So let me get this straight..He's bad because he's helping his poor compatriots and he's not opening the market for Big Companies to exploit another latin-america country. I don't run by this logic. Cuba is surviving without commersialism and so can Venezuela. It's ludicrous to accuse him of dictacting oil policy since it's their only export, and hope to raise their economy. In no case you can compair him to Russia, or Saudi Arabia and USA since these countries revel in the oppurtunity in blackmailing (or starting wars) for oil needs. Saying that Putin is a communist is a bit naive too. The man is capitalist, period.

Why is USA so afraid of communism? Cold War is over, and you shifted your target to terrorism. It's not a threat to you anymore. But you think if a nearby country adopt this ideology, the world is going to implode.

Capitalism or Communism, both should be used to promote the needs for the inhabitants of the country that uses the system, not for others to profit from it. If USA depends on the exporting product of another country is their fault alone. The consensus in USA for Chaves is dictated by his hatred on the Bush administration, so i find your opinion as impartial as any Pro Chaves Venezuelan.

On the TV station subject, i'm against all forms of supressing freedom of press, but at most Latin-American countries with histories of coup-d'etats it is usual to harbor some kind of control to the media, to ensure a stable goverment. I'm not up for it, but it is a standard way to deal with things in countries with poverty issues.

The internet as you claim, cannot provide the Venezuelans nothing more than promises. As in communist Russia, hopes of Levis jeans, Coke and Macdonalds did nothing for the people there, hoping the the "good" west is going to deprive them from the issues they have, is an utopia. Most likely if a Right wing politician takes over, with the blessings of USA, chances are the only who are going to profit from this are the companies who are going to sink their teeth to the oil. The Venezuelan people are going to sink deeper into poverty, then uprise, and then they will get their company-indorsed Dictatorship.

Btw, this is not a attack because you are pro-bush or something, i just wanted to argue with some of your points. Thanks.

He is not helping anyone but himself and his cronies.  If you think he is even helping the poor of Venezuela you are buying into propaganda.  Please educate yourself on this point.  As if eliminating people's freedom is "helping" them in any case...

As for Cuba, yes, they are "surviving"...as slaves to the Cuban totalitarian state (the one Chavez seeks to emulate), and in abject poverty despite their country's rich natural and human resources. 

And don't be so naive or willfully ignorant as to say the U.S. "revels" in starting wars for oil.  If we really wanted to grab oil in the Middle East, the last thing we would have done is what we did.  And I don't know of any wars Russia or Saudi Arabia have started for oil either. 

Re Cuba, three words: US Economic Embargo

And just a personal opinion (especially regarding foreign policy): Chavez > Doggie Poo > Bush

Even if the embargo is responsible for Cuba's poor economic state (I disagree, but leaving that aside), it is still a totalitarian state with a horrible human rights record.

You must think Bush's foreign policy is pretty bad to be worse than Chavez's, which includes cozying up to dictators from Syria to Iran to North Korea and more...not to mention locally where he is attempting to destablize neighboring countries.  I feel perhaps your opinion on this matter is, shall we say, uninformed, unless you happen to prefer being friends with brutal dictators, Holocaust deniers, mass murderers, etc.

...which of course is also your opinion, and I could just as well say that it's uninformed, unless you happen to prefer being friends with liars who attempt to deceive the world about alleged WMDs that never existed, creating a brand new category of POWs to justify Guantanamo (aka "alien unlawful enemy combatants"), or allowing torture as a means of interrogation for POWs, etc.

But again, that's my opinion which obviously differs from yours, and I'll leave it at that.

Talking politics is like talking religion or, for that matter, consoles. You convince a Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft fanboy that their company/brand/console of preference is the wrong one, and I'll concede to your opinion. Good luck.

Your Mother is right. (that sounded weird..) Far from us to discuss about the head of state of another country since everybody is buying their own conveniant truth. But i wouldn't go so far as patronising me as you did elprincipe. The bush administration is considered worldwide one of the worst ever no matter how you spin it.  It's that attitude of "father knows best" that fuels anti-usa feelings all over the world. Who are you to tell what is right or how a country should be run, better than it's own inhabitants?  Praising capitalism in favor of the "west" way does nothing for the needs of these people. You don't raise a wind of change if you are the only one to profit.

Btw, an american blaming me for ingorance is pretty funny. And when i say "blackmail" i was reffering to Russia and Saudi Arabia. Both of them use their natural resource for leverage.The latter country, also being one of the worst countries in the world on human rights and back to back buddies with the USA. Hypocritic much? I don't see the Bush administration crying about their stance on women rights. Even in  Iran (Axis of Evil)  they have more liberties than a Saudic Woman could ever dream of.

And is USA so afraid of communism anyway? Is this a leftover from the Mcarthy era? Your bogeyman is now terror, get over it.

I don't think you quite understand that communism and its little brother socialism are failed forms of controlling a people. Despite corporation-ism (or atleast your fear of it), they don't control the government entirely, nor its people. Communism and socialism, however, seek to ensure the people are 100% dependant on their government for everything (such as food), therefore they cannot demonstrate, or rebel against the government.

Now, if you want to think communism is fine, but I think 200,000,000 dead Russians and Chinese disagree.

Regardless, Chavez's ideas and semantics haven't helped the Venezualan people. There was a 9% drop in GDP rate in 2002, and 2003, and has only recovered due to oil (30% of their entire GDP production) is so high per barrel.

They also "enjoy" a 12.2% unemployment rate, as well as 50% of the population below the poverty line. Instead of trying to use the oil money as capital to start new growth ventures to give these people jobs, he instead takes some of the cash, and the feeds them, making them rely on the government rather than themselves for self-sufficency.

Von, exactly how many women get murdered by the government each day in SA because of the lack of womens rights?

I just have a question. How can you be pro-American and pro-Bush?

what i dont like about him is that hi says that if you have to houses on diferent states, you should give away one of them, why? i work hard to get where i am so why do i have to give away something that belongs to me, im ok that his helping the poor, but not ok that his helping the poor by steeling things from other people

Ideologys like Communism, Socialism, Capitalism are to big for us to comment whether they failed as systems or not. It  goes to say that each country deserves the right to enforce it's own kind of democracy, without outsider interferance. Thats my beef with the USA, that they want to establish just another Right wing politician,easy to control, which will set the fuse for years of political instability in the country. At least Venezuela has a stable goverment, and i haven't heard yet of people dissapearing in his administration, unlike a certain Chile president(supported in his coup-d'etat by the CIA)  by the name of Augusto Pinochet. As for the women in SA, ask those who have being killed by stoning or floging due to rape or adultery charges. 

Anyway, i won't comment anything else in this thread, because most political debates end up in stalemates. Thank for hearing my arguements though, but since my opinion won't change and neither will yours, (there is no definite right opinion to voice here, all sides can present counter arguements), i'm backing out before this get heated.