Chavez got involved in perhaps a bit of drug trafficking, the same way Castro is alleged to have done, perhaps as a way of avenging all the embargo's and a way to thumb his nose at the US's perceived paternalism and imperialism. He supported the FARC in Colombia to the tune of 300 Million USD in at the Time of Mono Joyjoy's death in 2009 (when Colombian soldiers captured computer files in Ecuador accounting for the payments), in one of his many efforts to become a Regional Power at the expense of US interests, either idealistically or opportunistically, and at this point, no one really felt there was much idealism left in the FARC, so the latter is the best guess.Hugo kept himself in power with a whole deep bag of tricks. He was brutish and suppressed dissenters. He gave away gas at like 25 cents a gallon to Venezuelans, basically pumped it for cost and only charged exports, mostly through Citgo, the Venezuelan Oil company that is heavily nationalized, and further was nationalized when Chavez drove out independent drillers and suppliers in and around Lake Maracaibo when he took power. it's a cash cow and supports both the Bolivarians and their public works, as by some claims Venezuela is sitting on the largest Oil Reserves in the world, and pumps about 2.5 million barrels a day, about 3% of the world's demand. They consume only about 1/5 of that, 500,000 barrles. The enormous earnings from the other 4/5 went into socialist projects as well, free health care, and other social services. It's hard to argue that these things should be denied the Venezuelans, and it's part of Chavez charm that he did this, that he spent oil revenues in Venezuela instead of sending it abroad to bank accounts, but it created a wave of self entitlement in Venezuela and crime surged, perhaps since the changes were so dramatic. The country became a kind of domestic blood bath, and he created a climate whereby the rich and middle class were blamed for the suppression of the poor, legitimately or not, launching a race war of sorts.
Chavez was creative in other ways however. He put into the air a Bolivarian Communications satellite, and started Broacasting Tele Sur, his South American Propaganda network, to neighboring countries. The message, the rich are screwing you, and only him, his buddies, and the ghost of Simon Bolivar care about you. They tend to be silent on the Catholic Church publicly, allowing it to function somewhat unfettered. It's well known that the Catholic Church is the only social welfare in many parts of Latin America, and taking it on is unwise.
In Part 1 I gave a general history and description of the Bolivarian Movement, and it's historical context in the Movement of the Non Aligned..
Now I will give some more details of where it is strong, how it manifests, and what it means for travelers.
The affected Countries are:
Venezuela
Ecuador
Argentina until just recently, November 2015, although change will come slowly
Bolivia
partially to Brazil, although not horribly.
Nicaragua was sympathetic, as it's always had a leftist lean since the revolution against Samoza in 1979, despite being a pretty legitimate democracy since the end of communism.
Obviously Cuba, the old stalwart of Latin American Leftism
Mexico and most of central america steered clear, enmeshed in their own problems with the drug war and development, and under a close watchful eye of the US. Of them, Guatemala has a vibrant democracy with active leftist parties but it doesn't seem to have gone downhill in this way.
Countries that have avoided it, are Colombia, Peru, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay, which all kind of maintained a market oriented economy and have been achieving slow but steady progress towards modernity.
After Venezeula, it took hold in Ecuador, with the election of Rafael Correia ( president 10 years and counting). While again, there was some good, and a reason he might have been elected after oligarchic reign, even in fairly egalitarian Ecuador, but he took control with a playbook out of something Marxist-Lenninist and very much influenced by Chavez and his successor Maduro, and started curtailing freedoms, removing guns from the populace, and raising taxes. He is working hard to expand natural gas and oil production in the Jungle areas of east Ecuador against the protests of the native indigenous tribes, and while again, people are grateful for social progress he might have brought, it's become more and more obvious in recent years that he is entrenching himself in power as a dictator, and reducing civil liberties vital to a democracy like free speech.
The worst example of this kind of Bolivarianism was an almost Peronist example that just came to an end in Argentina with the defeat of the Kirchner supported candidate to a rightist reform candidate just weeks ago. PEople expect that once the new president has consolidated power, that there might be criminal charges against the Kirchner couple, Nestor from 2003-2007, then his wife Christina from 2007-2015 (an attractive woman but a political disaster.. think a hot spicy Sarah Palin) who both were presidents at some point, for allegedly flying pallets of cash out of the country to personal foreign bank accounts in addition to allegations of murder and corruption to prop up their leftist reign of about 12 years which sent the Argentina economy reeling with price fixing, onerous trade restrictions and nationalizations (again, just like Chavez did). If you are destroying the Argentine beef industry, something is really wrong.
And then there is Bolivia. If you can imagine, the first indigenous president of Bolivia (a positive change no doubt.. they are 62% of the population, the highest in Latin America) is a guy named Evo Morales, who had been head of the Coca growers association. he's been in power since 2003, and be wary of anyone who serves more than two terms and rewrites a constitution.. Bolivia, along with Venezuela, Ecuador, and until recently Argentina, is the fourth leg to the Bolivarian table. While noone can argue that Morales isn't a smart guy, and that Bolivia didn't need reform, it's hard not to argue that he's become a form of leftist dictator.They collectively call themselves the Bolivarioan Alliance of the Americas, and have recruited a few carribean countries as well:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALBA
The president of Brazil, Lula, elected from 2003-2011, was definitely a leftist reform candidate, but to his credit, he never crossed into the realm of venal and tyrannic even though he overlapped the Bolivarian movement and paid some lip service to it. He left power democratically after two terms and didn't place social progress at odds with general prosperity, and Brazil thrived under him.
Uruguay had a Doctor for a president from 2005 to 2010, and like Lula, while a leftist, he was considered to be quite effective and good for the nation as a whole, and not a self satisfied dictator, and he was also just reelected to another term this year.
So where the rubber hits the road, it has affected travelers which is the point of this blog:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_United_States_citizens
Many of these countries have required special entry fees and visas for Americans as part of a larger thing called the Movement of the Non Aligned, which is a leftist third world consortium of countries that blame the first world, especially the US, for many of their ills, and require large entry fees particularly for Americans, as much as 150 dollars, as a penalty to american cities since they say they pay similar fees to enter the US as the US Federal government instituted high fees to pay for screening and fingerprinting etc in the wake of the September 11 attacks. They call it Reciprocity.
http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/fees/reciprocity-by-country.html
while many of the countries still allow US citizens Visa on Arrival, the fees at time can be huge, and the treatment rough. For instance, you will charged 160 dollars in advance to go to Argentina, and they will fingerprint you. Brazil requires you to go to their consulate offices to visit. This system will be overwhelmed before the Rio Olympics you can bet. When Brazil first began this system, a few Americans, fresh off the plane, gave fingers during the brusque photo taking and fingerprinting and were arrested for disrespect to federal officers.
Again notice that Bolivia demands $135 from Americans, and Venezuela still requires visa in advance as well. Does Venezuela have a right to be worried.. they might.. I know from personal experience that the Bush administration took at least minor steps to get rid of Chavez, but like anything with a government agency.. it's easy to add a tax, almost impossible to get rid of one. by contrast, neighboring Colombia allows US Citizens in good standing three months upon landing no questions asked and fee free.
When you are in these countries, Ecuadorians have some perspective on it, but in some places like Venezuela and Bolivia, you will be confronted by true believers who will blame you for their ills. While I again can't say the US have been Choirboys for the full extent of our experience with Latin America, we have been significantly hands off since the end of the Cold War barring our partial and somewhat uneven enforcement of the drug war. Compared to the 1980's and before, we are almost non existent in Latin America these days, but if you listen to Tele Sur, we are behind every rock causing chaos.
