Jump to content
Green Blog
Simon
Simon

We must go from capitalism to socialism to tackle climate change, says Hugo Chavez

In an interesting interview during COP15 Amy Goodman from Democracy Now asks Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, about his view of the climate summit in Copenhagen, climate change, USA, and the huge oil reserves in Venezuela. Watch it:

">" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="550" height="344">

"AMY GOODMAN: What level of emissions are you willing to support reductions of emissions?

PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ: [translated] One hundred percent. One hundred percent. We must reduce the emissions 100 percent. In Venezuela, the emissions are currently insignificant compared to the emissions of the developed countries. We are in agreement. We must reduce all the emissions that are destroying the planet. However, that requires a change in lifestyle, a change in the economic model: we must go from capitalism to socialism. That’s the real solution."

You can read a rush transcript of the interview here. Amy Goodman and Democracy Now had a great coverage of the Copenhagen climate conference which is worth a look if you missed it.

User Feedback

Recommended Comments

Hugo Chavez's perspectives might have more credibility if he was leading his own country

in the direction of democratic socialism, rather than the family-run kleptocracy that it has become.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Emissions are so low in Venezuela because the is in tatters. They haven't maintained their infrastructure let alone upgraded it and as a result, they don't even have enough power to light their towns and cities. Rolling blackouts and food lines are a result of his policies.

Yup, they are actually shooting protestors in the street down there, but they are green! Actually, communist countries often have terrible enviornmental records. The same people that run the factories also write the laws, so they just exempt themselves. China and Russia are prime examples of this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You wrote: "The same people that run the factories also write the laws, so they just exempt themselves. China and Russia are prime examples of this."

The same could be said for the USA you know... But I guess ignorance works the best for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do agree with you that one could wish that Chavez would have re-thought some of his decisions. But I don't trust the US media in most of their coverages. Also the US politics actually looks more like a "family-run kleptocracy" than Venezuela's.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually it's worth knowing that during the Soviet Union era the communists passed some of the most advanced environmental protection laws in the whole world. And ecologically the Soviet Union pioneered in various forms of environmental reforms and policies. Unfortunately when Stalin and his Stalinist bureaucracy came in power in the 30's these laws and policies were in practice disregarded and unenforced because of the capitalistic goal of expanding production.

I also wouldn't label Venezuela as an communistic dictatorship. Venezuela is an democracy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I live in Venezuela and I can tell you that what Chavez says has nothing to do with what he does. We are more dependent on oil than ever, and rivers than had been said to be cleaned up few years ago are even worse. If someone wants to recicle, It's on It's own, no help from government. Chavez criticizes media, but he is very good using It. Come and judge by yourselves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites



Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Add a comment...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audience is coming from. To find out more, please read our Privacy Policy. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies.