After the Chavez spectacle, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton defaulted to the standard talking point that Chavez can say those things here, but many people can’t say such things in Venezuela. In fact, though the government runs a far-flung media empire, there is a prominent and lively opposition press in country. Today, in an editorial in El Universal, commentator Nelson Bocaranda described the extravagant entourage of bodyguards that Hugo Chavez brought with him to New York fearing a “magnicide” attempt by the diabolical Americans. Bocaranda reports that in the history of the United Nations, nobody has ever brought a larger entourage with him, and he intimated disbelief that the U.S. State Department had granted visas to almost all of them. He seems particularly angry that the entourage hired an ambulance to stand by in the case of a sudden crisis, with emergency room doctors at the ready, and hospitals staked out throughout the area, at the expense of an extra $10,000/day. Then, turning to the international scene, Bocaranda notes:

Despite the handouts of oil and money, trade agreements signed all over the world, and diplomatic pressures of various kinds, they [Chavez & Co.] realized that they still hadn’t tied down enough votes for a Security Council seat. Might criticizing and insulting the United Nations have helped get him the votes he needs?

That’s a point people should keep in mind. Just because diplomats appreciate Chavez as an entertaining interruption to an otherwise endless litany of boring platitudes, it doesn’t mean they have any desire actually to see him on the Security Council. Latin America gets one seat. Normally, if there is a regional consensus behind a particular country, that country gets it. But if not–and with Mexico’s opposition there will not be this year–it goes to a secret ballot in the General Assembly, where the country must win by a 2/3 super-majority of those voting. And since the ballot is secret, the pattern which we have seen in Latin America–where even recipients of huge amounts of Venezuelan largess (such as the Dominican Republic) have refused to openly endorse Venezuela’s candidacy–will be repeated worldwide. I hope Chavez enjoys his moment in the spotlight — it may have come at the expense of a seat on the Security Council. The vote is set for the middle of October….