Very surprised this hasn't been sifted before. So here it is. I tried to get the full length version but couldn't find one.

This is a pretty incredible clip.

Chavez delivers a very powerful and very hostile address. He holds Noam Chomsky's 'Hegemony or Survival' in his hand, lays out the plain dry facts of US imperialism, and calls out American democracy as a 'false democracy for the elites'

He claims that world leaders are waking up to all of this and are standing up to it. Putin made a statement today that an Isreali strike on Iran would be considered as an American attack on Russia.

Maybe it's not Bush we should be worried about, maybe it's the rest of the world standing up to Bush that we should be worried about.

"Maybe it's not Bush we should be worried about, maybe it's the rest of the world standing up to Bush that we should be worried about."

Hmmm. I never thought of that.

We can't even get the Democrats to stand up to him.

Chavez is also in the end centralizing power under himself. Giving someone power for life, no matter what his policies have achieved in the short run is no path for democratic development in the long term. No matter how many good intentions he has.

Chavez doesn't have power for life. V is a democracy. Let's be factual please.

Hmm, well i posted once (on a blog) that Chavez was democratically elected and not a dictator (in response to another comment) and had no idea the firestorm I was setting off. It seems theres democracy, and then theres something where a person you dont agree with gets elected. In which case you can label them with any kind of "ism" you feel appropriate, like communism, populism, socialism etc.

Right let's be factual.

"Venezuela's parliament, dominated by supporters of President Hugo Chavez, has begun its final debate on proposed changes to the constitution. The changes would remove term limits for the presidency, and extend the term of office from six years to seven.

The assembly on Tuesday added 25 amendments to a previous 33 passed by Congress, including proposals to detain citizens without charge in emergencies. If passed, all the measures will be put to a popular referendum in December.

There are no opposition politicians in the Venezuelan National Assembly, since most of the anti-Chavez parties boycotted the last election in 2005. However, several members of parliament have questioned the way these late changes have been introduced, calling it constitutional fraud. "

Mr Chavez said the changes were "imperative to the revolution" and would help make the country more socialist. One of the most controversial amendments would allow the president sweeping powers during a state of emergency.

The international organisation Human Rights Watch has condemned this, saying under international law all countries have to guarantee certain freedoms at all times. "Recent Latin American history shows that it is precisely during states of emergency that countries need strong judicial protections to prevent abuse," said HRW Americas director, Jose Miguel Vivanco.

Also on Tuesday, a long-standing critic of the president, Roman Catholic Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara, died, aged 85. He had consistently spoken out against Mr Chavez, saying the president was increasingly authoritarian and "fundamental democratic principles [were] ignored or violated".

For his part, the president called Cardinal Castillo Lara "a hypocrite, bandit and devil with a cassock".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7048229.stm

On August 15, 2007, Chavez called for an end to presidential term limits to extend his rule and consolidate a self-styled socialist revolution in Venezuela. He also proposed eliminating central bank autonomy, strengthening state expropriation powers and giving himself control over international reserves as part of an overhaul of Venezuela's constitution.

Appealing to the masses, then coercing that trust into fulfilling selfish aims is the mark of every dictator known to mankind. Am so tired of this endless drivel that Hugo Chavez is just a saintly person, nothing corrupts like power. The sweeping nationalist powers that Chavez would enjoy would allow him to claim any number of emergency states (e.g. foreign threats) to garner absolute power overnight. The Myth of Saint Chavez is already complete, the poor have rallied around him and will do as he wishes regardless what that could mean for V's future state of democracy.

Lots of democracies dont have term limits, and have those same kind of emergency powers. The poor can make up their own mind about their own interest, they dont need to be told by us foreigners. I wish people like the Pat Robertsons got so up in arms about the non-democratically elected leaders in the world as they do about Chavez.

I don't always agree with Farhad for sure, but here I'm ABSOLUTELY behind his words. Thanks Farhad! That was very well said and extraordinarily defended.

Answering some other posts:
So a president declaring an end to elections and term-limits is acceptable in a democracy? Tell me that you're OK with Bush being president of the USA for the rest of his life and I'll believe that you thoroughly thought about that statement. Remember the landslide he won by at the vote against Kerry. Do you really want that vote to mean life in office?! Term limits are set in free nations so that "Majority popular" folks who are "Minority DISASTROUS" are kept from having life-long power. America is a republic and has a decent `checks and balances` system for the very reason of keeping the majority in check. We DON'T want the majority to say what is OK and what is not. We want what is Right to decide that and we have a constitution to define that.

Chavez has decided to use his majority power to make him emperor of Venezuela. He is ruler for life and his word is law. Do you want Bush or even... do you want ANYONE to be emperor of America and their word to be law?! I tell you the truth, if any politician declared himself life-long ruler of this country, he'd be assassinated before he could pass his first declaration.

Too bad the American system of checks and balances is now under siege by an administration that believes its above congress and above the law.

20,000 students protested in Venezuela against plans hatched by Hugo Chavez.