Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, responded to the announced suspension of
arms sales from the U.S. by suggesting that Russia and China could become
alternatives as suppliers to the Venezuelan military.
See the story here.
Chavez, a self-proclaimed savior of the impoverished in both his country and the world over, has gotten a great deal of mileage out of his anti-American rhetoric, and more recently, claims of an impending American invasion of his country. The thought of a Venezuelan invasion by the U.S. is of course laughable: American politicians are divided as to whether 6,000 National Guard troops can even be spared for duty along the Mexican border, let alone an invasion of Venezuela.
I believe Chavez is simply continuing his effective campaign of using America as a convenient excuse for the intractable problems within his own country; problems which he is having little success in addressing.
Chavez, who has all but nationalized his country’s oil industry, seems to spend more petrodollars on strengthening his own prestige than on building an economy that doesn’t rely heavily on oil revenues. 47% of Venezuela’s population is currently living below the poverty line – perhaps Chavez should withdraw from the world stage until he’s gotten his own house in order.
Chavez, a self-proclaimed savior of the impoverished in both his country and the world over, has gotten a great deal of mileage out of his anti-American rhetoric, and more recently, claims of an impending American invasion of his country. The thought of a Venezuelan invasion by the U.S. is of course laughable: American politicians are divided as to whether 6,000 National Guard troops can even be spared for duty along the Mexican border, let alone an invasion of Venezuela.
I believe Chavez is simply continuing his effective campaign of using America as a convenient excuse for the intractable problems within his own country; problems which he is having little success in addressing.
Chavez, who has all but nationalized his country’s oil industry, seems to spend more petrodollars on strengthening his own prestige than on building an economy that doesn’t rely heavily on oil revenues. 47% of Venezuela’s population is currently living below the poverty line – perhaps Chavez should withdraw from the world stage until he’s gotten his own house in order.
1 comment:
I agree wholeheartedly Apollo. Until Chavez's methods begin to fail him, there's no reason why he should abandon them.
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