Hugo Chavez’s Power Grab
November 7th, 2007 by Brendan SteinhauserAs Foreign Affairs magazine’s Michael Shifter reports, Hugo Chavez is continuing his drive for more power and even more economic ruin in Venezuela.
On the national front, Chávez is resolutely consolidating his autocratic governance model. The National Assembly overwhelmingly approved the articles for a constitutional reform that will be submitted to a national referendum on December 2. The 69 amendments cover private property, social security, central bank autonomy, the length of the workday, and much more. But the centerpiece of the overall package is a reform to allow the Venezuelan president–but no other office holders–to be reelected indefinitely. Other proposed changes would give Chávez instruments to further control the economy and suppress dissent.
Current economic troubles don’t seem to be enough to dissuade Chavistas from going further down the path of socialism. Venezuela faces declining oil production, high inflation and corruption. Shifter points out that due to these problems, there is growing opposition to Chavez’s regime. One example is the reaction to his shutting down a popular t.v. station earlier this year.
Shifter concludes,
True, Chávez’s grandiose projects are buttressed by seductive rhetoric and record oil prices, but both within Venezuela and throughout the region there are signs of a growing reluctance to accept his outsized political ambitions.
We can only hope that this is the case. In the meantime, the U.S. would be smart to support free trade agreements with Chavez’s neighbors Colombia and Peru in order to promote economic growth in those countries and convince Latin Americans that freedom, not socialism, works.
