Chavez descends into demagoguery on eve of vote

Washington Post:

On the eve of a referendum that President Hugo Chávez has cast as a plebiscite on his rule, the populist leader is escalating his verbal assaults on foes real and imagined, picking a fight with neighboring Colombia one day and assailing Catholic Church leaders as "mental retards" the next.

Chávez's behavior appears increasingly unpredictable, but some political analysts say the bluster may be a tactic designed to generate support for the constitutional changes that Venezuelans will vote on in Sunday's referendum. Although a few weeks ago the proposals had been expected to receive easy approval, polls released last week showed that the opposition could ultimately prevail in a tight contest.

"He's decided that his best tactic to recover the control of his movement is to instill fear in his people that there's a world conspiracy against Venezuela," said Demetrio Boersner, a political analyst and former diplomat. "It's a tactic that uses histrionics as a weapon to unite the people so they vote for him on Sunday."

The government says the rhetoric is no scare tactic, but rather a response to concerns that a destabilization plan is in the works. Officials point to negative press coverage, coupled with the Bush administration's statements questioning the fairness of the vote.

"There's an offensive to criminalize Venezuela, to say that Venezuela is falling into an abyss, that it's a country of dictators, of Castro-style communism, a country that helps terrorists," Bernardo Alvarez, Venezuela's ambassador in Washington, said Friday in a phone interview.

This week Chávez accused CNN of instigating an assassination attempt, asserted that the church is fomenting dissent and called the president of neighboring Colombia a "liar" who couldn't be trusted. He didn't forget the United States, either, saying the CIA was busy hatching a plan to stir tumult.

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Chavez is a bully who prefers insults to logic in arguing his case. He is also extremely paranoid which explains his reaction to the CNN mistake. If he were just paying attention to this week's Republican debate carried by CNN he would have seen other examples of CNN imperfections in dealing with politicians who are not his allies. He is also sounding somewhat desperate. He cannot afford to lose this election. I think if he is losing he will steal it, but his desperation suggest he would like an affirmation.

CNN is now reporting that Chavez has threatened to cut off US oil if allegations of fraud are made. This is part of his typical bully shtick.

The Washington Times has a round up of his opponents in this election including his ex wife, his former mentor and the previous defense minister. When it comes to ex wives, no one will confuse him with Fred Thompson whose ex wife is supporting his run for the presidency.

Fausta's Blog is a great resource for keeping up with the Venezuela mess.