Bolivarian revolution: The musical!

ANDREW ALVAREZ/AFP/Getty Images So maybe Hugo Chávez does have a “prize-winning record of managerial incompetence,” as Andy Webb-Vidal argues in a new FP web exclusive, “Dumb and Dumber,” but perhaps he has other talents. For instance, can he carry a tune? It seems that when not admonishing his countrymen for buying alcohol, luxury cars, and ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
598738_071010_chavez_05.jpg
598738_071010_chavez_05.jpg

ANDREW ALVAREZ/AFP/Getty Images

ANDREW ALVAREZ/AFP/Getty Images

So maybe Hugo Chávez does have a “prize-winning record of managerial incompetence,” as Andy Webb-Vidal argues in a new FP web exclusive, “Dumb and Dumber,” but perhaps he has other talents. For instance, can he carry a tune? It seems that when not admonishing his countrymen for buying alcohol, luxury cars, and breast implants (“the latest degeneration”), Venezuela’s president can still get down with his bad self:

All of his sermonizing about vices and virtues might make Chavez seem like a prudish sourpuss to some, but he also likes to party — in his own clean way.

He says he unwinds with pickup baseball games or outdoor bowling matches known as “bolas criollas.” And during marathon speeches he breaks into song frequently — so often, in fact, that one aide compiled recordings of him singing on an “All Time Hits” CD, which has yet to be released to the public.

“There I am singing, but it’s terrible,” Chavez said.

Forget Kevin Spacey, he should be talking to Timbaland! Check out Chávez on vocals here and judge for yourself.

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

More from Foreign Policy

An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.

A New Multilateralism

How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.

The Endless Frustration of Chinese Diplomacy

Beijing’s representatives are always scared they could be the next to vanish.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.

The End of America’s Middle East

The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.