Saddam Hussein is dead, Fidel Castro is dying, and Kim Jong Ill is learning that indoctrination can only get you so far….. Indeed, 2007 would seem like a dismal year for dictators around the world, but this is not so thanks to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Chavez is executing a first rate totalitarian power grab right under our noses. You won’t hear about it from the press too much, but essentially; tomorrow, December 2nd, Venezuelans will probably be forced to lease away their freedom. Venezuelans will be “voting” on a constitutional referendum that will allow Chavez to seek unlimited re-elections. If the Venezuelan government follows their preceding behavior, then the referendum will pass.
On Tuesday of last week, over 300 Venezuelan students gathered outside a Catholic university in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas to protest the referendum on the basis that the reforms would give Chavez authoritarian power. State police were soon issued to stop the protest by spraying tear gas at the demonstrators. Following this behavior, I think that it is quite clear what type of behavior the Venezuelan government will be exhibiting toward the voting process tomorrow.
What really needs to be shown to Americans is that Chavez is a socialist. He has expanded the power of government in Venezuela greatly. He has instituted full government censorship of the media. Chavez is living proof that when power is invested in government, power is corrupted.
