Venezuela furious at Obama's comments on ailing Chavez

[ronnie624]

64. That documentary wasn't that much of an indictment.

So, Chavez has an ego. All political leaders do.

He doesn't mow protesters down in the streets or arrest the opposition en mass and torture them. He was elected repeatedly in verifiable elections (unlike in the US). His government's policies are at least tolerated by a majority of Venezuelans, and he doesn't invade his neighbors or otherwise violate their sovereignty. His effort to reform his country's system has been a huge task, undertaken against incredible opposition. People can be particularly vile, when motivated by greed and racism. It's truly amazing that he has accomplished anything, and that he wasn't assassinated long ago.

The documentary also perpetuates the myth about "shutting down" RC TV, when what actually happened, was the government allowed its license to permanently expire, thus denying them the right to broadcast over publicly owned frequencies; perfectly legal. The owners of the company got off very light, after their involvement in the attempt to overthrow the constitutionally elected government. I think we can accurately guess at the result of US broadcasters involving themselves in a plot against the government.

I'm always disappointed when people resort to misinformation (PBS, not necessarily you).