Desperate Times...

Call for desperate measures. And in Chavez' case, he must truly be desperate.

Here is an article from the AP where Chavez accuses Colombia and the US of conspiring against him.

Funny that he accuses Colombia of aggression when he sought to undermine Colombian President Uribe with his negotiation antics with the FARC. Getting only egg on his face with that situation, he is acting like a cry baby and playing the imperialism card again.

No wonder he lost the last referendum. He's losing his fan base, because all he just a bag of hot air. Sure, in the beginning the anti-US talk resonated with a vast majority of his supporters. There has generally been an anti-American sentiment in Venezuela among the poor and lower middle-class since I can remember. Chavez fed on that resentment to gain support, and to feed his ego.

Since that time, while some people have gained the benefit of petrol dollars (which are dwindling as previously sited on this blog), he hasn't done much to address the core problems faced by Venezuela: crime, corruption, and lack of work. People can only last so long on vapor ware before becoming disheartened.

So he goes back to the well this time, citing 'intelligence' reports that the US and Colombia are out to get him, in an attempt to whip the faithful back into a frenzy. Something tells me, his message won't be as well received as time goes on without tangible headway made against food shortages, crime, and general infrastructure issues in the country.