Chavez Corollary: The New Hegemony on the Block

摘要

Venezuela, once seen as a pillar of democracy in Latin America, seems to be growing closer to totalitarian dictatorship under Hugo Chavez. Chavez's antiAmerican and populist ideologies have found a voice in other Latin American countries, namely Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. With its huge oil revenues, Chavez's Venezuela has the economic collateral to be a formidable challenge to the United States in the region, which could potentially threaten U.S. national interests. The National Security Strategy of 2006 states that the promotion of democracy is one of the most important ways to protect against tyranny. However, there is a growing trend in Latin America of leftist populist leaders challenging traditional democratic values and replacing them with more authoritarian regimes. A totalitarian Venezuela led by Hugo Chavez poses two major threats: (1) Chavez's influence over oil output as a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Export Countries (OPEC) could directly cause a recession in the United States as increasingly high oil prices and a weakening dollar force Americans to change their spending habits, and (2) Venezuela threatens regional security and stability, which greatly undermines democracy throughout the region. Such threats could lead to military conflict between nation states in Latin America. Despite the promotion of democracy being a top priority for the United States, the latter has done very little to combat the rhetoric of Hugo Chavez and the growing movement of populist totalitarianism in Latin America. The dilemma now is how much credence should the United States give to Hugo Chavez's antiAmerican rhetoric. If he is not a threat to U.S. national interests, the United States can just ignore him. The author believes that Chavez is a potential threat to U.S. interests. His populist ideology continues to undermine and destabilize the region and could threaten democracy as a whole in Latin America.