Chavez seeks equality in a socialist society

THE shopping mall is a blur of Guess jeans, Louis Vuitton purses and Motorola mobile phones, a temple of consumerism in a country that is supposed to be on a path toward socialism.

So popular is the Sambil Mall that 'Sambil society' has become a derogatory term in the Venezuelan socialist vocabulary. Reject it and build a fairer Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez urges his nation of 25 million people. But for many, it's a hard sell.

"We're capitalists, consumers by nature," said Marbelys Gonzalez, aged 26, as she strolled in the mall with two friends, carrying a shopping bag filled with five pairs of designer jeans. "We're crazy about shopping. If we go out and don't end up buying anything, we don't feel good."