The Devil and Mr. Chávez
Chávez has worked to establish himself on the cutting edge as a regional leader by exploiting the sentiment that Washington pushed Latin America around for too long. His speeches are rife with anti-American rhetoric. But his act is more than just talk. Chávez has visited America's enemies around the globe, expressing his support for Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who calls the Venezuelan a "brother and trench mate." Chávez's brash anti-American rhetoric and behavior are intended to purge American influence from the region, and he is not above using oil money to win political allies: He has bought over $2 billion in Argentine bonds.
As a result of all this, Chávez has given new life to the longtime Cuban effort to export a left-wing revolution throughout Latin America. His close friendship with his mentor, Fidel Castro, has been key to this effort. Cuba today provides 20,000 teachers and doctors to Venezuela, along with other support, while Chávez reciprocates with an estimated 90,000 barrels of oil a day for Cuba. Chávez's emergence has also helped other leaders-such as Evo Morales of Bolivia-to emerge in direct response to some of the same frustrations that gave rise to Chávez in Venezuela.
The Bush administration's ability to confront Chávez directly has been hobbled by its deep unpopularity in the region and by the fact that it has been focused so intently on the war against terrorism and war in Iraq. But Chavismo represents a major threat to American interests in the region, which we ignore at our peril. Chávez may sound like a joke, but it is a bad joke at the expense of his people-and, potentially, us.
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