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opinionAlso in this section:
Bernal, Where is Panama headed? Sánchez, Hispaniola as a major drug smuggling hub Hill, Free trade and immigration Gutman, Hugo Chávez is a disgrace Shelton, A better plan for the canal's expansion E. Jackson, Troubles at the alma mater Sirias, The price of perfection
Hugo Chávez: vulgar commoner, megalomaniac by W. E. Gutman For a moment or two, Hugo Chávez, I confess, gave me a sense of hope for Venezuela and, by extension, for the cause of social democracy in Latin America. On his own turf, Chávez said things everyone wanted to hear. Abroad, he projected an image of dynamic self-reliance and free-will that won respect even in distant corners of the world. Leaders in Third World blocs found much to admire in the self-proclaimed populist leader who drew an abundance of afficionados, especially among those, like me, who oppose the hegemony and exploitative influence of superpowers over developing nations. I’d also found Chávez’s earthy irreverence toward President Bush refreshing and the president’s testy loss of composure a source of unending amusement. The United States and Venezuela had since been caught up in an escalating political and diplomatic confrontation and I savored the Bush administration’s overt discomfiture. Displeased with Venezuela’s fiercely independent regime, Bush had accused the South American nation of flirting with Marxism. With some legitimacy, I had then suggested that anyone who refuses to dance to America’s music is invariably accused of flirting with Marxism. In a world full of one-party states run by dictators seeking popular support through strident xenophobia (or two-party states in which the parties are two sides of the same tarnished coin…) Venezuela’s defiance of the United States seemed neither odd nor alarming. Early on, even the US media cautiously applauded what they perceived to be a man unwilling to succumb to the political harlotry of America’s economic vassals. Their ostensible enthusiasm was short-lived. And so was my mine. The efficiency with which Chávez, now riding high on a crest of mob delirium, erected his own personality cult, imposed autarkic policies, stoked ultra-nationalism and mobilized the masses, soon revealed a petulant hard-liner with an agenda that transcended social reform and independence from the United States. Arrogant and vain as only a proletarian-turned-statesman can be, Chávez, it soon became clear, was not wed to socialism. Instead, he proceeded to refashion Venezuela by the light of a myopic, insular and confrontational vision redolent with paranoia. Disillusionment turned to fury when Chávez, morphing into a latter-day Fidel Castro (but utterly lacking the Comandante's intellect) garnered ideological support from ten Latin American nations and used his country’s huge petroleum resources in a game of blackjack bargaining against the United States. For a while I continued to straddle an increasingly wobbly idelological fence. I still shared in his loathing of President Bush, but that’s where we parted company. And then, lo and behold, Chávez embraced Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the deranged would-be exterminator of Israel and the virulent enemy of the West, and I felt betrayed. What I now see in Chávez's demeanor and actions is alarming. It's the same old scenario (think Congo, Rwanda, Cambodia, Liberia, Somalia, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Chechnya, North Korea and Sudan): A quasi-illiterate paratrooper with a bulimic ego seizes the reins of power "for the good of the people" then tramples on their rights. I was not surprised when Chávez, showboating for the masses, recently ordered supporters to give away possessions they do not need because he only wants “true socialists” to be members of the new single party he is forming. "Whoever has a fridge they do not need, put it out in the village square. Whoever has a truck, a fan or a cooker they do not need, give it away. Let's not be selfish. I demand you do it." Chávez called capitalism an evil. He said he would donate $250,000 of his own money, adding, "Let's see who follows the example." The anti-US president who calls Cuban leader Fidel Castro his mentor denies he is turning the OPEC nation of avid consumers into another communist state as his critics say. But since coming to power in 1999, Chávez has proposed increasingly radical steps to drive Venezuela toward a bogus socialist state and, after a landslide re-election late last year, he declared himself for the first time a Chávez, who rules by decree, has focused his political ambitions this year on forming a single party from the hodgepodge of factions that have traditionally supported him in what he says is his crusade against US imperialism. Chávez, whose assassination was called for in August by Christian Coalition televangelist Pat Robertson, also claims the CIA is plotting his overthrow, an allegation hard to refute as “private US military contractors” (aka mercenary killers) are pouring into Venezuela and rumors persist that another attempt on Chávez’s life may be imminent. Officials say millions of followers have signed up to be members of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela that Chávez plans to use as a platform to govern the country for decades. "I only want to be accompanied by true socialists," he said. Chávez's critics justifiably complain that his constant railing against US-promoted consumerism contrasts with the behavior of senior government officials who can be seen dining out at fancy restaurants and riding around in expensive cars. Textbook socialism does not mandate or inflict sacrifices on the people. It calls for the equal distribution of goods produced collectively and an equitable allocation of the national wealth. I was wrong. Chávez is not a socialist but a vulgar commoner afflicted with megalomania. Textbook socialism doesn’t work. Nor does textbook communism, neither of which has ever been realized. Egotism, greed and bulimic materialism are all in the way.
W. E. Gutman is a veteran journalist. He lives in southern California.
Also in this section:
Bernal, Where is Panama headed? Sánchez, Hispaniola as a major drug smuggling hub Hill, Free trade and immigration Gutman, Hugo Chávez is a disgrace Shelton, A better plan for the canal's expansion E. Jackson, Troubles at the alma mater Sirias, The price of perfection Unclassified Ads | Calendar | Outdoors | Dining | Science | Sports | Español | Front Page Archives | Wappin' Radio Show | Just Music
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