People like Penn and Glover are dumber than the people that make it seem like Chavez= Hitler (SEE! also a regional hegemon ready to threaten the U.S. strategically and militarily! Also hates Jews!). But the only reason they are dumber is because they have access to information that should dissuade them from cozying up to Chavez, the other people would never read anything that would provide accurate information.
That said, Chavez was a response to a real problem in Venezuelan politics. Corruption, a lack of strong public institutions that are trusted and large inequalities. It never ceases to amaze when you talk to upper middle class Venezuelans (or most latin americans) and hear the plainly racist statements about not only the political opposition, but just people they encounter in everyday life. Chavez isn't fixing that, he exploited that. But until some of the sociology and economics get corrected, the parade of caudillos and attractive corporate board men is not going to stop.
