Hugo Chávez exploits oil wealth to push IMF aside - International Herald Tribune

Sometimes it takes, of all things, an International Herald Tribune article to really put things in perspective. For instance, even for those who follow the news of Venezuela regularly, with the passage of time we can start to simplify, in our own minds, the reasons for the hatred by the corporatocracy of the United States for Hugo Chavez.
We could, for instance, dwell on the moment that no news outlet will let us forget: When Chavez called Bush the devil at the UN. We could give undue attention to his penchant for yankee-provoking alliances, with countries like Iran and Cuba.
But the IHT reminded us today of the real reasons for this hatred:

"President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela is using his country's oil wealth to squeeze the International Monetary Fund out of Latin America, the region that once accounted for most of its business."

The story outlines what many of us have known, but refreshes for us the sheer magnitude of it. Chavez has loaned $4.5 billion to neighboring countries, while the IMF loans in the region- a region that used to account for 80% of all IMF loans- have shrunk to an unthinkable $50 million. Of course, what this means is that these countries are no longer subservient to the corporate dominions of the IMF. Chavez imposes no Structural Adjustment Programs that limit the minimum wage and spending on education and health care, Chavez does not force them into engineering projects with the largest of US firms, and he certainly doesn't make them extol the virtues of free trade as they spiral into a life of indentured servitude.
To be fair, Chavez isn't giving the money away, either. He makes them pay the same money at near comparable interest rates, but for once these countries can start to make decisions for the good of their own people. Accordingly, however, this signals one of the final descents of the power of US corporations in the region. This is not to say that they do not still dominate the economies of nearly ivery Latin Amwerican country, but simply that in these countries they no longer possess the militray or economic bludgeoning power that enjoyed in the past, which ensured for them the fulfillment of their desires in the region. In short, they now have to play fair.
Meanwhile, the story out of Argentina today is that Kirchner is lauding his economic recovery (partially helped by Chavez) while defending his relationship with... Hugo Chavez. In that defense he says "Nobody here is subordinated to anybody," which is either a testament to the incredibly short memories of Argentines (to suggest that Venezuelan influence would ever compare to the Chicago Boys free trade influence) or a testament to how much the Pro-US oligarchy still impacts public opinion in the country.
And, of course, the last story of interest: Castro may be returning to work soon. With the IHT spouting such illuminating treason, I'm sure the US thinks it couldn't come a day too soon.

Hugo Chávez exploits oil wealth to push IMF aside - International Herald Tribune
Kirchner Lauds Economic Recovery - Forbes.com
VietNamNet - FM: Fidel Castro could return to work soon