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Caribbean-Latin America
Laugh of the Day: Hugo Chavez Denies Seeking Dictatorship
2005-10-05
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez defended his administration Tuesday, denying he's seeking a dictatorship and accusing local media of falsely portraying him as authoritarian.

Chavez, a fervent Bolshevik nationalist who was first elected in 1998 and is up for re-election next year, says he fully backs democracy. His critics claim that he holds increasing dictatorial power over the national legislature, the courts and the electoral council.

"From North America and parts of South America, they continue attacking Venezuela, trying to say there is a dictatorship here," Chavez told oil company executives in the northwestern state of Falcon. "Those who say I want to lead Venezuela toward a dictatorship are the same ones who tried to establish a dictatorship here, and they were defeated."

Chavez, a former paratrooper with strong ties to Cuba's Fidel Castro, accuses Venezuelan television channels of playing a role in a short-lived 2002 coup against him and a devastating national strike that ended in early 2003. He took aim in particular at the Venezuelan television channel Globovision, which regularly broadcasts critical coverage. He said the private channel is a "lackey" of the U.S. government.

Leopoldo Castillo, a Globovision talk show host, said Chavez often criticizes the media because he objects to unfavorable news and opinions. "The president doesn't like bad news," Castillo said in a telephone interview. "He likes to control everything, even information."
Well yeah, that's what dictators do.
Relations between Caracas and Washington have been tense, with U.S. officials expressing concern over the health of democracy in Venezuela and Chavez criticizing "imperialist" U.S. actions in places from Latin America to Iraq.

In a related development, a former director of the nation's anti-drug authority said Tuesday that Chavez was given false information, which he then used to accuse U.S. drug agents of espionage.
Thank you, ABC. Your LLL credentials have been renewed. Oh, and Hugo? Keep looking over your shoulder...
Posted by:.com

#3  Who needs to seek what they already have well in hand?
Posted by: Mitch H.   2005-10-05 10:47  

#2  Seeking? I thought he'd achieved it with his "re-election".
Posted by: Therelet Craque4943   2005-10-05 08:48  

#1  "I am not a communist and neither is the revolutionary movement."
-Fidel Castro, 1959
Posted by: Javirt Thrusing6823   2005-10-05 08:31  

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