Citgo a no go in America.
Anyone who just watched American Idol saw a commercial with old people thanking an oil company called CITGO for giving them affordable heating oil that got them get through the winter. CITGO is the national oil company of Venezuela controlled by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is President only due to the fact that there are a heaps of Venezuelans who live in squalor and were tired of being basically neglected by past governments. They rallied behind his cause which was to give these people a voice, but instead of giving these people a voice he gave them something even better...a crutch. This crutch allows the poor of Venezuela to live basically rent free in government subsidized buildings and he also gave them jobs, the best kind of jobs, no-shows jobs like those construction union jobs in the Sopranos.
Problem is, the working middle class of Venezuela mostly mom and pop businesses have to give these people jobs and pay them working man wages or else the government has a right to seize their business and shut it down. Some of these people actually show up to work and are grateful for the opportunity given to them, but most of them know the deal and understand that they can't be fired unless they do something really blatant like steal or kill somebody, both of which has happened at my uncle's place of business, a restaurant in the business district in Caracas. So they show up and sit at the counter drink coffee and watch other people work for them.
You may say that this is an isolated incident, but I have alot of family and friends in Venezuela and all of them tell me stories like this. Hugo Chavez is a Dictator, not your old-fashioned IL Duce type dictator who rules through military might but he is your modern day dictator, the type the rules by controlling the economy.
Hugo Chavez decreed today that by May 1, 2007 Venezuela will have control over its oil reserves, saying that it should belong to the people. Every big oil company who has a presence in Venezuela and believe me you name an oil company they are there have to either enter into a "partnership" with him or leave. Venezuela may have more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia and is the fifth largest producer of oil in the world. Oil companies realizing that something is better than nothing will have to agree and play ball with Hugo Chavez.
What does Chavez do with all this new money, does he gives it back to the people? Yeah he will give some but it is a mere pittance into what he will take for himself and boost the military might of his country further consolidating his power. Hugo Chavez has almost $1 billion in planes and weapons purchases coming to him in the next 12 months. Guess how he is paying for it.
Giving affordable oil to people who need it, is all well and good but it isn't Hugo Chavez's job, it should be ours. Hugo Chavez should keep his oil and propaganda out of our most beloved national program, "American Idol". I would like to watch this program in peace and not be forced to think about the honest working of people of Venezuela, there is another 23 hours of the day to think about that travesty.
