Rafael Correa = Chavez 2.0

The most recent proposals from Ecuador's President dispel any existing doubts about his determination in replicating Chavez path.

According to Reuters, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa is set to emerge with a strong mandate to dissolve Congress and approve sweeping reforms after claiming a majority in Sunday's vote for an assembly to rewrite the constitution.

Back in 1999, when Venezuela went through a similar political situation, the same idea was proposed by Hugo Chavez who, taking advantage of his party’s huge victory in the national election for the assembly’s seats, initiated a long way that has allowed him to seize wealth and political power. The most surprising issue is that Ecuadorians are not realizing the resemblance, despite all the evidence or, something worse, that they do recognize Correa’s intentions and nevertheless they willfully want their country to be just as Venezuela is now.

By 2000, Chavez got his own way, not only dissolving Venezuelan Congress but also the Supreme Court, which by that time were not even options provided by the constitution. After that, it has been an unstoppable snowball toward the consolidation of what he has called “XXI Century Socialism”, a political process that appears to be more a new attempt in reviving Marxism-Communism that a simple leftist movement.

He is a true believer in this doctrine and his buying his way up through all Latin America, taking into consideration specially those countries with important natural resources, such as Ecuador and Bolivia. Riding a colossal wave of popularity in the continent, due to a particular personality (great charisma and a very affect way of speaking, matched maybe only by Fidel Castro)and a compulsive craze of giving away large amounts of Venezuelans’ resources with no questions, he has succeeded in capitalize an increasing dissatisfaction with United States, partially justify by Bush administration’s almost complete oblivion of the existence of Latin countries as a whole (not just Colombia and Mexico) while Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a very strong and growing influence, spends more time in Latin America than President Bush. The point is that waving a “counter-imperialism” flag Chavez has won a lot of supporters around the world and within Venezuela. Just by criticism he has achieve at least recognition in world affairs.

Having reach so far, surviving even an allegedly coup, he is about to achieve a hegemonic control in the South American country by giving the last stitches to a prêt-a-porter constitution. Central Bank autonomy is bound to disappear, as well as the current Presidential term’s limitation, not for all public posts but only for the President, allowing him to stand indefinitely for the position.

Chavez is now in the position of transfer the know how acquired in this try and error process, which pretty much follows this alchemist’s solve et coagula formula: control the country’s main sources of income, assume a critical position against Uncle Sam (not a difficult task these days, by the way), blame USA A.K.A the “Empire” and upper- middle class citizens of every problem, change education is order to transmit the necessary values to give birth the “New Man” (indoctrination), and then let everybody wear out pursuing an utopia while you, in the other hand, keep strengthening your economic and political control. By these means you will hold everybody at your feet begging for survival. I think this would be a best-seller for every leader that wants to build a stronghold to keep governing as much as possible with no real opposition.

While Venezuela economic system is becoming a capitalism ruled monopolistically by the State (which in Venezuela equals to Chavez), in other countries there are still people rightfully wandering if this “revolution” is the model to follow. In order to get the answer you need to keep in mind the final outcome: an almighty ruler surrounded by a group of privileged persons (named Nomenklatura in the Soviet Union), the only ones with full citizen status thanks to their “service” to the country, which in most cases suppose only to pledge blind loyalty to the leader and the process; and the rest of the population which will be so occupied blaming each other and fighting each other that will be powerless once they realize who is really their enemy.

If that is what you want for your country, then let Correa dissolve the Congress, let him control all the oil income and so on. In no time you will have a purported champion of the poor blaming everybody but himself while you see your cities full of US$100.000 vehicles, which ironically are a quintessential symbol of capitalism.