Now that Hugo Chavez has been reelected president by a wide margin, Venezuela is swiftly moving toward a one-party state.

I know, you think I’m just being a rightwing alarmist. I’m just making it up, it’s nothing but some ruse to make Hugo Chavez look bad.

But this isn’t coming from Venezuelans, or from my imagination. It’s not even overtly coming from Chavez’s office, although he may be thinking it. Given Venezuela’s pretense of being a democracy in the eyes of members-only organizations like the OAS, Chavez may have reason to not say he’s moving to a one-party state publicly.

But this news is coming from somewhere – somewhere ugly – it’s coming straight from the Cuban state-controlled press, a 100% Castroite-operated press organ that exists solely to serve the aims of the Cuban Communist Party. They’re the ones announcing that Venezuela is now moving to a one-party state “model” – as if there were nothing were freakishly wrong with that. How’s this for disturbing?

They’ve just announced that Venezuela is about to become another political Cuba.

In other places, this is what’s known as dictatorship. Chavez has said he favors “revolutionary democracy” and the only other place on earth that uses that term is … Cuba, a nation that has not held free elections in more than 47 years.

Nothing to see here, let’s move along.

This is one of the most ominous developments out of the Chavista regime. While honest democrats are resting and quietly celebrating their victory even in defeat, something shadowy is looming over Venezuela, the hideous specter of the one-party state where no independent thought is allowed. If I were Venezuelan, I’d get out.

Meanwhile, BBO Investment Bank has a very gloomy reading on the situation for democracy in Venezuela in its Dec. 8 report that can be read (when it’s up) here.

UPDATE: This beautiful, eloquent essay by Gustavo Coronel, compellingly titled “In Venezuela, a looming battle for freedom” is a MUST-READ here.