Bush and Chavez on Social Justice

CNN reports that President Bush, in Brazil, urged the government of President Lula to back and encourage democracy. Georgey, using rhetoric especially tailored for Latin America, stated that to ensure social justice, nations must choose between two visions. One is a "vision of hope," based in representative government. The other is anti-democratic and fear-based, "blaming others for their own failures to provide for the people."
Clearly, this is a dig at Chavez, and Castro too, although he's increasingly irrelevant with each passing day. The rhetoric is amusing because Chavez too calls for a need for nations to choose between competing visions. In the mind of Chavez, and many South Americans, nations must choose between a vision of hope that protects people from the failings of the market, provides essential services and unlimited opportunity to all people - essentially, democratic market socialism. The other option is the government of fear and desperation, the grim world of imperialistic capitalism that prides itself on efficiency and ignores the terrors of the externality.

Both of these men, whether railing at each other, the UN, or the nefarious and vague sources of "evil" out in the world, are prone to absurd hyperbole. I find it remarkable that, while villainizing each other, they both seem to make damn good points. Chavez isn't quite the dictator the western media has made him out to be. He is heavy-handed, however, and despite the popular support he now enjoys, not all of his suspect actions can be justified by post-coup necessity to enforce security measures. On that note, capitalism isn't quite the bitch Chavez makes it out to be. A little more democracy, a little more fairness mixed in with economic growth - its not much to ask.
It is appropriate that Bush made this speech with Lula by his side. The Worker's Party, current scandals aside, came to power through a network of small grassroots-level political organization that effectively engaged diverse segments of the public and galvanized effective political action. It puts American democracy to shame in that sense, and this is a much better version of democracy to be trumpeted and spread abroad. Simultaneously, Lula has been trying to move the ruling coalition towards much needed anti-poverty reforms and programs.

In my opinion, Chavez and Bush both need to chill the fuck out, and start looking around, past their yes-men and past their ideology, if they really have any interest in this social justice business.