What next for Venezuela? Chavez dead

vivatifosi

It's being announced at the moment that President Hugo Chavez has died.

I went to Venezuela on holiday about 6 years ago and thought it was a great country, but talk to anyone with money and they absolutely hated him. People with not so much, well they had cheap fuel, mobile phones, housing... There are obvious synergies and relationships with Cuba.

I wonder what people think will happen there now. I can't help thinking that the right will try to make a comeback in the country.

Anyone here with an interest in/knowledge of the country who can give us a picture of what is likely to happen?

Hopefully there will be some analysis up on the net soon.

Wookster

Interesting times indeed.

Hopefully they will get a leader that believes in property rights and free market economics. The people will benefit enormously!

vivatifosi

The Beeb have put out a good comment piece on the state of the economy and politics in Venezuela:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20795781

zagubov

My only interest in the place is it's the only place in the workd where the school curriculum had compulsory lessons in lateral thinking, which I'm a big fan of.;)

michaels

Allegedly following the end of the USSR only free Venezuelan oil kept the Castro regime going in Cuba. Should the rather unpleasant sounding Chavez family implode in to infighting allowing a more mainstream party to regain control the implications for Cuba may be huge.

CLAPTON

sadly chevaz managed to make a relatively crime free place into the murder capital of the world

and that's without any significant drugs problem

The_White_Horse

good job he is dead. hopefully castro will be next. hateful man who imprisoned a nation. scum.

Ionkontrol

The most re-electted man in history.
America will be circling like vultures.

antrobus

CLAPTON wrote: »

sadly chevaz managed to make a relatively crime free place into the murder capital of the world

and that's without any significant drugs problem

I'm not sure that Venezuela was exactly "crime free" when Chavez took over - 4,000 murders a year (or something like that) which is quite a lot. Mind you it was over 20,000 murders a last year, which is more murders than the whole of Europe and the USA combined apparently.

The_White_Horse wrote: »

good job he is dead. hopefully castro will be next. hateful man who imprisoned a nation. scum.

I don't see any reason to celebrate someone's death simply because you disagree with their politics. Granted democracy is not perfect in Venezuela, but Chavez was, after all, democratically elected.

Conrad

Chile is the freeest nation in S America, Venezuela was the least free. On all socio-economic markers, Chile is way ahead.

Anti free marketeers parade Venezuela and Cuba as model societies. Notice how hardly any immigrants from accross the globe flock to these 2 beacons of hope and prosperity, even though the hard left forever tell us America and the free world are infinitley more nasty places to raise a family.

purch

The good news for Venezualans is that now Ken Livingstone might not be visiting quite so often :eek: