There's nothing like beginning a new century with ambitions to turn to a failed economic ideology from the previous century. Hugo Chavez, whose first name appears to be an amalgamation of the words "huge" and "ego" is pledging to use his impending vast new powers to usher in a socialist worker's paradise:
During a live broadcast from a cattle ranch in Venezuela's central plains, Chavez inaugurated a series of centers where he said Venezuelans will study socialist ideals while undergoing job training.
As workers milked cows and showed Chavez how they produce cheese, the president asked them about their daily lives and warned against the evils of capitalism.
He urged all Venezuelans to embrace "the socialism that we are going to create." But Chavez denied that he was attempting to steer oil-rich Venezuela toward Cuba-style communism, as many critics allege.
Perhaps someone should ask Hugo the Magnificent why, if the socialist state he would like to create is so superior to capitalism, tens of thousands of Mexican immigrants are seeking entrance into the United States instead of getting in on the ground floor of the worker's utopia he aspires to create? Hugo's also trying to calm the upper class -- and probably also the middle class -- understandably nervous about his ambitions by telling what I certainly believe to be a pernicious lie:
President Hugo Chavez denied Sunday that his left-leaning government would seize private property - such as second homes or expensive cars - from the wealthy and called on Venezuelans not to fear his accelerated push toward socialism.
Then there's this howler:
Chavez has raised concerns by repeatedly saying he wants to continue governing Venezuela until 2021 or longer. He was re-elected to a second, six-year term in December - his last under Venezuela's Constitution. But Chavez has proposed a constitutional reform that would allow indefinite re-election.
Why even bother stating a date? Surely his ambition is to govern Venezuela until he dies, after which he will limit himself to one term in recognition of the challenge of facing such a workload at such an, ahem, advanced age. I fear that this guy won't be going anywhere for a long, long time.
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