The Chavez Controversy, And How It Helps The US

I'll admit one thing about Hugo Chavez: he knows how to keep people on his side. He was elected President of Venezuela in 1998 as a Socialist who advocated change, which appealed to the population of the dirt-poor nation. Since then, he has proceded to take control of the Congress and Supreme Court of his nation, rewrite its Constitution, and institute various programs to try and help the poor in Venezuela. One of the most controversial figures in Latin America, Hugo Chavez is keeping the world watching - well, most of it, anyway. Just not his own people.

Late last month, Chavez seized the broadcast equipment of Radio Caracas TV, one of Venezuela's most popular TV stations. He claimed that this action was necessary because he believed that the station was "a threat to the country" because it was broadcasting views that were against his own. To put that in perspective, that would be like George Bush shutting down CNN or MSNBC because they disagree with the War in Iraq. However, Chavez still says that Venezuela is a democracy.

Needless to say, there has been a great deal of controversy surrounding the shutdown. There have been several rallies by people on both sides. However, the polls turn out fairly one-sided. According to a poll by Datanálisis, a Venezuelan polling group, more than 80% of Venezuelans disagree with Chavez's decision, and almost three-quarters of Venezuelans believe that democracy is at stake due to Chavez's actions. Of course, this is what always happens when Socialists are elected and then "re-elected in a free election." Socialists believe in national control of almost everything, whic, as Americans know, NEVER works.

This event, although bad for Venezuelans, should help the US on the world stage. It will show the world that Socialism solves nothing and simply creates unpopular problems. It also creates monopolies; Chavez replaced RCTV with a government-run TV station called TVes. This means that the Government runs almost all TV. Could you imagine if your choices when you turned the TV on were PBS, PBS2, or PBS3? Not too exciting. This should be shown clearly in the upcoming weeks by the marches against Chavez. One step forward for Chavez, two steps back for Socialism.