Will Chavez be successful?

Since the Venezuelan national assembly allowed President Hugo Chavez the ability to rule by decree for the next 18 months since January, Chavez has moved very quickly. In a matter of a few weeks, Chavez has nationalized industries such as electricity and telecommunications, denied foreign companies the right to have stakes in Venezuela's oil industry, and is expected to annul presidential term limits that will allow him to remain in power until at least 2030. With the country's domestic production stagnant, cheap goods in short supply, private investment considerably low, and inflation at why are the people of Venezuela seemingly willing to go along with Chavez's radical reforms and unprecedented amount of power? The answer partly lies in Chavez's current ability to bankroll his Socialist overhaul. As the price of oil remains high, governmental revenues are also high, and Chavez is using the money to fund an overarching system of state patronage which seems to provide the populace with the resources that they have long been denied. Will he be successful? Latin American history going back several decades may give us a clue. Chavez is certainly not the first in recent history to want to play the part of a benevolent caudillo. One needs to look no further than Getulio Vargas' on again/off again reign in Brazil throughout much of the early to mid 20th century, Juan Domingo Peron's attempt during the 1940s and 50s in Argentina, Salvador Allende and Augusto Pinochet in Chile throughout the 60s and 70s, Fidel Castro in Cuba since 1959, Manuel Noriega in Panama during the 1980s, or the Sandinista movement that has recently taken hold in Nicaragua again. If this history has taught us anything, it is that Socialism in the long run does not work.

Trouble in Venezuela

Since Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez solidified power after winning a landslide "re-election" on December 3, 2006, the world has been waiting for the next move on his agenda. Consider what he is doing to Toyota Motor Corp. in Venezuela in this article as only a preview of coming attractions. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aLCBN8o7vzjM&refer=latin_america