Why socialism is destined to flourish.
The week's news at a glance.
Venezuela
Neida Atencio
Diario Impacto
Venezuela has a chance to build “a new socialism of the 21st century,” said Neida Atencio in Anzoátegui’s Diario Impacto. Unlike in China, Vietnam, or North Korea, where socialism was “imposed” from above, in Venezuela the people have chosen their revolutionary path. President Hugo Chavez campaigned for re-election promising to “replace representative democracy with Bolivarian revolution.” He won a decisive victory. Now “all the conditions are in place” to guarantee his success. Revolutionary “Chavistas” control all levels of the state and, increasingly, the media. With last week’s nationalization of the oil industry, the state controls a powerful economic engine. And Chavez himself already enjoys “immense respect on the international stage,” both because of his stirring speech at the U.N. denouncing U.S. imperialism and because of his close relations with the revered socialist leader Fidel Castro. The only thing missing now is the “revolutionary mind-set.” The next project for Venezuelans is to rid ourselves of the “sick consumerist consciousness” and nurture one of justice. “National liberation” is at hand.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published