VENEZUELA LOOKIN GOOD:)

"Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has taken over from Fidel Castro the mantle of Latin America's leading opponent of the United States, which remains the largest customer for Venezuela's oil.
Mr. Chavez, a former colonel first elected in 1998 on a populist platform, has carried out a series of steps that he says are reshaping his country's economy to match his vision of "21st century socialism." He has sought to counter American influence in the region, seizing control of the oil assets of American and European energy companies, and in other ways consolidating state control over the economy and nationalizing telephone and electricity companies. He proclaimed a "Bolivarian revolution," named for the hero of Latin American independence, and proclaimed the United States to be a threat, in part because of its indirect support for a coup that briefly ousted him in 2002. Yet despite the increasingly heated rhetoric - Mr. Chavez proclaimed President Bush to be "the devil" in an address to the United Nations - the business ties between the two countries remained strong through his first term. After Mr. Chavez's reelection in 2006, he took a harder line toward foreign ownership, and direct foreign investment in Venezuela plunged by $543 million that year. Venezuela's economy was buoyed by historically high oil prices and its $25 billion in reserves, but a budget deficit began to widen as growth slowed.
While Mr. Chavez is popular with a majority of voters, Venezuelan society remains deeply polarized. His supporters credit him with channeling oil revenues to the poor through an array of social welfare programs. Critics, however, say his government is adopting measures that limit freedom of expression and lacks transparency in dealing with private industry. Alliances with leftist governments in Latin America, like Cuba and Bolivia, and outside the region with Iran and Belarus point to continuing political tension with the United States. "(May 17, 2007)


WELL MR. CHAVEZ HAS CHANGED VENEZUELA FOR THE BETTER..IT SEEMS LIKE HE'S GOT GOOD IDEAS..AND HES GON REALLY TAKE VENEZUELA REAL FAR..SHOOT I THINK THATS WHAT THERE BASICALLY TALKING ABOUT..I GUESS THERE PRETTY BIG OIL SUPPLYERS TOO..WELL THERE DOIN GOOD I GUESS..OVERALL HES A BIG HELP TO THEM AND IT SEEM LIKE HE REALLY CARE..