Home >> Section >> Blog

Blog

Contact: Press Staff

Hugo Chavez Is Building A Hostile Empire. And We're Helping.


Washington, May 4, 2006 -

Venezuela's communist president, Hugo Chavez, yesterday urged his South American neighbors to unify and to halt trade with the U.S.
South American nations will have to choose whether they want continental unity or individual trade agreements with the United States -- but not both, Venezuelan President Hugo Ch?z said on Wednesday. "You either have one or the other ... they're like oil and water," Ch?z said, after meetings with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, and President Nestor Kirchner of Argentina.
And it looks like one of Chavez's aces in his deck of cards is oil and energy.
But Ch?z said he will form a Bolivarian alternative trade pact based on socialist principles as an alternative to US-backed free-trade deals. He said he will meet in Cuba with Bolivian President Evo Morales and Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Saturday, and the two countries will join the pact. Ch?z also urged the expansion of a proposed 10 000km gas pipeline from Venezuela to Brazil and Argentina, estimated at $20-billion. He said Bolivia must also be linked to the pipeline. Bolivia's gas reserves of 4,5-trillion square metres are second in the continent to Venezuela's 14-trillion square metres. "Bolivia is a priority," Ch?z said. "This project will guarantee energy ... for all South American countries in the 21st century and beyond."
Why does America continue to fund Hugo Chavez's hostile regime? [Via CIA World Factbook]
Venezuela continues to be highly dependent on the petroleum sector, accounting for roughly one-third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and over half of government operating revenues. Government revenue also has been bolstered by increased tax collection, which has surpassed its 2005 collection goal by almost 50%. Tax revenue is the primary source of non-oil revenue, which accounts for 53% of the 2006 budget. A disastrous two-month national oil strike, from December 2002 to February 2003, temporarily halted economic activity. The economy remained in depression in 2003, declining by 9.2% after an 8.9% fall in 2002. Output recovered strongly in 2004-2005, aided by high oil prices and strong consumption growth. Venezuela continues to be an important source of crude oil for the US market. Both inflation and unemployment remain fundamental problems.

Print version of this document