CATEGORY:INTERNATIONAL
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By Wallace J (Inside Grenada correspondent)


SEPTEMBER 23, 2006 - Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, on Tuesday of this week unleashed a verbal tirade against US President, George W Bush, on the floor of the United Nations. In his address to the General Assembly, the fiery Venezuelan president referred to President Bush as ‘The Devil’ on more than one occasion. He even made the ‘sign of the cross’ in his theatrical address so as to seek some sort of divine protection against ‘the devil.’

The fallout between Washington and Caracas dates back to the advent of Chavez on the political stage back in 1998. Chavez’s ‘leftist’ policies and his anti-globalization stance, along with his ‘courtship’ with some of the United States arch-enemies like Cuba, Iraq (before the US invasion), and now Iran (accused by the US of aspiring to develop nuclear weapons), has led to a strain in relations between the two presidents. This relationship seems to have grown progressively worse over the years.

In April 2002, Venezuela became embroiled in a general strike, which came on the back of an attempt (made by Chavez) to take control of the world’s fifth largest oil industry. On April 12, he was pushed out from office, but just two days later – after large crowds of Venezuelan (mostly poor) took to the street to show their support for him – he was back in office and firmly in control of the machinery of state. It is widely believed, in some quarters, that the United States had supported the opposition forces that had tried to remove Chavez from office. This further deepened the enmity between the two nations.

In his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Mr. Chavez criticized the UN’s present system, referring to it as being ‘worthless.’ He accused President Bush of talking as if he ‘owned the world’ and suggested that the UN be reformed to reduce US influence. As he inveighed against the US President, he accused Washington of promoting a false democracy based on elitism and bombs.

The flamboyant but controversial Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad echoed similar sentiments in his address to the UN as those verbalized by his ally, Chavez. He said, "…as long as the UN Security Council is unable to act on behalf of the entire international community in a transparent, just and democratic manner, it will neither be legitimate nor effective,"