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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Chavez orders supporters to give away possessions |
| 2007-06-12 |
| Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, has told his supporters to give away possessions they do not need as he wants only true socialists to be members of a new, single party he is forming. "Whoever has a fridge they do not need, put it out in the village square. Whoever has a truck, a fan or a cooker they do not need, give something away. Let's not be selfish. I demand you do it," Mr Chavez said at a milk producing co-operative. Mr Chavez, who calls capitalism an evil, said he would donate £127,000 of his The president, who calls the Cuban leader Fidel Castro his mentor, denies he is turning the OPEC nation of avid consumers into another communist state, as his critics say. But since coming to power in 1999, Mr Chavez has proposed increasingly radical steps to drive Venezuela toward a socialist state and, after a landslide re-election last year, he declared himself a communist for the first time. Mr Chavez, who rules by decree, has focused his political ambitions this year on forming a single party from the hodge-podge of affiliations that have supported him in what he says is his crusade against United States' imperialism. Officials say millions of followers have signed up to be members of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela that Mr Chavez plans to use as a platform to govern for decades. "If I were to end up with only five people signing up out of those five million, I'd be happier," Mr Chavez said. "I only want to be accompanied by true socialists." Opponents of Mr Chavez complain that his constant railing against American-promoted consumerism contrasts with the behaviour of senior government officials who can be seen at fancy restaurants or riding around in expensive cars. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #9 Hey Hugo, I'll trade my poverty for your oil. |
| Posted by: Dino Thereting6522 2007-06-12 18:27 |
| #8 Nice of him to ask, at least the first time. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-06-12 17:17 |
| #7 Oh, this will really win him friends in his party. The kind of friends that put a bullet in the back of your head.... |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-06-12 12:57 |
| #6 Dear Presidente Chavez, I am Miriam Abacha, the widow of the recently deceased president of Nigeria. I must confess I am a long time admirer from afar who has become overwhelmed with emotion and the spirit of charity after hearing your speech. I would like to donate the sum of $5 million ($5,000,000) USD of my former husband's egg money to your wonderful cause. Please provide your personal bank account information and I will transfer the said monies posthaste. Your admirer and supporter, Miriam Abacha |
| Posted by: ed 2007-06-12 09:47 |
| #5 Opponents of Mr Chavez complain that his constant railing against American-promoted consumerism contrasts with the behaviour of senior government officials who can be seen at fancy restaurants or riding around in expensive cars. Sounds like Massachusetts... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-06-12 09:31 |
| #4 Looks like Hugo will have an Atlas Shrugged moment in his future and will be absolutely clueless as to why everything quit working. |
| Posted by: RWV 2007-06-12 09:24 |
| #3 Hmmmm, Mike, it's like sayin' that Papa Jo Visarionovich Stalin had a messianic complex. It is all about power. If it is a complex, it is an extreme version of "one-animal-is-more-equal-then-others". |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2007-06-12 06:48 |
| #2 My word! He really does have a Messiah complex, doesn't he? |
| Posted by: Mike 2007-06-12 06:20 |
| #1 Chavez orders supporters to give away possessions You first, Danny boy. Wotta buncha horseshit. Didn't any of these blithering morons manage to notice what happened in the Soviet Union? |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-06-12 01:35 |