After being elected in 1998 and in 2002, Chávez became an active participant in world politics, with strong opinions concerning different subjects. (Guevara)
As Chávez grew up in poverty and has seen lots of social, economical, and political inequality, he governs the country with his idea of 21st century socialism. (Wilpert, p. 230) In this type of socialism, there are three main aspects. The first is that there should be more democracy within the country. The second is that the public should be the owner of the production sector and the private enterprises, thus promoting nationalization of firms. The third aspect is that there should be more equality in the way that the riches are distributed within the country, essentially allowing the poor to have more assets. (Wilpert, p. 230) However, according to the Economist, the rich in Venezuela are benefitting more than everyone else from Chavez’s regime due to the high oil prices. As well, the impoverished farmers have to compete with lower priced imports compared to nationally produced items. (The rise of the “Boligarchs”; Venezuela) The Venezuelan social reality is far from acheiving the UN Declaration of Human Rights Article 25, stating that everyone is entitled to an adequate standard of living.
These socialist ideas have earned Chávez a positive reputation among other socialist Latin American countries benefiting from different aspects of his Latin American unification. For instance, in 2007, Chávez delivered four times more aid than the US to countries like Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Cuba. Most of this aid included reduced oil prices for these developing nations. (Rothkopf)
Works Cited:
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