NY Times on the Perils of Petrocacy

Good article on Chavez and his vision of a "Bolivarian" Socialist State. Tina Rosenberg provides a glimpse into the mind and manner of the red-shirted Socialist: Chávez is a prophet in search of disciples. He seeks to present Venezuela as a more moral world power, uniting Latin America and poor countries everywhere in a socialist alliance. He has invented a new kind of socialism, which he calls Bolivarian socialism, named for the independence hero Simón Bolívar: a little Marx, a little Jesus, a little anti-imperialism and a lot of the whim of Hugo Chávez, dedicated to the "comprehensive, humanist, endogenous and socialist development of the nation." His is a gospel greased by oil, which is financing his transformation of Venezuela. Chávez is a genius of a politician: charming, folksy, flirtatious. I first met him in New York in 1999, the year he became president. I sat next to him at an interview, very pregnant. He embraced me - "But you should come have the baby in Venezuela!" he enthused.

She also writes about the reality of a government controlled oil company, nationalization brought the government less money and less control. When Venezuela's oil was still in private hands, the government collected 80 cents of every dollar of oil exported. With nationalization the figure dropped, and by the early 1990s, the government was collecting roughly half that amount.

The article is available here.

There is nothing new under the sun. One person sells the poor and uneducated on his vision for a Socialist Valhala here on earth. He gets into a position of power by insurrection or plebisite and begins to consolidate his power so that none of his ambitions remain unchecked. He incorporates everything under his rule; the army, the police, the judiciary, education, the media and corporations so that eventually nothing happens in his country without his consent. He becomes a total and complete dictator and creates for himself a cult of personality. His high-sounding ideals become the bait for the trap he sets to ensnare his fellow countrymen into slavery.