Has the Chavez revolution been a success?

Mark Weisbrot, Center for Economic Policy and Research joins Thom Hartmann. Viva la Revolution in Venezuela. On Sunday - voters took to the polls and elected Hugo Chavez to serve a third term as President of Venezuela - thus continuing the socialist revolution Chavez started nearly 14 years for at least another 6 years.Chavez has been a pariah among Western governments ever since he took control of his nation and nationalized oil and other major industries in the country - and redistributed wealth down to the poor and working class. So far - it's been a success story in Venezuela. Under Chavez's watch - poverty has been cut in half - and extreme poverty reduced by 70%. College enrollment has doubled - public pension have quadrupled - and a new government housing programs has built a quarter-million new homes across Venezuela. Access to health care and education have also risen considerably. In two different parts of the world - we're seeing drastically different economic approaches. In debt-ridden Europe - with the exception of France - technocrats and banksters are shoving austerity down the throats of working people - cutting back on social services - and privatizing big chunks of the commons. But in South America - an opposing economic philosophy is seeing enormous success...socialism.So why is that? What can we learn from the Socialist revolution in South America - especially during a time of austerity in the Western world

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[itsneversimpleful]

viva chavez

[Mr4gmCkrazy]

i gotta admit i was wrong about Chavez

[AnglesM888]

You have to Be Very Carefull, because there are alot, and i hunestly mean alot of things going on, under the Table that one would never Believe or even imagen. The Best System that has out lived everything, Is HUNEST CAPITALISEM. That is what you find in Bible, and in Koran. Not the Jewish Ultra Capitalisem, no. The Old Hunest Good Capitalisem, and every time a country has had that it Prospres very much. DONT BE FULLED....