He Said / She Said -- Divided Views on Venezuela VHeadlines

He says Chavez is ruining the economy, fomenting class hatred and assuming authoritarian powers. Chavez "has not only turned out to be more corrupt than previous administrations, but he's trying to take away all the freedoms," said Romero, 34. He's taken to painting homemade signs that he brings to street protests that say things such as "Chavez, Fidel and Hussein - All Bloody Terrorists" and "Mr. Bush: En Route to Iraq, Make Pit stop in Venezuela."

Lourdes Gomez, 33, of Bay Shore, is equally passionate about Chavez, but she thinks he is the greatest thing that ever happened to Venezuela.  Like other supporters, she says Chavez is the first President in Venezuela's history to stand up for the country's masses of poor people and to fight against an elite, wealthy class that pillaged the country's oil wealth. She says the President is a proven democrat who has given land titles to thousands of slum dwellers, boosted school enrollment by nearly a million children and made rich businessmen pay taxes for the first time.

"Chavez is the President who has had the most guts because he hasn't let himself be bought off by the corrupt ones," Gomez said in Spanish, adding that the news media has unfairly demonized the President.

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