CNN on Venezuela

Periodically I get annoyed with U.S. media portrayals of Latin America. I wrote yesterday about CNN, and here is another example, from someone who is labeled the “business and financial news anchor and reporter for CNN en Español.” The subject is Venezuela.

From him, we learn that Venezuela is following the “North Korean style” of communism. Readers of this blog know I am very skeptical of Hugo Chávez, but come on. He is not closing his borders, killing thousands of people, or getting a poofed-up hairdo and big sunglasses.

We also learn that “Nestor Kirchner in Argentina and Luis Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil have similar ideologies to Chavez but don't share his statism.” His ideology is based on statism, so if they are not statist, what is their similar ideology?

Further, “like Cuba, Venezuela will remain an economic island, at least in the medium-term.” Countries that pump out large quantities of oil do not become economic islands without outside intervention (e.g. war with the U.S.). They have governments lining up to talk trade. Anyhow, Cuba’s problems with isolation stem from the U.S. embargo, not from anything intrinsic to the Cuban economy.