My liberal friends who watch Latin America often cringe when I say this, but I really don’t like Hugo Chavez.
I recognize that he was democratically elected — but I think he’s a reckless leader in Latin America who has too much of a frequency to animate trouble beyond his borders.
In my play book Venezuela today is somewhat like the Iran of Latin America — and Cuba is Syria. I support immediate, serious engagement and a redirection of US-Cuba relations and US-Syria relations because that course would automatically rob both Iran and Venezuela of running room in their regions.
The latest from Hugo Chavez is. . .the three minute shower.
From a UPI report:
In the most direct response to the shortages yet, Chavez himself went on air to warn industries they would have their utilities cut off if they did not check wastage. For citizens fumbling in the dark due to power cuts, Chavez advised the use of a torch.
“If you get up at three in the morning to use the toilet, use a torch instead of turning the light on; that’s enough light, you don’t need more. Just leave the torch by the bed, it’s that simple,” Chavez said during an emergency Cabinet meeting, broadcast live.
He advised Venezuelans to get into the habit of showering for no more than three minutes.
Industry sources said that power generation plants nationalized by Chavez in 2007 needed not only new infusions of capital but also better management and due diligence to ensure their performance was competitive and made the best use of resources. Venezuelan opposition says very few investments have been made in the power sector since Chavez took office in 1999 after a landslide election victory the previous year.
I know that the US needs to deal with Chavez — though i think we need to do a better job containing him.
I seriously doubt that Hugo Chavez takes three minute showers himself — and I know that the world leaders who meet Chavez will need a lot longer under the spigot than that to feel clean again.
Just reminds me of that rather big pig in Animal Farm.
— Steve Clemons
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