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Tag: Venezuela

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2 posts found
Nov 02, 2023
acx
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49 min 7,459 words 509 comments 219 likes podcast (47 min)
Scott Alexander reviews a book about Hugo Chavez, analyzing his rise to power, rule, and impact on Venezuela, while drawing parallels to other populist leaders. Longer summary
Scott Alexander reviews 'Comandante', a book about Hugo Chavez's rise to power and rule in Venezuela. The review describes Chavez as a charismatic showman who used populist tactics, media control, and oil wealth to consolidate power, while implementing policies that ultimately damaged Venezuela's economy and institutions. Scott draws parallels between Chavez and other populist leaders, particularly Donald Trump, and reflects on the vulnerabilities of democratic systems to such figures. Shorter summary
Jun 02, 2016
ssc
Read on
18 min 2,667 words 951 comments
A links post collecting interesting stories from around the web, including scientific studies, historical oddities, media criticism, and current events, with Scott's commentary and analysis. Longer summary
This is a links post collecting various interesting stories and studies from around the web. It covers topics from historical oddities (like Maoist China's mango obsession), scientific studies (on autism genetics, weight loss, and practice effects), media criticism (of Salon and coverage of Venezuela's collapse), and current events. The post points out interesting patterns and connections between the stories while maintaining a somewhat skeptical tone about extraordinary claims. Scott maintains his characteristic style of finding fascinating angles on seemingly mundane topics while questioning conventional narratives. Shorter summary