A small windup radio, tuned to the BBC Africa, on most Malawi evenings, brings Marissa and I the days news from around the world. Before moving to Africa I worried about loosing touch with Latin America and my travels there. Little did I know that the BBC Africa would provide us better coverage of Latin American news and events that I could have ever hoped for. (Yes, BBC Africa has far better coverage of Latin American news than any of the mainstream English news outlets in America – I regularly receive updates on all of Latin America... more than just the border crazies).

Last week the BBC Africa discussed Hugo Chavez, the current President of Venezuela, and his recent visit to Africa.

If your only sources of news are fear factories like CNN or Fox News, your impression of Hugo Chavez is probably that of a crazed socialist dictator who seeks to rob the US of its oil; you might also be very surprised by the portrayal of Hugo Chavez that I heard on the BBC Africa network last week.

I have found Latin Americas view Hugo Chavez as a powerful leader with a controversial, though increasingly respected, approach to managing the impact of the global economy on the local populations in Venezuela. I was very surprised to learn that Chavez is viewed much the same way in Africa. The topic on the BBC Africa "Have Your Say" that night was: Do African nations need leaders like Hugo Chavez? The overwhelming, and often passionate response, from the majority of the callers was: yes, most African nations would be well served by a strong leader who can stand up to powerful global interests redirect some of the profits for the people's benefit. This is something that Chavez has undeniably achieved. With recent surge in oil profits, public spending has doubled under his administration.

I am not defending Chavez so much as I am expressing my deep disappointment with the villain-like portrayal that he receives on the US news services. In the US, Chavez's methods are dismissed before they are even explained. This is not healthy. You might think Chavez is evil, but your should arrive at that conclusion only after some careful debate. At least in Latin America, and Africa, there appears, to be a healthy debate over Chavez. His methods are then lauded or dismissed accordingly.

The US news (and our government) has a very dangerous habit of turning global political conflicts into games of cops and robbers. We villainize anyone who disagrees with us.

I have no idea how effective Chavez's increase in public spending has impacted and improved the lives of the average Venezuelan. I know for a fact that there are more schools in Venezuela than in past. I do not know whether or not Venezuelans are actually getting a better education. Instead of calling just painting Chavez as a villain, I wish our news would talk about his politics first. I would love to see an analysis of corruption and the impact of his public spending in his administration.

So, is Chavez a villain? Well, I don't loose any sleep over Hugo Chavez. I would encourage others out there to do the same. I don't worry even when he talks tough about "Washington conspiracies" that I don't believe (Washington is not as powerful or capable as Chavez claims). In fact I am sure that deep down Chavez doesn't really hate the US... deep down he knows he desperately needs to perpetuate the image of a blood and oil thirsty US to survive. He needs the US to be powerful and be the bully that our monkey president Bush has made us. He needs the US to be the oil addicted bad habit that our SUVs have made us. It fuels his political fire and gives him credibility. If Bush where to loose his mind suddenly spend more on education that on bombs, Chavez would loose his steam; his rhetoric would loose all of its bite.

Chavez is as much of thereat to the US as we make him out to be. He articulates the US's weaknesses and this is difficult for us to hear (this is why its probably not broadcast on mainstream US news). Its true what Chavez says: We are too dependent upon oil to sustain ourselves economically; We are caught fighting a war that there was no reason to fight in the first place; We are killing people who should never have been killed. The US cannot deny any of these things. Chavez is not the problem, he merely voices them.

Chavez is not nearly as dangerous as our tendency in the US to reduce global politics to a star wars farce of good vs evil. This is the same type of short-sited analysis of global politics that allowed our Public to stand complacently by while the President dragged our country into a bloody and pointless war in Iraq. This rampant “good” vs “evil” oversimplification of global politics keeps me awake at night - not Hugo Chavez.

If you have an fast internet connection and are interested in hearing something more than "good" vs "evil" when it comes to world news I suggest trying the BCC World Service You can listen via internet radio. Not nearly as much fun as a wind-up radio, but it will do.