6 reasons Hugo Chavez has more Twitter followers than you

Dictators never cease to amaze.

The AP reports:

President Hugo Chavez is tops on Twitter in Venezuela less than 2 weeks after launching his account, surpassing Internet-savvy foes who dominate the social networking site and use it to oppose him.

Chavez’s account, “chavezcandanga,” had racked up more than 237,000 followers as of Saturday morning — besting the 234,000 who receive tweets from Globovision, the only TV channel that remains critical of the socialist leader.

Wondering why he’s got more followers than you? Here’s a few reasons:

1. Chavez employs gangs of pipe-wielding thugs to convince people to follow him. All you’ve got is 140 characters and your staggering wit.
2. He controls a lot of oil. You just use it to make salad dressing.
3. He’s led a successful coup d’etat and overthrown a government. At your house, your wife wears the pants – a power structure that is not likely to change in this lifetime.
4. Chavez’s great pal Fidel Castro has a lot of time on his hands now that Raul is in charge of impoverishing the Cuban people. As such, Fidel has opened thousands of Twitter accounts all of which now follow @chavezcandanga
5. The Canadian government (who you always suspected of being a quasi-Marxist organization) is showing its true colours and encouraging its citizens to follow Chavez on Twitter. The Medicare-loving reds are obeying the CentRE’s command.
6. People think that a guy who enjoys rolling around with a live bird on his shoulder (see photo) must know a thing or two about tweeting.

Have a great week!