Is Chavez the new Castro?

The only difference between Chavez and Castro is that Chavez has a huge amount of oil money behind him. I just love the lunacy that he spews.

Chavez, a frequent critic of the U.S. government, also said he had read reports of President Bush "putting money in circulation to buy votes and to blackmail, through the so-called (U.S.) intelligence agencies, to approve an initiative which is perverse."

Chavez did not give other details of his source or the claims, which have been made by some opponents of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The House of Representatives narrowly approved the agreement Thursday in a 217-215 vote, four weeks after the Senate backed the measure.

Yeah, I'm betting that the Venezuelan Secret Service has access to documentation on Bush's wrong doings. That is just silly. Scary thing is that he's probably believed by many in Central and South America.

Chavez also responded to criticism by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who has said Venezuela's government lobbied against the trade deal.

"I wouldn't do it because it's not up to me," Chavez said. "It's up to Central American fighters" to oppose such measures.

Along with his close ally Fidel Castro of Cuba, Chavez has sought to promote a socialist-based trade initiative called the "Bolivarian Alternative."

Heh, Socialist-based trade initiative? We've seen how effective socialist and communist trade has been for many economies. I don't see any that actually have succeeded.

Here's a bit on Bolivarian Alternative.

The ALBA (Alternativa Bolivariana para las Américas), as its Spanish initials indicate, is a proposed alternative to the U.S.-sponsored Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA, ALCA in its Spanish initials), differing from the latter in that it advocates a socially-oriented trade block rather than one strictly based on the logic of deregulated profit maximization. ALBA appeals to the egalitarian principles of justice and equality that are innate in human beings, the well-being of the most dispossessed sectors of society, and a reinvigorated sense of solidarity toward the underdeveloped countries of the western hemisphere, so that with the required assistance, they can enter into trade negotiations on more favorable terms than has been the case under the dictates of developed countries. [Emphasis Mine]

Sounds very utopian. Wonder why the countries involved in CAFTA are looking to the US rather than Venezuela for trade?