The Madness of Hugo Chavez

As a Latin American, I am saddened and frustrated by how difficult it is to dispel the stereotypes associated with the region when lunatic heads of state such as Hugo Chavez make every effort to portray themselves as hostile and reactionary to all notions of decency and common sense. Recently, Chavez played the fool—yet again—through the inexcusable behavior he has exhibited since his successful mediation of the release of two Colombian hostages that had been held by the FARC, one of the several guerilla factions that terrorize Colombia. He has used his success as a means of both aggrandizing himself in the international arena and calling for other countries to remove the FARC from their lists of terrorist organizations. His deeper motives are a matter of debate, as is expressed in the article below, but what is most embarrassing is the rhetoric he has employed against Uribe. He has publicly denounced Uribe as being a contemptible imperial pawn (a reference to the strong ties between Colombia and the U.S., a coward, a liar, manipulative, and many other indecent adjectives. At one point, he even compared him to a mob boss, expressing that Vito Corleone falls short of Uribe. Chavez’ continuous lack of respect for decorum and sensibility only encourage the existence of negative stereotypes about Latin America. Believe me, he is the exception.

For those of you who can read Spanish, the following is an interesting article that elaborates on these points:

http://www.eluniversal.com/2008/01/23/opi_685_art_el-mismito-se-mato_23A1314711.shtml