Talking about the financial crisis of capitalism, Venezuelan president Chávez has made some humorous remarks worth quoting. Earlier this year when he nationalised one bank he came under sever attack for being a "communist", for threatening the stability of the market, and many other terrible things. Just a few months later we have the irony of the US government, the British government and many more, being forced to step in to save the banking system, de facto nationalising whole chunks of the financial sector. But let Chávez speak for himself. This is what he said:
"If the Venezuelan government, for example, approves a law to protect consumers, they say, ‘Take note, Chávez is a tyrant!' Or they say, ‘Chávez is regulating prices. He is violating the laws of the market.'
"How many times have they criticized me for nationalizing the telephone company? They say, ‘The state shouldn't get involved in that.' But now they don't criticize Bush for having nationalised... the biggest banks in the world!"
In driving home his point he added, "Comrade Bush, how are you?"
He then went on to say:
"Comrade Bush has had to take decisions which are more in the style of Lenin and now people are asking themselves, ‘is the US on the road to socialism?' (...) I have the answer: ‘Yes Sir!' (Sí señor) The United States one day will go towards socialism, I have no doubt about it."
