| Via Boli-Nica. |
Hugo Chávez is spending some of his country's oil windfall on buying support abroad. How much of a return is he getting?WITH a swipe at American âimperialismâ and reports on social problems in Latin America, a new regional television channel began pilot transmissions on July 24th. Telesur, backed by the governments of Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay and Venezuela, bills itself as a home-grown answer to CNN that will let Latin Americans see themselves âthrough their own eyesâ. But 70% of the channel's $10m start-up cost comes from Venezuela's government. To many, Telesur looks like propaganda for Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's president, and his âBolivarianâ revolution, named for South America's independence hero but of increasingly
Predictably enough, at the urging of Connie Mack, a Florida Republican, the United States' House of Representatives greeted Telesur by approving an amendment to the Foreign Appropriations Act calling for rival propaganda broadcasts. That allowed Mr Chávez to gloat that by getting his channel on air he had âscored the first goalâ against George Bush. Telesur comes on the heels of other initiatives in which Mr Chávez is using some of his country's windfall oil revenues to procure friends and influence abroad, especially in Latin America. Thus, Venezuela has bought $538m of Argentine debt. It is talking about doing the same for Ecuador's new populist government. Venezuela has also promised to build houses in Cuba and to finance co-operatives in Argentina.