If Chavez is bad for Venezuela, he should be voted out of office on the next election. Isn’t that what democracy is all about? Either you believe it and promote it or it’s so much rhetoric.
And he may very well be, if he decides to actually step down when the time comes. Unfortunately, the damage to the Venezuelan economy may be quite significant by the time that happens.
Chavez came to power by promising the uneducated and unemployed a utopia and they had more votes. His social agenda is funded by gutting existing industries for short term gain (and he even manages to do a poor job of this) instead of developing these assets efficiently and adopting a reasonable taxation policy.
It's not just the managers who oppose his policies, but the regular workers -- they can see their future slipping away. If his policies had the promise of creating greater employment or a long-term improvement in the quality of life, that would be one thing. However, they seem more focused on maintaining his power base as long as he can. His choice of international allies (Iraq, Lybia, Cuba) also reflects a lack of interest in future economic success. There were signs that his support base was becoming unhappy with the disorganization and lack of progress shown by his government. Unfortunately, by losing the strike the opposition has lost face and given him a boost in popularity.
The sad truth is corporate CEO’s really have no use for democracy and will use any means necessary to curtail the will of the people including the use of the CIA to stage coup attempts...
But getting back to Otto (4th) Reich here, do you believe he's telling the truth?
The Venezuelan oil industry, if developed properly, has the potential to greatly benefit the Venezuelan people. But, it relies on a heavy, sour crude that is expensive to process and alternatives can be found. PdVSA has developed a refining and distribution/marketing infrastructure suitable to make this oil profitable on the world market. Chavez wants to gut the company (existing assets and future development) to provide short term handouts and return it to the status of a regional, national oil company. This effort could ultimately lead to Venezuala becoming insignificant in the global oil industry, with very little else to fall back on economically. In fact, it's very similar to the short-sighted policies corporate CEOs use to boost the stock value and their own portfolios at the expense of a company, its employees and customers.
I wouldn't be surprised if the CIA was involved, but just how deeply or directly has not been established. I don't think they would have to play too much of a leading role, since there is no real shortage of opposition even among the leftist parties. I personally disagree with the misuse of the CIA for "nation building" purposes, not only for ethical reasons but because the neocolonial banna dictator approach has always ended in failure long-term. Iran and Vietnam spring to mind, but there are many others. Ironically, the Venezuelan people might benefit more from a CIA success than from the alternative for a change.
Charon
