Hugo Chavez now officially a dictator

Parent Cafe
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<p>*Hugo Chavez gets unprecedented powers in Venezuela </p>

<p>By Associated PressCARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez was granted free rein Wednesday to accelerate changes in broad areas of society by presidential decree - a move critics said propels Venezuela toward dictatorship.</p>

<p>Convening in a downtown plaza in a session that resembled a political rally, lawmakers unanimously gave Chavez sweeping powers to legislate by decree and impose his radical vision of a more egalitarian socialist state.</p>

<p>“Long live the sovereign people! Long live President Hugo Chavez! Long live socialism!” said National Assembly President Cilia Flores as she proclaimed the “enabling law” approved by a show of hands. “Fatherland, socialism or death! We will prevail!”</p>

<p>The law gives Chavez, who is beginning a fresh six-year term, more power than he has ever had in eight years as president, and he plans to use it over the next 18 months to transform broad areas of public life, from the economy and the oil industry in particular, to “social matters” and the very structure of the state."</p>

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<p>Chavez, so far, has done a lot of good for the poor in Venezuela. If he squelches free speech, I’ll be concerned. Last I heard, he hadn’t done that.</p>

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<p>And “America”–meaning the US (Venezuela is in America too) shouldn’t do jack. This is another country democratically deciding what to do. The Bush administration has enough on its plate dealing with the terrible situation in Iraq among other problems.</p>

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<p>I’m not saying the US should actually do anything. It just shows how twisted and hypocritical its morals are that it would invade another country that oppressed its people under the guise of a democracy, while turning a blind eye to Venezuela.</p>

<p>Btw, Latin American dictators are pretty well known for allowing free speech, right?</p>

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<p>The worst Latin American dictators were actually backed up by the US. For example:</p>

<p>Chile: “Stating that Chile was under siege by communist subversives, Pinochet implemented a series of security operations, with support from the United States and other South American military governments, in which (according to the Rettig Report) around 3,000 suspected or known dissidents and leftists were killed, and (according to the Valech Report) around 30,000 more were tortured.”</p>

<p>Argentina: “According to the Nunca M</p>

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<p>Why can’t I post this…</p>

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<p>Well, I post it later.</p>

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<p>“A Dictator’s Double Standard
Augusto Pinochet tortured and murdered. His legacy is Latin America’s most successful country.”</p>

<p>This from, of all places, a Washington Post editorial. Think about it.

</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121101166.html[/url]”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121101166.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Maybe so, but Saddam was a right wing dictator as well… difference being he didn’t subjucate his country under America’s boot.</p>

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<p>In what way was Saddam Hussein “right wing?” What exactly do you mean by this?</p>

<p>Extra credit: Would Saddam’s Iraq have been better or worse if he had chosen to “subjucate his country under America’s boot?”</p>

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<p>I prefer the facts rather than what someone’s convenient opinion. I never ever heard of any real dictator “paving the way” to a liberal democracy. They always want to stay in power and shut everybody’s mouth. And let me try to post that again…</p>

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<p>Nope…I still can’t.</p>

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<p>Chavez is a communist, out for world dominance. I see the Cold War starting up all over again…
When your closest ally is Fidel Castro, it’s all pretty obvious, isn’t it?</p>

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<p>Cuba has such an aggresive foreign policy! Fidel Castro conquered so many countries…</p>

<p>Communism, the ideology, have nothing to do with world dominance. Someone wanting to control the world has more than ideology in his head. And if he is a communist, he’s clearly against his own political thoughts; or, in other words, is using the ideology only to gain support from the people.</p>

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<p>Castro would love world dominance. As it is, his people are so oppressed they cannot even leave their own country freely.</p>

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<p>Any dictator would like world dominance, not only those that claim to be communist.</p>

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<p>Chavez has done absolutely NOTHING to improve anybody’s status, except for his cronies. He uses oil as his economic crutch.</p>

<p>Yes, he is a dictator, spouting out socialist and communist ideology to gain absolute power. Sounds like somone else we know? Although originally he said that he wanted to found a republic. LOL! What a joke. Chavez said the other week that “Jesus was a communist.” All he does is put on a show for the working class to make them believe his b.s.</p>

<p>To whomever said he hasn’t squelched free speech:</p>

<p>In late March 2005, the Chavez government passed a series of media regulations that criminalised broadcasted libel and slander directed against public officials; prison sentences of up to 40 months for serious instances of character defamation launched against Chavez and other officials were enacted.</p>

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<p>I have never been to Venezuela and know about all the USA botched attempts to prop up dictators in the southern hemisphere. That said, my next door neighbors are from Venezuela. They left their jobs there 3 years ago because they could see the handwriting on the wall. They are also French citizens, one is Venezuelan by birth, the other French. they say the situation has been dire there for several years for the middle class, teachers, engineers, small business people, not Chavez’s oil cronies of course. The underclass as always is being manipulated.</p>