Communism and Socialism

Policy

Democracy was considered the structure of the enlightened in the West, and Chavez’s form of governance was seen as the brutish representation of the exotic, darker-skinned Venezuelans. U.S. officials denounced Chavez as a “communist,” socialist,” and “leftist” without ever understanding the meanings behind these ideologies. Rather, Presidents Bush and Obama, along with other members of Congress, used these terms in the spirit of Red Scare alarmism to otherize the people of Venezuela and their leadership. U.S. policy demanded that Chavez falls in line with American democratic hegemony. Namely, Chavez did not follow the American norm, which was proof of the exotic and inferior nature of the Venezuelan people.