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October 14, 2009

Chavez shows off to other tyrants

By Thomas Lifson

Hugo Chavez has become a parody of a tin horn Latin American dictator, strutting about trying to prove to his gang of buddies what a bad-ass he is. Last month Chavez hosted a group of 30 leftist leaders from African and Latin states at the Hilton Resort on Isla Margarita, a luxury resort. Among them über baddies Moamer Kadhafi of Libya (who pitched his trademark tent on the beach) and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.  Too bad Kim Jong-il couldn't make it.


I am sure Chavez offered the utmost in hospitality, as he spoke with his peers. He was out to impress, and augment his influence in the coalition of leftist regimes he fancies himself leading. According to Darcy Crowe of the Wall Street Journal, Chavez joked to the other tyrants that he could nationalize the hotel.

Yesterday he made good on his boast:

President Hugo Chavez ordered the nationalization of the resort, which is owned by local firms facing troubles with the government's financial oversight body.

Government financial oversight bodies are very popular with tyrants wishing to preserve a façade of legal process. They can generate trouble for companies, and then the government has a pretext for seizing their assets. Bill Ayers, among other friends of Barack, is very familiar with the mechanisms used by his "comrade" Chavez to seize more and more power in Venezuela through just such ruses.

Chavez combines the cold vision of Marxist revolution-by-steps with a leavening amount of buffoonery. The classic satire of caudillos, Moon Over Parador, couldn't top some of Chavez's  antics. His weekly television show Aló Presidente lasts however long he wants it to, and features bizarre behavior. His intoxication with power is visible evidence of a disturbed mind, one intent on building a coalition to topple the United States from pre-eminence.

It's OK to laugh at Chavez, but don't let your scorn for him blind you to the danger presented by revolutionaries who are really into the perks and possibilities of political power.

Hat tip: David Paulin
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