Remember, before he was legitimately elected in late 1998, he tried (and failed) to seize power in TWO separate military coups during the early 1990's. Why he was pardoned, effectively allowing him to run for higher office at a later date, I'll never understand.
What's also not well understood by many is that prior to Chavez coming along, Venezuela was not governed by the right wing. It was almost exclusively governed by the wealthy, but the Copei Party (Christian Democrats) were politically similar to the US Democratic Party while the Accion Democratica Party were more secular and somewhat further to the left.
Make no mistake that Chavez and his popularity are a direct result of the failure of these two parties to achieve meaningful growth, especially during the last 25 years. Both parties supported considerable state control of the economy, and AD was the group that nationalized the energy industry. Currency controls were in place all the way until 1996, which led to the creation of a thriving (and untaxed) black market.
Anyone who believes that Venezuela tried and failed at operating free market reforms is ignorant of the fact that Venezuela never "got there" with its reforms. They are, and were, a quite logical result of what happens when the government protects private industry to the point of uncompetitiveness and further hinders its ability to invest in infrastructure by trying to make up the difference through creation of B.S. jobs in civil service that accomplish little (and lead to creative apathy).
And yet Chavez has taken this a step further by ever increasing the burden on the state to create opportunity. And there's even extensive largesse toward the Bolivians, Cubans, and poor Americans while about 80% of Venezuelans are totally dependent on state-supported, imported agricultural and food products. (One exception is beef, which they do REALLY well). Should oil prices really tumble back, further than where they are today, I shudder to think about the potential damage done.
Nonetheless, I DO NOT think the US should try to "take him out." The Venezuelans are going to have to try, fail, and learn this lesson on their own. To make a martyr of Chavez would only ensure that another of his ilk would pop up elsewhere, eventually.
RS (in rant-mode)
