Hugo Chavez, dictator of Venezuela, died yesterday at age 58 of cancer. Many leftists in America are mourning the death of Chavez, claiming he was a "champion of the poor". They are saddened by the death of a man who oppressed his country and drove out political dissidents and in some cases, murdered them. While Chavez did indeed empower the poor to vote and have a "voice" in politics, he did so through class warfare tactics that have divided the country more than it was before his rise to power (sound familiar?).
Along with the sub-standard "free" healthcare and schooling Chavez provided, came the propaganda pushed in order to keep the poor enamored with Chavez as their leader. Some facts that Leftists and Democrats who are mourning the loss of the dictator neglect to mention:
- Venezuela has one of the highest murder rates in the world
- The sub-standard healthcare people received caused higher infant mortality
- The price controls and subsidized food programs cause food shortages
- Political dissidence is not tolerated (aka "free speech")
- Chavez seized private businesses as he deemed fit
- Chavez nationalized the largest oil producer in Venezuela only to almost destroy it
- While the economy could have been booming in Venezuela, Chavez's economic policies have practically destroyed it - from Bloomberg:
[Venezuela] It has one of the world’s largest fiscal deficits, highest inflation rates, worst misalignment of the exchange rate, fastest-growing debt, and one of the most precipitous drops in productive capacity—including that of the critical oil sector.
Why does the American Left leave out these chilling facts of oppression regarding Chavez? Because to them, the end justifies the means. They don't care that the entire country actually suffers as long as they see "social justice" as part of the resolution.The class warfare that spews from Democrats' mouths is exactly the same type of class warfare that Chavez preached throughout his reign of terror.
Hugo Chavez had the opportunity to create an environment in Venezuela that would have seen all classes succeed. Instead he chose to practically destroy the country with his leftist ideology that has proven to be a failure in every country in which it has been tried in the past.
The American Left doesn't see the value of history or even of Chavez's epic failures that are in the present. They will continue to repeat failed history over and over again believing that the outcome will somehow be different if they just try it yet again. That can be seen in Obama's failed economic policies.
Democrats hail Obama as being brilliant, even while the majority of Americans are still suffering under high unemployment, high gas and food prices and higher healthcare costs; not to mention the massive debt that keeps increasing. To the left, class warfare; taking from the "rich" and oppressing political speech of those who disagree is just part of the solution to their made up "social justice" causes. They must leave out the important facts about Chavez's dictatorial regime because most Americans, if told this was how they would end up living, would reject this in a heartbeat.
Comments