Reply #10: Bush was a despot. Hugo is a Liberator!

[L. Coyote]

FYI. Despotism is a form of government by a single authority, either the individual despot, or a tightly knit group, which rules with absolute political power, like the Bush Neocons.

FYI. La República Bolivariana de Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) is a democracy that actually elected their President with real votes, unlike Bush being appointed by tightly knit group which rules with absolute political power, like the Five Neocon Supremes.

The Venezuelan constitution of 1999 prescribes a government based on republican, democratic, and federalist principles divided into executive, legislative, and judicial branches, with a popularly elected legislature. In 1999 Hugo pushed for radical reforms, and a constituent assembly was soon elected to draft a new constitution; it was adopted by referendum in December of that year. The constitution was modeled on that of the Fifth French Republic, reformed the judiciary system, promised to expand personal liberties, formally acknowledged the rights of indigenous peoples, and changed the country’s name from Republic of Venezuela to Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Executive power is vested in the president, who serves a six-year term and is eligible for reelection to a second consecutive term. As is typical among Latin American nations, the president wields a greater amount of power than either the judicial or legislative branches of government. In addition to acting as the head of state, the president is the commander in chief of the armed forces. The president appoints an executive vice president and a Council of State, the members of which act as advisers and ministers.