Looking for the Truth in Chavez's Venezuela

AlterNet: WireTap: Looking for the Truth in Chavez's Venezuela:

"I spent a month in Venezuela recently talking to young people about how they viewed the country's hot political situation. There was a lot of diversity, even in my large family. I found out that some support the Revolucion Boliviarian, which is all about solidarity and anti-imperialism, some work for the government and some protest against the government. Some of my family members are rich and some are poor, they are a mix of Chavistas (supporters of President Hugo Chavez and the socialist revolution) and Escualidos (of the opposition).

Chavez has become an international firebrand. In 2005, he made bold statements about his opposition to the war in Iraq and Bush and just recently kicked out all U.S. navel bases and forces out of Venezuela. The United States got him back by immediately evacuating the Venezuelan ambassador out of the country and closing the Venezuelan embassy that same day. It is now illegal to change U.S. dollars for Bolivares in Venezuela, and vice versa in the United States. This conflict could create a war between the continents of North and South America with the tension between politics and resources.
Everyone had something to say about President Hugo Chavez. Javier Escalona, a 19-year-old student in San Juan De Los Morros, explained to me that, 'If you have coffee in your house and your neighbor asks to borrow it and you give it all to them, later there will not be enough coffee for you and your family.' Really, he was talking about President Chavez's policies. Chavez has been giving millions of dollars to other countries in Latin America in order to gain international political support. Recently he gave 30 million dollars to President Morales in Bolivia and has also given millions to Brazil, Jamaica and Cuba."