Hugo Chavez Resumes Heating Oil Supply to Poor Americans

Hugo Chavez is a complex man, to say the least. Even though the price of oil has plummeted in the last six months and his own country is being hurt by falling oil revenues, Chavez stepped in to make sure that heating oil would still be supplied - free of charge - to the poorest Americans and Native American tribes in need of heating oil.

The move is being interpreted as an attempt to strengthen his image, but even that is difficult to understand. Why is there a need to strengthen your image with poor Americans? Unfortunately, most Americans who are not in need of Chavez' heating oil hand-outs are unaware that they even exist. The middle class of the United States - the most powerful voting group - has no idea that Venezuela's Citgo Petroleum Corp has been supplying about $100 Million in free heating oil to the neediest group of Americans.

And all of this while his own country is struggling with abject poverty and serious dissension among the privileged class of Venezuela. The program provides heating oil to over 200,000 households in 23 states and at least 65 Native American tribes.

At this point, Chavez seemed to have painted himself into an unfortunate corner. If he continues to supply the oil to poor Americans, very few people will remain aware of it and it will yield little in the way of positive positive public relations, credibility, or even sympathy from the American public. But as soon as the program is cut, which many analysts predict is coming soon, Chavez will be criticized for cutting the program, ultimately hurting his image more than hundreds of millions in free oil could have ever helped it.