Per the headline in the above article: No and yes. Political leaders always disappoint their followers and so also political movements. But it doesn't necessarily mean the gains of "Chavismo" won't survive, nor does it necessarily mean that the Movement won't continue in one or more various forms, perhaps merely as influence or under another name. The Movement may also be considerably less tied to the fate of one man than the name "Chavismo" suggests...Tying the fate of the "Bolivarian Revolution" to the fate of Chavez the individual may be the result of wishful thinking on the part of its opponents...
I continue to be irritated by how mainstream media casually refer to Chavez as a "strong man" or a "dictator." He has repeatedly won election after election--elections that were judged by international observers as fair and free--and certainly as fair and free as any held south of the U.S. border in recent historical memory--and mebbe fairer than a couple just north of the U.S. border (Interestingly, George W. Bush observed that just becuz somebody wins an election don't mean he aint' a dictator, or words to that effect)
Questions have been raised about the Chavez government's "clampdown" on the media, particularly with regard to some of the TV stations. An informed opinion on that issue should first require a viewing of the movie, *The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" An Irish film crew was making a documentary about Chavez that would have consisted largely of their following Chavez around in the course of his daily routine as President. But they got caught in the middle of the abortive coup by right wingers and were for a time trapped in the Presidential palace with Chavez and members of his government. If you think Fox News is bad, you oughta see what the anti-Chavez TV stations were doing leading up to and during the coup. In this country, the bigwigs of *any* TV station that did that stuff would be (and should be) put on trial for treason--losing their broadcast licenses would be much less than a tap on the wrist.
---Roy G.
And Russ T. cites this story (his comments follow):
Click here: Paraguay's new president starts naming Cabinet, tries to avert diplomatic backlash - The Washington Post
Yeah, you might remember Fernando Lugo from the Oliver Stone DVD "South of the Border". As in the case of the 2009 coup in Honduras, it appears to have been triggered by what we call land reform, but which the ruling families call an attack on the Hacienda System, the bedrock institution of society.
Presciently, in the early years of this century when Populist governments came to power all across Latin America, Fidel Castro predicted that within ten years half of them would revert back to the Conservatives. Here's what set the Paraguay coup in motion, as per WAPO:
"Lugo's impeachment trial was triggered in part by an attempt by police to evict about 150 farmers from a remote, 4,900-acre (2,000-hectare) forest reserve, which is part of a huge estate. Advocates for the farmers said the landowner, a politician, used political influence to get the land from the state decades ago, and say it should have been put to use for land reform.
Six police officers, including the brother of Lugo's chief of security, and 11 farmers died in the clash last week."
--Russ T.
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