Hugo Chavez is the democratically elected President of Venezula. Why does the US want him out of power?
537909
This is not new.  Successive US governments have failed to acknowledge one of the most basic ethical rules of diplomacy - i.e. that a principle applies equally to all states.\n\nFor example, if you claim you believe in democracy, then that applies equally to French, US or Venezuelan democracy.  If you claim to believe that torture is wrong, then torture in a Pakistani or Iranian prison is no better or worse than torture in Guantanamo or Baghram, Afghanistan.  If you claim to believe in the rule of international law - oh, I forgot, the US doesn't.  The US has blocked the extradition to other countries of terrorists working for - or with links to - the CIA.\n\nSo this is quite normal for US governments.  Democracy is only really acceptable if other states elect who the US government favour.  International law applies to all countries - the US governement would say - as long as we agree with it.  And torture is OK for us because we have special reasons for doing it but we do not accept that anyone else might.\n\nIt is worthy of note that despite the shameful arrogant hypocrisies of successive US governements, all the most recent US Presidents have made a big noise about their 'Christian Faith' and claim to 'speak regularly with God'.  What exactly is it that sets Bush (just one example) apart from, say, the (current) Iranian 'supreme' leader, Ali Khamanei?  Both were 'democratically elected', both are religious bigots who still live in the 14th Century, both literally believe in prehistoric works of fiction on the basis of no empirical or provable evidence, and both wield huge power over the lives - and deaths - of the world's population.  Isn't it time we grew up and recognised these as people who belong on the margins of our society and not at its centre?
1020992
People in the USA have absolutely no idea of what's at stake this time. People are facing a difficult choice, not a single candidate is worth a damn so the answer is to choose the one least likely to do more harm than has already been done. The candidates are:\n\nAndrés Manuel López Obrador - a Hugo Chavez wannabe. (honestly do you really want some guy like that running your next door neighboring country) Populist extreme who will set Mexico back by at least 25 years.\n\nRoberto Madrazo - Of the PRI, the longest ruling dictatorial party in Mexican history (70 YEARS) they lost the presidential election in 2000. Now they claim they learned their lesson and that they know how to govern, and that this time they will do it right.  Nope, not a good choice, corrupt and sneaky, definitely no way. YOu can't teach an old dog new tricks.\n\nFelipe Calderon - from the PAN the party of the elite, the wealthy, businessmen, and very very very involved with the catholic church. He will at the very least continue Mr. Fox's work. I still don't know if that is a good or bad thing, but one has to understand that trying to fix 70 years of corruption and mismanagement in 6 years is not possible.  Maybe he's the only kind of safe choice.\n\nPatricia Mercado - Well educated, expresses herself very well, good ideas, but she's a woman and in Mexico she does'nt have a fighting chance at all.\n\nThe devaluation rumor has been strong only if Lopez Obrador gets to be President, because as in the past, the rich will immediately transfer all their money to the USA and of course that means a devaluation. Yep, we Mexicans know about devaluations, lived with it for at least 30 years.\n\nAnd by the way. Mexico is not a third world country, the term is not even in use anymore. Mexico is far better off than many other nations. Regardless of a host of bad governments, bad presidents, bad choices, bad decisions. There are good people here who just want a dignified life and job opportunities to do so.
928925
NEVER. That man is not only arrogant, ignorant, and has absolutely NO humility but he's flat out EVIL.\n\nI agree 100% with Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez  that Bush is the DEVIL. It's sad that Americans are so brainwashed and naiive to elect people like him. SAD!\n\nHe could care less about America's sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters so long as the corporations that funded his campaign are making record profits and will pay him MILLIONS in an "advisory" capacity once he's out of office.
565992
Manipulating the politics of other countries is what has caused hatred for the U.S. in the Arab and Muslim countries, do you want it to spread further in the Americas now?\n\nHugo Chavez's attitudes are more in line with nearly 70% of the U.S. population now, so I think you are way off track suggesting such a thing.  \n\nRemember, "absolute power corrupts absolutely!" How about using our power for some good?"
300609
Well, Iraq is already in your hip-pocket. God Bless America. And you're obviously preparing for an invasion of Iran. God Bless America. Those pesky Venezualans keep threatening to keep their, I mean OUR oil from us so Chavez will bow to you eventually or prepare to be vaporized. God Bless America. Since you have split our nation apart maybe you could just seperate the red states from the blue states and call the red states Bushistan. And admit them to the Union as a seperate entity.
723602
I think it is partly because the US government has been so bogged down in the mess it has created in Iraq and Afghanistan that it hasn't got the resources to impose its agenda on South America, and people are waking up, too.  As a consequence of American imposed policies through IMF, World Bank, puppet regimes, training secret police and torturers to cut dissent, etc.  millions and millions of people have been exploited, but as the saying goes, you can't fool all the people all the time...so now presidents who are more sensitive to people's agenda instead of catering to US interests and the corporate agenda are being elected.  For example in the case of Chavez in Venezuela, US tried to bring about a coup and get rid of him, but thank God it didn't work...times aren't like they were when the democratically elected president of Chile was killed and replaced by the monster, General Pinochet.  And God willing, this just the beginning...I hope American people will wake up, too, because they are also being betrayed.
937444
If there are countries (or a country) that have issued an "arrest warrant" on some claim of "war crimes violation" against Kissinger -- Belgium comes to mind as a possibility, but they have since abrogated that law, under which they proposed to try Ariel Sharon, ignoring his sovereign immunity (Pinochet, at least, was out of office when action was brought against him, and it related to domestic law and violence against Spaniards, etc. as well.)\n\nIt may be that Kissinger would avoid one or more countries; but no friendly country is going to extradite or deport him based on actions he took as minister of government on behalf of the USA. So, that would leave a few tin-pot Latin American countries. Vietnam depends too much on the USA , and seemingly would rather forget the whole thing.\n\nExtradition always involves a political decision by the executive of a country. \n\nA couple of minutes spent Googling showed that Kissinger has traveled to Seoul for a conference: http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/200503/kt2005030316512611680.htm and I'm sure he's been to many other places around the world as well. Still, protests and threats to "try" him abound. See below. Most or all are blowing smoke.\n\nWhatever one thinks of Kissinger (and I don't think much) it serves no purpose to blame him for all of American imperialism and all of American evils abroad. They are endemic to right-wing American thought, and greed. And hubris.
990979
What Chavez is doing is Norwegianism not real Socialism.  He has never claimed to be doing Socialism in the traditional sense.  He is guided by Simon Bolivar and seeks to unite his region against the evils we in the North perpetrate against them.  This is a long time coming, the US particularly, has abused Latin America for many years.  The people has awakened.  \n\nVIVA CHAVEZ!  \n\np.s. Adam Smith, who no neo-cons have ever even read, was very much againt the idea of a corporate welfare state like we live in today.  He was against the unbridalled free flow of capital also.  His idea of free markets depended on stationary capital not a global market, infiltrated by protecting government welfare (to corporations) and the undercutting of the market by capital flight like what we do today.
383043
There is too much corruption down there. So they need someone else to blame and why not blame the US.
313669
Maybe some of the previous answerers are too young, but they're wrong in so many ways.\nAt the time of that quote, for example, many Latin American countries were indeed ruled by dictators backed by the U.S. You may say that it was because of the Cold War and the need to keep communists out of power, but there is no denying who put them there, or kept them there. The U.S. backed, or installed, dictators in, among other places, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Cuba and Chile. (And that's a partial list in Latin America.)\n\nWhy? Well, to use the words to FDR when installing the Somoza clan in power "Somoza may be a son of a b**ch, but he's our son of a b**ch."\n\nDon't kid yourselves. many of us went to war defending various brutal dictatorships who were "anti-communist." It's all in the public record. So you may say we were "right" in doing it, but you can't deny we did it. MLK knew his history.
199103
Well, he has not yet finished the process, but it is obvious that he wants to be one.  He is following in the footsteps of his best friend Fidel Castro.  All socialists want to become dictators, because socialism does not work without a government that possesses dictatorial powers.  Socialists reserve the "right" to lay down the law to you in every aspect of your life.  Freedom is diminished when socialists rule.\nI feel sorry for the honest, productive, competent people of Venezuela, no matter what their station in life.  Tumbar Chàvez!
184375
because he recieved a terrorist threat against his life when Pat Robertson called for his assassination on national television in the u.s.a. and none of our antiterrorism laws were used against Pat and the 700 clus still airs on television also because like the rest of the world excluding the United States Mr. Chavez witnessed the genocide of poor african americans on television during hurricane katrina police and soldiers were seen passing up black people begging for help and dying as they were ignored and white people were saved and thousands of bodies anonymously decaying on the streets with no attempts to bury them and read the reports of aid being refused to these people and his offer to donate millions of dollars,barrels of oil and medical personnel were refused by bush who claimed recieving his money would be dangerous but if recieving money from other countries is so dangerous why didn't america donate millions of dollars to iraq? you can check the news archives from england australia and other english speaking countries they were horrified at sight of the genocidal acts they witnessed on tv but somehow remained cencored from our free countries tv channels
842148
yes the victory of Daniel Ortega is sending signals to the world especially the USA that there is no death for leftist ideology. Marxism sans dictatorship is attracting more people in Latin America. Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil already have socialist leaders. this time Ortega, the former Marxist Sandinista revolutionary leader reformed to some extent and made truce with the church. really his victory is blow to the imperialist USA which previously supported the contra guerrillas to over throw Ortega from power. but i feel this time Ortega will compromise with the IMF and does not outburst like Chavez. the reason is obvious. Nicaragua is second poorest country but where as Venezuela is rich with Pietro dollars.even the trend in the USA also changed and people voted for centre left party , dems.
777242
It is about the manical lunacy of Dubya.  By having a Democratic house, it will hopefully neutralize the power of the president.  Hopefully we have a batch of Dems who have discovered that the actually have a backbone and stand up when Bush decides to do something else crazy. Hopefully each side can recognize that as voters we have had enough of the bs, and it is time to get it together.
500637
Chavez should be killed for his repeated Opposition to the U.S. and not cooperating on the war on terror. He is a dictator and has removed the law in his country that has a set amount of years for presidental term so we will see Chavez in office till he dies like Castro. Chavez is gonna turn his country into the next China except on the Radical Left side. With Removal of Rights and suppression of his opposers. He is annoyance and the U.S. Empire doesn't have time to deal with small fries like him. So he is on President Bush's Ignore list on all Chat Programs and Phones =P
926682
they have no right whatsoever - but that won't stop them - they have been meddling in South American politics for decades - largely to the detriment of the indigenous people.\n\nYet they seem to soon get up in arms as soon as another country dares to criticise them!
819534
Because he is a soicialist and that fits into the democrats way of thinking.  Spend all the money you can but keep the people on top in control by letting the mass think they are being taken care of\nDemocratic slogan:  You can fool most of the people all of the time, but if that doesn't work try and fool all of the people most of the time!!   Hugo is a master of wagging the dog that chases its tail all the time.  Sounds like a democrat to me.  What happen to the FDR democrats?  Now they are just whimps!