Is Hugo Chavez a dictator?
” The debate’s hot button (and perversely worded) questions on Latin America were “Is Hugo Chavez a dictator?” and ‘What’s the role of the U.S. in Cuba’s transition to democracy?’ None of the candidates came out and labeled Chavez a dictator but most, with the exceptions of Kucinich and Gravel, strongly implied that they weren’t big supporters. Most candidates felt it necessary to put anything good that they said in the context of bashing Chavez or Castro. In calling for increased economic aid to Latin America, Dodd said that “We shouldn’t…be losing public relations battles to Hugo Chavez.” Edwards suggested that if we “make hope and opportunity available to millions of people in Latin America, it would pull the rug out from under a man like Hugo Chavez.” No candidate mentioned anything particular they disliked about Chavez’s policies. According to Haugaard, “outdoing Chavez is not the correct reason to provide more economic aid to Latin America.” The establishment Democratic Party p
