I don't need to beat myself up. Not when you take all the time you take to do so. I love it when you say things like "It is obvious that you have no idea (missing word) the histories of Venezuela or cuba (should be capitalized)." I suspect that what you mean is that my perspective on the failings of their systems does not match yours, so my knowledge must be wanting.
I remember when Fidel Castro came to America for funding for his revolution. Many people donated, thinking he would establish a democracy there. Instead, after defeating Generalismo Batista, he surprised his American backers, by aligning with the USSR, against us. I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis. I remember my brother and many of his friends joining the military, because they were convinced that we were going to war. I remember that Lee Harvey Oswald worked for a group pushing for "Fairness for Cuba," when he killed Kennedy. I remember Castro making a big deal out of torturing his enemies, to suppress opposition. I remember boatload after boatload of people escaping Cuba and describing the abject poverty, in spite of Soviet subsidies. I remember North Vietnam thanking Cuba for blood donations during our war. The Cubans said they drained the blood out of their enemies until they died, then sent it to Hanoi. I ermember several recent documentaries showing Cuban infrastructure crumbling after decades of neglect.
Venezuela became well off during the OPEC Oil Embargo, when the price of oil quadrupled. Their various leaders, right wing and left, used oil to fund government programs and line their own pockets. Hugo Chavez became President in 1999, and eventually neutralized the power of the congress, after surviving a coup. The fluctuation in oil prices dogged him. He ruled by edict until his death. His poltical and presidential successor, Maduro, ran on a promise to root out corruption. Chavez left corruption? Who knew?
