Strange Bedfellows: Chavez and Ahmedinejad

Energy giants and foes of the United States Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez are creating more than just political folklore. It is all about strategy and power.

It is a long way from Venezuela to Iran, but Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmedinejad are nonetheless forming a curious partnership. They have inaugurated airline service between their two nations and once again the man from Venezuela has publicly praised the man from Iran.

Ahmedinejad has few fans in the West, especially since his controversial election victory. But Chavez remains faithful to him, was one of the first to congratulate him on his election success and is now one of the first to visit him since his bloody victory over the opposition.

Friendship between the two autocrats goes beyond just political folklore: strategy is the real reason. First off, both nations are foes of the United States. Secondly, they are both energy giants. Both have enormous oil reserves and a great deal of influence within OPEC. They use this power politically.

Chavez also supports Ahmedinejad’s clandestine nuclear program, a fact that frightens more than just Washington and Tel Aviv. At the same time, in addition to Iran, both Russia and China are rapidly gaining footholds in a Latin America rich in natural resources, something neither the United States nor Israel favors.

Concerns about the Caudillo of the Caribbean are justified on at least one point: with his so-called 21st century socialism, Chavez is increasingly demonstrating his own egomaniacal understanding of democracy and freedom of expression, a trait also shared with his partner Ahmedinejad.

In addition, Chavez is busily buying arms from Russia, thus participating in a South American arms race that makes the region more volatile. In spite of all this, it would be a mistake to isolate Chavez. Besides, most of Venezuela’s oil flows northward to the United States.