Chavez Televised Speech

President Chavez, in a televised speech Sunday, addressed the upcoming U.S. election, the U.S. trade embargo with Cuba, and the recent U.S. attacks on Syria.

It may seem a bit strange that the Venezuelan president would spend time and energy talking about America instead of his own country, but I guess it's easier to talk about somebody else's shortcomings than your own. :) On the other hand, I found it difficult to find any press on this speech that was not about America, so he probably talked about other issues besides the ones that the American media would decide to cover.

Chavez, who has a strong anti-American stance, recently pulled his ambassador out of the U.S. and is refusing to send a new one until President Bush is out of office. Chavez also said that he would look forward to meeting and talking with Obama if he wins the election. He did not address his feelings on the possibility of meeting with McCain.

The big test, according to Chavez, of the next American president is whether or not the U.S. ends their current embargo with Cuba. (Chavez is a friend and supporter of Fidel Castro.)

Chavez also commented on the U.S.'s attack on Syria this weekend, calling it "illegal aggression" and violating international rights.

Anyway, I thought it was an interesting display of the dynamics of our relationship with Venezuela. There's a lot of finger-pointing on both sides, but hopefully our next president will be able to take the steps to get along with Chavez so that he can stop focusing on the U.S.'s actions and focus on running his own country!

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/uspolls2008/Election_Story.aspx?ID=NEWEN20080070968&

and

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/uspolls2008/Election_Story.aspx?ID=NEWEN20080070968&

--Hannah