This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Thursday, March 27th, 2008.

I'm Caleb Brown.

Hugo Chavez has become increasingly outspoken against the United States.

One opposition voice against Chavez is Jan Goy Coycea, a former general

secretary of the Venezuelan student parliament. He spoke at the Cato Institute

March 12th. Hugo Chavez came to power promising great things for the poor, especially the extremely

poor.

This is from Francisco Rodriguez in the most recent foreign affairs.

According to the Venezuelan Central Bank,

inequality has increased during the Chavez administration

with the Genie coefficient, increasing from 0.44

to 0.48 between 2000 and 2005.

The percentage of underweight babies increased from 8.4% to 9.1% between 1999 and 2006.

During the same period,

the percentage of households without access to running water rose from 7.2%

to 9.4%,

and the percentage of families living in dwellings

with earthen floors multiplied almost threefold from 2.5% to 6.8%.

Is there at least some benefit to having somebody like Chavez for the world to see?

Yes, the lesson that Taoise represents for all of us.

Chavez represents the necessity to fight against populism

as the only way to solve the problem of poverty in our countries.

...