O relacionamento cada vez mais íntimo entre o presidente da Venezuela Hugo Chávez e o Irã é o tema deste artigo interessante no Wall Street Journal.

A editora Mary Anastasia O'Grady diz que lista demonstrações recentes como o apoio às ambições nucleares iranianas e o anti-semitismo explícito no pronunciamento de Natal do Chávez.

Three months later, in a Christmas Eve TV broadcast, Chávez declared that "minorities, the descendants of those who crucified Christ, have taken over the riches of the world." That ugly anti-Semitic swipe was of a piece with an insidious assault over the past several years on the country's Jewish community. In 2004, heavily armed Chávez commandos raided a Caracas Jewish school, terrifying children and parents. The government's claim that it had reason to believe that the school was storing arms was never supported. A more reasonable explanation is that the raid was part of the Chávez political strategy of fomenting class hatred--an agenda that finds a vulnerable target in the country's Jewish minority--and as a way to show Tehran that Venezuela is on board. Ahmadinejad rivals Hitler in his hatred for the Jewish people.

Outra preocupação de O'Grady são as fábricas que o Irã vai construir na Venezuela, um acordo de U$1 bilhão.

Details on the Iranian "factories"--beyond a high-profile tractor producer and a widely publicized cement factory--remain sketchy. But what is clear is that the importation of state agents from Hugo-friendly dictatorships hasn't been a positive experience for Venezuelans. Imported Cubans are now applying their "skills" in intelligence and state security networks to the detriment of Venezuelan liberty. It is doubtful that the growing presence of Iranians in "factories" across Venezuela is about boosting plastic widget output. The U.S. intelligence agencies would do well to make a greater effort to find out exactly what projects the Chávez-Ahmadinejad duo really have in mind. Almost certainly, they are up to no good.

Há tb reclamações sobre o desrespeito à propriedade privada na Venezuela e desmandos na economia venezuelana em geral.

That Chávez is making a hash of the Venezuelan economy while he courts international notoriety is no secret. There are shortages of foodstuffs that are abundant even in other poor countries. Milk, flour for the national delight known as arepas, and sugar are in short supply. Coffee is scarce because roasters say government controls have set the price below costs, forcing them to eat losses. The Chávez response last week was a threat to nationalize the industry.

Property rights are being abolished. Last week, authorities invaded numerous "unoccupied" apartments in Caracas to hand them over to party faithful, part of a wider scheme to "equalize" life for Venezuelans.

Obviamente, o Wall Street Journal não reflete o pensamento da esquerda.

O conceito de propriedade privada pode até depender do ponto de vista. É um tema que pode ser debatido entre pessoas civilizadas. Entretanto, anti-semitismo e outros tipos de racismo são inaceitáveis.

IMHO, a elite tradicional venezuelana é tão ruim qto o Chávez... mas a demagogia anti-imperialista está passando do limite.