https://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2012/05/16/why-are-westerners-harder-on-putin-than-on-hugo-chavez/feed/HotAir is the leading conservative blog for breaking news and commentary covering the Biden administration, politics, media, culture, and current elections.en-usTue, 09 Jun 2026 09:28:47 -0400<![CDATA[For the last 12 years, I’ve been writing about the accelerated collapse of constitutional government in Venezuela, about the alarming cult of personality surrounding Chávez, about his lack of regard for civil rights, due process of law and the separation of powers. Online, where readers can post comments to my articles, they nearly always come forward to defend the Chávez government, noting its electoral legitimacy and undoubted popularity. Sometimes they hint darkly that I must be an agent of imperialist corporate media and have a subversive agenda. I seldom see this kind of push-back in reaction to reports about the eerily similar Putin regime.]]>Wed, 16 May 2012 19:40:17 -0400<![CDATA[Allahpundit]]>https://hotair.com/headlines/2012/05/16/why-are-westerners-harder-on-putin-than-on-hugo-chavez-n92527