El Presidente

The week I decide to be a Venezuelan Leftist Fanboy is the very week the US Religious Right decides to out itself as the gun-toting fascist bullyboy that its always been. I expect a few harsh words will have been thrown down the phone from the oval office this week, along the lines of that Alanis Morrissette star-vehicle You can't do that on Television. For those of you who don't know what the fuck I'm on about, a quick primer on my hero for the week, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías:

• he's the president of Venezuela
  
• he's popular
• he's a lefty
• he's an ex-paratrooper
• a colonel, no less
  
• he's established free medicine
  
• and increased literacy,
  
• he's a good friend of Fidel's (and a friend of Fidel's...)
• HE'S DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED, and
  
• his is the fifth biggest oil producing nation in the world
• and it has the world's tallest waterfall
  

The US has already tried to unseat him twice, once covertly—by backing a coup in 2002—and once overtly—by funding a recall referendum they lost last year. All the while prattling on about representative democracy. And they have still manged to cock it up both times. And now, Mr Robertson, they can't much assassinate him because we'll all know who was to blame. HA! What's that about cutting off one's nose to spite one's face?

Somebody mention Salvador Allende?

Fuckers.

/rant

postscript: This is the article to read about Venezuela