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.

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.

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.