My Oh My

In the small town in Ohio in which I live, there used to be a family who moved here temporarily from Venezuela. The two kids went to the local high school, the father owned a small grocery store, and the mother taught Spanish at the local Catholic grade school, which I attended. My family and hers became close friends, and we learned a bit about their background. They told us that the mother was born into a pretty wealthy family back in Venezuela, but they gave it all up so they could live as part of the American middle class.

Eventually, because of some complexities, they had to move back to Venezuela. I feel really bad, because now they have to live under the rule of that idiot, Chavez.

But wait, you say, it's not good to use ad hominem attacks against people you disagree with. To call someone a name gets you no where. I agree wholeheartedly, I would never dare call Royal, Chomsky, or Lula a name. But for Chavez I make an exception.

It's legitimate to question globalization up unto this point. It's ok to criticize America's actions on the Iraq war. It's good to disagree with the status quo, and offer a different path. It's great to be passionate about your positions, whatever they may be.

But Chavez is none of that. He's an authoritarian, anti-capitalist, anti-democrat demagogue.

Why?

Well there are many reasons. Such as the consolidation of the main parties in Venezuela, the rewriting of the constitution, the numerous failed price control schemes, or his uncouthness towards the U.S. and Europe. All of those could be a blog post in and of themselves, but I would like to focus on one specific event.

Venezuela takes operations from big oil companies.

First of all, say what you will about big oil companies (they're a bunch of heartless bastards, I agree) but seizing their property and forcing them to sign it over to the state government is not cool. Furthermore, saying asinine things like "Open investment will never return" is not a good advertising slogan to send companies thinking about investing in Venezuela.

The problem with nationalizing oil fields is three fold. First, the state company (in this case PDVSA) does not have the managerial or scientific know how to keep the oil churning, and keep the money flowing back into Venezuela. Second, most likely any form of meritocracy will break down, and the people running these oil fields will not be the ones with the best experience or skills but rather with the closest connections to Chavez and his administration. Third, and most important, what major company is going to invest in Venezuela? When the possibility emerges that a factory or oil refinery you bought could be nationalized without warning, you are less likely to invest in that nation. Sustainable investment by foreign sources generally helps a country. There are times when foreign companies can do more harm than good, but one does not and should not deal with that problem by using decrees to make counter productive populist actions.

Ultimately though, who will all of his policies hurt?

Not him, for if anything goes wrong, he can blame it on "evil capitalists" or "price speculators."
All of the people in Venezuela will get hurt, from the rich to the poor, as foreign investments dries up.