Latin America: Chavez's Headline Addiction Might Cause Conflict
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer
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Watching Venezuelan President
Remember The Crocodile Hunter? It was the TV series in which Australian wildlife expert
Every time I watched Irwin pulling off an intrepid feat --like putting his hands inside a lion's mouth, or tying up a crocodile's mouth with his bare hands -- I shook my head with an eerie feeling that his need to surprise us with increasingly bold actions would end in tragedy. He died in 2006, when he got too close to a stingray in
I don't mean to take the tragedy lightly, but his television career invites comparisons with that of many attention-hungry politicians. Like the Crocodile Hunter, Chávez owes much of his staying power to his audacious moves to grab headlines.
When the going gets tough at home, Chávez diverts public attention by blaming the "oligarchy" or "the empire," playing the victim, and -- above all -- doing whatever it takes to remain at center stage.
In recent years, Chávez has repeatedly raised the specter of alleged U.S. plans to invade
More recently, he ordered troop deployments to the Colombian border, and has claimed that a Colombia-U.S. agreement that allows American anti-narcotics troops to have a presence on Colombian Air Force bases is evidence of
But now things are going from bad to worse for Chávez, and he might have to raise the stakes. Chávez's popularity ratings have dropped to 46 percent, from 52 percent a month ago, according to a Datanalisis poll. And
Consider some of Chávez's latest problems.
They are threatening his winner's image at a time when the opposition is beginning to organize for the 2010 legislative elections that could end his absolute control of
-- In recent weeks, oil-rich
-- For the first time, there are water shortages in the capital and key states. Chávez has blamed the shortages on "swimming pools of the rich," which he said are "siphoning off water from the poor." To save water, Chávez asked Venezuelans to take "Communist showers" of no more than three minutes.
-- According to an
Is
My opinion: True, it doesn't make sense for Chávez to go to war with
Like Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, he is addicted to ratings, and may do whatever it takes in order to keep his numbers from falling -- even if it could lead to his own demise.
Latin America Sends Few Students to United States
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer
While looking at a new report on foreign students at U.S. universities, it's hard not to conclude that the gap among developing nations is widening: While Asian countries are sending more students to some of the world's best colleges, Latin American countries are lagging behind
Latin America: Street Blockades Breed 'Anything-Goes' Culture
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer
The street blockades that almost paralyzed Mexico City and Buenos Aires in recent days, interrupting traffic and keeping millions of people from going to work, are becoming a major economic problem. But their invisible costs may be larger than their immediate monetary impact
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