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The ghosts of Karl Marx and Vladimir Ilych Lenin still make the mark they left on the world known. The proletariat, the worker class in other words, is the engine of society, where people are equal, and none is above another. Wealth belongs to the people, equally, and everyone benefits from it; the country belongs to the many, not the few.

Yes, these are inspirational words. And the socialist revolution has swept Central and South America. El Comendante took the reins of power in Cuba, and so far, continues to hold on to power successfully, despite his advanced age and ailing health. Back in the days when he was a vigorous lad, Castro ran with the likes of Che Guevara, in the spirit of the Cuban revolution to socialism. The latter became a legend after he died, and his name still sends chills down the spine; and the former, he will also become a legend. Outlasting several assassination attempts by successions of American government, Castro has shown what it takes to stand up to American interests successfully: grit, defiance, and spirit, even in the absence of the support of the Soviet Union.

And it is precisely Hugo Chavez who will continue Fidel Castro's legacy. The main difference between his ideology and that of the United States, is that he advocates the welfare of the entire nation, as a community, while the Americans value individuality over society.

Yet, American foreign policies have one purpose: to protect US interests abroad. What does that entail? Lucrative oil fields, border security, strategic dominance and protecting vital routes of international trade. For Latin America, the reasons are also very close to these mentioned just previously: oil in the Mexican Gulf and Venezuela, and the Panama Canal.

To protect those interests in the area, the United States relies primarily on establishing friendly governments in the regional countries. In other words, a stable, democratic government, able to serve American interests without question, because of its economic dependency on the United States as a trade partner. As it happens, they are right. The American markets are the final destination for many Central and South American products.

Hugo Chavez, however, has taken a different approach to the United States. He has openly declared the Americans to be building an empire, and force their interests in the consequent imperialistic manner, just as Rome and the British Empire once did. Venezuela's oil fields are at the crux of the debate, because the United States

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