Hugo Chavez — a brute, and persecutor of the Catholic Church in Venezuela — is dead at 58.
His departure from a country he dominated for 14 years casts into doubt the future of his socialist revolution. It alters the political balance in Venezuela, the fourth-largest foreign oil supplier to the United States, and in Latin America, where Mr. Chávez led a group of nations intent on reducing American influence in the region.
Mr. Chávez changed Venezuela in fundamental ways, empowering and energizing millions of poor people who had felt marginalized and excluded.
But Mr. Chávez’s rule also widened society’s divisions. His death is sure to bring more changes and vast uncertainty as the nation tries to find its way without its central figure.
I love it how the left is eulogizing this bastard. Maybe if democracy and free speech emerge in Venezuela again, I’ll end my multi-year boycott of CITGO.
Hugo Chavez, you have much to answer for.
