Hugo Chavez: Capitalism Must Die (Er, Not Really)

And so we have news of Hugo Chavez banging on the revolutionary drum for the umpteenth time in the wake of the latest G-20 meeting:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ridiculed the G-20 summit's attempts to deal with the global financial meltdown, saying that the "values of capitalism are in crisis" and capitalism "has to end." Speaking to Venezuelan state television late Thursday, Chavez said the United States and Britain are "the most guilty" for the financial crisis sweeping the globe because of the financial model "they've been imposing for years."

"It's impossible that capitalism can regulate the monster that is the world financial system, it's impossible," Chavez said. "Capitalism needs to go down. It has to end. And we must take a transitional road to a new model that we call socialism."

The Venezuelan leader's comments came during a trip to Iran. In recent years, Chavez and Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — both well-known for their anti-U.S. rhetoric — have boosted economic and political ties.

Then again, the same Hugo Chavez is keen on, er, drumming up investment from Japan and China (nevermind why these countries would like to participate in the Bolivarian revolution despite the omnipresent threat of expropriation):

“Japan is a country that consumes a lot of oil, and wants to diversify its sources,” Chavez said today in comments broadcast by state television. “Also, Japan has gigantic reserves of money, and I think they’re interested in investing.”

Venezuela, the fourth-biggest supplier of foreign crude oil to the U.S., will likely see a 4 percent contraction in gross domestic product this year, according to Morgan Stanley. Private investment has declined in recent years, as Chavez has nationalized oil, steel, cement, telephone and electricity companies.

“This meeting in China will be very important,” Chavez said today. “Its impact is going to be felt for the next decade.”

Somehow, I'd be a helluva lot more convinced if Chavez weren't seeking new outlets for Venezuelan oil from two of the very countries participating in the G-20 meetings. Like most anti-globalization rhetoric, Hugo's is fake from the get-go. A new of socialism? Even a certain Mr. Geithner is more communistic