Talk:Juan Vicente Gómez

Despotism ?

An interesting fact, I'm not sure deserves inclusion in the article, at least not as stated (way too POV), but, in a quiz book dated 1938 ("The Quiz and Answer Book" by Frederic J. Haskin) that I have, the following answer is given to the quiz question "Who is Juan Vicente Gomez?": "Dictator of Venezuela from 1909 to 1935 [sic], the most ruthless, cruel and perhaps brilliant dictator that the modern world has known." Surprisingly POV for a quiz book (but there are a handful of other questions/answers of the 2000+ that are) and kind of surprising, since this was written before the true nefarious-ness of some other dictators (Hitler and Stalin to name two) were known --Canuckguy 21:02, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

• Not that surprising. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia's bio of Juan Vincente Comez (linked at the end of the article) states : "Though cordial and simple in manner, Gómez was an absolute tyrant whose secret police ferreted out opposition and subjected victims to imprisonment and torture. He was also a patriot whose shrewdness and industry brought his country economic stability." So your quiz book says essentially the same, though in a more "vivid" language - not uncommon at the time, since you say it dates back to 1938.

That being said, I think the article is a bit too elliptic on the subject. I'll try to expand on it somewhat. - Fils du Soleil 05:12, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

• So I did. I also added a small "Legacy" section. - Fils du Soleil 00:21, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I added this to the legacy piece: Romulo Betancourt said that, “…Gomez was something more than a local despot, he was the instrument of foreign control of the Venezuelan economy, the ally and servant of powerful outside interests”.

I should get back to adding some more once I get some page numbers.

AdrianLaTraceJr (Chicago) 03:38, 16 November 2006 (CST)

• @ AdrianLaTraceJr : please write your comments in chronological orders (after those already there) for clarity of reading (I just moved this one). Thanks. - Fils du Soleil 19:28, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Again, why did you change the page like that, JEA IAT? Piotr (Venezuela) 04:04, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

• @ Piotr : Please mention the edit you are referring to - also for clarity of reading. Thanks. - Fils du Soleil 19:28, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Reorganization of the article

I reorganized the article (without changing the general content), adding some subsections, for more clarity and better reading. - Fils du Soleil 22:23, 7 April 2007 (UTC)