[Mb-civic] But Seriously . . . - Michael Shifter on Hugo Chavez - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

But Seriously . . .

By Michael Shifter
Sunday, August 28, 2005; Page B07

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is a lucky man. Not only is the elected 
leader of the world's fifth-largest oil producer reveling in today's 
market bonanza, he's also profiting from the blunders of opponents, 
using them to advance his so-called Bolivarian Revolution, at home and 
throughout Latin America. The recent brouhaha created by evangelist Pat 
Robertson's outlandish and noxious suggestion (for which he later 
apologized) that the U.S. government assassinate Chavez highlights a 
tremendous challenge facing the Bush administration in the Western 
Hemisphere.

Nearly seven years after Chavez came to power, the U.S. government is 
still at a loss as to how to deal with him. To be sure, Chavez's 
Venezuela poses a real conundrum. But Washington's messages -- sometimes 
conciliatory, sometimes confrontational, sometimes contradictory -- are 
largely reactive and suggest little in the way of strategic thinking.

This confusion has been costly. It makes outbursts such as Robertson's 
-- which deflect our attention from the challenge posed by Chavez and 
distort our understanding of what is going on in the region -- more 
likely, and more likely to be believed by Latin Americans. The 
predictable (and justifiable) barrage of criticism against Robertson's 
outrageous suggestion of "regime change" unfortunately seems to 
encourage the opposite attitude: that the United States should not take 
Chavez too seriously.

But complacency is not the answer. Buoyed by a remarkable oil windfall 
and rising anti-Americanism in Latin America, Chavez is aggressively 
using rhetoric that bashes the Bush administration and claims the banner 
of social justice to consolidate his power at home and extend his 
influence in the region and beyond. He is at once a throwback in his 
disdain for liberal democracy and a sophisticate when it comes to 
playing the game of global politics. Dismissing him as just another 
Latin American strongman would be naive.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/26/AR2005082601490.html
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