Venezuela well on its way to becoming the next Cuba

Venezuela well on its way to becoming the next Cuba
July 14, 11:44 PM

Several news outlets reported on July 14 that Venezuela's oil minister,
Rafael Ramirez, told oil workers they would be "suspected of conspiring
against President Hugo Chavez's socialist revolution if they do not join
socialist workplace groups." And you thought our unions had rules. This
development is disturbing on several levels, and is highly indicative of
the sharp left turn the already leftist Chavez is making to consolidate
control.

First, it's interesting that Ramirez refers to a "socialist revolution"
that supposedly belongs to Chavez. Venezuela has had a democratic form
of government since 1958, and although Chavez did attempt a coup in
1992, he was fairly elected in 1998, re-elected in 2000 and 2006, and
defeated a recall referendum to remove him from office in 2004. He did
make several changes that reflected his idolatry of Simon Bolivar, Latin
America's "Great Liberator," such as changing the name of the country to
the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. But overall, the changes that
Chavez has made have not been purely revolutionary; that would have been
too much of a shock to a system of people used to democracy and
relatively free market norms. Chavez's changes have been slow,
deliberate, and calculating. Instead of throwing the Venezuelan people
into a boiling pot of water, he started out with warm water and is
slowly raising the temperature, hoping no one will notice.

It's not surprising the state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela
S.A. (PDVSA), would be among the first entities to feel the sting of
socialist doom. Chavez has a love-hate relationship with PDVSA; it
serves as his greatest source of income, yet striking workers almost
succeeded in toppling his government. They are already nationalized and
organized, so it's an easy group of people to persuade (or coerce) to
conform to socialist doctrine.

Unfortunately, there are too many Cuban shadows lurking in Chavez's form
of government. The "socialist committees" Ramirez was referring to may
be an attempt to resurrect the idea of the Bolivarian Circles—small
groups of citizens who could appeal directly to the government when
their community was in need. They were also charged with spreading and
fostering Bolivarian ideals. Critics claimed the Circles were a way for
the Chavez government to keep tabs on dissidents. Indeed, the Circles
and now the committees are very reminiscent of Cuba's Committees for the
Defense of the Revolution, or CDRs. Castro's CDRs were his walls with
ears, designed to ensure every Cuban conformed to the communist ideals
of the Cuban Revolution. Any dissidence, perceived or real, was reported
immediately, and the suspected rebel could almost be assured of a swift
removal from his or her home for a nice stay in jail as a political
prisoner without a judge or jury.

So is this the next step in Venezuela's journey to become the next
communist Cuba? Chavez's close economic, political, and personal ties to
the Castros indicate it might be, as well as his government's actions
over the last decade. Although he can now be re-elected indefinitely,
thanks to a referendum that passed earlier this year, the Venezuelan
people and their votes fortunately still have the final say—for now.

Venezuela well on its way to becoming the next Cuba (14 July 2009)
http://www.examiner.com/x-17196-South-America-Policy-Examiner~y2009m7d14-Venezuela-well-on-its-way-to-becoming-the-next-Cuba