'Neo-Bolivarism: Will Hugo Chavez Become Venezuela’s President for Life?'
By Aaron Goldstein (01/25/07)
Since his re-election last month, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has signaled a further turn towards socialism and a turn away from freedom. The mercurial, self-styled 21st century neo-Bolivarian announced at the beginning of this year that he would nationalize the energy and telecommunications sector as well as remove autonomy from its central bank. To do this, Venezuela's National Assembly will pass an enabling act to allow Chavez to rule by decree. This legislation is expected to be finalized by the National Assembly, which is filled entirely by Chavez loyalists, on January 30th.
In fairness, Chavez is not the first Venezuelan President to ask the National Assembly to rule the country by decree. Nor is it the first time that Chavez himself has asked for and received such authorization from the National Assembly. But he is the first Venezuelan President who has pledged “an expansion of the revolution”. I am not sure however if this is really an expansion of a revolution so much as it is an expansion of Chavez’s power. The enabling act is purported to be 18 months in duration. But somehow I suspect Chavez won’t be so eager to relinquish these powers so easily this time around.
To begin with, Chavez is prohibited from running for consecutive terms under the Venezuelan Constitution. Simply put, Chavez must leave office in 2012. But under the enabling act, Chavez could unilaterally waive this provision and declare himself to be President for Life much like his idol Fidel Castro.
Why do I believe that Chavez would act in such a manner at this time? There are two reasons. First, to supplant Cuba and emerge as the largest thorn in the side of the United States in the Western Hemisphere. Second, it would represent the first step in the fulfillment of the modern day neo-Bolivarian Revolution in Latin America.
Hugo Chavez, of course, has been an adversary of the United States and, in particular, the Bush Administration for many years now. However, if one considers the difficulties the United States is facing in the Middle East with the War in Iraq and to a lesser extent in Afghanistan and if one also considers the retreat of Fidel Castro from the global spotlight; Chavez can pick up where Fidel left off and be an even larger irritant to the United States knowing full well that the United States is too preoccupied elsewhere to deal with him directly.
This is not to say that the United States isn’t watching him. Chavez is being kept under a watchful eye. After all, Chavez has been keen to develop a close alliance with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as well as North Korean President Kim Jong-Il as I have documented here. (www.americandaily.com/article/14486). Earlier this month, Chavez and Ahmadinejad reached a formal alliance within OPEC to cut oil production. “Today we know that there is too much crude in the market; that’s why we support, and will support the decisions taken to reduce production and protect the price of oil,” said Chavez. He went on to pledge that the two countries would “continue to act as always with one voice.” This, of course, means higher gas prices and fuel costs for consumers in the United States and abroad. But it also means if Iran and Venezuela can agree on oil based energy today who can say they won’t agree on nuclear based energy tomorrow.
Both Chavez and Ahmadinejad attended the swearing in ceremony of Ecuador’s new left wing President, Rafael Correa. Iran re-established diplomatic ties with Ecuador. Bolivia’s new left wing President Evo Morales attended Correa’s inauguration too. Yes, there is increased co-operation between Bolivia and Iran . It is also worth noting that Ahmadinejad also visited with Daniel Ortega, who late in 2006 returned to power as President of Nicaragua. Ortega’s Sandinistas had been defeated at the polls in 1990. During this visit, you guessed it, Iran and Nicaragua re-established diplomatic ties. The emergence of a succession of leftist governments in Latin America is a key component of Chavez’s vision of Bolivarism or what I have called neo-Bolivarism. Allow me to explain what I mean by neo-Bolivarism.
Bolivarism is named after Simon Bolivar, the 19th Century Venezuelan born military leader and political thinker who led several independence movements throughout Latin America including Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru, Panama and Colombia. Since Bolivar spread independence throughout South America, Chavez is using Bolivar’s name as his model to impose socialism throughout the continent. The reason I use the term neo-Bolivarism is because Simon Bolivar was not a socialist. In fact, unlike Chavez, he admired the United States and the ideals of the American Revolution. Bolivar was a classical liberal who read Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations and Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws. These works inspired him to write Bolivia’s constitution. Bolivar believed in limited government. Chavez believes in unlimited government. The two could not be different as day and night. While it is impossible to know precisely what Bolivar would have thought of Chavez one cannot help but think that Bolivar would abhor the manner in which Chavez is invoking his name. Simply put, Chavez is bastardizing Bolivar’s name and his legacy. Chavez wants to spread something across Latin America but it is not the liberating ideology of freedom. Rather is the subjugating ideology of socialism. Therefore Chavez is a neo-Bolivarian.
Here’s how neo-Bolivarism would work. If Chavez declares himself President for Life in Venezuela it would set the stage for his allies such as Morales, Correa and Ortega to do so in Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, respectively. A modern day post-Cold War, post-9/11 domino effect. Daniel Ortega might paint himself as a Christian these days but something tells me it wouldn’t take much for him to put on those fatigues again – even if the pants don’t fit so well around his waist anymore. Of course, Chavez has been a galvanizing enough force that Peruvians and Mexicans have rejected presidential candidates he has supported. Despite those setbacks, this will not prevent him from trying again. If the Peruvians and Mexicans reject a Chavez backed candidate next time around and Chavez has declared himself President for Life (and Morales and company have followed suit) do not be surprised if Chavez uses military force to bring about neo-Bolivarism. If Chavez and the neo-Bolivarists get the upper hand do not be surprised to see someone like Argentina’s Nestor Kirchner, who has a warm relationship with Chavez, let the neo-Bolivarists have their way.
Neo-Bolivarism would subject Latin Americans to political and economic servitude while its alliances with rogue states like Iran would increase the danger towards America’s national security and that of the free world. This is not the Venezuela or Latin America that Bolivar, often called the George Washington of South America, ever envisioned.
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