General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: No progressives should be demanding new elections in Venezuela due to Chavez' health... [View all]mythology
(9,527 posts)This is a really silly attempt to stifle debate because you disagree with others. There is zero evidence that people talking on a website, primarily filled with English speaking Americans is going to cause a coup in Venezuela.
Chavez has done some good things and some bad. Particularly on point for this discussion is that he called Bashar al-Assad "a humanist and a brother" and called Muammar Gaddafi "a great fighter, a revolutionary, and a martyr." Should he have refrained from commenting on the leadership of other countries?
Chavez likes to rile things up by saying outlandish things. In my experience that tends to bring some negative backlash.
Yes he's done good things in greatly reducing the poverty rate for example. But I suspect he's mostly been able to do that because of Venezuela's oil. But that comes with it some real significant dangers. Look at the troubles in the Middle East or what happens to a country when it's primary export falls in value or use.
Additionally as the Soviet Union showed, it can be relatively easy to make significant gains, but maintaining that over the long run can be difficult.