Now what Hugo?

[DeepIron]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/11/30/venezuela.protest/index.html

"Chavez told a crowd gathered in the center of Caracas that if the referendum was approved and the result was questioned -- "if the 'yes' vote wins on Sunday and the Venezuelan oligarchy, playing the [U.S.] empire's game, comes with their little stories of fraud" -- then he would order oil shipments to the United States halted Monday."

Ok, so, if Chavez wins his referendums (by popular vote of his countrymen) then everything is hunky-dory... If he loses, then he blames the US for meddling, cuts off the oil and then what... ???

"Despite the animosity that Chavez routinely aims at the United States, the two countries remain closely tied economically -- the United States is Venezuela's biggest oil customer and one of the few countries that can refine its low-quality crude. Venezuela accounts for up to 15 percent of U.S. crude imports."

If the US doesn't get the oil, and Chavez has been financing his poverty programs using oil revenues, what happens then? Looks like at least part of his revenue stream dries up and he now finds his programs underfunded to some extent.

By then, he will be "Dictator for Life" like Castro, and the poor will simply continue to suffer...

[Skybird]

More likely that he finds other customers, low quality oil or not. India. China. They would be happy to get even more oil even if it comes in form of butter.

[DeepIron]

True enough. I DO hope however, that OPEC takes note of this threat of his and censures or otherwise "bitch slaps" him for using oil as a weapon... :nope:


On the other hand, Venezualan oil accounts for about 15% of US imports... Maybe it's time to just step away from this lunatic and his oil... I know it would have some economic impact, such as CITGO stations closing, etc, but better than than to be held hostage by this despot.

[Onkel Neal]

It's funny, but it's so frequent that communism = dictatorship. It must have something to do with the fact that the only way to sustain that ideaology over the long term is with force. As neat as socialism sounds on the surface, it is so counter to human nature it cannot be a realistic political system. I agree that there are some common goods that require government management and presence (FDA, education, public roads); but always, less is better. My 2 cents.

Go Hugo, go! You could be the man who drives the final stake into the heart of communism.