Editor,
In response to Scott Darnell's column in Tuesday's Daily Lobo and the letters that have followed about Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, I would like to add that many on the left support Chávez because of the good things he has done in Venezuela. We do, however, also have reservations about his recent actions. We are not such simple folk as to like him only because he panders to our dislike for President Bush.
Unlike other presidents in Venezuela, Chávez has turned some of his attention and money to classes besides the oil elite. This is good. He also seems to be heading for total control of government and one-party rule in the country. This is bad. The world is a complicated place.
Ideas and governments change. Like many of the other left-leaning leaders in Latin America today, Chávez is a great hope. If he remains true to democracy and helps a larger number of the populace live better lives, he will remain so. If, however, like others he sacrifices this dream and goes down the road of dictatorship and oppression, he will become yet another sad example of the failings of human nature. Time will tell.
I bet many of the rabid Bush fans who supported the pointless war in Iraq because they thought it would be easy now have more complicated feelings about Bush. Our own democracy has many problems, and we should not point fingers so quickly.
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Will Veeder
UNM student
