Here's the way I see it, at least at the moment.
Venezuelan politics and society is infused with the influence of the people who held power up until Chavez's election victory. These people are not happy that they have been removed from their priveliged positions, and they continue to make every possible effort to regain power. In this effort, they are supported and financed by the considerable resources of the American government.
If Chavez lets his guard down for a second, he will be gone and "big oil" will be back. People claim that Chavez is too authoritarian, that he is too severe on any people who criticise him, that he is turning into a demagogue. People claim that he is moving away from democratic ideals and is becoming a dictator. What people do not realise is the extent and power of the threat to Venezuela and its people. They do not realise that there are ravening wolves scratching at the door of Miraflores. If they did realise this, they would also know that Chavez must take measures to ensure that these wolves do not enter.
It is an interesting conundrum: if you are a decent human being, and are aware of the existence of psychopaths who covet your position and who are not restrained by the dictates of coscience in the levels to which they will stoop to take your position from you, how best to prevent them from doing so? If you simply adhere to the normal mode of open democracies, you are dead in the water. So what to do?
I actually find it funny that some people, while admitting that Chavez is helping millions of poor in Venezuela, criticise him for being too authoritarian. In the final analysis, if he keeps helping the poor and distributing the wealth of the nation to all, who the hell cares if he thinks he is the reincarnation of Bolivar, or Quetzalcoatl for that matter? Is that not better than an apparent democracy (like before Chavez) where there is a veneer of equality and no one acts like a dictator, but 90% of the wealth is in the hands of 20% of the population? The bottom line is, you judge people on their actions not what they think about themselves.
Joe