There is nothing like starting the week with a little piece on Venezuela by Maria Anastasia O'Grady. In "Desperado" she dwells lovingly on what a thug Chavez is becoming, with eerie reminiscences of Argentina pre-Falkland looming disaster. Nothing that the readers of this blog have not read yet, but it is nice to see it in the pages of a major paper, is it not? Very stimulating just before this intrepid blogger is getting ready to go and march against the FARC. Which you all are going to do, no?
A little delicious excerpt:
And despite what appears to be a [Chavez] primitive understanding of economics, he may even have figured out the connection between prices and supply. ...... But don't hold your breath for further signs of enlightenment. Control of the oil industry has been the main reason Mr. Chávez has been able to squelch democracy. His own warped logic suggests that he needs to control other key sectors if he wants to keep his grip on power. If he can strangle the private sector, he can starve his adversaries.
Post Data: It is not idle to remember that today is also February 4, yet another anniversary of February 4 1992 when Chavez officially started his career to destroy any democratic value within Venezuela. Let's not forget that Chavez started his carer by blooding his hands and has shown no regret for it. The novelty these days is that he does not care much anymore that his democratic claims do sound hollow: he is itching for a fight again, the only thing that really excites him, even if his pants might get soiled (Museo Militar anyone?)
-The end-