Chavez and Ahmadinejad have been increasingly united by their deep-seated antagonism toward the Bush administration. Chavez has become a leading defender of Iran's nuclear ambitions, accusing the Washington of using the issue as a pretext to attack Tehran.
Clearly, Hugo wants to be a full Axis of Evil member.
But one thing that always heartens me when tinpot dictators strut about boasting of how feeble we are, how inevitable our defeat is, and how the world will soon be theirs (with due credit to Frozone for those lines), is that they always seem to be idiots. With no clue about how their economies actually produce GDP, these sad thugs always seem to be their own country's worst enemy. They destroy themselves. Venezuela is nationalizing some local businesses:
Along with the nationalization push, Chavez is working to centralize power, seeking to legislate by decree, end the central bank's autonomy and refuse a renewed concession to an opposition-linked television station.
He has said these new decisions are to meet the demands of an electorate that wants socialism -- and wants him in office for decades.
"Country, socialism or death," he cried on taking the oath of office on Wednesday.
The country will get socialism. Which always produces death.
