The Will of the People? Oh, that's OBVIOUSLY a Threat to Democracy

Chavez a threat to democracy, US intelligence chief says


dpa German Press Agency
Published: Tuesday January 30, 2007

Washington- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez exports a form of "radical populism" throughout Latin America that poses a threat to democracy, the top US intelligence official said Tuesday. John Negroponte, during hearings on his nomination to become deputy secretary of state, warned that frustration in Latin America about the lack of prosperity under democratic governments could further fuel the populism advocated by Chavez.

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(1)Washington has objected to Chavez's crackdown on free media and civil rights groups, and says democratic institutions under his rule have been marginalized. Chavez is expected to be granted powers this week to issue decrees without parliamentary approval - a move that has been criticized by Venezuelan opposition parties as a step towards totalitarianism.

"His behaviour is threatening to democracies in the region," Negroponte told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

(2)Chavez's populist style has caught on in countries like Bolivia and Ecuador, which have elected presidents that have bypassed trade negotiations with Washington in favour of working out deals with US rivals like China.

"One of the trends that we need to be concerned about is a kind of a frustration among some of the populations of Latin America that democracy is not necessarily delivering the kinds of results that people had hoped for," Negroponte said. (Read More)

First things first, let’s play a little game. I’ve inserted numbering to two paragraphs in this article wondering which was in fact more responsible for the fraying of relations; Chavez undermining democracy by being elected by more than 60% of his people, or favoring China in trade negotiations. For some reason, I’m leaning toward the second myself. Call me a skeptic, but then again, if Columbia would have just built us that damn canal, we wouldn’t have had to of launched that civil war for Panamanian independence. US meddling in Latin American affairs is as old as the Monroe Doctrine.

Does it bother me that Chavez has been granted temporary unilateral powers in specifically designated segments of government? To a degree. But at the same time, Chavez, once again a President elected by more than 60% of his people, was granted these powers by a Congress elected by the Venezuelan people. This is democracy in action, and if the Bush administration has any problems with it, well tough shit. ANY intervention and/or diplomatic pressure against the democratically elected government of Venezuela would be entirely hypocritical of this administration that has attempted to position itself as the international Democracy/JDAM Bomb Fairy. But, once again, let’s pull out the old Bush Dictionary (2^nd Term Edition) definition of ‘democracy:’

Etymology

Greek demos people (more at ?) + kratia from krato (verb) prevail

Noun

Democracy (plural democracies)

1. Foreign elections determined solely according to 'American interests' (See, corporate), even against the popular will of native populations

2. The whim of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas

3. The justification for invading any foreign nation in lieu of the validity of previous justifications (See, spreading democracy)