El Presidente

President Barack Obama has not only turned the page with his personal approach to American foreign policy, he is rewriting the book. But this has sent the party of "no" into a tizzy. So Republicans are once again attacking Obama in hopes of driving his popularity down.

For one brief moment I thought that the United States had surrendered to Venezuela. At least, that seemed to be the tenor of the reaction from the frenzied fomenters of the right to a handshake and exchange of smiles between President Obama and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez. Gasp!

To be sure, Hugo Chavez is a very bad person whose regime may have been responsible for as many as 6,000 killings according to the U.S. State Department. He has been accused of torture and a 2008 State Department report says, "Reports of beatings and other humiliating treatment of suspects during arrests were common and involved various law enforcement agencies." Chavez has been charged with rigging elections, cracking down on political opponents, and maneuvering a "takeover of the Supreme Court." President Chavez has taken control of virtually all the country's media and he rewrote laws so that insulting the president is punishable by up to 30 months in prison.

This past February Venezuelans voted to remove term limits for their president, a similar measure had failed in 2007. If reelected to a third term in 2012, President Chavez will serve until at least 2019. By all means, though, it is not clear sailing for "El Presidente." Annual inflation is about 30%, violent crime is up and weak oil prices have led to unpopular budget cuts. Today there was more bad news, Venezuela's first quarter oil revenues were down 33%.

Overall, President Bush's administration did not pay as much attention to Latin America as it should have. This left the door open for Chavez to manipulate governments and exert influence in the region with petrol dollars and a populist-socialist fervor. And now the Chinese are playing an ever growing role. It is time for a change of approach in American foreign policy.

Presidents Obama and Chavez met three times during the Fifth Summit of the Americas. Conservative critics accused Obama of looking weak, like President Jimmy Carter! Some people in Venezuela thought Chavez used the meetings to validate his power. But many others believe Chavez looked like a fool giving Obama a book, especially after a decade of anti-American rhetoric.

Chavez remains a polarizing figure in his own country as well as throughout Latin America. He has a huge ego, and worse, he is a wily survivor. "We just want to be treated with respect," Chavez is quoted as saying after the summit. "We demand respect for our dignity, our sovereignty, and the self-determination of the Venezuelan people. Therefore, we are willing to pursue better relations with the new government of the United States."

Venezuela is a major source of oil for the United States. Unfortunately, Chavez is a democratically elected president. For a long time the countries of Latin America have felt largely ignored and under appreciated by the United States. This vacuum has been exploited by President Chavez and Bush's tough talk and empty diplomacy only encouraged him more.

With a handshake and a smile President Obama has signaled his desire for a new beginning in relations between the United States and all Latin American countries. This first step, however, must be followed up with a constant two-way dialog, consistent communications and mutual respect. Most importantly, American diplomacy with Venezuela must have a clear a strategy and firm goals in order to be successful.

But the more engaged and successful the United States is in Latin America, the more it diminishes Chavez in the region as well as in the eyes of all Venezuelans.

Comments

[bedspirit]

When I first read this I thought I must have accidentally clicked a link to Fox News.

Venezuela is linked to 6,000 killings? Where did that number come from? The last report filed by Condeleeza Rice cited 247 (not the most credible mushroom cloud laying member of the State department). Human Rights Watch published a report last year that was meant to condemn Venezuela and even they made no mention of that. If you're inclined to read their report, don't miss the response it got from Latin American Experts in the United States ( http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2008/12/17-2 ).

I guess you can claim that he took over all of the country's media if you don't count the opposition sponsored newspapers El Universal, El Nacional and Tal Cual (to name a few).

[peyronnin]

Excellent points Joe. Gotta say its refreshing to have someone in the White House who doesn't have a ready, fire, aim mentality (along with someone who can put a cogent thought into a simple english sentence). In the words of that mythical character, Don Corleon, keep your friends close and your friends closer...

[mr mysterious76]

Gotta say I don't trust much of the information out of the Bush State Department, nor am I personally acquiainted with anyone who does (though I don't actually live in the US, so I'm not likely to meet anyone like that). I love the line about Chavez controlling the media, that shows real journalistic integrity there. Thankfully, this is the age of the internet so all your readers have to do is look up "The Revolution WIll Not Be Televised" and they can find out for themselves how utterly ridiculous that statement is.

RCTV had their license renewal application revoked for acting in a way that would get anyone charged with sedition in any other country in the world. The rest of the Venezuelan media continue to provide anti-Chavez coverage that is so far out there, it makes Fox News look like NPR.

[BlueZoo]

It still amazes me that we had people in power in America that didn't bother to learn of the customs and mores of the countries America deals with, e.g. Bush & Co. sent an American woman to be an Ambassador in the Middle East! It was a direct slap in the face to countries where women do not even hold office. While I do not agree with these countries policies, I do respect them and feel our government should as well. In Latin America, family means everything and a smile and a handshake go a long way. Obama seems to grasp this very well and is reaching out to Latin America. These countries have been ignored by our government for too long. The only way to marginalize Chavez and his ilk is to make American appear to be the better alternative! We're making a great beginning here!

[Pablo175]

Sean Penn thinks Chavez is a warm and friendly guy.

[indyleftist]

Can you explain why you oppose the people of Venezuala's choice for president?
I assume that you supported the failed coup where the right wing tried to dissolve the parliament and judiciary and install a dictator though?

[peterg76]

"Venezuela is a major source of oil for the United States. Unfortunately, Chavez is a democratically elected president. "

Those priorities explain a lot of the Chavez disinformation.

[politicali]

Good job, Joe. At least you show some understanding of Latin America, something republicans like to talk about but are completely ignorant of. I'm from Brazil and know a lot about Venezuela and South America, having travelled through many of those countries. Obama is doing the right thing, he is showing strength and is very well liked and respected in the region. Chavez is a joke and no one fears him but all leaders in L.A. deal with him. He is not so stupid as to do anything against Obama. He hated Bush and acted out because he had the support of all the people for doing so. With Obama it is much different, the US has a new image, thanks to our great new president. Chavez will fall in line and will cooperate with the US.

[blaqntelligence]

"To be sure, Hugo Chavez is a very bad person whose regime may have been responsible for as many as 6,000 killings according to the U.S. State Department. He has been accused of torture and a 2008 State Department report says, "Reports of beatings and other humiliating treatment of suspects during arrests were common and involved various law enforcement agencies." Chavez has been charged with rigging elections, cracking down on political opponents, and maneuvering a "takeover of the Supreme Court." President Chavez has taken control of virtually all the country's media and he rewrote laws so that insulting the president is punishable by up to 30 months in prison."

Remove Hugo Chavez's name and add george bush/dick cheney.

[demockracy]

Here is the link to the Carter interview: http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13

[demockracy]

For the real measure of Carter, listen to his interview with Terri Gross here:

This is the first time I've heard him talk about Iran in relationship to his presidency. He could have been outraged (still) that the Ayatollahs cut a deal with Reagan to release the American hostages
they held *after* the election. But he's not. He could have said "I withheld recognition from the new government that overthrew the Shah," but he didn't -- something I didn't know before. The U.S. immediately recognized the government of Iran.

Carter does say that many advised him to bomb Teheran, and kill lots of innocent Iranians. He declined to do that, and it probably cost him the presidency. He is not bitter *at all*! What's more, he barely mentions his losing power, as though that loss wasn't even important enough to discuss.

Contrast that with someone like Nixon, who was so consumed by his quest for power that he drove himself paranoid crazy about it (See Rick Perlstein's "Nixonland" or Robert Dallek's "Nixon and Kissinger" -- this last one based on the recently released Nixon Presidential tapes, so the actual conversations are quoted). Carter's stature continues to grow while the R's shrinks.