Hugo Chávez

Template:Venezuelan presidents infobox

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (IPA: ['uɰo rafa'el 'tʃaβes 'fɾias]; born July 28, 1954) is the 53^rd and current President of Venezuela. As the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Chávez is known for his democratic socialism governance, his promotion of Latin American integration, and his criticism, which he terms anti-imperialism, of neoliberal globalization and United States foreign policy.

A career military officer, Chávez founded the leftist Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) after he led a failed 1992 coup d'état. Chávez was elected President in 1998 on promises of aiding Venezuela's poor majority, and reelected in 2000. Domestically, Chávez has launched Bolivarian Missions whose stated goals are to combat disease, illiteracy, malnutrition, poverty, and other social ills. Abroad, Chávez has acted against the Washington Consensus by supporting alternative models of economic development, and has advocated cooperation among the world's poor nations, especially those in Latin America.

Chávez has been severely criticized during his presidency. He has been accused of electoral fraud, human rights violations, assaulting democracy in favor of dictatorship, and political repression, and has survived both a brief 2002 coup and a failed 2004 recall referendum due to his enormous support amongst the poor that represent the vast majority of his constituents. Whether viewed as a liberator or authoritarian demagogue, Chávez remains one of the most complex, controversial, and high-profile figures in modern Latin American politics.

Early life (1954–1992)

Main article: [[:Early life of Hugo Chávez and Military career of Hugo Chávez]]

Chávez was born the second son of poor schoolteachers in Sabaneta, Barinas. He is of mixed Amerindian, African, and Spanish descent. Chávez and his five siblings were raised in a thatched palm leaf house. Chávez and his older brother moved to Sabaneta proper to live with their paternal grandmother. Chávez attended the Daniel Florencio O'Leary School in Barinas, graduating with a science degree after elementary school. Chávez attended the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences at eighteen, graduating in 1975 as a sub-lieutenant with master's degrees in military science and engineering. Chávez served for several months in the military. He did graduate-level work in political science at Caracas' Simón Bolívar University, but left without a degree.

Chávez developed a left-nationalist ideology termed "Bolivarianism", inspired by the pan-Americanist philosophies of 19th-century Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar, Peruvian left-leaning President Gral. Juan Velasco, and various socialist and communist leaders. After college, Chávez served in a Barinas-based counter-insurgency battalion in his student years. He held various other posts, command, and staff positions, eventually becoming a decorated lieutenant colonel. Chávez also taught at the Military Academy of Venezuela, where he was known for his aggressive criticism of the Venezuelan government and socioeconomic status quo. He also founded the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200).

Coup attempt (1992)

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Chávez interviewed following his 1994 release from prison. Although the coup for which Chávez was imprisoned failed, it elevated him into the national spotlight.

Main article: 1992 Venezuelan coup attempt of Hugo Chávez

Growing unrest and economic decline under the neoliberal administration of Carlos Andrés Pérez led Chávez to plan a coup d'état. Initially planned for December, Chávez delayed the MBR-200 coup until the early twilight hours of February 4, 1992. On that date, five army units under Chávez's command barreled into urban Caracas. They planned to overrun key military and communications installations, including the Miraflores presidential palace, the defense ministry, La Carlota military airport, and the Historical Museum. Chávez's main goal was to capture Pérez, who was returning from an overseas trip.

Chávez held the loyalty of 10% of the military; yet, numerous betrayals, errors, and other unforeseen circumstances soon left Chávez and others besieged in the Historical Museum and unable to issue orders to other rebels. Further, Chávez's allies neither took Caracas nor were able to air a nationwide call for a mass uprising or capture Pérez. As the coup unfolded, fourteen soldiers were killed, and fifty soldiers and eighty civilians were injured. Rebel forces elsewhere made swift advances, capturing Valencia, Maracaibo, and Maracay. But having failed in Caracas, Chávez gave himself up; later, he was allowed to make a televised nationwide call for all rebel forces to stand down. In the address, he also famously quipped that he had failed only "por ahora" — "for the moment". With this, Chávez was thrust into the national spotlight, with many poor Venezuelans seeing him as one who stood against corruption and kleptocracy. Chávez was then sent to Yare prison.

Political rise (1992–1999)

Main article: Venezuelan presidential election, 1998

After a two-year imprisonment, Chávez was pardoned by President Rafael Caldera in 1994. Chávez reformed the MBR-200, renaming it the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR — Movimiento Quinta República, with the "V" being the Roman numeral five). In 1998, Chávez started campaigning for the presidency and created a platform that drew heavily from Bolivarianism, particularly its anti-corruption and anti-poverty agenda. Chávez also promised to dismantle puntofijismo, the traditional two-party system of political patronage. Controversially, foreign banks — including Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and Banco Santander, each the owner of one of Venezuela's largest banks — illicitly funneled millions of dollars into Chávez's campaign.

Hugo Chávez's Election Results

— 1998 presidential election —

Candidate Votes % Chávez: 3,673,685 56.20% Salas: 2,613,161 39.97% Valid votes: 6,537,304 —

Chávez used a charismatic public speaking style — noted for its aggressive manner and abundance of colloquialisms — to woo a largely poor and working class base. By May 1998, Chávez had a 30% approval rating in polls; by August he had 39%. On December 6, 1998, Chávez won the Carter Center-endorsed 1998 presidential election with 56% of the vote.

First Presidency (1999–2000)

Main article: Presidency of Hugo Chávez

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Chávez holds up a miniature copy of the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution at the 2005 World Social Forum held in Brazil.

Chávez was sworn in as president on February 2, 1999. Among his first acts was the launching of Plan Bolivar 2000, which included road building, housing construction, and mass vaccination. Chávez also halted planned privatizations of, among others, the national social security system, aluminum industry holdings, and the oil sector. Nevertheless, Chávez also sought foreign direct investment to prevent chronic capital flight and monetary inflation. Chávez also reduced oil extraction, seeking to gain more revenues from the resulting higher oil prices and lobbying OPEC to do likewise. Chávez also attempted renegotiation of decades-old agreements with Philips Petroleum and ExxonMobil seeking to gain more royalties. He also overhauled the formerly lax tax collection and auditing system — especially regarding major corporations and landholders — by increasing its fairness and efficiency.

Hugo Chávez's Election Results

— 1999 referendum — Enact the new constitution?

Option Votes % Yes: 3,301,475 71.78% No: 1,298,105 28.22%

Responding to the stalling of his legislation in the National Assembly, Chávez scheduled two fresh national elections for July 1999, including a referendum for and elections to fill a new constitutional assembly. The Constitutional Assembly was created when the referendum passed with a 71.78% "yes" vote, while the pro-Chávez Polo Patriotico ("Patriotic Pole") won 95% (120 out of the total 131) of its seats. In August 1999, the Constitutional Assembly's "Judicial Emergency Committee" declared a "legislative emergency" whereby a seven-member committee conducted the National Assembly's functions; meanwhile, the National Assembly was prohibited from holding meetings. The Constitutional Assembly drafted the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution, which included an increase in the presidential term from five to six years, a new presidential two-term limit, and a new provision for presidential recall elections, expanded presidential powers (including the power to dissolve the National Assembly in case of a vote of censure), conversion of the bicameral National Assembly into a weakened unicameral legislature, merit-based appointments of judges, and creation of the Public Defender, an office authorized to regulate the activities of the presidency and the National Assembly. Chávez styled the new Public Defender as guardian of the government's "moral branch", tasked with defending public and moral interests. In December 1999, the new constitution was approved in a nationwide election with a 71.78% "yes" vote.

Second Presidency (2000–present)

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President Chávez in the year 2000. He is the first President of Venezuela to wear a military uniform since Marcos Pérez Jiménez in 1958.

Main article: Venezuelan presidential election, 2000

Elections for the new unicameral National Assembly took place on July 30, 2000; meanwhile, Chávez himself stood for reelection. Chávez's coalition won a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, while Chávez was reelected with 60% of the votes. The Carter Center — stated "Although we concluded that the presidential election legitimately expressed the will of the people, we found serious flaws throught the electoral process, begining with the failure to pressure to conduct the May elections prematurely and concluding with the continued delays in resolving the appeals for disputed elections" as a result they did not validate the election On December 3, 2000, a referendum (backed by Chávez but condemned by international labor organizations) was held. The referendum — which passed — forced trade unions to hold state-monitored elections.

Hugo Chávez's Election Results

— 2000 presidential election —

Candidate Votes % Chávez: 3,757,773 59.76% Arias: 2,359,459 37.52% Valid votes: 6,288,578 —

— 2000 referendum — State-monitored labor union elections?

Option Votes % Yes: 1,632,750 62.02% No: 719,771 27.34%

After the mid-2000 elections, Chávez backed passage of the Enabling act, which allowed Chávez to rule by decree for one year. In November 2001, Chávez used it to enact 49 decrees, including the "Hydrocarbons Law" (more government control over the oil sector) and the "Land Law" (land reform and redistribution). The Fedecámaras business federation and the Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela opposed to the decrees, began a general strike on December 10, 2001 in the hope that the President would reconsider his legislative action and, instead, open a debate about those laws. However, the strike failed to impact Chávez decision.

Coup attempt of 2002 and recall referendum 2004

Main article: [[:Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002 and Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004]]

On April 11, 2002, some 500,000 anti-Chávez demonstrators and pro-Chávez demonstrators marched to the Miraflores palace and clashed with each other. Alarmed, Chávez commandeered the airwaves. He asked protesters to go home, played pre-recorded speeches, and attempted to stop coverage of the violence. Then, Commander of the Army Lucas Rincón Romero reported in a nationwide broadcast that Chávez had resigned his presidency. Chávez was taken to a military base while coup leaders made Fedecámaras president Pedro Carmona interim president. Carmona immediately reversed many of Chávez's policies, including his credit controls and oil production ceilings. Carmona also dissolved the National Assembly, dismissed the Venezuelan judiciary, and reverted Venezuela's official name back to República de Venezuela. Pro-Chávez demonstrations then erupted across Caracas; later, pro-Chávez troops led a counter-coup, freeing Chávez from captivity.

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Chávez makes a dramatic return to power on April 13, 2002.

On April 13, 2002, Chávez resumed as president. He began several investigations; their results supported Chávez's claims that the coup was U.S.-sponsored; however, an invesigation conducted by the U.S. Inspector General, at the request of U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, D-CT, found that "U.S. officials acted appropriately and did nothing to encourage an April coup against Venezuela's president". Chávez also replaced the upper echelons of the military command, boosted veterans' benefits, and began several new civilian-military development programs. In late 2002, he also moved to use PDVSA revenues to fund his social programs. Opposing this, many PDVSA managers and workers began a two-months strike starting on December 2, 2002. This resulted in shortages of oil and loss of PDVSA revenue, putting pressure on Chávez's government. In response, Chávez sacked some 19,000 PDVSA striking workers and managers, replacing them with Chávez loyalist or neutrals, some accused of being inexperienced personnel. As of 2005 Venezuela's oil production is close to its 2001 levels with PDVSA playing a smaller role due to synthetic oil increasing at the expense of conventional oil.

Hugo Chávez's Election Results

— 2004 recall referendum — Recall Hugo Chávez?

Option Votes % No: 5,800,629 59.10% Yes: 3,989,008 40.64%

In 2003, Chávez created Mission Guaicaipuro (October 12, 2003), Mission Robinson (July 2003), Mission Sucre (late 2003), and Mission Ribas (November 2003). In July 2004, speaking to 50,000 formerly illiterate Mission Robinson beneficiaries, Chávez stated that "it was truly a world record: in a year, we have graduated 1,250,000 Venezuelans". Additionally, the inflation rate eased from 31% (2002) to 27% (2003). In contrast, setbacks included a putative 2004 coup attempt, whose significance stirred controversy. Later, in 2003 and 2004, the opposition collected millions of signatures and activated the 1999 Constitution's presidential recall provision. Amidst riots and allegations of government blacklisting of petition signers by MVR Deputy Luis Tascón and anti-Chávez employers' coercion of their workers into signing petitions, a 2,436,830-signature petition was accepted by the CNE and a recall referendum was announced on June 8, 2004. The August 15, 2004 vote saw a record turnout. With a 59.25% "no" vote, the recall measure was defeated. The Carter Center "concluded the results were accurate." The opposition alleged electoral fraud.

Recent facts

After his referendum victory, Chávez used Venezuela's increasing oil revenues — from rises in world oil prices — to focus on expanding social programs. Economic growth also picked up markedly, reaching double-digit growth in 2004, 9.3% growth in 2005 and a projected 7 percent growth rate for 2006. In late March 2005, the Chávez government criminalized broadcast libel and slander directed against public officials, including prison sentences of up to 40 months for serious cases. Yet, when asked if he would ever impose such penalties, Chávez stated that "I don't care if they [the private media] call me names.... As Don Quixote said, 'If the dogs are barking, it is because we are working.'" Chávez also expanded social programs via new Missions: Mission Vuelta al Campo, phases II and III of Mission Barrio Adentro, and Mission Miranda.

Chávez's foreign policy included humanitarian aid, construction projects, and other agreements with Argentina's Nestor Kirchner, China's Hu Jintao, Cuba's Fidel Castro, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Bolivia's Evo Morales, and numerous other nations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. On March 4, 2005, Chávez publicly declared that the U.S.-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) was "dead". Chávez also stated his desire for the establishment of a Latin American analogue of NATO. At Chávez's direction, the military also began shifting armaments procurements to non-U.S. sources, including Brazil, China, Russia, and Spain. Meanwhile, Chávez ordered all active-duty U.S. soldiers to leave Venezuela. In 2005, he created the 1.5 million-strong Mission Miranda "military reserve" program. In October 2005, Chávez banished the "New Tribes Mission" from the country, accusing it of "imperialist infiltration" and collaboration with the CIA. Chávez's government also gave Amazonian indigenous peoples inalienable titles to 6,800 km² of lands and launched Mission Guaicaipuro.

Chávez embraces Argentinian President Kirchner at a July 2004 joint press conference held in Venezuela (Office of the Argentine Presidency).

At a graduation ceremony at Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine on August 20, 2005, Chávez announced the joint establishment of a tuition-free medical school, including 30,000 planned slots for poor students. During his speech at the 2005 UN World Summit, Chávez again denounced neoliberalism and warned of hydrocarbon depletion. At the November 7, 2005 Mar del Plata Fourth Summit of the Americas, Chávez hailed the stalling of the FTAA proposal and stated that "the taste of victory" was at hand regarding the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, started by Venezuela and Cuba on December 14, 2004. On March 9, 2006 he made changes to both the coat of arms of Venezuela and the Venezuelan flag. The new flag has an eighth star, the "Bolivarian star" to honour the province of Guayana's contribution to the independence struggle in the 19th Century. The change to the coat of arms (which is also displayed on the flag) involved changing the direction of the running horse to the left rather than the right.

Political impact

Labor

Chávez has had a combative relationship with the nation's largest trade union confederation, the Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela (CTV), which is historically aligned with the Acción Democrática party. During the December 2000 local elections, Chávez placed a referendum measure on the ballot that would mandate state-monitored elections within unions. The measure, which was condemned by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) as undue interference in internal union matters, passed by a large margin on a very low electoral turnout. In the ensuing CTV elections, Carlos Ortega declared his victory and remained in office as CTV president, while Chavista (pro-Chávez) candidates declared fraud.

The Unión Nacional de Trabajadores (UNT — "National Union of Workers"), a new pro-Chávez union federation, formed in response, and has been growing in membership; it seeks to ultimately supplant the CTV. Several Chavista unions have withdrawn from the CTV because of their strident anti-Chávez activism, and have instead affiliated with the UNT. In 2003, Chávez chose to send UNT, rather than CTV, representatives to an annual ILO meeting.

At the request of its workers, Chávez nationalized Venepal, a formerly closed paper and cardboard manufacturing firm, on January 19, 2005. Workers had occupied the factory floor and restarted production, but following a failed deal with management and amidst management threats to liquidate the firm's equipment, Chávez ordered the nationalization, extended a line of credit to the workers, and ordered that the Venezuelan educational missions purchase more paper products from the company.

Economic and Social Impact

Using Venezuela's key oil industry, Chávez ranks among OPEC's price hawks, pushing for strict production quotas and high price targets. He also broadened PDVSA's customer base, striking joint exploration deals with Argentina, Brazil, China, India, and others. Record oil prices have meant more funding for his social programs, but also left the economy increasingly dependent on Chávez's policies and PDVSA.

Chavéz, flanked by Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, attends the Arab-South America Summit held on May 5, 2005 in Brazil. (Agência Brasil).

Chávez has redirected the focus of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Venezuela's state-owned oil company, by bringing it more closely under the direction of the Energy Ministry. He has also attempted to repatriate more oil funds to Venezuela by raising royalty percentages on joint extraction contracts that are payable to Venezuela. Chávez has also explored the liquidation of some or all of the assets belonging to PDVSA's U.S.-based subsidiary, CITGO. The oil ministry has been successful in restructuring CITGO's profit structure, resulting in large increases in dividends and income taxes from PDVSA. In 2005, CITGO announced the largest dividend payment to PDVSA in over a decade, $400 million. Venezuela is also adhering to OPEC quotas that lowered production compared to the previous administration that disregarded them.

Chávez's domestic policy is embodied by the Bolivarian Missions, a series of social justice programs that have radically altered the economic and cultural landscape of Venezuela. Although recent economic activity under Chávez has been robust under these programs, There has also been a 6.4% drop since 1999 in official unemploymentand 6% in the poverty rates for households and there has been improvement in the infant mortality rate.

Aims of the Bolivarian Missions have included the launching of massive government anti-poverty initiatives, the construction of thousands of free medical clinics for the poor, the institution of educational campaigns that have reportedly made more than one million adult Venezuelans literate, the enactment of food and housing subsidies and the transformation of the original "endogenous nuclei of development" into military nuclei of resistance against what Chávez describes as "US imperialism" . The Missions have overseen widespread state-supported experimentation in citizen- and worker-managed governance, as well as the granting of thousands of free land titles (Mission Zamora) formerly landless poor and indigenous communities. In contrast, several large landed estates and factories have been, or are in the process of being, expropriated.

Foreign affairs

Main article: Foreign policy of Hugo Chávez

Chávez has refocused Venezuelan foreign policy on Latin American economic and social integration by enacting bilateral trade and reciprocal aid agreements, including his "oil diplomacy". Examples include PetroCaribe, Petrosur, and Telesur. Bilateral trade relationships with other Latin American countries have also played a major role in his policy, with Chávez increasing arms purchases from Brazil, forming oil-for-expertise trade arrangements with Cuba, funding an approximately $300 million ex gratia oil pipeline built to provide discounted natural gas to Colombia, and initiating barter arrangements that, among other things, exchange Venezuelan petroleum for cash-strapped Argentina's meat and dairy products. Additionally, Chávez worked closely with other Latin American leaders following the 1997 Summit of the Americas in many areas — especially energy integration — and championed the OAS decision to adopt the Anti-Corruption Convention. Chávez's government also participates in the United Nations Friends groups for Haiti, and is pursuing efforts to join and engage the Mercosur trade bloc to expand the hemisphere's trade integration prospects. Abroad, Chávez denounces both neocolonialism and neoliberalism, including U.S. foreign policy regarding Iraq, Haiti, and the Free Trade Area of the Americas; meanwhile, he had severed military ties with the U.S. Chávez has also lobbied OPEC producers to decrease production ceilings. Pursuing this goal, Chávez made a ten-day tour of OPEC countries; he thus became the first head of state to meet Saddam Hussein since the Gulf War.

Chávez and Argentine President Kirchner discuss energy and trade integration projects for South America. They met in November, 2005 as a gesture of solidarity in their opposition to the Washington Consensus and the FTAA proposal (Office of the Argentine Presidency).

In 2001, Peru voiced suspicions that Chávez's administration was protecting and hiding Vladimiro Montesinos, a former Peruvian intelligence director under Alberto Fujimori administration wanted for corruption. Chávez stated that he had no knowledge of Montesinos location, but if found in Venezuela he would be extradited to Peru. Montesinos was found in June of that year in Venezuela and later deported to Peru to face charges of corruption, bribery and human-rights violations. Months before, the Venezuelan press had speculated on Montesinos hiding in Venezuela. Chávez described the media's reports that Venezuela was "sheltering" Montesinos as part of an international campaign against his reputation .

In 2004 a diplomatic crisis, this time with Colombia, happened after the kidnap by individual Venezuelan officials (with the aid of Colombian agents) of Rodrigo Granda, a high ranking member of the political wing of the FARC, in a case known as the Rodrigo Granda affair. At the time, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe condemned Chávez's lack of cooperation in implementing law enforcement actions against the FARC. Chávez responded by temporarily cutting diplomatic and trade ties with Colombia. The issue was put to rest in a Summit of the two Presidents in February of 2005.

After Hurricane Katrina battered the U.S. in late 2005, Chávez's administration was the first government to offer aid to its "North American brothers", offering to donate tons of food, water, mobile hospital units, medical specialists, power generators, and one million barrels of petroleum. Additionally, he proposed to sell 66,000 barrels of steeply discounted heating fuel directly to affected poor communities. The Bush administration refused this aid. Later, in November 2005, officials in Massachusetts signed an agreement with Venezuela to provide heating oil at a 40% discount to low income families via CITGO, a PDSVA subsidiary. Chávez has stated that such aid comprises "a strong oil card to play on the geopolitical stage" and that "[i]t is a card that we are going to play with toughness against the toughest country in the world, the United States." Venezuela's foreign affairs are also accompanied by Chávez's comments criticising George W. Bush (who he labelled a pendejo ("dumbass")), Condoleezza Rice (a "complete illiterate" with regards to comprehending Latin America.), and Vicente Fox (who was "bleeding from his wounds" and was warned not to "mess" with him). The latter comments resulted in the severing of diplomatic ties between Mexico and Venezuela.

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Peruvian media depicting Hugo Chávez as a gorilla after his comments on the 2006 Presidential election process.

During his weekly address Aló, Presidente! of March 18, 2006, Chávez responded to a US White House report which characterized him as a "demagogue who uses Venezuela's oil wealth to destabilize democracy in the region". During the address Chávez rhetorically called George W. Bush "a donkey." He repeated it several times adding "eres un cobarde" (you are a coward), "eres un asesino, un genocida" (you are an assassin, a mass-murderer), and "eres un borracho" (you are a drunk).

Between January and March of 2006, Chávez has made ample comments on the candidates of the 2006 Peruvian Presidential election, openly backing Ollanta Humala while referring to Alan García as a "thief" and a "crook" and considering Lourdes Flores a "candidate of the oligarchy". Chávez's comments have led the Peruvian government and the press to consider that he is persistently interfering in Peru's affairs in breach of international law. Both countries have recalled their ambassadors. In a list compiled by the magazine New Statesman in 2006, he was voted eleventh in the list of "Heroes of our time".

Media treatment

Main article: Media representation of Hugo Chávez

Even before the April 2002 coup, most major media openly opposed Chávez's policies. . Chávez alleges that such media serve U.S. interests via corporate "propaganda". He often voices such views on his live talk — Aló, Presidente! ("Hello, President!"), which airs Sundays at 11:00 AM on Venezolana de Televisión, ViVe Televisión, ANTV Televisión and CatiaTVe and features hours-long tours and speeches by Chávez. Chávez also launched Telesur on July 25, 2005 which seeks to challenge the dominant U.S.-based CNN en Español and Univision networks.

Bolivarianism

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Chávez speaks to chavistas on Caracas's Avenida Bolívar in May, 2004.

Chávez is mainly influenced by the ideas of Simón Bolívar, lending the name of the Bolivarianism movement to his namesake, others like Ezequiel Zamora, Simón Rodríguez, Marxist historian Federico Brito Figueroa, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Salvador Allende and Norberto Ceresole would also play an influential role. Later, Chávez stated that democratic socialism (socialism emphasizing grassroots democracy) was key to his policies, working through such organizations as the Bolivarian Circles. He reiterated this at the 2005 World Social Forum and the 4th Summit on the Social Debt, stating that humanity must embrace "a new type of socialism, a humanist one, which puts humans, and not machines or the state, ahead of everything." The central points of Chávez's Bolivarianism are:

1. Venezuelan economic and political sovereignty
2. Grassroots political participation via popular votes and referendums (participatory democracy)
3. Comprehensive economic self-sufficiency (in food, consumer durables, et cetera)
4. Instilling a national sentiment of patriotic service
5. Equitable distribution of Venezuela's vast oil revenues
6. Elimination of corruption
7. Elimination of puntofijismo by way of constitutional reforms

Criticism

An anti-Chávez march in the capital Caracas. This protest was in favor of a "yes" vote in the 2004 recall referendum.

Main article: Criticism of Hugo Chávez

Chávez is much-criticized, both in Venezuela and in international media. His most vociferous opponents see him as a dangerous and authoritarian militarist who threatens Venezuelan democracy and global oil prices.

Chávez has been widely criticized by proponents of free speech, particularly for the institution of the "Ley Resorte" which strengthened libel and slander laws, and most notably desacato or insult laws against the presidency, however the latter has yet to be enforced. He has been accused of electoral fraud and political repression, including keeping anti-Chávez activists as political prisoners. Critics report that poverty, unemployment, and corruption figures under Chávez have not seen improvement. Abroad, Chávez is reported as being a confrontational ideologue, and American public figures have accused him of supporting and training terrorists. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have catalogued but not confirmed human rights violations under Chávez, Chávez supporters counter by alleging repression of Chávez supporters and social workers by anti-Chávez mayors.

Personal life

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Chávez and his daughters: Rosa Virginia, María Gabriela and Rosa Inés.

Hugo Chávez has been married twice. He first married Nancy Colmenares, a woman from a poor family originating in Chávez's hometown of Sabaneta. They were married for eighteen years and had three children: Rosa Virginia, María Gabriela, and Hugo Rafael. They separated after Chávez's 1992 coup attempt, but have remained friends since then.During his first marriage, Chávez also had a nine-year affair with young historian Herma Marksman. Chávez is separated from his second wife, journalist Marisabel Rodríguez de Chávez, with whom he had another daughter, Rosa Inés, in addition to a son-in-law, Raúl "Raúlito" Alfonzo. Chávez also has one granddaughter, Gabriela.

Chávez is a Roman Catholic, but has had disputes with both the Venezuelan Catholic clergy and Protestant church hierarchies. Although he has traditionally kept his own faith a private matter, Chávez has become increasingly open to discussing his religious views, stating that both his faith and his interpretation of Jesus' personal life and ideology have had a profound impact on his leftist views: "He [Jesus] accompanied me in difficult times, in crucial moments. So Jesus Christ is no doubt a historical figure — he was someone who rebelled, an anti-imperialist guy. He confronted the Roman Empire.... Because who might think that Jesus was a capitalist? No. Judas was the capitalist, for taking the coins! Christ was a revolutionary. He confronted the religious hierarchies. He confronted the economic power of the time. He preferred death in the defense of his humanistic ideals, who fostered change.... He is our Jesus Christ."

External links

Interviews and speeches

• Venezuela President Hugo Chávez: Interview by Greg Palast on May 2, 2002.
• President Chávez's remarks during the first plenary session of the Special Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico on January 12, 2004.
• Speech by President Hugo Chávez at the opening of XII G-15 Summit delivered on March 1, 2004.
• Hugo Chávez's address to the UN’s 2005 World Summit
• President Chávez's Speech to the United Nations
• English translation audio of Chávez's speech at the Latino Pastoral Action Center in Bronx, New York City on 17 September 2005. (Original Spanish-language)
• Democracy Now!: Part I and Part II of a September 16, 2005 interview in New York City.
• ABC News/Nightline: Interview of Chávez on September 16, 2005 by Ted Koppel.
• The Guardian: The world according to Chávez on May 16, 2006 by Duncan Campbell and Jonathan Steele.
• (Video) Televangelist Pat Robertson calls for the assassination of President Hugo Chavez on 22 Aug, 2005, live on television.
• (Video) Televangelist Pat Robertson a second time calls for the assassination of President Hugo Chavez, on 2 Feb, 2006, live on Fox News television.

Other

• The New Kid on the barrio, Peter Beaumont, The Observer (UK), 7 May 2006
• Not a difficult choice at all. "Chávez and Venezuela deserve the support of all who believe in social justice and democracy", Ken Livingstone, the Guardian, 15 may 2006.
• Given an actual choice, would Americans choose socialism? by Kory Richards
• Aló Presidente — Website of Chávez's weekly talk show.
• Portal ALBA: Alternativa Bolivariana para América — Web portal detailing Chávez's trade agenda and proposals.
• Latin News Blog, President Hugo Chávez News Blog
• Chavez's Incredible Shrinking Revolution by Lowell Pointe

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