Democracy In Venezuela: Chávez's Successful Socialism

When the hated despots of nations like Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan loot their countries' treasuries, transfer their oil wealth to personal Swiss bank accounts and use the rest to finance (in the House of Saud's case) terrorist extremists, American politicians praise them as trusted friends and allies.

But when a democratically elected populist president uses Venezuela's oil profits to lift poor people out of poverty, they accuse him of pandering. The socialist economic model espoused by President Hugo Chávez has become wildly popular among Latin Americans tired of watching corrupt right-wing leaders enrich themselves at their expense. (Left-of-center governments have recently won power in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.)

With Venezuela's oil revenues rising 32 percent last year, Chávez's use of oil revenues is directed to helping the poor of his country, schools are sprouting like weeds, and $10 billion per year is banked for future anti-poverty programs. [Not to speak of] eye surgery for poor Mexicans, and even heating fuel for poor families from Maine to the Bronx to Philadelphia.

Please discuss the $1 billion a week we're wasting in Iraq while people die for lack of medical care and schools fall apart right here in America.

Eighty-two percent of Venezuelans think Chávez is doing a good job. That's more than twice the approval rating by Americans of Bush. He roundly defeated an attempt to recall him. So why is Washington lecturing Caracas?

[Excerpts of Ted Rall’s Yahoo Opinion]

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