Reply #6: Your reasoning is somewhat flawed [View All]

[social_critic]

First, I don't think the majority of the people think Chavez is Stalin. Not even close. Also, if you understand the political process, you see how these things work, the takeover has to be gradual. For example, it's impossible to pass laws which may not pass the constitutionality smell test unless you have packed the Supreme Court with your followers. This has taken time, but it has been accomplished. Then, you have to make sure that, as you move more and more towards autocracy, then you have to have the security system on your side. This also takes time.

I have seen Latin American autocrats come and go. Some were terrible as human beings, such as Pinochet, or the Argentina Junta members. Others were corrupt and cut corners galore, but weren't that married to power, Fujimori is a good example. I don't know where historians will place Chavez, but it does look like he has been influenced by Castro, and they do have a tendency to be somewhat deaf to criticism.

Stalin, as we know, was a pretty nasty dude. I think it takes a lot of doing to get to his level. I don't think the Hitler cartoons about Chavez are fair, but politics has a tendency to get pretty nasty. I remember I used to call Bush a Hitler, but I knew he wasn't that bad.