Let's look at a few things... If we really understand the way the money market works, then, considering the collapse of the world financial system, Chavez was a visionary when he created the Banco del Sur. If we go along with what the greedy capitalists tells us he was stopping them from liberally put their hands into the cookie jar, "as they should"... 

Banco del Chavez: undermining liberal capitalism.

The Banco del Sur is only the latest gambit in Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez's mission to pry Latin America away from international capitalism. The bank would be run by Latin American countries themselves and would play a role similar to those of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Latin American countries, however, remain divided over the exact role the bank should play. Chavez and his ally, President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, want the bank to combine the functions of the World Bank and the IMF, but without the stringent conditionality agreements that both institutions require from borrowers. Brazilian finance minister Guido Mantega, on the other hand, opposes relaxing conditionality agreements.

Under the Venezuelan proposal, the Banco del Sur would become a mere political instrument of Chavez and his allies and harm development efforts in Latin America. Chavez has already moved to expel the LMF from the region. In February 2007, LMF lending to Latin America fell to US$50 million, less than one percent of the fund's total lending, compared to eighty percent in 2005. Venezuela has become one of the region's main lenders, lending US$2.5 billion to Argentina and offering a further US$1.5 billion to Bolivia and US$500 million to Ecuador.

By replacing the IMF as the primary lender in Latin America, Chavez undermines the liberal trade and investment policies that have benefited other countries in the region such as Colombia and Chile. One only has to look at the policies he has implemented in his own country. For example, Chavez has threatened to take over banks that do not offer low interest rates to domestic industries, a particularly unreasonable demand in an inflationary environment: in January 2007, inflation hit 18.4 percent, the highest rate in Latin America. High inflation is to be expected as government spending, fueled by high oil revenues, has doubled since 2004.

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Of course in 2007 when these words were written, by mentioning the word "Harvard" in the subtitle, the author may have been trying to get a bit a weight behind his argument, but after all we know by now that MBA stands for "Master of Business Apocalypse".

Chavez is not a fool. He had to guess that the way things were "growing" along in the "Western world" was not going to carry on forever at the same pace and the price of oil would "fluctuate" to his country's detriment eventually. So he had to make provisions for the bad times — before the MBAed foreign financial whizz would cream it all and leave his country with nothing but more debts. Thus he created the Banco del Sur for the South American countries who wished to go along...

The New Internationalist (issue 419)points thus a few fact about "Hugo's Bank" having become the sixth largest bank in South America with high capital reserve and low indebtedness...

Take that Citi... Or Bank of America...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered the army to take control of all rice processing plants in the country.

Mr Chavez accused some firms of overcharging by refusing to produce rice at prices set by the government.

He warned that some companies could be nationalised if they tried to interfere with supplies of the grain.

Mr Chavez - who has nationalised large swathes of Venezuela's economy - did not say how long the government intervention would last.

Major rice processors in the country include the US-owned giant Cargill and Venezuela's main food company, Polar.

Last year, Venezuela seized control of plants and offices belonging to Mexican cement giant Cemex.

In 2007, the government said it had taken control of the massive Orinoco Belt oil projects as part of President Chavez's nationalisation drive.

From the BBC

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said he is prepared to receive detainees held by the US military at the Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba.

US President Barack Obama has ordered the closure of the controversial camp, in which around 240 inmates are held, by next year.

Mr Chavez made his offer at a summit of South American and Arab countries.

It is highly unlikely the Pentagon will take him up on it, however, given the poor state of US ties with Venezuela.

Sean Penn has defended Hugo Chávez as a model democrat and said those who call him a dictator should be jailed.

The Oscar-winning actor and political activist accused the US media of smearing Venezuela's socialist president and called for journalists to be punished.

"Every day, this elected leader is called a dictator here, and we just accept it, and accept it. And this is mainstream media. There should be a bar by which one goes to prison for these kinds of lies."

Penn, who has visited Chávez in Caracas, said Venezuela's poor majority had willingly embraced his leftist revolution, but that this view was concealed from Americans.

"We are hypnotised by the media. Who do you know here who's gone through 14 of the most transparent elections on the globe, and has been elected democratically, as Hugo Chávez?"

Penn, speaking on Bill Maher's HBO chatshow, is part of a small but vocal pro-Chávez Hollywood group which includes Oliver Stone and Danny Glover.

They have remained steadfast even as Venezuela's leader has lost fans at home and abroad. Inflation, crime and water and electricity shortages have hit his popularity and led to defections from his socialist party.

The Organisation of American States recently accused Chávez of intolerance and authoritarianism, and a Spanish judge accused Venezuela of cosseting Farc and Eta terrorists, sparking a diplomatic spat with Madrid.

Chávez thanked Penn for his support in what he said was a daily battle for public opinion.

"I was reading the declarations from our friend Sean Penn, the famous American actor," he told a televised rally in Caracas. "Penn defended what he considers to be the truth."

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Gus: Chavez has been demonised by the US because he is mostly anti-capitalism — capitalism being that game where one is allowed to rob others, as long as one does not break the rules of being obvious about it...

Chavez has tried to improve the lot of the poor and poorest, who eventually will become middle class and boot him out, once greed touches their fingers... That's usual political progression for you.

But in the mean time, Chavez has made most multinationals redundant and his system works better for more people with less servitude to the big dollar. That concept is sinful, to the US press and US administration.

Freedom from slavery under the dollar???... What comes next? Freedom?... see Chavez toons on this site...

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Venezuela's socialist president Hugo Chavez has won re-election, quashing the opposition's best bet at unseating him in 14 years and cementing himself as a dominant figure in modern Latin American history.

Fireworks erupted across Caracas as "Chavistas" celebrated in front of the presidential palace after near-complete official results showed Mr Chavez winning 54.42 per cent of votes compared to 44.97 percent for opposition candidate Henrique Capriles.

"Thank you my dear people!!! Viva Venezuela!!!" Mr Chavez wrote on Twitter after the National Electoral Council announced the score. "Thank you God! Thank you to all of you!"

The 58-year-old's victory would extend his rule of the OPEC member state to two decades, though he is recovering from cancer and the possibility of a recurrence hangs over his political future.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/venezuelans-flood-polls-for-historic-election-to-decide-if-hugo-chavez-remains-in-power/2012/10/07/d77c461c-10c8-11e2-9a39-1f5a7f6fe945_story.html?hpid=z1

See toon at top......