Embarrassed to admit this, but I don't know ANYthing about Bush/Chavares

[patricia92243]

situation. Would somebody explain it in a sentence or two. I've tried to Goggle it , but get so much info that it is overpowering.
Specifically, what is Bush's problem with him?

PS: I've probably misspelled Chavares, but it is not in the spell check

[NMDemDist2]

1. I'm probably not much more informed but from what I've gathered

Chavez pretty much told the World Bank to screw off, wants to keep the oil revenues for the people and the oil barons are shaking in their shoes that Chavez may nationalize the oil fields.

If I'm wrong, we'll both get and education from our fellow DUers :-)

[not systems]

4. I believe it is more a matter of collecting taxes from oil companies...

and revisiting unbalanced contracts entered into by previous governments
dominated by oligarchs than nationalization of the oil fields.


Here is a good article.

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050411&s=parenti

Hugo Chávez and Petro Populism

[NMDemDist2]

5. how can the oil companies be owed taxes? Goverments collect

taxes not companies... guess I'll go read the article

[not systems]

6. When I mistype "for" instead of "from".

:banghead:

Sorry. Dyslexia is a drag.

[Robbien]

7. The oil companies in Venezuela used to take almost all the profits

Venezuela was only getting 1%. Then Chavez raised that to 15% and recently raised it to 35%. Plus, the oil companies didn't pay any income taxes on the income they earned in Venezuela because the oil companies said they were operating at a loss. Chavez had the books audited and now is saying the oil companies owe over $3 billion to Venezuela for back taxes on their income.

In addition Venezuela had to reimburse the oil companies for all of its expenses, in US dollars no less.

[Robbien]

2. Basically Chavez is leading a movement against US/UK privatization

and globalization. His movement is spreading throughout South America and it is a danger to the US using South America's resources.

[bennywhale]

3. Chavez is going against the grain in international economic ideology

of the big nations and the big associations (WTO, WB, IMF) He's had the outlandish idea of using money raise from venezuelan oil in venezuelan oil fields to feed, house, and educate the poor of Venezuela.

Due to this he is being portrayed as a Tyrant, and bush is going to have him assasinated.

Its along those lines anyway

[lostnfound]

10. and the outlandish idea of government in hands of the people

even the poor people.

I'd suggest reading a Chomsky book or two, and all relationships with Latin America will become utterly predictable.

[jimshoes]

8. This bushco just won't

settle for 99% of all the wealth, they want all 100%. Goes against everything they believe in letting the poor share in the profits. I hope Chaves fares well though. We once had a president who thought along similar lines as Mr. Chaves regarding the people.

[AP]

9. He has written a couple books. Here's one of them:

Book Description
Is President Chávez the new Fidel Castro? Is Venezuela the new Cuba? Elected by an overwhelming popular mandate in 1998, Hugo Chávez is now one of Latin America's most controversial political figures. In this exclusive interview, Chávez expresses a fiercely nationalist vision for Venezuela and a commitment to a united Latin America. He discusses the significance of the military coup against his government in April 2002, Venezuela's new democratic constitution and assesses his relations with the United States and Cuba.

"Soviet power has collapsed but that does not mean that neoliberal capitalism has to be the model followed by the peoples of the West... This world cannot be run by a universal police force that seeks to control everything." -President Hugo Chávez



About the Author
Hugo Chávez is the President of Venezuela. He came to power in a landslide election in 1998 and was subsequently reelected. He survived a military coup in April 2002 when he was forcibly detained and faced execution.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1920888004/qid=1117500710/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/002-8183042-8461616?v=glance&s=books&n=507846