quote:

ORIGINAL: Nnanji
Show me a link that as Tillerson isn't sane or just shut up.

quote:

ORIGINAL: bounty44

quote:

ORIGINAL: mnottertail

Venezuela is a federal presidential republic. So, you know Venezualens down there from the toilets you lick at KFC, nancy? They tell you that do they?

You might listen to some real news you ignorant fuck.

hey troll---the power source of a government (your "federal presidential republic") is independent from its socio-economic policies.

at the same time:

quote:

The Meaning of 21st Century Socialism for Venezuela

In what appeared to be a surprise to almost everyone, on January 30, 2005, in a speech to the 5th World Social Forum, President Hugo Chavez announced that he supported the creation of socialism of the 21st century in Venezuela. According to Chavez, this socialism would be different from the socialism of the 20th century. While Chavez was vague about exactly how this new socialism would be different, he implied it would not be a state socialism as was practiced in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe or as is practiced in Cuba today. Rather, it would be a socialism that would be more pluralistic and less state-centered...

https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/1834

an internet search for "socialism in Venezuela" in the past 30 days shows that the federalist, fox news, the Washington post, the ny post, cnn, abc, yahoo, the Washington times, cnbc, the guardian, forbes, business insider, us news, the telegraph, bunches of local newspapers and the ny times all used the terms socialist or socialism to describe the state of affairs there.

maybe you should listen to "some real news you ignorant fuck?"

Al-Jazeera references the new president as continuing in the former's socialist policies: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/05/maduro-chavez-170513145531916.html

the telegraph calls maduro a bad copy of chavez: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/venezuela/10359267/As-socialist-dream-crumbles-Venezuelans-find-Nicolas-Maduro-a-bad-copy-of-Chavez.html

some good reading:

"Nicolas Maduro Socialism, Bernie Sanders Socialism: Poison Fruit of the Same Tree" (By: David Unsworth - @LatinAmerUpdate - Jul 31, 2017, 1:01 pm)

quote:

...Nicolas Maduro retains power for now, thanks only to the support of the Venezuelan military. How long they will continue to back him remains to be seen. He has earned the well-deserved condemnation of all but the few remaining hard-line Communist regimes in the region: Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Cuba.

If one good thing can emerge from this terrible and tragic situation it is this: Venezuela should serve as an eternal example of the utter depravity of socialism in all its forms. Socialism, after all, is the political and economic philosophy that has ruined half of the world, killing an estimated 100 million innocent victims over the course of the 20th century...

Bernie Sanders, and his supporters, would argue that making a comparison between him and the totalitarian regimes of Cuba or Venezuela or Stalin’s Russia or Mao’s China is patently unfair. They may have a point. Although only Bernie Sanders knows what is in his heart and mind, it appears unlikely that a President Sanders would try to call a new Constitutional Assembly, curtail freedom of speech and the press, or jail political opponents. He probably is sane enough to realize, as well, that nationalizing industry and confiscating private property would be counter-productive.

If Bernie Sanders were to sit down with the PanAm Post, he would happily tell us that the Venezuelan comparison in nonsense. No, no, no. Bernie is a fan of the so-called democratic socialism of Iceland and Denmark and Norway…which has nothing to do with Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela or Fidel Castro’s Cuba or Daniel Ortega’s Nicaragua.

Except that Bernie Sanders and his Latin American socialist populist counterparts are equally erroneous when it comes to economic policy. Bernie Sanders may hype Western Europe as his model, yet he seems blissfully ignorant of the wake of destruction that socialist governments have left across the world over the past 150 years. Has an actual socialist economy ever actually worked? Is it not true that actual human beings who have lived in such economies have routinely risked their lives to flee the highly inefficient, unproductive, and inhumane economies that socialism has engendered from East Germany and Czechoslovakia to Vietnam and Cambodia to North Korea to Cuba and now Venezuela? Is it not true that 100 million innocent victims have been killed by socialism in the 20th century alone?

Regarding so-called “Scandinavian socialism”, proponents of capitalism have a clear and concise argument at their disposal. The economies in Scandinavia, are actually vibrant and robust capitalist free-market economies, that provide a reasonable social safety net to their high-income, well-educated populations. Their achievements are due to capitalism, and they are routinely ranked among the world’s freest economies by the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. In fact, every single one of the supposedly “socialist” countries frequently lauded by Sanders is ranked in the top 25. The reality is that the Netherlands and Sweden and Norway and Denmark abandoned any vestiges of centrally-planned, state-controlled command economies long ago. They are bastions of capitalism…not socialism.

While Bernie may not be Hugo Chavez or Daniel Ortega or Fidel Castro, his rhetoric and ideology often bear a striking resemblance to these Latin American Communist icons. Bernie represents a new trend in the American Left today: where socialism and populism meet. Furthermore, it should come as no shock to discover that Nicolas Maduro endorsed Bernie Sanders during the Democratic primary...

Bernie Sanders may not share the ruthlessness or disregard for human rights of Latin American Communist dictators, but their shared economic vision would lead to utter disaster…setting America on the path to economic ruin, as we’ve seen time and time again in socialist command economies from Latin America to Eastern Europe to Asia.

https://panampost.com/david-unsworth/2017/07/31/nicolas-maduro-bernie-sanders-poison-fruit-of-the-same-tree/

lastly,

here's one of the hallowed Venezuelans you seem to need, who uses the term "socialism" repeatedly when describing his country and addressing your collectivist idol, Bernie sanders:

quote:

Hey Bernie, I left Venezuela's socialism behind for a reason: Voices

As an immigrant from Latin America, I have found the current presidential election to be both depressing and terrifying — but not for the obvious reason. The negativity in rhetoric concerns me, of course. Yet it pales in comparison to the growing acceptance of socialism, which I thought I left behind in my formerly rich homeland, Venezuela...

I understand where socialism’s young devotees are coming from. I was a teenager when Hugo Chavez came to power in Venezuela’s 1998 presidential election. Then, my countrymen were disenchanted with our trajectory and demanded a radical change, not unlike millions of Americans today. As a young and idealistic student myself, I was captivated by socialism’s promise of a more equal, fair and just society.

Reality has opened my eyes to just how wrong I was. Venezuela’s 17-year experience with socialism has taught me a number of lessons about its inherent problems and inevitable failure...

Socialism espouses further redistribution of wealth, which may appear to bear fruit in the short-term. However, the effects of undermining private property rights and placing restrictions on economic liberty erode the creation and spread of wealth in the long-term. As this happens, the confiscatory policies initially targeted at the rich and the business community become increasingly destructive and ineffective, leading to their expansion to an ever-larger share of the population.

This necessarily provokes a public backlash as people begin to realize their condition is deteriorating. Naturally, what follows is that those in power seek to hold onto it by curtailing civil liberties. Freedom of speech, press, assembly and others begin to wither away.

These trends in Venezuela were glaringly evident to me — and increasingly so to the world — by the early 2000s. They forced me to begin asking questions about the nature of socialism, as well as whether another economic system was superior.

I found my answer in America. I came here to pursue an education. From this vantage point, I quickly realized that a system of free enterprise — full of competition, innovation and material well-being — stood in stark contrast to the growing poverty, stagnation and despair in my homeland.

The chasm between my country of birth and my country of choice widened in the following decade. The socialist model of command and control has utterly devastated the Venezuelan people. Overall poverty has skyrocketed from approximately 30% to over 70% over the years — and recent estimates put over half of the country’s 30.7 million people in extreme poverty. Pitifully, socialism’s attempts to control prices and direct the flow of goods and resources have led to shortages of even basic necessities, from food to toilet paper...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/06/07/venezuela-hugo-chavez-socialism-bernie-sanders-elections-2016-column/85294346/

you lose again mnottertroll.

try a handful of "felchgobbles" and "putinjizz" and maybe you'll be able to sleep.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Edwird

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nnanji
Show me a link that as Tillerson isn't sane or just shut up.

quote:



Show us where Cheney or Tillerson had anything but their own interests at stake in the matter while running our government.

Cheney and Rumsfeld were lying motherfuckers, which apparently attracted you to them.

Tillerson is right up your alley, while being right up your ass, in the bargain. Just the way you and all Republicans like it.


"Oooh baby!"

quote:

The administration of Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro is doubling down on policies blamed by some for the country’s massive recession and widespread shortages of food and medicines, according to a Caracas business leader...

In a dismal 2016 economic outlook for the country, the IMF cited “widespread price and other administrative controls and regulations” and a “worsening business climate.”...[you know, the aforementioned poll answers where the respondents wanted the government to work better with business]

“The root of Venezuela’s current problems are government controls on prices, labor and the foreign exchange rate,” Maldonado argued. “All of this has hurt productivity. If the government continues to exercise controls over the economy, the crisis will get worse.” [whhaaaaaatttt? the government controlling the economy, surely that's not some form of collectivism is it??]

McMahon traveled to Venezuela to meet with members of the business and labor communities and CEDICE, a Caracas think tank dedicated to individual liberty and free-market policies.

“I was dealing with a select part of the population that is more educated and more free-market, but they didn’t have any sense of what the future would hold.” [i'll help you out vile critter parts, the "more educated and more free-market" is meant to contrast these business leaders with the rest of the country, who are...wait for it....NOT FREE MARKET]

What surprised him most during his visit was labor leaders’ disillusionment with socialism: “The labor leaders seemed quite turned off by Bolivarian socialism.” [i'll help you out here too vile critter parts---that's a clear statement that the country is socialist]

However, a preference among some Venezuelans for “authoritarian government,” could make it very difficult for the country to move to a fully free-market economy. [one more help mnottertroll---the "move to" means there's a "move from"---now, what could that be? hint hint, something NOT FREE MARKET maybe??]

quote:

Socialism has been blamed for turning Venezuela “into an authoritarian basket case,” [of course though mnottertroll, you know better than the people who have expertise in the area and whose job it is to know] but the broadcast news networks rarely admit that. In fact, the networks have even generally avoided identifying the country as socialist. This is especially important since the Obama administration just declared the nation a “national security threat and ordered sanctions against seven officials,” according to Reuters.

Venezuela’s leaders have clearly identified themselves as socialists. Late leftist president Hugo Chavez proclaimed, “We're heading toward socialism, and nothing and no one can prevent it.” Chavez’s successor Nicolás Maduro was elected in in April 2013 also committed himself to pursue “21st century socialism,” according to CNN.

“They call themselves a socialist regime,” Dr. Alejandro Chafuen, president of the free-market organization Atlas Network, told MRC Business. “You have to start by believing what they say.”…

[of course though mnottertroll, you know better than chavez or maduro in terms of whether or not Venezuela engages in socialism]

“Chavez advanced a hybrid economic program of nationalizations, socialist economics, free spending social programs, price and exchange controls, and crony capitalism dubbed ‘Socialism of the 21st Century,’” The Heritage Foundation’s Senior Policy Analyst for Latin America Dr. Ray Walser and Research Associate Jessica Zuckerman said March 6, 2013.

Clearly, the media were aware of the connection between authoritarian and socialist policies and the unrest in Venezuela. Network coverage failed to reflect it…

quote:

First, let me clarify that I am an average citizen – working class, born in the 70s when my country Venezuela was called “Little Arabia”, for the flow of money at that time came through oil. Unfortunately this has changed in the last 15 years.

My family are people who work for a living and sacrifice what little they have to achieve home ownership (acquired in those years before the socialists came to power) and even though today we are employed professionals, there is no possibility of getting credit to purchase property.

I was 23 when Chavez arrived in power and already had an independent life and a degree in marketing. I worked, was independent in almost all my needs, had credit cards and I was able to buy vehicle – a 1998 Opel Corsa. In those days if you had a good job you could go to a credit agency and would have credit or cash in 72 hours maximum. After choosing the model, colour, equipment and going through a short administrative formality you could enjoy your vehicle.

To remember that a guy like me with a salary as an editor at a TV channel (I’m a publicist) could have the “luxury” to have new car is now ridiculous. In 1998 the cost of the car was about the same as my yearly salary, with bonuses in December. I cannot dream of buying a car now, because the prices are exorbitant and the currency devaluations of recent years have ended our purchasing power.

There is no market for new vehicles except trucks and a couple of brands that still survive the onslaught of socialism (Toyota which has plant in Venezuela and make lucrative contracts with the government and Ford also has a plant which has crippled its operations on several occasions due to the crisis). Other brands only exist to sell spare parts (what few are available).

Equally, it is almost impossible to travel abroad, one because of the price, two because the Venezuelan government owes foreign airlines at least US$4 billion (here I leave a link to a Venezuelan newspaper to understand this situation regarding air tickets in Venezuela. Sorry if you don’t read Spanish)

http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/infografia—por-que-el-gobierno-le-debe-a-las-aer.aspx

Previously, for example in the 80s when the bolivar was 4.30 per dollar, a trip with my family to the US was no problems. We changed money in the private banking system or in casas de cambio in the street here or in the US. It is very difficult to exchange our bolivars for dollars today because the government controls everything. It is now practically impossible to travel abroad because of cost controls and the raging inflation of the bolivar. Officially the rate is only 12.5Bs per dollar, but it is impossible for normal people to get that rate. The best we can do is change in the black market at around 700Bs per dollar.

When I was a teenager in my residential neighbourhood in Caracas, I and my friends could walk at least 30 minutes at night to a party of friends without any problems or insecurity.

Since the time Chavez allowed impunity for the masses, armed groups of civilians that claim to protect areas roam the streets of the barrios. They spy and use fear to impose social control. He also allowed masses of opportunists and criminals to invade land, abandoned houses and buildings in the name of “revolution”. Housing estates like mine became more dangerous and difficult to walk after 8:00 pm, because after that time the criminals operate with almost complete impunity. Police do little due to various deficiencies and political problems and have basically become inoperative.

For example before Chavez was elected, if you were urinating in the street, drinking alcohol in public or playing loud music to name a few misdemeanors, the former Metropolitan Police (eliminated by the Chavez government) came to call and you were taken to a headquarters where could be detained up to 72 hours, and if you continued to offend sentences were increasing. Now none of that works, if I have a problem with a neighbor for something similar or bad business in any way with the neighbor it can very easily end in blood, since there is now no institution to provide public peace.

Something that contributed to the rise in crime in the big cities of Venezuela was the massive imports of Chinese motorcycles at very low cost. This facilitated criminals living in the slums of Caracas to ride a motorcycle into the city and in 10 minutes they were robbing or murdering down town and then quickly back to their neighbourhood undetected. Impunity is also the queen of insecurity. In every 100 murders just 7 are punished, the other 93 are unsolved, unpunished and are just stored in a police file.

When I was younger in Venezuela an average person like me could go to eat with his family in restaurants every weekend of the month, now you get that “luxury” once a month if you are lucky. To put it in context, the salary of my work is triple the minimum wage of 7,400Bs. My income today is 22,000Bs and I cover only the basic food basket as meat, poultry , spaghetti, milk and general necessities. Previously I would go to the market and buy groceries for a month, and would pay for the services, condominium fees, telephone, electricity, water, sometimes I could also buy brand name shoes, quality clothing and some luxury items. Today in Venezuela it is difficult to find a place where for example you can buy several kilos of wheat flour or milk even if you can afford it.

Before Socialism there was never any shortage of goods, we never had to stand in queues to buy food, let alone that you are now rationed to only two litres of cooking oil for example, or only 4 cans of tuna. Things like that every day make life more difficult.

In my case I survive this because I’m first working with a private foreign client who pays me US$100 a month for assistance in my field of work. With this changed in the black market I have nearly 70,000 Bs but added to my salary that allows me to live better than 70% of the population. If I only had the salary of my work I could buy only food to survive, no personal care products, or other “luxuries”. For example I have to wait three months to buy a simple shampoo, I have 2 in my house and if I do not get another before they run out I’ll be in trouble to wash my hair. It is the same with razors for the face. If I had only my salary, perhaps I could only pay utilities and could not afford a school for my child or health insurance which are exorbitant prices to the average population. Also with my salary I can not go on weekends to the beach, mountain or anywhere because it is just too expensive.

Something that has struck me personally is the fact that almost every month in recent years, another of my friends or family will go to live abroad, and I fear that many of them will never return. I feel that every day our social circle becomes smaller. At almost every meeting of friends, the topic of conversation is where would you go, something unthinkable 15 years ago.

Venezuela was never a country of emigration – on the contrary, it is a melting pot where people were always coming to work. Today we see whole families are broken, children, brothers, cousins, friends all leave. My sister has left, she went to Panama, a country that gave her the opportunity earn some dollars. Here in Caracas there are almost no decent employment opportunities, no security in businesses or housing, and no opportunity for vehicle purchase or vacations for the family. It is estimated that over 2 million Venezuelans have left the country. I have at least a hundred family members, friends and acquaintances who are gone, just 15 days ago the last of my childhood friends went to Chile and we see today there are large communities of Venezuelans in the US, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, Spain, Peru, England, Costa Rica, Canada, Caribbean islands, etc. [what, escaping the collectivist paradise??]

This is something that mentally scars you, just another of the things that you inevitably see wrapped in political problems, which never occurred in our lives before. Only since Chavez came to power in 1992 have these problems eventuated and political divisions among the population were never so marked before either. Members of the political parties Adeco (AD) and COPEI (COPEI), or MAS (MAS) never had any violent confrontation before Chavez began the division of rich vs. poor, adecos vs left. We saw the same high government headed by Chavez begin a political apartheid and a “hunt” for anyone who was not of the socialist-communist thought group.

Suddenly the problems started becoming more serious every day to a point where neighbours, family and friends began conflicting. Every day, political discussions were creating verbal clashes and fights – creating divisions in all social strata. I saw families quarrelling, parents and children going weeks without speaking, feuding friends and even spouses who divorced for political positions. On the street I got to see and attend anti-government marches as the situation became increasingly difficult, riots, clashes where injuries to both sides resulted in death, wounded people, prisoners.

Ordinary citizens who never thought to live by politics have become violent. I have seen looting and fights in markets for food. I had to run away and hide from the police on several occasions just to protest peacefully and it is why many demonstrations ended in violence as each day the government tries harder to prohibit the rights of citizen protest. I know people who are in prison even today for issuing opinions on Twitter. I was threatened for the same reason by civilian agents doing espionage operations on behalf of the government. A person working for the government knew one of my best friends and I was warned prior to the intimidation. I had to throw my phone into a river and change my twitter account, take some vacation days so as to not go to work because I was being followed everywhere. I did not know or think that this could happen to me or my family. I had to alert my circle of family and friends and make an escape plan for emergencies in case the situation got out of hand. It was only because the person that called to alert me deleted me from the “watch lists” of the government that this situation was diffused for me.

The political police operated from situation rooms operated by the national telephone (Cantv) and from the state oil company (PDVSA) which handle calls for the SEBIN (political police in Venezuela), Collectivos (civil arm of the revolution) and they were also advised by the Cuban Secret Police (G2). Still, I cannot talk about certain things like government policies by phone or send messages to certain family members. In my case have a family member who is in the army and this makes things even more delicate. If I want to talk to him personally it must be very low profile so no one hears because in the country there are thousands of “cooperating patriots” who are nothing but spies. They are led by political authorities and report to police or military. Any time the government wants, they can raise a case against any citizen and the courts are illegal and arbitrary. There have even been cases of illegal kidnapping where people are taken and placed in the custody of the state police (SEBIN) or Directorate of Military Intelligence (DIM) without any due process in the courts.

Unfortunately, in Venezuela the law does not matter, because the executive is king in this false democracy.

Also, I was placed on the Tascon lists. These were lists proposed by a Chavista deputy against people who had not signed for Chavez in the referendum of 2003. In that poll, people had to sign the referendum, give their name in full and their ID, thus exposing their intention to sign against the government. I was sacked from my job along with 65 other people including a pregnant woman. Across the country lists were applied in ministries, public bodies and even state banks where, after the referendum, thousands were denied credit. This was all handled through websites and in all public bodies they were looking for names on the list. If you were found to be one of the signatories against Chavez, immediately you were fired.

Also I saw hundreds of marches where public employees were (and still are) forced to march in favour of the government under threat of being thrown out of their jobs. They have compulsory attendance lists, in order to facilitate the coercion, abuse and threats which have become part of Venezuelan daily life because in a country without investment and employment, with little work you end up doing without.

I saw the death, political disease and all the mystery that surrounded the Chavez and Maduro governments which have caused our national disaster.

I could continue for many more pages, but it would be too long to read. What we experienced in recent years (16 to be exact) has been painful, dangerous, sad and traumatic. I’ve seen our people lose freedoms and things that were previously so normal that today we remember jokingly in a phrase that translates to “When we were happy and did not know”. It refers to everything that we did or bought or had and is now impossible to achieve or lost, perhaps forever. The people of Venezuela have lived many things that maybe you there in the world do not understand, we have raised up time and again against the oppression of Chavez and now Maduro (Remembering the uprising that occurred during months from February 12, 2014) and each time have been severely repressed. We have every day lower social and economic freedoms, less political rights.

Fortunately, I feel that the government is on the ropes in terms of popularity. I think the coming election on December 6 there is a light at the end of the tunnel because if we can change the parliament of the National Assembly to the opposition, we can see the beginning of slow changes.

We know all of the pitfalls and risks we have ahead of us, but the country is sick of Chavismo- Madurismo, and as my gray hairs begin to appear I know that if there is not a political-economic change in Venezuela very soon, political violence will certainly return to the streets.

Now I have a young child and I want to make a better country. Now I know how important it is to have a proper democracy because of what we lost.

With the dawn we will see.

Thank You,

Catire

quote:


Here's one fun example: 90 percent of Venezuela suffers from a powdered milk shortage, because the government-run company responsible for distributing it to protein-starved children was caught illegally selling it to Colombia.

quote:

ORIGINAL: bounty44

"One Venezuelan's Angry Rant: Six Stories From A Socialist Apocalypse"

quote:


Here's one fun example: 90 percent of Venezuela suffers from a powdered milk shortage, because the government-run company responsible for distributing it to protein-starved children was caught illegally selling it to Colombia.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-07/one-venezuelans-furious-rant-six-realities-socialist-apocalypse

What? The government controls the means of distribution?? Nah, that’s not collectivist of some sort!

quote:

ORIGINAL: mnottertail

Yes, they hand America her ass. Venezuela is not socialist, it is a nutsucker dictatorship like America.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nnanji
Come on Bounty, you're arguing with a mentally ill person...

quote:

ORIGINAL: bounty44

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nnanji
Come on Bounty, you're arguing with a mentally ill person...

and an evil one as well.

quote:

Socialism of the 21st century (Spanish: Socialismo del siglo XXI) is a political term used to describe the interpretation of socialist principles advocated first by Heinz Dieterich in 1996 and later by Latin American leaders like Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Evo Morales of Bolivia, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil.[1] Socialism of the 21st century argues that both free-market industrial capitalism and twentieth-century socialism have failed to solve urgent problems of humanity, like poverty, hunger, exploitation, economic oppression, sexism, racism, the destruction of natural resources, and the absence of a truly participative democracy.[2] Therefore, because of the local unique historical conditions, socialism of the 21st century is often contrasted with previous applications of socialism in other countries and aims for a more decentralized and participatory planning process.[3] Socialism of the 21st century has democratic socialist elements, but primarily resembles Marxist revisionism.[3]

[some of that has been posted before---recognize it?]

Socialism of the 21st century draws on indigenous traditions of communal governance and previous Latin America socialist and communist movements, including those of Salvador Allende, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, and the Sandinista National Liberation Front.[3]...

Former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has called the process of socialist reforms in Venezuela the "Bolivarian process."...

quote:

The Bolivarian Revolution is an ongoing leftist political process in Venezuela led by late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement and later the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

In January 2007, Chávez proposed to build the communal state, whose main idea is to build self-government institutions like communal councils, communes, and communal cities.[10]

quote:

Bolivarianism is a mix of pan-American, socialist, and democratic ideals fixed against perceived injustices of imperialism, inequality, and corruption...

Chávez's version of Bolivarianism, although drawing heavily from Simón Bolívar's ideals, was also drawn from the writings of Marxist historian Federico Brito Figueroa...

Later in his life, Chávez would acknowledge the role that democratic socialism (a form of socialism that calls for democratic institutions in the economy) plays in Bolivarianism. Chávez declared his support for democratic socialism as integral to Bolivarianism, proclaiming that humanity must embrace "a new type of socialism, a humanist one, which puts humans, and not machines or the state, ahead of everything".[1]...