Hugo Chávez grants rare interview to western media
Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez intends to inject new  urgency into his socialist, anti-imperialist revolution because, he  says, there is clear evidence that "capitalism is destroying the world".In a combative 60-minute interview with the BBC Hardtalk programme in the  presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela's president blamed his  country's deepening recession on the irresponsible economic policies of  the US and he expressed disappointment with Barack Obama's "very  negative signals" towards Latin America."I wish Obama would focus  on governing the United States and would forget his country's  imperialist pretensions," the 55-year-old leader said.Chávez  rarely grants extended interviews to the western media. This one was  arranged to coincide with the Caracas premiere of Oliver Stone's new documentary, South of the  Border. The film portrays a Latin America being transformed by  leftist radicalism. The leaders of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and  Ecuador all get walk-on parts, but it is their Venezuelan counterpart  who has the starring role. Stone and Chávez shared a limousine to the  red carpet launch of the film in Caracas's national theatre."What's  being going on in Venezuela for the last 10 years is amazing – a piece  of history. The least I can do is introduce this man and this movement  to the American people," said Stone, Chávez beaming by his side.Whether  many Venezuelans will ever see the film remains unclear. The premiere  was full of Socialist party bigwigs and activists who hooted with  delight as their president was seen lambasting George Bush, beating off a  coup attempt in 2002 and generally adopting the mantle of a  21st-century Castro. But no amount of support from a maverick US  film-maker can disguise a simple truth; domestic support for Chávez's  "Bolívarian socialism" is being sorely tested by a second consecutive  year of recession.Venezuela possesses the biggest oil reserves  outside the Middle East and supplies more than a tenth of US oil  imports, but still the economy has woefully underperformed others in  Latin American in the last two years. Inflation is at 30% and seems  likely to rise further. The Venezuelan currency, the bolívar, has been  devalued and is still sinking among Caracas's parallel market money  changers. In the capital's sprawling hillside barrios jobs are scarce  and Chávez's party is looking electorally vulnerable just three months  before parliamentary elections.He blamed the economic woes  squarely  on America's "rampant, irresponsible capitalism" which was  taking the world "on the road to hell". "In England and in Europe you  should know this," he said. "You have more problems than we do."Chávez  quoted a stream of economic statistics to illustrate his claim that his  11 years in power had "begun to redress the balance between a very rich  Venezuelan minority and a very poor majority" – unemployment halved,  extreme poverty down from 25% to 5%, he said.Domestic critics of  his nationalisation programme – which has turned the oil, power and  agriculture sectors into vast state bureaucracies – accuse him of  creating a "Bolívarian bourgeoisie" of corrupt officials and cronies.  But Chávez emphasised he intended to go further with his socialist  model. Privately owned enterprises are now being expropriated with  increasing frequency – a recent controversial example involved the  French-owned Exito supermarket chain after allegations of profiteering  and currency manipulation."Eleven years ago I was quite  gullible," he said. "I even believed in a third way, I thought it was  possible to put a human face on capitalism. But I was wrong. The only  way to save the world is through socialism, but a socialism that exists  within a democracy; there's no dictatorship here."But a crackdown  on opposition was highlighted last Friday with an arrest warrant issued  for the owner of the TV channel Globovisión, which takes a critical  line against Chávez.Guillermo Zuloaga has since gone into hiding,  but he recently told Hardtalk: "I have the right to have my own  personal opinions and to say whatever I like about Mr Chávez ... he has  to be able to accept criticism.'"The socialism that Chávez is  looking for is just a way to manufacture poor people."During the  interview Chávez became visibly agitated when questioned about his  government's respect for an independent judiciary, freedom of the press  and the rights of political opponents.As the tension rose Oliver  Stone, who was seated in a corner listening intently to the exchanges,  gestured to the president with both hands. The message was easy to read:  calm down.Chávez claimed Venezuela's press was "100 times more  free than that in the US", but when challenged over the recent  suspension of the privately run RCTV, ostensibly for failing to abide by  a legal requirement to air his numerous (often very long) addresses to  the nation, he again went on the attack. "Another lie of yours. You're a  great compiler of lies. Where did you get these huge lies from? Listen,  are you a qualified journalist?"It's not Chávez's domestic  record that most concerns the west; it's his determination to create an  "axis of unity" with those he sees as fellow strugglers against western  imperialism. He lists the leaders of China, Russia, Syria and Belarus as  "good friends", along with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In the  last three years Tehran and Caracas have strengthened military and  intelligence co-operation while deepening trade ties, and Chávez  responded indignantly to the latest round of UN sanctions against Iran.   "Venezuela is a free country and we will not be blackmailed by anyone.  We will not accept being told what to do over Iran, we will not accept  being anyone's colony," said Chávez. But he categorically denied claims  frequently aired in the US that Venezuela is supplying Iran with  uranium.His disappointment with the US president was expressed in  highly personal terms. "I shook Obama's hand and I said, 'I want to be  your friend.' My hand is still outstretched. I am not Obama's enemy but  it's difficult not see imperialism in Washington. Those who don't see  it, don't want to see it, like the ostrich."The president did  have a dialogue with the last Democrat in the White House, and that  memory seems to have sharpened his disillusionment with Obama. 'I said  to Hilary Clinton in front of President Obama, 'I wish I could enjoy the  same relationship with a US president that I had when your husband was  in power.'"Chávez refused to say whether he would seek another  term in elections scheduled for 2012. Though few doubt that he will,  having pushed through the abolition of term-limits in a hard-fought  referendum and he has spoken of ruling until 2030."Fidel has  spent his whole life on his [revolution]," Chávez said. "Whatever life I  have left I will dedicate to this peaceful democratic revolution in  Venezuela."Stephen Sackur's Hugo Chávez interview airs on the  BBC News channel tomorrow night at  11.30pmguardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2010