Chavez comes to the aid of Lukashenko

The human rights violations of the current Belarusian regime are notorious. There are serious concerns about people disappearing, summary executions, arbitrary arrests and detentions without trials. Religious and political activities are strictly controlled, and there is no freedom of the press. The use of Neo-Nazi thugs to intimidate opposition supporters and Union activists is common. Poles, Jews and other minority groups are often harassed. Even ordinary people are fearful of the secret police. In 1995, current Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko praised Adolph Hitler in a Russian NTV interview, igniting widespread international indignation.

In response, both the U.S. and the European Union have imposed political and economic sanctions on Lukashenko’s regime.  However, Belarus has been able to overcome some of these economic difficulties due to its key location as a transit route for the raw material transported between Russia and other former Soviet Republics to Western Europe, and to large Russian subsidies. Currently, the Belarusian economy is characterized by an over-concentration on high-tech military production.

[More]However, the relationship between Moscow and Minsk deteriorated in 2006 when the Russian State-owned gas company, Gazprom, decided to increase the oil price to Belarus. This turned into a crisis last January when Belarus started to siphon the oil off the pipes and Gazprom then cut the oil from pumping. It was at that point Europe questioned whether Russia could be relied on as a safe supplier of oil.

Although Moscow and Minsk eventually reached an agreement, alleged violations led Gazprom to announce a cut in the supply of gas to Belarus due to a debt of over 450 million dollars, leading to a new crisis that could strangle the Belarusian economy. However, the Belarusian dictator’s headache is gone. Another dictator, the Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, has come to the rescue and paid the Belarusian debt to Gazprom.  In addition, Chavez plans to give the Belarusian state oil firm concessions to exploit oil fields and sell the petroleum to the United States. The Belarusian government expects to earn enough profits so that they will eventually be able to develop their own refineries.

What is the explanation for Chavez’s generosity? After congratulating the Belarusian dictator for choking off opposition protests, Chavez labeled his partnership with Lukashenko as being strategic. Chavez perceives the alliance to be strategic because of the Belarusian over-capacity of military production. As a matter of fact, Venezuelan authorities have announced the acquisition of a Belarusian missile-shield system, and although President Bush has said that he does not consider Chavez a threat, the fact is that Chavez is actively working to create a world coalition against the United States.

Well-advised by the Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, an uncultured person endowed with unrealistic dreams of glory, social hate and an inferiority complex, he has undertaken the enormous task of destroying capitalism and creating a new world order based on the socialism of the twenty first century, which is a fuzzily defined version of twentieth century communism. In undertaking that task, Chavez has created strong links with Cuba, Iran and Syria, flirted with North Korea, and extended his friendship with Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Khadafy in Libya, as well as the Russian and Chinese governments. In Latin America, he financially helped not only Evo Morales in Bolivia, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and Rafael Correa in Ecuador to win their elections, but also anti-democratic groups in Mexico, Central America, Peru and Argentina. It is well-known that he has strong links with the Colombian terrorist guerrilla group known as the FARC. Now, Chavez has extended his network to include a new partnership with the Belarusian dictator, Lukashenko. As a matter of fact, using a military argot, both dictators have recently announced a joint front against the U.S., which they identify as the leading enemy to defeat in their crusade against market economies and representative democracies.

Yet, how does Chavez plan to achieve this world revolution? Using his country’s oil money and an oil price over seventy dollars per barrel, the first step is to build strong support within Latin America. For this purpose, he is planning to create the greatest army in the region as well as establishing his own free trade block called ALBA.  Chavez is using his country’s oil wealth to finance anti-democratic groups in other Latin American countries by supporting leftist candidates who share his views and will help to further his agenda. Examples of this would be his continued financial support of Ollanta Humala in Peru and his provision of sanctuary to the FARC inside Venezuela.  In addition, Chavez has deepened his links with Russia and China, countries that are now providing the tropical dictator with the fighter aircraft and other equipment he needs to bolster his military.

At the same time, Chavez tries to build world alliances with countries that share his antipathy towards the United States. That explains his friendship with Ahmadinejad. Even though Iran is viewed as a rogue state by many in the international community, Chavez has promised that Venezuela will come to their defense if need be. That is why the acquisition of a Belarusian anti-aircraft missile system of Russian technology plays the strategic role he claims. Besides intimidating neighbor countries, that system intends to dissuade any potential U.S. military action against Venezuela.

On the economic side, Chavez is expropriating American oil companies and giving those concessions to Belarusian firms , with the purpose of making the U.S. energy supply dependent on its archenemies; Chavez and Lukashenko.  In addition, if we take seriously the rumors that Venezuela is supplying uranium for the Iranian nuclear project, Chavez’ dreams of glory could pose a real threat to the western hemisphere.

Jose Noguera obtained a Ph.D. degree from State University of New York at Buffalo. He currently teaches and conducts research on macroeconomics, political economy and development with the rank of Associate Professor at the Whittemore School of the University of New Hampshire. He has also been appointed at Michigan State University, CERGE-EI (Prague, Czech Republic), University of Warsaw, Central University of Venezuela and Mohila Academy University of Kiev.