December 3, 2007
Setbacks for Latin America’s neo-Marxists
The spirit of Che Guevara lives on in the presidential suites of La Paz and Caracas. Both the president of Venezuela—Hugo Chavez, and his compañero in Bolivia---Juan Evo Morales---have openly expressed admiration for Cuba’s famous dead communist.
But today Hugo Chavez was dealt a significant blow, as Venezuela’s voters rejected his appeal for expanded constitutional powers. Per CNN:
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's detractors danced in the streets Monday after voters shot down a referendum that would have allowed the firebrand leftist to seek re-election indefinitely and tightened socialism's grip on his oil-rich nation.
In Caracas, Valencia, Maracaibo and other major cities, large crowds spilled into the streets, shouting, chanting, clapping and waving flags. One man carried a sign proclaiming, "Vota No," which by Monday was more an exclamation than an imperative after voters the day before dismissed 69 proposed amendments to Venezuela's 1999 constitution. --CNN
This has emboldened opposition leaders in neighboring Bolivia. Bolivian President Juan Evo Morales has attempted neo-Marxist manipulations of the economy that are similar to the favorite shenanigans of Hugo Chavez: namely the nationalization of companies and resources. Per MonstersandCritics.com:
'The defeat of Hugo Chavez is a sign in the sense that authoritarianism will not prevail in Venezuela, and neither will it prevail in Bolivia,' said opposition Senator Fernando Rodriguez.
Opposition leader Jorge Quiroga, a former Bolivian president (2001-2002), was in Venezuela for Sunday's referendum.
'These totalitarian projects - the moves to prolong mandates and re-election for life, what Chavez sought, and also what Evo Morales seeks - are not going to prevail,' constituent assembly member Jose Antonio Aruquipa told Bolivian television.
The Bolivian government gets major support from Chavez, which the opposition has said amounts to 100 million dollars each year.
The lesson here is that a majority of Bolivians and Venezuelans reject the efforts of Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales to transform their countries into carbon copies of Castro’s Cuba. Marxism failed to bring prosperity to Cuba; it is not the answer for either Bolivia or Venezuela. And the people of both countries are astute enough to grasp this for themselves.
