I honestly don't know what to make of the decision by Venezuela's quasi dictator Hugo Chavez to intervene in Philadelphia's domestic affairs, but he has, under the auspices of "helping the poor":

Venezuela's socialist president, Hugo Chavez, who has been a persistent antagonist to President Bush, is providing relief to some poor families in the Philadelphia region squeezed by the high price of home-heating oil.

A subsidiary of the Venezuelan national oil company will ship five million gallons of heating oil for distribution at a steep discount to as many as 25,000 low-income families in the Philadelphia region next month under a deal brokered by U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.) and a nonprofit energy cooperative.

Citgo, the Houston arm of Petroleos de Venezuela, will mark down the per-gallon cost of the heating oil by 40 percent. Organizers said the cheap oil was intended for poor families who have exhausted their grants from the federal-state Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

Earlier this month, 7,602 households that use oil in the city and in Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware and Chester Counties had run out of LIHEAP aid, according to state figures.

"We think we've captured all the families who will need assistance" with such a large shipment, Fattah said. He credited his relationships with U.S. Rep. William Delahunt (D., Mass.), who arranged a similar deal for Boston, and former U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy 2d (D., Mass.), who is president of Citizens Energy Corp., the nonprofit financing the shipment.

Citgo has also worked with Citizens Energy to supply cheap oil to New York City, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Indian reservations in Maine.

It started last fall as a public relations masterstroke by Chavez, who has led a leftist resurgence in South America. He has cast himself as David to the American Goliath, calling President Bush a "genocidal madman" and accusing the United States of plotting to assassinate him. The administration and various human-rights groups say Chavez has destabilized Latin America and abuses political dissidents.

For his part, Congressman Fattah denies that politics are involved:

"This is not a political matter - we have the ability to keep families in the Philadelphia area warm," Fattah said, dismissing the idea that the assistance was embarrassing to the United States. "I'm deeply appreciative of the humanitarian gesture."

Heating-oil prices have jumped by 30 percent to 50 percent this winter because of rising world prices for crude oil, putting poor families in a bind.

"It's ironic that a South American country is coming to the rescue of poor people in Philadelphia, but the issue is whether you freeze to death in winter," said Jonathan Stein, general counsel of Community Legal Services. "No one, Democrat or conservative Republican, should raise questions about where it comes from, but should applaud it."

Despite the fact that they're supposed to be applauding, mean-spirited "political analysts" just won't stop accusing Chavez of playing politics.

Though political analysts have said Chavez is playing petrol politics, the infusion of cheap oil was warmly welcomed by the public and some political leaders in Boston, the first to get a shipment in November, and in other communities receiving the help.

The Energy Coordinating Agency, a Philadelphia nonprofit, will administer the program here. The oil will be delivered to customers by several dozen independent oil dealers, said Ron Goldwyn, a spokesman for Fattah. He said eligible families would be allowed to buy up to 200 gallons of heating oil for $288 - a saving of $194 over market rates, based on the current average price of $2.41 a gallon.

The agency will use information from the state Welfare Department to send letters to households that have exhausted their LIHEAP aid, authorizing them to buy subsidized oil, Goldwyn said. Participants will pay 60 percent of the cost to the oil dealer, and Citizens Energy will pay the remainder.

Shouldn't we all get behind Chavez?

Meanwhile, there's a push for a statewide Chavez subsidy plan, as well as an opening ceremony in Philly:

Citgo officials and aides to Fattah plan to meet with Gov. Rendell's staff next week to discuss whether the program can be expanded to the rest of the state, according to Fattah.

He plans to formally announce the program tomorrow at the home of a family that will receive some of the oil, along with Bernardo Alvarez, Venezuelan ambassador to the United States; Citgo officials; and Kennedy.

A resurrection of Evita, perhaps? I think he's looking more and more Evita-like every day.

(Well, maybe a little touching up needs to be done on the makeover...)

UPDATE: Anyone grossed out by the above should remember it's just someone's PhotoShop. Little Green Footballs has something much more grotesque, all the more so because it's the real thing.