Chavez offers Americans cheap fuel Wednesday 24 August 2005, 10:08 Makka Time, 7:08 GMT Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, popular with the poor at home, has offered to help needy Americans with cheap supplies of petrol. "We want to sell gasoline and heating fuel directly to poor communities in the United States," the populist leader said at the end of a visit to Communist-run Cuba on Tuesday. Chavez did not say how Venezuela would go about providing petrol to poor communities. Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA owns Citgo, which has 14,000 petrol stations in the United States. The offer may sound attractive to Americans feeling pinched by soaring prices at the pump but not to the US government, which sees Chavez as a left-wing troublemaker in Latin America. Petrol is cheaper than mineral water in oil-producing Venezuela, where consumers can fill their tanks for less than $2. Average petrol prices have risen to $2.61 a gallon in the US, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Chavez said Venezuela could supply petrol to Americans at half the price they now pay if intermediaries who "speculated ... and exploited consumers" were cut out. Venezuela supplies Cuba with generously financed oil, and plans to help Caribbean nations foot their oil bills. Chavez, in Cuba to attend the graduation of Cuban-trained doctors from 28 countries, was seen off at the airport by Cuban President Fidel Castro. Washington has accused the two leaders of being a destabilising influence in South America. Chavez and Castro offered to give poor Americans free health care and train doctors free of charge. http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/998CE86F-D4B3-4C71-8CD0-1533DD28659C.htm
Now I see how Chavez is going to start a communist revolution in United States, by offering cheap fuel to the poor! Better send in the CIA and take him out right away.
Chavez has a lot of nerve. First he sets up health clinics and provides healthcare for his nation's poor, now he wants to sell poor Americans cheap gas. You are right, Pirc, the man needs to be stopped. The world as we know it would come to an end if we could all fill up for $2 total. What would be next free college educations for the poor?
That sounds all nice and good, but this is the same guy who made it illegal for people to criticize him.
I was really just mostly playing around in this thread. He didn't make it illegal for people to criticize him, but he has put some critics in jail, and censored the press. There is absolutely no excuse for that. Of course some of the people he jailed were part of the group that started a coup and removed him from power illegally too. His tactics have been overboard, but we don't know what kind of tactics he would use if the wealthy, folks displaced from power, and the U.S. weren't trying to get rid of him. As hard as it might be for him to feel secure political opposition needs to be able to have free reign at all times. There isn't an excuse to jail a person for simply disagreeing with a leader. That being said, he is democratically elected and popular with the majority of people there. He has worked to establish healthcare for the poor, and improve their conditions. This has really ticked off the wealthy and powerful and have had to subsidize it. His need before greed style of governing is dangerous to powerful selfish groups in Venezuela and apparently to the U.S. as well.
what's wrong with you guys....in Venezuela the gas has always been cheap...everything is cheap there......he knows the U.S is going to do something to get him removed one way or another......the guy is better than all the pro white leaders they had before him...now atleast some of the poor are getting oppurtunities...to me the guy is perfect for a country like that..because a democratic country would not work there...cause the most rich will always win....
Does the b*stard know that inexpensive gas and health care for America's poor is against US law? Don't do the crime, if you don't want to do the time (or be assassinated, whatever).
Well boys and girls Chavez's Venezuela is greatly enjoying the higher oil and gas prices that US companies are. But US companies know that the profits must be harvested because commodity prices fluctuate. His country would be booming regardless because of the high oil prices, but he is wasting his money by 'buying' favors abroad instead of using the VENEZUELAN money to reinvest it into his economy and not pander to socialists/communists in the region. Of course oil prices are cheaper there, its a major oil producing country. Thats also why oil prices are cheaper in Texas than they are in California or Paris, when you're next to the oil fields, its cheaper to get it to you. Hell, i'd take his cheap oil, as will Cuba and any other country in the world. But that doesn't mean he's doing good for his people and not using Venezuelans money for his own political agenda.
Links? Proof? As reported in the MSM, all the tv stations and newspapers owned by the welathy class were against him in the referendum. How dare he cater to the majority with healthcare and schooling. They will then vote for him. Not fair. Why can't he be our like our long time allies and just give his oil money to members of the Royal Family. Then we wouldn't have to complain so.
Hell, he is wasting it on education and healthcare for the poor. Why not do what Khan and the conservatives preach in all countries. Reduce nearly all the taxes on the wealthy, fund limited government with taxes on the poor and middle class. Then that will unleash the rich to invest and produce so much wealth than everyone will be well off. Sadly the stupid Venezuelan majority don't realize that the reason they are poor is that the rich in Venezulalhave had too little money and paid too little taxes previously. Don't they have MBA's or what? Cheer up, Khan. Look at the bright side. After the poor are taught to read they can read conservative economic doctrine and then they can remain contentedly poor as the wealthy get wealthier. It is the American Way.
There is nothing wrong with me. Using an iron hand to silence peaceful dissent is never perfect or good for a country. I agree that he is doing great things for the people of Venezuela. He's providing them with healthcare they've never had before, he's making things more affordable for the poor, he's providing services for a people that have been exploited and made others in that nation rich. Actually a democracy will work there, because he has been democratically elected numerous times. The fact that the U.S. govt is out to overthrow the democratically elected leader, as are the rich of Venezuela who can no longer exploit the poor to rake in more money, and they are all out to get him doesn't excuse imprisoning people guilty of no crime other than disagreement is the right thing to do.
Chavez may or may not be a swell guy... ...but i'm intrigued as to how he would sell gas directly to the poor communities in the US. Can't y'all recognize hyperbole when you read it?
Yes, prices are cheaper in Texas than in CA. etc. You can't fill up your car for $2 total, and that is due to the resources in Venezuela. But his political agenda is providing services for the poor. Chavez is doing that. He is spending money for his own political agenda, and it is working out very nicely for the poor of his nation. It is why he continues to win election after election. He's doing more good for his people than previous Venezuelan govts. He's doing it despite pressure and attempts to illegally remove him from office.
That would be near impossible. That is why I was joking around when I read that was his plan. Unless he made customers prove they recieved welfare he couldn't really do such a thing.
same thing is happening here.. $300B of american tax-payers money is being spent on the Iraq war.. I know you have all these different changing justifications but the bottom line is what good is it to the majority of the American people?
well since they own citgo, and citgo's are located usually on lower income areas, they can probably lower citgo's price..
We could be spending the $300B on rebuilding our country's infrastructure to rely less on Middle Eastern oil. Instead we are spending $300B on securing a military foothold in the region so we can seize the oil fields if necessary to maintain our oil driven economy. Oh wait, we are there to provide democracy. News flash, Islam and democracy don't mix. The Arabs don't want our form of goverment. They want a theocracy based on Islamic teachings. Once again God has a sense of humor. He gives the west ariable land to grow plenty of food, but no oil to run an industrial society. He gives the Arabs worthless desert land that won't grow anything, but gives them most of the worlds oil.
You completely misunderstood my assumption. I stated that the country has a great deal of extra money because of the increase in global energy prices. They should maintain those reserves and use it for their own infrastructure. By aiding Cuba and other people/countries that are pro his form of government he is wasting Venezuelan money and resources and not doing what is in the best interest of his people, just his own. I think its great that he's utilizing the excess amount (that was created by the global energy markets strong run) to fund schools and clinics for the poor of the country. But he must realize also that if he plans to continue and give more and more social services as a communist country does, the people will get less and less power and ultimately as the past has shown, the country will go bankrupt as productivity and the will to work falls.
