Chavez Re-Invents The Flag Of Venezuela
Venezuela ranks number five on the list of the world’s largest exporters of petroleum products. So with all that money and nowhere to go, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has found a way to put it to good use. He’s hard at work re-making all the symbols of the country to reflect his leftist political tastes.
To start with, he’s re-inventing (to borrow a well known Al Gore phrase) the Venezuelan flag. But you really can’t call it the Venezuelan flag because he has renamed the country, which will now be known as the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in honor of Simon Bolivar who liberated most of South America from Spanish control. And to make sure that everyone is clear on the role of the Supreme Court, Chavez is renaming it, the Supreme Court of Justice.
The changes to the flag will include addition of an eighth star to represent the province of Guayana and a change in the direction of the horse that appears in the coat of arms. The horse is currently depicted moving to the right but will soon be moving to the left to reflect the political direction of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Of course, all this costs money. Besides changing every flag in the country, every single item that features the state seal including, but not limited to, government stationary and money, will have to be replaced. Considering that 80% of the people of Venez - oh, excuse me - the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela live in poverty, it begs the question, is this neccessary?
Chavez was elected President in 1988 primarily because he promised to end the poverty, a promise he has not kept. In fact, so many people in Venezuela are upset because Chavez has failed to make a dent in poverty, that a special recall election was held last year and Chavez just barely retained his post.
A lot of pundits are fond of comparing Chavez with Castro, who is the darling of the left. But they fail to note one important distinction - the people of Cuba are unfamiliar with democracy but the people of Venezuela are not.