Violence in Venezuela Demonstrates the Failure of Hugo Chavez

It's official. Uncontrolled crime and sky-high murder rates in Venezuela have made that country a more dangerous place to live in than Iraq. This brutally simple fact should demonstrate to all the world to utter failure of Hugo Chavez as a leader and destroy whatever little credibility he has left.

Chavez came to power in 1998, promising a new era for Venezuela that would be based on upon his unique vision of what he called "21st century socialism" and the ideals of 19th Century Latin American liberator Simon Bolivar. In some ways, he made a good start. His government implemented much-needed medical and educational reforms that initially did much to improve the lives of the Venezuelan people. But after he narrowly survived a right-wing coup in 2002, things started to go downhill.

Thanks to Chavez's socialist policies, the economy began to tank and social services began to deteriorate. Chavez began curtailing the freedom of the press by shutting down media outlets which criticized him, and throwing his opponents in jail on trumped-up charges. Chavez pushed through laws allowing him to rule by decree. Corruption among government officials, the police, and the military reduced Venezuela to a stereotypical banana republic.

But the continually sky-high murder rates in Venezuela illustrate better than anything the complete failure of Hugo Chavez. The primary responsibility of any government is to protect the physical security of its citizens. With deaths from violence in Venezuela surpassing those of Iraq, it is clear that the Chavez government is completely unable to meet even this most basic requirement. Indeed, it's only action in the face of this crisis was to prohibit newspapers from publishing photos of dead criminal victims.