couldn't put him back into power like they did with Chavez.
The funniest thing is, the Americans who tell people from other countries that US politics is none of their business. They don't understand how comedically ironic they're being. Of course not one of them even has any idea who Huge Chavez is.