Sean Penn and Hugo Chavez are twin souls.

-
- Hollywood actor Sean Penn has gone a step further in his defense of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez (Fox news, March 8, 2010: “Sean Penn wants Reporters jailed for calling Chavez Dictator”).

In 2008 I wrote him a letter criticizing him for his visits to Venezuela and the enthusiasm he already voiced for our dictator (http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=29173). In this letter I said: ”The essence of my argument is this: you cannot assume that the enemy of your enemy must be your friend. It is obvious you have embraced Hugo Chavez because he is a violent anti-Bush opponent, just as you are. Embracing Chavez just because of this coincidence, without evaluating what Chavez represents for Venezuela and for our hemisphere, is very wrong on your part”.
- I thought the main motive of Sean Penn’s support for Chavez was their common distaste (hatred, in Chavez’s case) of the U.S. government. But now I see there is another, deeper, reason. Penn is as undemocratic as Chavez. He says: “Every day, this elected leader is called a dictator here, and we just accept it, and accept it…And this is mainstream media, who should -- truly, there should be a bar by which one goes to prison for these kinds of lies."
And he added:
- "Do I hope that those people die screaming of rectal cancer? Yeah. You know, but I'm not going to spend a lot of energy on it."

- The Fox report says that “Lis Wiehl, a former federal prosecutor and Fox News legal analyst said Penn's statement is "completely counter" to First Amendment protections”, while Judge Andrew Napolitano called Penn’s remarks “utterly un- American”.
- This is the real problem. Penn and Chavez, are twin souls and exhibit the same intolerant traits. Penn, of course, is just a Hollywood actor and might never get to hold a position of political power but Chavez already has, with disastrous effects. Helped by a pocket full of oil money he has unleashed one of the most tragic dictatorships in the history of Latin America. His dictatorship has, so far, been effective because it has been accomplished through pseudo “democratic” means, essentially elections that look impeccable from the distance but are riled with fraud and abuse of power, before, during and after the event.

Penn would do well in reading about democracy in order to understand why Chavez is a dictator. It is generally accepted that a democracy is legitimate only if it complies with some basic characteristics that go beyond the initial electoral act: prevalence of the rule of law, effective separation of powers, autonomy of government institutions, respect for human rights, freedom of expression, tolerance and respect for dissidence, transparency and accountability in the management of national assets.
- The regime led by Hugo Chavez fails in all of these requirements, as can be abundantly documented. I would gladly do so, if Mr. Penn wishes to call for a public meeting in order to discuss the Hugo Chavez presidency, something that could be a major contribution on his part to the understanding of the real nature of the Hugo Chavez government. I do not wish Mr. Penn to die of cancer for calling the dictator in my country a “democrat”. I will simply ask him to debate publicly our contrasting views. This is the American way that I admire and try to follow. I am willing to do this, in any venue that he chooses, whenever he chooses. I hope I would have a better luck with him than with the Venezuelan Ambassador to Washington, who has systematically shied away from a public (or, even, a private) confrontation of views on this matter.

Lack of will to debate freely suggests a very weak position. -
-