Well, atleast youre not Ireland eh?

The media always wanked over Ireland following the IMF policies and being succesful, I havent heard them wanking since.

Venezuela's Chavez devalues bolivar currency again

That doesnt seem like a very good idea to me either, that is why Venezuela has a black market.

“I will never apologize for the United States of America, I don't care what the facts are.”
-George Bush

If you think that article's about gerrymandering then you managed to read a whole two sentences before dismissing it.

It talks about how Chavez just used his powers to cripple his democratically elected opposition in the legislative and judicial branches and to grab near autocratic power.

How do you feel about that?

anal what?

The judicial system has been rigged a long time so I dont care about that. The judges are imposed from the elite, there is nothing democratic about the judicial system.
I dont think its a good idea in the long run to bypass the legislative branch for obvious reasons, the main one that it sets a bad precedent. But I understand the logic behind it, Im still skeptical though.

I humbly ask for Valenzulea's opinion of Daniel Ortega ITT. Is he good for his country?

I see the sandinistas with sympathy but I dont have a clue about them, their economical policies or their human rights record.
Im from Chile so my knowledge about central america is very limited except for Cuba.

No idea about what it's like to live in Venez. but I have met many an engineer from there working in the Oil & Gas industry in Canada. Smart ppl, and they're used to working with heavy oil so they have great experience to work in the oil sands here.

Trust me, these guys don't like freezing their balls off in -30 C to work way up north in Ft. McMurray. Most want to go home but they say it is untenable. Wealth confiscation, food shortages, etc. It's not that they are anti-Hugo, it's just they think the country is run like ****.

http://www.economist.com/node/18233412 - credit-default swaps estimate 50% chance of venezuela bankruptcy by 2015.

The mark of a great leader: seize assets and give them away to your supporters and the people to get re-elected. When it's clear those assets are running out start crippling other branches of government to stay in power without having to win the support of the people.

Like your op said, valen, he is very far-sighted and will surely bring dignity for Venezuelans.

the ones i work with start to complain when it gets down to 50 F, -30 C sounds awful. I guess working in the oil industry there is a big cluster**** because the government has its hands in everything.

cool story bro, democratic elections in 2012.

Lets only point out the bad stuff they do and ignore the good stuff .
Half of the stuff The Economist writes against Chavez was already posted by me and the other half is just rolfcopter. Oh noes, Venezuela owes money to China, because only socialist ******s owe money to China amitrite?

Also I didnt say Chavez will bring dignity to poor people, I said he is already doing it. As being far-sighted I dont recall listing that as an atribute of Chavez, in fact I think I only described his policies.
What I did say is that when people think of the "long run" in Venezuela they should also take into account that education has improved.

Valenzuela, you thoughts on Chavez' reaction to the Libya situation?

beats bombing Lybia I guess. I think its basically a way to avoid supporting or condeming Gaddafi, a smart political move, nothing humanitarian about it.

edit: Most of the latinamerican left including me seems to be on the Gadaffi was good but then he lost it camp.

And on a side note Im afraid the same might happen to Chavez.

So, an unelected military dictator was good?

Yes, I know. But recall an earlier article that described how he was crippling the legislative and judicial branches. Obviously what I said doesn't have to happen overnight, but he's certainly on the right path.

Yeah, venezuela owing money is a big deal. Chavez's economic policies look unsustainable and a country defaulting on its debts is usually very painful for its people. Which means that its people may pay very dearly for a few years of handouts.

I agree that we should not bomb Lybia unless there is a way to recover the cost of each bomb\missile we use. Somehow i don't feel like paying for it, but enough about that. So, please tell me more about Gaddafi.
He lost it before or after PanAM bombing? Or thats when he was good (according to lefties)? Or he lost it when he started bombing his own people? What was his best quality, besides uncontrolled hate on West, that made him good? Or just hating on West is good enough? Could you please be a little more specific?

P.S Just trying to figure out the difference between "latinamerican" left and local "liberal lefties".

Actually...for oil based economy, default is not all that bad. Don't get me wrong, its still sucks but oil based economy would recover a lot faster than anyone else.

Well purposefully enriching his own family and tribe in Western Libyawhile keeping the Eastern side of the country purposefully dirt poor was good too. It's not like he suddenly did it either. It's been his policy for a long time.

Gadaffi lost it circa the late 70s dude at that point there was no reason to justify the dictatorship, maybe I should have said the revolution was good instead. His best quality is making Lybia the best african country to live in.

The latinamerican left sees the first world as an opressive force, specially USA.
In that context alliances with people like Ahmadinejad are understandable, I think he is an horrible president but I totally understand why Chavez has him as an ally.

It doesn't count as a democratic election if the government routinely disrupts and arrests the opposition for expressing their viewpoint.

define "disrupt", define "routinely".
Its curious that americans like you have big humanitarian concerns about venezuelans but dont give a **** about colombians, im sure it has nothing to do with the horribly biased media