Tintin Forums

I'm kind of a Tintin newbie so bear with me.

Hugo Chavez has been in the news a lot recently for not renewing the contract of a popular TV station. Some have denounced this move as paranoid, over-reaching and dictatorial.

I saw Chavez on TV today and I immediately thought of good old General Alcazar and San Theodoros.

What do you think life would be like under the reign of the general?
I doubt we'd be using the word "democracy" very much, but would people have any civil liberties?\
Is there a legitimate judicial branch independent of the military? (Ha!)
What would he use the citizens' tax money for? Armaments, maybe, to prevent another coup d'état? Social welfare? Rather doubt it. Schools? What do you think.

I have a slight obsession with taxes, politics, and a growing interest in those "banana republics" in South America. :)

What would he use the money for? Paying a certain reporter friend of his who helped him back to power, no doubt.

Chavez isn't the best real world parallel to Alcazar and Tapioca - Chavez is a self-serving socialist and Alcazar is a crony capitalist. In both cases they are enriching themselves at the expense of their people, but they are going about different ways doing it.

Chavez isn't the best real world parallel to Alcazar and Tapioca - Chavez is a self-serving socialist and Alcazar is a crony capitalist. In both cases they are enriching themselves at the expense of their people, but they are going about different ways doing it.


Certainly, their politics are different. :)

Why do you think Alcazar is a crony capitalist, as you say? It's an interesting point. Certainly one shining example of the cronyism was when he appointed Tintin his aide-de-camp upon just meeting him and hearing a secondhand account of a drunken Tintin cry, "Long live Alcazar." :)

However, I guess the case can be made that Tintin is as qualified an aide-de-camp as anyone.

The deals he made with Mr. Trickler and Mr. Bazaroff.

"...naturally you deduct 10% for personal expenses"

Hello plagueqvist

Alcazar is not quick-witted, maybe not smart and prudent. Alcazar feels when someone else thinks. I like Alcazar basically, but couldn't trust him. Think how easily Peggy manipulates him, and Tintin as well. Could he manage to organize the goverment well without Tintin's help. I say no.

What comes to taxes and sharing the good to everyone, Scandinavic countries including Finland are exemplary countries how to do it right. You (young american capitalist girl) should come here to observe our societies and taxing system. We are all so happy here. Swedes are happy, Norwegians are very happy (they found oil) and I am happy (i don't know why but i am).

So would Alcazar be capable of creating Scandinavian welfare society? No, he doesn't have a social-democratic mind like we do. He has a heart of a Bavarian cavalry captain but not Olof Palme's mind. The reign of Alcazar would collapse sooner or later.

My point is also that Hugo Chavez or a Tintinverse counterpart of him is unable to create the balanced semi-socialist systems in Scandinavia, because his aim is to enrich himself and to increase his power at the expense of the people while giving them token aid to keep them happy.

The Scandinavian countries have market-based welfare states, which is the furthest you can get to socialism and still not go bankrupt, if only you have the right demographics. America has a welfare supported market economy, which is about two steps towards capitalism from. There are few true capitalist economies left on earth that are not Alcazar-style crony capitalism such as Russia. Estonia is pretty close to a true capitalist state, but they haven't had much time to mess it up yet. They also have favourable demographics - which is essential to any economic system.

Hello tuhatguantanamobay

What comes to taxes and sharing the good to everyone, Scandinavic countries including Finland are exemplary countries how to do it right. You (young american capitalist girl) should come here to observe our societies and taxing system. We are all so happy here. Swedes are happy, Norwegians are very happy (they found oil) and I am happy (i don't know why but i am).

It seems to please you to pay taxes. You are like the Finnish Emir Ben Kalish Ezab; just as he contemplates his precious flower Abdullah, and he sheds a tear with joy and devotion, you are the same with your taxpayings. :) I have created the fictional People's Republic of Hightaxatopia; you would be a good fit as a citizen. :)

Hey Mark, do you happen to be Scandinavian?

Anyway, I suspect that the regime changes between Tapioca and Alcazar haven't done much for the society as a whole; Tintin may say he's heard that Tapioca's a tyrant and a dictator, but isn't Alcazar the same? Unless I'm completely forgetting something from the books, it looks like the same military dictatorship, just with two different dictators.

Alcazar also never (please correct me if I'm wrong) claims that he'd do a better job of running the country, he just wants power for the sake of power. The scenery around Las Dopicos hasn't changed much from the beginning to the end of Picaros. (I think there was talk of this on another thread.) Alcazar wouldn't be capable of Scandinavian-esque social democracy; anyway, he's too greedy. He goes to Europe to buy planes so he can topple Tapioca (again): regime change for the sake of regime change. Anyway, I believe we have had this conversation before elsewhere so please excuse my rehashings.

Anyway -- good point about the demographics, MarkFalconer. America can't have a "true" capitalist society; it's too diverse a population. A handful (EDIT: maybe more than a handful?) of people (myself included) would like to see a movement toward decreasing government size and spending, though.

Nah, I'm American with interest in geopolitics. Also interested in decreasing government size and spending!

Cool, where from in America? I'm in Florida.

People's Republic of Maryland. ;p