Hugo Chavez And His Dictatorship Are In Critical Condition

By Adam Bitely

From all available reports, Hugo Chavez is in critical condition in a hospital in Cuba. The Venezuelan communist dictator was taken to Cuba several weeks ago for an emergency surgery regarding pelvic swelling, which has led many to speculate that he is dealing with prostate cancer.

In the irony of ironies, Hugo Chavez was faced with the decision to have to leave his own nation, and the health care system that was supposed to be an example for other nations, to receive care from another questionable health care system in Cuba.

Chavez, a believer that the state should control all industry, including medical services, could not receive the adequate treatment for his life threatening condition in his own nation. This could be because he does not trust any of the doctors in Venezuela with his life threatening condition, or, that there are no doctors left in his nation that are capable of undertaking such surgeries with good outcomes.

To receive adequate care, Chavez had to head to fellow communist nation Cuba, where such surgery could be administered. However, even in Cuba, it appears that he is receiving sub-par health care. This should be a “teachable” moment for all those who believe in centralized health care.

In Venezuela, the right to health care is guaranteed in their constitution. All citizens are given access to a “free” health care system, as Venezuelan Analysis reports. However, this system is terribly run, and hospitals are often overcrowded with people not receiving adequate care. In fact, Cuba sends doctors to Venezuela to help with the shortage that was created out of centralizing the medical system. Even more, the Cuban doctors that are sent to Venezuela defect in large numbers — including somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,000 doctors alone in 2006!
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