By Christopher Sabatini, Special to CNN
Editor's note: Christopher Sabatini is editor-in-chief of the policy journal Americas Quarterly. The views expressed are his own.
It’s difficult to remember a time when Hugo Chávez didn’t dominate the headlines, just as it is difficult to believe that, with his death, there will come a time when he no longer does. Elected as Venezuelan president in 1998 and sworn in in 1999, Chávez became the voice of a new group of leaders across South America that came to power with the collapse of traditional, elite-dominated party systems. He was the bête noir of the United States, a hero to the anti-globalization left and to the poor in his own country, a savior to the Castro regime in Cuba, and the clown prince of the regional summit circuit. For all this, though, Chávez’s legacy in Venezuela and in the region will be one of institutional debasement and polarization.
The one-time lieutenant colonel rose to prominence in 1992, when he and a group of mid-level officers attempted a coup against the country’s then-President Carlos Andrés Pérez. In a brief statement to the media, Chávez promised that while he may have failed, that he would return to correct the social injustices that led to his putsch. After serving time in prison he did, winning the 1998 presidential elections, overturning a two-party system that had governed Venezuela since 1958 through an increasingly closed, corrupt system held together by the country’s oil riches and patronage.
But the revolutionary coup plotter proved a better destroyer of first the system that preceded him, and then the state that he created, than an institution builder. After convening a constituent assembly in 1999, Venezuela approved a new Bolivarian constitution – named after Chávez’s hero, South American independence hero Simón Bolívar. Even before new elections and appointments to fill state positions like the Supreme Court, Chávez and his supporters in the constituent assembly started to subvert their own constitution. Over the course of the next 14 years, the Chávez government undermined judicial independence, used Central Bank reserves for patronage, created partisan militias, established parallel local government structures – including the police forces in Caracas – consolidated control over the media, politicized the electoral commission, and nationalized private companies by caprice.
More from CNN: After Chavez, a power vacuum
At the same time, President Chávez bullied political opponents and threatened opposition media. The result of the institutional vacuum, heated political rhetoric and arbitrary policies was the escalation of political polarization and a spike in corruption and criminality never seen before in Venezuela. Over the course of the last 14 years, the threat of political violence always hung in the background with competing street marches in the early years almost a daily occurrence and with a near majority of the population distrusting the state mediate social and political conflicts. At the same time, Caracas became one of the murder capitals of the world.
This ignominious distinction tracked (not coincidentally) with the growing evidence that sectors of the government, including the military, were involved in narcotics trafficking, leading the U.S. Treasury to blacklist seven Chavista government officials.
Through all of this, President Chávez cleverly avoided international criticism and oversight by angrily asserting national sovereignty, stoking anti-American suspicions and at times behaving like a buffoon. All three worked particularly well. Through the five referenda and presidential elections that were held after 1999, Chávez effectively beat back decades of advances in election observation and standards. While elections were never stolen in the traditional sense – though the opposition in 2004 clumsily attempted to claim so and then refused to participate in the 2005 elections – the disproportionate advantages that the government had in public spending and media also meant they were not free and fair.
More from GPS: Who comes after Chavez?
But the president’s railing against imperialist intervention and blustering claims of national sovereignty intimidated the international community. President Chávez promoted the retrograde idea that any form of criticism of human rights came from political opponents, coup plotters (like him?) or was an affront to the country’s dignity. Sadly, despite an international community that had evolved to defend and protect these rights, Chavez’s bluster worked far better than many would have thought pre-1998.
Human rights concerns were all-too-often dismissed because the president was seen as a champion of the poor. And Chávez’s decision to pull Venezuela out of the Inter-American Human Rights Court and efforts later – in collaboration with his ally Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa – strip the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights of its independence did not provoke the sort of region-wide opposition that many would have expected. Such is the advantage of being an international bully.
In the end, the legacy of Chávez won’t be so much his leadership or Chavismo more generally. There will be little institutional imprint left by Hugo Chávez. Quite the opposite. While the myth of Chávez and his considerable charisma will remain, little concrete will remain, except the age-old lure and echo of populism and its risk...not unlike that of his hero, Bolívar who wrote, shortly before his death “those who have served the revolution have plowed the sea.”
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May he rest in peace and my condolences to his family and supporters. He was a young man and his death is untimely at 58.
lol.... maybe you should join him!
He is joining his old friend, Libya's deposed dictator, the late Muammar Gaddafi.
The two were soul-mates and genuinely fond of each other.
Maybe you should shut your mouth
trying to stir the pot or are you living in the wrong country?
One of the great social leaders of the 21st century
Like Gaddafi, Chavez left behind a country in shambles.
The two are more known for personality cult than for their ideology.
Gotta love his gumption to call George W. Bush, and rightly so, the "Devil" in front of the UN. "I can still smell the sulfur" was classic.
Chávez government undermined judicial independence, used Central Bank reserves for patronage, created partisan militias, established parallel local government structures – including the police forces in Caracas – consolidated control over the media, politicized the electoral commission, and nationalized private companies by caprice
Sounds like the US is following in his footsteps
Yes there is a remarkable resemblance between HC and BO in love of failed policies and blaming the solution for the problem.
Vidal, do you have anything of value that I can take from you and redistribute to the poor? Chavez was reportedly worth over a billion. Wealth redistribution is wonderful thing.
Rule of thumb. If your country is not at war and your countries leader wears a military uniform, you have a problem! I do not wake up each morning basing my day on how Venezuela is doing. Fact is, I hardly think about that country. But I do think about totalitarian regimens and especially how they became such. A revolution in USSR gave rise to democracy only to have it replaced by an autocrate and, hey, the Russians gave up their democracy without a fight. Hitler promising the world to his people while quitely planning his next moves. Castro bringing down a corrupt regimen, promising freedom and then what! The list not only goes on and on but goes back to the beginning of human's living in communities.
Hugo is on a continuum of self serving, would be Roman Emperors that took his countrymens freedoms, stiffled opposition, and then paid the mob to like him.
Well Hugo, please mind your fingers while shoveling coal in the furnaces of Hell alongside the other populous heros (Caesers, Attila, Genghis, Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, the idiot dynasty of N. Korea, and so many more).
The Caesars(very few can placed in the same category in terms of policy), Attilla, and Ghengis were not "populist heroes"(the rest were though).
Honestly, the republic of rome was a farce. The old families had a strangle hold on government, and cared little for your interests if you were not a patrician. All that Caesar did(or more accuratly his nephew Agustus) was replace an oligarchy with a monarchy. Not much of loss there.
I don't think peace is what awaited him.
It would be such a wonderful thing if they hung his body upside down and let the mob beat it beyond recognition, just like they did with Mussolini. Death to Socialism!
Not soon enough!!
U can follow him asap
Good riddance to bad rubbish
And now, a moment of silence for the deceased........
................................
Ok – DRINK UP SHRINERS!
He survived the Bush/Cheney orchestrated coup d etat - I say he lived a full life - rest in peace.
Yeah, I guess they just don't make neocons like they used to; the last bunch was a flop.
you're such a turd liberal that you will hold up chavez to make some dumb point about bush? wow you're a waste of skin
And your such a turd neocon that you'd wilfully ignore fact? You should move if you can't handle the opinions of your fellow countrymen.
And Chavez will be remembered for the following:
1. ...
Hey, I can still Tweet! Smells like sulfur here!!!
Say hello to FDR, Truman, LBJ, Dulles and Reagan for me.
And don't forget "The Devil stood in this very spot yesterday..." Classic.
I'm glad he's dead. I guess Dennis Rodman and his buddy will be deeply disappointed.
You need to learn first about other leaders before opening your ignorant mouth... you have the internet but you americans still are living in a box of ignorance. The man who died was fighting for poor people unlike you the greedy.
People prayed so much for Chavez that God choose to bring Chavez out of this world
Yeah, gawd really busted his @ss to remove, Hitler, Stalin and Mao.........
Two families I personally know who came from Venezuela have generally spoken highly of Chavez. The words they use do not conform to the image our government and media offer us. I'm more inclined to believe the people of the nation when it comes to their leadership than our government who trumps up phony accusations to stir up the war mongers, as it did with Iraq. How can we Americans trust anything our government tells us? I doubt Iran and North Korea are a tenth as ruthless as we are led to believe.
Iran....probably not that bad. But North Korea, you might want to do some research on that one. and maybe see them detonate another nuke in a mountain and tell me its not that bad. Also, look up estimated statistics on how many from the North try and escape and fail right on the border.
Contrary to your Venezuelan friends, North Korean defectors will attest to the atrocities committed by the regime. Chavez may not have been Kim Jung Un, but he was still a dictator bent on our country's demise. Regardless of what he did for HIS people, he still plotted against the country you indulge your citizenship.
Do I agree with the media and our Government's foreign policies... not always, but I will proudly endorse the demise of any enemy to the country I call home.
Can you blame him though after the attempted coup d'etat against him by the neocons?
Look, I think the guy was a tyrant and a putz. But there's another set of words for what you call "plotting" would be more generally known as "self defense".
A dictator was Pinochet, with CIA money and support killed the democratically elected president and took power by force, Chavez was elected and your own people ( Republican and democrat senators) supervised the elections and declare them clean and fair.. he was democratically elected. If you don't like the guy for whatever reason it doesn't change the fact that he was democratically elected by his people.. Now I think he was a bit wako..
@ Arias: Constant saber rattling by state rhetoric and collaborating with anti-American countries such as Iran is considered plotting. Do I agree with out country's foreign policies? No. Do I condone our meddling in the affairs of other nations? No. But when a dictator such as Chavez plots, and I do mean that word with all sincerity, than yes, I am glad the SOB is dead. He may not have been the worse, but he certainly was not saint.
This will be my only compromise to you. I will be civil and say we simply agree to disagree.
I'm curious about that as well! There are people who really rain praises down on him! Really makes you wonder! But there are people who actualky live there and have nothing good to say about him and that's not from media either!
Of Venezuelans that live there, it's pretty easy to predict whether they adore or hate Chavez. What class do they hail from? Chavez was a populist whose robin hood policies (not only nationalizing the oil industry, but land confiscations from the wealthy that he then gave to the have nots) made him vastly popular as a champion of the poor. And there's not much of a middle class there, the vast majority are poor.
Populist governments are nothing new in South America, the most famous being Peron in Argentina, usually they give away gifs to low income people, but the problem is that they never invest on the future, making it difficult for the economies to flourish.
You Americans had one not long ago, Regan, he took the country with a debt of around 620 billions, by the time he got out the debt was 3.5 trillions, you had a great time but now you have to pay it back..
You are truly naive. Incredibly so.
... another liberal America hater I see. You don't think people in other countries get brainwashed on stupid? you think it only happens here with odumbo? this turd was a criminal with a list of human rights abuses a mile long, and yet somehow you find a way to support him while you bash your own country.... MOVE
Why did these two families move then if things were so great in Venezuela? Oh and I noticed you mentioned Iraq yet you left out Libya.
So you spoke to those families that were living in USA? let me get this straight, they love Chavez but they live in USA, how hypocrite. I am from Venezuela and Chavez was a dictator, there was no democracy there.
Do a research and tell me what happens whenever someone from the military takes over the presidency of a country.
When someone from the military takes over the presidency? Like George Washington, Eisenhower, and Grant? I'm pretty sure they were all awesome.
Ben B – go back to your cave, please.
If these two families loved Chavez and Venezuela so much why did they leave? I call BS on your story. I know a bunch of Venezuelan and Cuban families who have nothing but hate for Castro and Chavez. That's why they moved from their countries and came here. People don't leave their country and families if they liked the situation in those countries.
Don, that is one of the more foolish statements posted here.
If chavez was so great ask them why they left... FYI the rest of us Venezuelans disagree with those two families that spoke so highly of him...
North Dallas Don, you ever think that the people you know from there may have been the freeloaders who didnt have to do anything except collect a check maybe if you wish hard enough your boy obama can ruin this country so you dont have to work either...oh wait
i love ur comment,you r one of the few sensible americans,who believe in the sovereignty of a nation and refused to be befoolled by the few war mongers in power
For sure they were chavistas who came to enjoy the money they stole from the country
No mention of the 2002 coup attempt by the military, which took power for two days and captured and imprisoned chavez, and tried to fly him away on an American plane. The "tyrant" Chavez, did not even have charges pressed against the coup leaders, and no mention of how many of those coup leaders are still active in opposition parties today.
Some tyrant. See what would happen to coup leaders in the United States, if that ever happened.
He did not pressed charges, he just put them on jail without trial some of them had the opportunity to fled the country other were just killed. But U have reason Chavez never used the justice system just because it does not exist in Venezuela.
Well, I am from Venezuela, dead center from middle class, have lost friends who dared to speak for their civil rights (for example, a young lawyer father of 3). Most importantly and personally, I lost my aunt, a retired librarian who couldn't hurt a single mosquito, yet Chavez and his cronies labelled her an enemy of the state and plastered her photo in all the government-controlled press because she volunteered after retirement to help Capriles (the opposition leader) in his campaign. If the end (Chavez's own geo-political ambitions, really) justifies the means (the bullying, the loss of civil rights, the polarizations of Venezuelans against Venezuelans that he so much fomented, the escalation of violent crime and lawlessness), then you are forgiven to think Chavez was a good man.
r u blind lol? chavez is loved by his people they voted him in a democratic election.goat?look beyond the goggle of the cnn and these deceitfull, brainwashing media hoses.hey stop the arrogance to the people of the world and free urself from the bondage called freedom on the news
Sorry, but I'm having trouble believing you. Do have any evidence of your claims. Death certificates? You can send them to the Miami Herald. Because of course you're from Miami, right? Say hello to your buddies from the AEI while yo
I am in no way a fan of Chavez. The article is correct in much of what it presents, however, the world is not as simple as 'good' and 'evil'. Chavez championed a lot of good causes including bringing widespread health improvements to the poor. He was corrupt, but not as corrupt as the American backed governments before him. He failed in many ways and was not a good leader in any sense, but he did some good things. He was democratically elected (moreso than many South American Leaders) and as noted by one commentator above, he did not kill off his enemies. Chavez was a bad leader, but he is nowhere near as bad as the leaders of Iran or of North Korea (or many other countries).
Great example of damning by faint praise.
I would agree with you. Nuance does seem to be lost on the "Chavez is 100% evil" demonizers who are proving themselves just as toolish as the "Chavez was a saint" Venezuelans they so deride. He wouldn't be so widely adored amongst many of his own countrymen if he hadn't done good by them.
I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt after the coup d'etat attempt against him by Bush. After something like that his anti-Americanism was totally understandable. Unfortunately much of this article rings true. He did turn into a tyrant who intimidated the judiciary and press while packing the newly nationalized oil industry with his own cronies and family members who became exorbitantly wealthy from patronage. What I see is completely wasted potential. He had a chance to be a great leader and make a lasting impression on history with the opportunity he had. He failed miserably in that regard, and his media grandstanding just made him seem all the more the uber-putz. He did do some good things, like vastly improving education in his country. His mobile soup kitchens were a big hit. Unfortunately in the end, it wasn't enough.
He's remembered as a hero partially because, like you said, comparing him with the rampant corruption from the US puppet governments of the past he must have seemed like a saint in comparison. But that's only because the bar had been buried in the dirt. The plunder and imperialism by the US during the 20th century of Latin and South America means our government shares that culpability.
He is not remember as a hero, he is remember as a hero by his followers who are a MINORITY in Venezuela and the world, even Hittler is remember as a hero by some...
Adutha chavezinayi namuk wait cheyyam
Only truly wicked people have a lust for power like Chavez. As every dictator does, he surrounded himself with selfish fools by stealing from one group to give to another, ultimately creating less overall prosperity for the country. However, no man has ever had the wisdom required to out smart the positive economic effects of free people making billions of individual free decisions on their own.
Wow! You could change the names in your post to Bush's cronies and it would very much apply.
I think GOPs are now under pressure from their defence contractors. Too much defence spending cuts is going to hurt them hard
Can't even get through the first sentence without a typo?
Chavez cultured croonism, allowed corruption to flourish under his dictatorship. The poor remain neglected while thousands of his croonies became very rich.
Venezuela is considered one of the world's most corrupt country.
And Amerika is one of the most illiterate. This country can't even look after it's own, yet constantly feels it has the high moral ground to dictate its policies to others. Such incredible arrogance. Such hubris.
I like to wear my speedo when I go to the grocery.
This guy was far better (with very few exceptions) than most of the @ss-clowns who 'serve the people' in this country. And anyone who thought that this guy was some kind of 'threat' to the US isn't really too bright.
I don't know much about him, but , to me, it looked like he left this world gracefully. We should all strive to reach such grace.
I like it when Shaves said ...BUSH YOU ARE A DONKEY.....ha ha in my view it is an insult to the doneky to make him equal to BUSH as the donkey is smarter than Bush...Bush destroyed usa economy and now we are paying for it...and destroy Iraq and gave it to IRAN ON A SILVER PLATER now we are paying for it in term of iran contol and terrorizing the world by supporting terrorists.......evil help evil
Not to many here will miss him
Shame Shame SHame Who is the idiot who wrote that bias article?.How much money does he get paid by special interests.? Fix the corruption in your own backyards before pointing out fingers to a man that has worked for the poor. A man that is such a bad guy doesn't have people in the thousands at vigils in many parts of the world. Get your story straight. Please CNN don't publish B S like this. Instead show the live coverage of the streets of Venezuela.
MSNBC has a non bias coverage and doesn't publish bs like this. All of the world major newspapers are showing the streets of Venezuela. CNN you going to loose more viewers because of your bias coverage.
Yeah! same as they showed the streets in North Korea, or same as Stalin's funeral
He may not be the greatest leader, but we can not curse him as American, we have almost 50 million people were suffering from hunger last year, poverty rate has increased, we need to worry about ourselves, we need to stop interfering in other people business and advice them how to run their country if we can not solve our own problems. elections were held and he got majority of the vote, that is democracy, maybe social, but that is their country to decide, not our place.
This is what Jimmy Carter said:
Chavez was not without his flaws, he did have some authoritarian tendencies but you cannot doubt his intentions, he genuinely wanted to improve the lot of the poorest and most vulnerable in society. He is not the demon portrayed by the right, nor the Jesus that GS rightly points out that the left can make him out to be, but he was a charismatic and iconic figure – and you don't get many leaders like him nowadays. A sad loss, hopefully Venezuela remains stable and that the US don't try and organise a coup for some puppet to take over as they did during the Cold War with various Latin American countries.
When a soldier takes control of the presidency what happens??
Study some history and then speak up.
clearly you have not, he was a soldier and ran for an office, which he won democratically, so study some history please and come back with facts. thanks again
The myth will outlive achievements? That's 50% better than the bumbling of his mutual nemesis. GW Bush's myth and "achievements" weren't even displayed at last year's GOP convention. The world still suffers from his legacy despite the collective amnesia in America.
Not a single story for four years as to what GW is up to- except in the foreign press which reminds us occasionally that neither GW or Cheney can travel abroad, not even to Canada, for fear of being extradited to the World Court to be prosecuted for war crimes. Assange rots in a London embassy, GW and Cheney play golf. Both are wanted for questioning, but...
It isn't pleasant to say, but I honestly think we would have all been better off had GW and Chavez switched places. The USA would have fared much better under the socialist radical Chavez and 100,000 innocent Iraqis would still be alive.
Let's face it, the Presidency here is a popularity contest and he doesn't do much good except look pretty for the gay press and universal healthcare that just got sequestered. For that, Obama appears better than GW. Obama isn't radical, but he might as well be a socialist with 52% of Americans getting a government paycheck somehow.
Let us not forget drones, murder explained by unsigned white papers, Manning, Keystone, the NDAA, Gitmo, and a military base now being built in Perth Australia (like they really need us), Add that to 633 military installations in 38 countries. Shall we build yet another one in Venezuela now? Lockheed and Blackwater must be salivating.
Remember the Alamo? Remember Okinawa.
While I am no fan of his,he impressed us with how he stood up to the oil companies and their unchecked greed,We wish our politicians would act like Men instead of greedy little gophers.We get hosed with $4.00 a gallon gas and weasel politicians try to justify it to us.Guess what , we KNOW gas should not be more than a dollar a gallon.
Why not? Because Chavez came into power, nationalized the oil industry which played a major role in devaluating the currency so he enacted an exchange control which developed a "black market" for the USD and Euro. All of this contributed to rapid inflation and the failing Venezuelan economy, a failing economy that sits atop of the largest oil reserve in the world. Now he has nationalized flour, sugar, corn and milk which nobody can get down there, not even the poor. His VP is a truck driver that never went to college. He was loved because he is a good speaker and he could relate to the poor.
Petroleum is a limited resource, fifty. That's why it's gone up, and that is why it will continue to go up. When you consume, and consume, and consume a limited resource, what else can possibly happen?
I remember about thirty years ago my grandfather spoke of this. But when he spoke I understood that we would consume and consume until one day it would simply vanish. That's not how it works. You see, there are different kinds of sources, with different layers of costs involved in prospecting, development, and refinement. The sources we are using today (offshore, shale, etc) were cost prohibitive thirty years ago, largely because there were cheaper deposits elsewhere. Today, those cheap deposits have diminished significantly, and so goes the supply. This drives up the price, which makes it cost effective now to prospect sources in areas that are more difficult either politically or logistically. Venezuelan oil, FYI, is not the golden 'light sweet crude' we used to enjoy so dearly so many years ago.
Oil companies and the oil lobby are fond of telling us that the in-ground supply of undeveloped oil deposits is a lot greater than we previously thought. To be honest, it's probably a LOT more vast than they even know. But, what they're not telling us, is that the costs associated with these undeveloped deposits requires a much heavier price tag. We'll get there soon, no doubt. $12 gas isn't as far of a stretch as you might think.
The other thing they're not telling you, is that virtually everything in our economy is tied to oil. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
How is the demand for homes in the suburbs relate to gas prices? The cost of the commute?
How does food get to the supermarket?
What do farmers use to power their tractors?
As food prices increase, what impact does that have on a family's discretionary income?
As families have less discretionary income, how does that impact area businesses who sell 'non-essential' goods and services?
If these area businesses have less patronage, how does that effect hiring?
If there are fewer jobs, how does that impact the wages being offered in the jobs that are available?
With lower wages and increased unemployment, how does that impact taxes collected?
If the government's coffers suffer from decreased tax revenues, how does that affect public services such as education, public safety, infrastructure development, and national security?
Oil is a limited resource.
Shines Before You
President Hugo Chavez was Empowering to Poor and Divisive in Venezuela Sounds Like President Obama is Following Chavez's Footsteps in America.
No he's not. Not at all.
You should follow his steps. To the other side, that is.
Chaves was not just a man but an Idiology , even if he is dead ' His idiology will stay alive & its a universal truth.
Idiology??
With that spelling it seems to me that you went to Chavez's Bolivarian schools
Chavez is dead yet Sarah Palin and her teabillies continue to waste oxygen. Makes you wonder, doesn't it.
No, no wonder at all. Everybody can see clearly how you hate people who don't think like you. Shudder.
It sounds like this guy was a bit of a saint, huh?
Its very amazing how its only the Western world that has vituperative vulgar vitriol directed at Hugo Chavez, a man who stood up against big vulture corporate companies bent on exploiting developing countries. The only reason why the U.S. & its media outlets like CNN/FOX hate Chavez is that this man decided to eradicate poverty in his country by using his country's resources like oil, which the West covets so much. Those who can go past Western rhetoric to see the real Chavez will salute this brave pro-poor soldier. An icon, warts & all...
Warts? Where does he have warts?
Chavez was a nationalistic "Oil" despot with a populist following. He could have used his country's vast oil wealth to leave behind a real and tangible legacy but instead he chose a path of consipiracy theories and making friends with anyone or anything that he felt would annoy the US. My condolenses to the family for their loss and to the country for the loss of the last 12 years.
Nevermind that it was the peoples' revolution, Howard. If you were a wood tool, I would guess you were a skew.
It was a peoples' revolution that moved him into power. Everything he did after that was on him. The "people" did not make the economic and geo-political decisions, those came strictly from Chavez. I don't hold Chavez's feelings towards the US against him, but he actually didn't do very much to improve his country considering the power and the wealth that was at his disposal.
Bullsh@#, Sabatini. The reality of Venezuela's socialism and democracy will outlive our myth! Let alone the wedge we tried to drive between Venezuela and Brazil. Mythical.
chavez was a great man for the majority of the people.
the 100 – 200 families of greed who wanted 100% of venezuela's wealth for themselves hated chavez.
the american govt which serves the wealthy also hated chavez, a leader who served the people
I'm sorry your dictator died. Would you like ours?
Like Castro, and other left wing Latin leaders, Chavez had a lot of good qualities, and some bad qualities.
For good qualities, both were able to free their nations from the right-wing murderous dictatorships the United States established in their nations. As such, they stopped the murder's by our CIA and the military we created in those nations. Thousands, likely millions, of Latin civilians were murdered in Chile, El Salvador, Cuba and Venezuela with our nation's authorization.
Both helped the poor and moved out the rich who had enslaved the poor and stolen all the wealth of their nation. This was a huge problem in Cuba, where the rich right wing stole all the nations money and brought it to Florida.
But both also restricted individual freedom's, which is a weakness.
No black and white here with Chavez – a good leader who did a lot of good, but operated under a system designed to restrict liberties.
What a pathetic bunch of LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES
What achievements beside lining his own pockets?
This man will have far more impact than you think.
You will finally understand when ALL the jobs are done by robots.
.
I think he will be missed although I hope the people who replace him carry on and develop socialism in Venezuela. He seems to me to have gotten a bad press in US media which he was also able to use to enhance his image in his own country. He has been one of the leaders spearheading social reform throughout Central and S. America.. The historical picture has been one of exploitation by European , USA Corporations, and internal oligarch rule. The Chavez "revolution" was a form of military assisted populism. It takes force and power to shake up and remove power.. Hence the complaints about Chavez. No one likes losing their grip on power and wealth which is what happened to those oligarchs whose industries were nationalized.
"power and wealth"
You mean like the billions Chavez stole from his adoring lemmings?
"... a savior to the Castro regime in Cuba, and the CLOWN prince of the regional summit circuit." nice typo there.
Just like a tinhorn, Leftist dictator. He throws a few crumbs to the lemmings to keep them docile, while he steals billions for himself and his cronies. Classic Libearalism. He will burn in Hades for eternity.
CLassic capitalism as well.
Communism and capitalism all end up at the same place.
All the money goes to the very top.
.
Chavez was elected, Venezuela is a democracy.
Chavez was never ever an Amirican kissass that is why most Americans hate him,same as most of then hates Fidel,Lula,Correa,Cristina,Evo,America Latina needs more and more Chavez,is way better that a Venezuelan like Chavez stole the Venezolanos Money and not the Americans as they do all around Latinoamerica where they have kissass presidents.
He confiscated peoples property and opened the doors to the prisons and used the convicts as his personal gang and dissent oppressors.
Chavez squandered Venezuela's national oil wealth . He was Father Christmas to other corrupt Governments. In fact as an act of defiant against US, Chavez intentionally spent billions every year to prop up Cuba's economy which was and still is in a terrible mess.
As a result of his squandering over the years, Venezuela is now heading towards a financial crisis as its national debt continue to balloon to unsustainable level. Any prolong drop in world oil price could trigger that financial crisis for Venezuela.
Hugo Chavez Gave Heating Aid to U.S. Poor Following Obama Budget Cuts.
"As a result of his squandering over the years, Venezuela is now heading towards a financial crisis as its national debt continue to balloon to unsustainable level" Hey Johnny we can say the same for US government and all the European Governments. They are all facing financila crisis. Atleast under Chvez the poor Venezuelans did not suffer as much as the poor in the US and Europe. Did not your government squander US wealth on unnecessary wars? US government too has been Santa to many dictatorial government if you know your history. US media is programmed to be critical of any foreign government that challenges US government's hegemony. How else would they brainwash the minds of people like you.? You do not get a chance to thinkmfor yourself they do the thinking for you.
Chavez was a great leader of the 21st century. Half the world hated him (damn yanks...) and the other half loved him. But it is absolutely disgusting to hear that people are desecrating photos of his body. Nobody deserves that.
Viva Chavez!
i just want to throw this out there. The U.S. has never ratified the American Convention on Human Rights. Let's compare GDP and Gini to the United States shall we? We can move past all the demonization and just stick to facts if you like. I'm sure your assessment will look a bit biased if we do that. Happy to provide more facts if you need them.
The "Chavez Myth" will only live if you make it.