Revision as of 01:20, 25 November 2006 editJRSP (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users6,472 edits Revert to revision 89840955 dated 2006-11-24 16:00:41 by SuperFlanker using popups← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 23:24, 22 December 2024 edit undoJmabel (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Administrators90,254 edits →Honors and awards: use a more appropriate Syrian flag | ||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|President of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013}} | |||
{{POV}} | |||
{{other people}} | |||
{{Infobox_President | name=Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías | |||
{{pp-move|small=yes}} | |||
| image =Chavez CASA cropped 1.jpg | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} | |||
| order= <br>53rd ] <br> 56th ] | |||
{{Infobox officeholder | |||
| term_start=], ] | |||
| honorific-prefix = ] | |||
| term_end=], ] <br> ], ] - ''present'' | |||
| image = Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías.jpeg | |||
| predecessor=] (])<br> ] (]) | |||
| caption = Chávez in 2011 | |||
| successor=] (]) '''''Incumbent''''' | |||
| order1 = 52nd | |||
| birth_date=], ] | |||
| office1 = President of Venezuela | |||
| birth_place=], ], ] | |||
| vicepresident1 = {{Collapsible list|title=''{{nobold|See list}}''|{{Unbulleted list|item_style={{longitem}}|Diosdado Cabello {{nowrap|(April 2002)}}|] {{nowrap|(2002–2007)}}|] {{nowrap|(2007–2008)}}|] {{nowrap|(2008–2010)}}|] {{nowrap|(2010–2012)}}|Nicolás Maduro {{nowrap|(2012–2013)}}}}}} | |||
| party=] | |||
| term_start1 = 14 April 2002 | |||
| spouse=| | |||
| term_end1 = 5 March 2013 | |||
|}} | |||
| predecessor1 = ] (Acting) | |||
{{Politics of Venezuela}} | |||
| successor1 = ] | |||
'''Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías''' <!--] ]: {{IPA|}}; ] -->(]: {{IPA|}}) (born ], ]) is the 53rd<ref>Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. . Retrieved Internet Archive, 25 Nov 2004. {{es_icon}}</ref> and current ] of ]. As the leader of the "]," Chávez promotes his vision of ],<ref>{{cite news | first =Stuart | last =Munckton | author = | coauthors =| url =http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=7429 | title =Chavez steps up calls for socialism | work = | publisher = ZNet| pages = | page = | date =2005-03-13 | accessdate =2006-06-04|language = }}</ref> ]n integration, and ]. He is also an ardent critic of ] ] and ].<ref> Ellner, Steve. "The 'Radical' Thesis on Globalisation and the Case of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez" ''Latin American Perspectives'', Vol. 29, No. 6, Globalization and Globalism in Latin America and the Caribbean. (Nov., 2002), pp. 88-93. </ref> | |||
| vicepresident2 = {{Collapsible list|title=''{{nobold|See list}}''|{{Unbulleted list|item_style={{longitem}}|] {{nowrap|(Jan–Dec 2000)}}|] {{nowrap|(2000–2002)}}|Diosdado Cabello {{nowrap|(Jan–Apr 2002)}}}}}} | |||
| term_start2 = 2 February 1999 | |||
| term_end2 = 11 April 2002 | |||
| predecessor2 = ] | |||
| successor2 = ] (Acting) | |||
| office4 = President of the {{avoid wrap|]}} | |||
| deputy4 = Diosdado Cabello | |||
| term_start4 = 24 March 2007 | |||
| term_end4 = 5 March 2013{{efn|Eternal President since 26 July 2014}} | |||
| predecessor4 = ''Position established'' | |||
| successor4 = Nicolás Maduro | |||
| birth_name = Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías | |||
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1954|7|28|df=y}} | |||
| birth_place = ], ] | |||
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2013|3|5|1954|7|28}} | |||
| death_place = ], ] | |||
| resting_place = Cuartel de la Montaña, Caracas | |||
| party = ] (since 2007) | |||
| otherparty = {{Unbulleted list|] (1997–2007)|] (from 2011)}} | |||
| spouse = {{Unbulleted list|{{marriage|Nancy Colmenares|1977|1995|reason=divorced}}|{{marriage|]|1997|2004|reason=divorced}}}} | |||
| father = ] | |||
| mother = ] | |||
| children = *Rosa Virginia Chávez | |||
*] | |||
*Hugo Rafael Chávez | |||
*Rosinés Chávez | |||
*Génesis María Chávez | |||
*Sara Manuela Chávez | |||
| alma_mater = ] | |||
| signature = Hugo Chavez Signature.svg | |||
| allegiance = {{flag|Venezuela}} | |||
| branch = {{army|Venezuela}} | |||
| serviceyears = {{plainlist| | |||
* 1971–1992 | |||
* 1999–2013 | |||
}} | |||
| rank = {{plainlist| | |||
* ] ] | |||
* ] | |||
}} | |||
}} | |||
{{Socialism sidebar}} | |||
{{Populism sidebar}} | |||
'''Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías'''{{family name footnote|]|]|lang=Spanish}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|ɑː|v|ɛ|z}}; {{IPA|es|ˈuɣo rafaˈel ˈtʃaβes ˈfɾi.as|lang|ES - Hugo Chávez.ogg}}; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician and ] who served as the 52nd ] from 1999 until ] in 2013, except for ]. Chávez was also leader of the ] political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when it merged with several other parties to form the ] (PSUV), which he led until 2012. | |||
Born into a middle-class family in ], Chávez became a career military officer. After becoming dissatisfied with the Venezuelan political system based on the ],<ref name=":9">{{Cite book|title = The Unraveling of Representative Democracy in Venezuela|last1 = McCoy|first1 = Jennifer L|publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press|year = 2006|isbn = 9780801884283|location = Baltimore, Maryland|page = 310|last2 = Myers|first2 = David J.|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rtJVhJZF6WgC }}</ref> he founded the clandestine ] (MBR-200) in the early 1980s. Chávez led the MBR-200 in its unsuccessful ] against the ] government of President ] in 1992, for which he was imprisoned. Pardoned from prison two years later, he founded the Fifth Republic Movement political party, and then receiving 56.2% of the vote, was ]. He was reelected in the ] with 59.8% of the vote and again in the ], with 62.8% of the vote. After winning his fourth term as president in the ] with 55.1% of the vote,<ref name=extend>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/venezuela-election-idUSL1E8L70WK20121008/ | title=Venezuela's Chávez re-elected to extend socialist rule | first=Andrew | last=Cawthorne | work=] | date=8 October 2012 |archive-date=8 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008112247/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/08/venezuela-election-idUSL1E8L70WK20121008 |url-status=live}}</ref> he was to be sworn in on 10 January 2013. However, the inauguration was cancelled due to his ],<ref name=":10">{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/venezuela-postpones-inauguration-for-cancer-stricken-chavez-idUSBRE9070ZP/ | title=Venezuela postpones inauguration for cancer-stricken Chavez | first1=Brian | last1=Ellsworth | first2=Diego | last2=Ore | work=] | date=8 January 2013}}</ref> and on 5 March at age 58, he died in ].<ref name=died>{{cite news | title=Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez dies | url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/03/05/world/americas/obit-venezuela-chavez/index.html | last=Castillo | first=Mariano | work=] | date=5 March 2013}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-chavez-idUSBRE92405420130305 |title=Venezuela's Hugo Chávez dies from cancer: VP | last=Cawthorne | first=Andrew | work=] | date=5 March 2013 |archive-date=6 March 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306094116/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/05/us-venezuela-chavez-idUSBRE92405420130305 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
A career military officer, Chávez founded the ] ] after orchestrating a failed ] against former president ]. Chávez was ]<ref>McCoy and Trinkunas (Feb 1999), p. 49.</ref> on promises of aiding Venezuela's poor majority, and was ].<ref>McCoy and Neuman (Feb 2001), pp. 71-72.</ref> Domestically, Chávez has launched ], whose goals are to combat disease, illiteracy, malnutrition, poverty, and other social ills. Abroad, Chávez has acted against the ] by supporting alternative models of ], and has advocated cooperation among the world's poor nations, especially those in Latin America. | |||
Following the adoption of the ], Chávez focused on enacting social reforms as part of the ]. Using record-high oil revenues of the 2000s, his government ] key industries, created participatory democratic ] and implemented social programs known as the ] to expand access to food, housing, healthcare and education.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-vote-puts-chavismo-critical-test-172039207.html | title=Venezuela vote puts 'Chavismo' to critical test | publisher=Yahoo | date=4 October 2012 | access-date=2 February 2013 | first=Ian |last=James | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205183325/http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-vote-puts-chavismo-critical-test-172039207.html | url-status=live | archive-date=5 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="ECLAC">{{cite book|title=Social Panorama of Latin America 2014|publisher=]|date=March 2014|pages=91–92|url=http://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/37627/S1420728_en.pdf?sequence=4|access-date=15 June 2015}}</ref><ref name=ENedu>{{cite news|last=Montilla K.|first=Andrea|title=Hoy se inicia consulta nacional para el currículo educativo|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/sociedad/Hoy-consulta-nacional-curriculo-educativo_0_395960640.html|access-date=24 April 2014|newspaper=El Nacional|date=23 April 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424094406/http://www.el-nacional.com/sociedad/Hoy-consulta-nacional-curriculo-educativo_0_395960640.html|archive-date=24 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="Márquez">{{cite web |last=Márquez |first=Humberto |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112614/http://www.ipsnoticias.net/2005/10/educacion-venezuela-se-declara-libre-de-analfabetismo/|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=dead|title=Venezuela se declara libre de analfabetismo |publisher=]|url=http://ipsnoticias.net/nota.asp?idnews=35621|date=28 October 2005 |access-date=29 December 2006 |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2008/02/28/propaganda-not-policy | title=Propaganda, not policy | date=28 February 2008 | access-date=3 May 2014 | newspaper=] | archive-date=25 August 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825044345/http://www.economist.com/node/10766504 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title='Illiteracy' Revisited: What Ortega and Rodríguez Read in the Household Survey| url=http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/literacy_2008_05.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017203708/http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/literacy_2008_05.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2010 |url-status=live|access-date=3 May 2014|last1=Weisbrot|last2=Rosnick |first1=Mark|first2=David |date=May 2008}}</ref> While these initiatives led to temporary improvements in poverty reduction and social welfare during periods of high oil revenue, their reliance on state control and centralized planning exposed significant structural weaknesses as oil prices declined.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-03-08 |title=Hugo Chavez Leaves Venezuela Rich in Oil, But Ailing |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/130306-hugo-chavez-venezuela-oil |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=National Geographic |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rapier |first=Robert |title=Charting The Decline Of Venezuela's Oil Industry |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2019/01/29/charting-the-decline-of-venezuelas-oil-industry/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> The high oil profits coinciding with the start of Chavez's presidency<ref name=FPpoverty>{{cite news|last1=Cristóbal Nagel|first1=Juan|title=Poverty Shoots Up in Venezuela|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/06/04/poverty-shoots-up-in-venezuela/|access-date=26 October 2015|agency=]|date=4 June 2014}}</ref> resulted in temporary improvements in areas such as poverty, literacy, income equality and quality of life between primarily 2003 and 2007,<ref name="UN"/><ref name=FPpoverty/><ref name="IACHRRequests">{{Cite news |last=Alonso |first=Juan Francisco |date=24 February 2010 |title=IACHR requests the Venezuelan government to guarantee all human rights |work=] |url=http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/02/24/en_pol_esp_iachr-requests-the-v_24A3481131.shtml |url-status=dead |access-date=25 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514221603/http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/02/24/en_pol_esp_iachr-requests-the-v_24A3481131.shtml |archive-date=14 May 2013}}</ref> though extensive changes in ] did not occur.<ref name="NACLAcrimeREV">{{cite journal|last1=Smilde |first1=David|title=Crime and Revolution in Venezuela|journal=]|date=14 September 2017|volume=49|issue=3|pages=303–08|doi=10.1080/10714839.2017.1373956|s2cid=158528940|issn=1071-4839|quote=Finally, it is important to realize that the reductions in poverty and inequality during the Chávez years were real, but somewhat superficial. While indicators of income and consumption showed clear progress, the harder-to-change characteristics of structural poverty and inequality, such as the quality of housing, neighborhoods, education, and employment, remained largely unchanged.}}</ref> On 2 June 2010, Chávez declared an "economic war" on Venezuela's upper classes due to ], arguably beginning the ].<ref name="ECONwarCHAVEZ">{{cite news |title=Chávez declara "guerra económica" a burguesía en Venezuela |url=https://www.eluniverso.com/2010/06/02/1/1361/chavez-declara-guerra-economica-burguesia-venezuela.html |access-date=16 July 2018 |work=] |date=2 June 2010 |language=es-LA}}</ref> By the end of Chávez's presidency in the early 2010s, economic actions performed by his government during the preceding decade, such as deficit spending<ref name="ELPAISfeb2015">{{cite news|last1=Scharfenberg|first1=Ewald|title=Volver a ser pobre en Venezuela|url=http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2015/01/30/actualidad/1422646346_475356.html|access-date=3 February 2015|agency=El Pais|date=1 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="FPmarch2013">{{cite news|last1=Corrales|first1=Javier|title=The House That Chavez Built|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/03/07/the-house-that-chavez-built/|access-date=6 February 2015|agency=]|date=7 March 2013}}</ref><ref name="FPdontblame">{{cite news|last1=Corrales|first1=Javier|title=Don't Blame It on the Oil|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/05/07/dont-blame-it-on-the-oil-venezuela-caracas-maduro/|access-date=10 May 2015|agency=]|date=7 May 2015}}</ref> and price controls,<ref name="ECONfood" /><ref name="ENfood">{{cite news|title=¿Por qué faltan dólares en Venezuela? |url=http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/faltan-dolares-Venezuela_0_278372199.html |access-date=21 April 2014 |newspaper=El Nacional |date=8 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422232634/http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/faltan-dolares-Venezuela_0_278372199.html |archive-date=22 April 2014 }}</ref> proved to be unsustainable, with Venezuela's economy faltering. At the same time, ],<ref name="FPpoverty" /><ref>{{cite web|title=2014 Panorama Social de América Latina|url=http://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/37626/S1420729_es.pdf?sequence=6|website=]|publisher=United Nations|access-date=24 October 2015}}</ref> ]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/21526365|access-date=23 February 2014|title=Venezuela's economy: Medieval policies|newspaper=]|date=20 August 2011}}</ref> and shortages increased. | |||
Chávez's reforms have evoked exceptional controversy in Venezuela and abroad, receiving both ] and praise. Venezuelans are split between those who say he has empowered the poor and stimulated economic growth, and those who say he is autocratic and has mismanaged the economy. Some foreign governments view Chávez as a threat to global oil prices and regional stability, while others welcome his bilateral trade and reciprocal aid agreements. | |||
Under Chávez, Venezuela experienced ], as he suppressed the press, manipulated electoral laws, and arrested and exiled government critics.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Svolik|first=Milan W.|date=2012|title=The Politics of Authoritarian Rule by Milan W. Svolik|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/politics-of-authoritarian-rule/7F78A8828A5714F0BE74E44A90A44868|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=24|doi=10.1017/CBO9781139176040 |isbn=9781107024793 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/competitive-authoritarianism/20A51BE2EBAB59B8AAEFD91B8FA3C9D6|title=Competitive Authoritarianism by Steven Levitsky|last1=Levitsky|first1=Steven|last2=Way|first2=Lucan A.|date=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/CBO9780511781353|isbn=9780511781353|language=en|access-date=22 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rhodes-Purdy|first1=Matthew|last2=Madrid|first2=Raúl L.|date=27 November 2019|title=The perils of personalism|journal=Democratization|volume=27|issue=2|pages=321–339|doi=10.1080/13510347.2019.1696310|s2cid=212974380|issn=1351-0347}}</ref> His use of ]s<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/17796581|title=Enabling laws in The Economist|date=28 December 2010|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=19 May 2014}}</ref> and his government's use of ] were controversial.<ref name="Moloney">{{cite news|url=http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/506/photo-feature-ch-vezs-propaganda|title=Photo Feature: Chavez's Propaganda|last=Moloney|first=Anastasia|date=29 January 2007|newspaper=World Politics Review|access-date=10 March 2012|archive-date=29 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190301/http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/506/photo-feature-ch-vezs-propaganda|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="VenezuelaBans">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11818451|title=Venezuela bans unauthorised use of Hugo Chavez's image|last=Grant|first=Will|date=23 November 2010|work=BBC News|access-date=26 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="PresidentsEar">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/05/world/americas/05venezuela.html|title=In Venezuela, an American Has the President's Ear|last=Romero|first=Simon|date=4 February 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=26 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="Channeling">{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2005/07/27/channeling_his_energies/?page=1|title=Channeling his energies Venezuelans riveted by president's TV show|last=Lakshmanan|first=Indira|date=27 July 2005|newspaper=The Boston Globe|access-date=14 April 2012}}</ref> Chávez's presidency saw significant increases in the country's murder rate<ref name="Venezuela murder-rate quadrupled under Chávez: NGO" />{{sfn|Holland|2008}} and continued ] within the police force and the government.<ref name="Wills">{{cite news|url=http://fusion.net/leadership/story/world-corrupt-worst-offenders-22588|title=The World Is Getting More Corrupt, and These Are the 5 Worst Offenders|last=Wills|first=Santiago|date=10 July 2013|newspaper=Fusion|access-date=18 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825063459/http://fusion.net/leadership/story/world-corrupt-worst-offenders-22588|archive-date=25 August 2014}}</ref><ref name="scotsman.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/venezuela-police-corruption-blamed-for-kidnapping-epidemic-1-1667444|title=Venezuela: Police corruption blamed for kidnapping epidemic|date=30 May 2011|newspaper=The Scotsman|access-date=18 March 2014}}</ref> | |||
Whether viewed as a socialist liberator or an authoritarian demagogue, Chávez remains one of the most complex, controversial, and interesting figures in contemporary politics. In May 2006 he was named one of '']'' magazine's 100 most influential people.<ref name=influence>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187165,00.html|title=Hugo Chavez: Leading the Left-Wing Charge|date=]|accessdate=2006-07-26|last=Padgett|first=Tim}}</ref> | |||
Across the political spectrum, Chávez is regarded as one of the most influential and controversial politicians in the modern history of ] and ]. His 14-year presidency marked the start of the socialist "]" sweeping Latin America{{mdash}}he supported ] and was instrumental in setting up the pan-regional ], the ], the ], the ] and the regional television network ]. Internationally, Chávez aligned himself with the ] governments of ] and then ] in Cuba, as well as the socialist governments of ] in Bolivia, ] in Ecuador and ] in Nicaragua. Chávez's ideas, programs, and style form the basis of "]", a political ideology closely associated with ] and ]. Chávez described his policies as ], being a prominent adversary of the ] as well as a vocal opponent of ] and '']'' ]. He described himself as a ].<ref name=BBCmarx>{{cite web|first=Yolanda |last=Valery |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/america_latina/2010/01/100123_chavez_marx_amab.shtml |title=BBC Mundo – América Latina – El marxismo según Chávez |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=1 January 1970 |access-date=19 May 2014}}</ref><ref name=N24marx>{{cite web |first=Zurimar |last=Campos |url=http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/139693/yo-asumo-el-cristianismo-como-el-marxismo/ |title=Chávez afirma que es "marxista" pero reconoce que todavía no ha leído "El Capital" en |publisher=Noticias24.com |access-date=19 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205020035/http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/139693/yo-asumo-el-cristianismo-como-el-marxismo/ |archive-date=5 December 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=ABCmarx>{{cite web|first=Ludmila |last=Vinogradoff |url=http://www.abc.es/20100116/internacional-iberoamerica/chavez-declara-marxista-201001162021.html |title=Chavez se declara marxista – Internacional_Iberoamerica – Internacional |publisher=ABC.es |date=3 June 2010 |access-date=19 May 2014}}</ref><ref name=CLARINmarx>{{cite web |url=http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2010/01/16/elmundo/i-02120928.htm |title=Chávez se declara marxista en un mensaje ante el Congreso |publisher=Edant.clarin.com |date=16 January 2010 |access-date=19 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407061050/http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2010/01/16/elmundo/i-02120928.htm |archive-date=7 April 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
== Early life (1954–1992) == | |||
]" with associates.]] | |||
{{main|Early life of Hugo Chávez}} | |||
Chávez was born on ], ] in the town of ], ]. The second son of two schoolteachers, ] and ], he is of mixed ], ]n, and ] descent. Chávez was raised in a thatched palm leaf house near Sabaneta. At an early age, Chávez was sent to Sabaneta with his older brother ] to live with his paternal grandmother, ]. There, Chávez pursued hobbies such as painting, singing, and baseball, while also attending elementary school at the Julián Pino School. He was later forced to relocate to the town of Barinas to attend high school at the Daniel Florencio O'Leary School.<ref name=GovtVen>Government of Venezuela, ''Gobierno En Línea'' (2005). | |||
''Gobierno En Línea''. Accessed 15 June 2006. {{es_icon}}</ref> | |||
==Early life== | |||
At age seventeen, Chávez enrolled at the ]. After graduating in 1975 as a sub-lieutenant with a degree in Military Arts and Science, Chávez entered military service for several months. He was then allowed to pursue graduate studies in ] at ]' ], but left without a degree.<ref name=GovtVen/> | |||
{{Main|Early life of Hugo Chávez}} | |||
]Chávez was born on 28 July 1954 in his paternal grandmother Rosa Inéz Chávez's home, a modest three-room house located in the rural village ], ]. The Chávez family were of ], ], ] and ] descent.<ref>].</ref> His parents, ] – described as a proud ] member<ref name=Carroll193>{{cite book|last1=Rory|first1=Carroll|title=Comandante : Hugo Chavez's Venezuela|date=2014|publisher=New York|location=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0143124887|pages=193–94}}</ref>– and ], were schoolteachers who lived in the small village of Los Rastrojos.<ref name="Carroll193"/> | |||
Hugo was born the second of seven children.<ref>]. pp. 7–8, 247.</ref> Chávez's childhood of supposed poverty has been disputed as he possibly changed the story of his background for political reasons.<ref name=Carroll193/> Attending the Julián Pino Elementary School, Chávez was particularly interested in the 19th-century ] general ], in whose army his own great-great-grandfather had served.<ref>]. p. 11.</ref> With no high school in their area, Hugo's parents sent Hugo and his older brother ] to live with their grandmother Rosa, who lived in a ] subsidized home provided by the government, where they attended ] High School in the mid-1960s.<ref>]. pp. 7, 24–26.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Rory|first1=Carroll|title=Comandante: Hugo Chavez's Venezuela|date=2014|publisher=New York|location=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0143124887|pages=86–90}}</ref><ref>]. pp. 8–9.</ref> His father, despite having the salary of a teacher, helped pay for college for Chávez and his siblings.<ref name=Carroll193/> | |||
Over the course of his college years, Chávez and fellow students developed a fervently ]-] doctrine that they termed "]," inspired by the ] philosophies of 19th-century Venezuelan ]ary ], the influence of former ] President ] and the teachings of various socialist and communist leaders.<ref> Burt, Jo-Marie & Rosen, Fred: May 2000</ref> Chávez engaged in sporting events and cultural activities during these years as well. Notably, Chávez played both baseball and softball with the ''Criollitos de Venezuela'', progressing with them to the Venezuelan National Baseball Championships in 1969. Chávez also authored numerous poems, stories and theatrical pieces.<ref name=GovtVen/> | |||
==Military career== | |||
Upon completing his studies, Chávez initially entered active-duty military service as a member of a ] battalion stationed in Barinas. ] lasted 17 years, during which time he held a variety of post, command, and staff positions, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Chávez also held a series of teaching and staffing positions at the Military Academy of Venezuela, where he was first acknowledged by his peers for his fiery lecturing style and radical critique of Venezuelan government and society.<ref>Gott, Richard. (''The Guardian'', 25 Aug 2005). . Retrieved 18 Oct 2005.</ref> At this time, Chávez established the ] (MBR-200). Afterwards, he rose to fill a number of sensitive high-level positions in Caracas and was decorated several times.<ref name=GovtVen/> | |||
===Military academy=== | |||
Aged 17, Chávez studied at the ] in Caracas, following a curriculum known as the ] Plan, instituted by a group of progressive, nationalistic military officers. This new curriculum encouraged students to learn not only military routines and tactics but also a wide variety of other topics, and to do so civilian professors were brought in from other universities to give lectures to the military cadets.<ref>]. p. 30.</ref> | |||
] | |||
Living in Caracas, he began to get involved in activities outside of the military school, playing baseball and softball with the ''Criollitos de Venezuela'' team, progressing with them to the Venezuelan National Baseball Championships. He also wrote poetry, fiction, and drama, and painted.<ref>]. p. 35.</ref> He also became interested in the Marxist revolutionary ] (1928–1967) after reading his memoir ''The Diary of Che Guevara''.<ref>]. pp. 29–30.</ref> In 1974, he was selected to be a representative in the commemorations for the 150th anniversary of the ] in Peru, the conflict in which Simon Bolívar's lieutenant, ], defeated royalist forces during the ]. In Peru, Chávez heard the leftist president, General ] (1910–1977), speak, and was inspired by Velasco's ideas that the military should act in the interests of the working classes when the ruling classes were perceived as corrupt.<ref name="Marcano and Tyszka. p. 36">]. p. 36.</ref> | |||
Befriending the son of Maximum Leader ], the leftist dictator of Panama, Chávez visited Panama, where he met with Torrijos, and was impressed with his land reform program that was designed to benefit the peasants. Influenced by Torrijos and Velasco he saw the potential for military generals to seize control of a government when the civilian authorities were perceived as serving the interests of only the wealthy elites.<ref name="Marcano and Tyszka. p. 36"/> Chávez later said, "With Torrijos, I became a Torrijist. With Velasco I became a Velasquist. And with Pinochet, I became an anti-Pinochetist".<ref>Chávez quoted in ]. pp. 36–37.</ref> In 1975, Chávez graduated from the military academy as one of the top graduates of the year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cidob.org/en/documentacio/biografias_lideres_politicos/america_del_sur/venezuela/hugo_chavez_frias |title=Hugo Chávez Frías / Venezuela / América del Sur / Biografías Líderes Políticos / Documentation / CIDOB home page |publisher=Cidob.org |date=23 March 2012 |access-date=14 April 2012 |archive-date=6 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406221518/http://www.cidob.org/en/documentacio/biografias_lideres_politicos/america_del_sur/venezuela/hugo_chavez_frias |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>]. p. 37.</ref> | |||
== Coup attempt of 1992 == | |||
] | |||
] | |||
{{main|Venezuelan coup attempts of 1992}} | |||
After an extended period of popular dissatisfaction and economic decline<ref>Schuyler, George W. (2001), ''The Policy Studies Organization''.</ref> under the administration of President ] and the violent repression known as ],<ref> "according to official figures, the events of February and March 1989 left a balance of 276 dead, numerous injured, several disappeared and heavy material losses. However, this list was invalidated by the subsequent appearance of mass graves"</ref> Chávez made extensive preparations for a military ].<ref name="Guillermoprieto 2005">{{cite journal| | |||
| last=Guillermoprieto| first=Alma | year=2005 | title=Don't Cry for Me, Venezuela | journal=New York Review of Books | month=October 6| url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18302}}</ref> Initially planned for December, Chávez delayed the MBR-200 coup until the early twilight hours of ], ]. On that date, five army units under Chávez's command barreled into urban Caracas with the mission of assaulting and overwhelming key military and communications installations throughout the city, including the Miraflores presidential palace, the defense ministry, La Carlota military airport, and the Historical Museum. Chávez's ultimate goal was to intercept and take custody of Pérez, who was returning to Miraflores from an overseas trip. | |||
===Early military career=== | |||
Chávez held the loyalty of less than 10% of Venezuela's military forces;<ref>Gott (2005), p.64.</ref> still, numerous betrayals, defections, errors, and other unforeseen circumstances soon left Chávez and a small group of rebels cut off in the Historical Museum, without any means of conveying orders to their network of spies and collaborators spread throughout Venezuela.<ref>Gott (2005), p.63.</ref> Further, Chávez's allies were unable to broadcast their prerecorded tapes on the national airwaves in which Chávez planned to issue a general call for a mass civilian uprising against Pérez. As the coup unfolded, the coup plotters were unable to capture Pérez: fourteen soldiers were killed, and 50 soldiers and some 80 civilians injured in the ensuing violence.<ref> Gott (2005), p.69.</ref> Nevertheless, rebel forces in other parts of Venezuela made advances and were ultimately able to take control of such large cities as ], ], and ] with the help of spontaneous civilian aid. Chávez's forces, however, had failed to take Caracas.<ref>Gott (2005), pp.66-67.</ref> | |||
{{further|Military career of Hugo Chávez}} | |||
Following his graduation, Chávez was stationed as a communications officer at a ] unit in Barinas.<ref>]. p. 38.</ref> | |||
Chávez, alarmed, soon gave himself up to the government. He was then allowed to appear on national television to call for all remaining rebel detachments in Venezuela to cease hostilities. When he did so, Chávez famously quipped on national television that he had only failed "''por ahora''"—"for the moment."<ref>Gott (2005), p. 67. Chávez spoke thus: ''"Comrades: unfortunately, for the moment, the objectives that we had set for ourselves have not been achieved in the capital. That's to say that those of us here in Caracas have not been able to seize power. Where you are, you have performed well, but now is the time for a rethink; new possibilities will arise again, and the country will be able to move definitively towards a better future.''"</ref> Chávez was catapulted into the national spotlight, with many poor Venezuelans seeing him as a figure who had stood up against government corruption and ].<ref>Gott (2005), p.67.</ref><ref name="keefe_11nov2005">O'Keefe, Derrick. (''Z Communications'', 09 Mar 2005). Retrieved 11 Nov 2005.</ref> Chávez was sent to Yare prison; meanwhile, Pérez, the coup's intended target, was impeached a year later. While in prison, Chávez developed a ] of the eye, which spread to his ]. The clarity of his eyesight was slowly corrupted; despite treatments and operations, Chávez's eyesight was permanently damaged.<ref name="chavez_17sep2005">Chávez, Hugo. . Latino Pastoral Action Center. Bronx, New York City. 17 Sep 2005. Retrieved 05 Nov 2005.</ref> | |||
In 1977, Chávez's unit was transferred to ], where they were involved in battling the ], a Marxist–] insurgency group.<ref>]. p. 39.</ref> After intervening to prevent the beating of an alleged insurgent by other soldiers,<ref name="Marcano and Tyszka p.41">]. p. 41.</ref> Chávez began to have his doubts about the army.<ref name="Chávez p. 59">Chávez, quoted in ]. p. 59.</ref> | |||
== Political rise (1992–1999) == | |||
{{see|Venezuelan presidential election, 1998}} | |||
{{ChavezElections1998}} | |||
After a two-year imprisonment, Chávez was pardoned by ] ] in 1994. Upon his release, Chávez reconstituted the MBR-200 as the ] (MVR—''Movimiento Quinta República'', with the ] representing the ] five). Later, in 1998, Chávez began to campaign for the presidency. In working to gain the trust of voters, Chávez drafted an agenda that drew heavily on his ideology of Bolivarianism. Chávez and his followers described their aim as "laying the foundations of a new republic" to replace the existing one, which they cast as "party-dominated"; the current constitution, they argued, was no more than the 'juridico-political embodiment of ],' the country's traditional two-party ] system.<ref>Chavez's constitutional reform; A Hard Look at the Rationale & Proposals, Latin America Weekly Report, January 12, 1999, Venezuela; Politics; WR-99-02; Pg. 18</ref> Controversially, foreign banks—including Spain's ] (BBVA) and ], each the owner of one of Venezuela's largest banks—illicitly funneled millions of dollars into Chávez's campaign.<ref>{{cite book| last=Marcano| first=Cristina| coauthors=Barrera Tyszka, Alberto | title=Hugo Chávez Sin Uniforme: Una Historia Personal | publisher=Random House Mondadori | year=2005 | id=ISBN 9-80293-284-1| pages=50}}. {{es_icon}}</ref><ref name="Toro 2004">{{cite journal| last=Toro | first=Francisco | year=2004 | title=100 Good Reasons Not to Believe Venezuela's Chavez | month=October 25 | journal=Analitica | url=http://www.analitica.com/va/ttim/international/4969131.asp}}</ref> | |||
In 1977, he founded a revolutionary movement within the armed forces, in the hope that he could one day introduce a leftist government to Venezuela: the Venezuelan People's Liberation Army (''{{lang|es|Ejército de Liberación del Pueblo de Venezuela}}'', or ELPV), consisted of him and a handful of his fellow soldiers who had no immediate plans for direct action, though they knew they wanted a middle way between the right-wing policies of the government and the far-left position of the Red Flag.<ref name="Marcano and Tyszka p.41"/> Nevertheless, hoping to gain an alliance with civilian leftist groups in Venezuela, Chávez set up clandestine meetings with various prominent Marxists, including Alfredo Maneiro (the founder of the ]) and ]. | |||
Chávez utilised his ] and flamboyant public speaking style—noted for its abundance of ]s and ] manner—on the campaign trail to win the trust and favor of a primarily poor and ] following. By May 1998, Chávez's support had risen to 30% in polls, and by August he was registering 39%. Chávez went on to win the ]-endorsed ] on ], ] with 56% of the vote.<ref name="Guillermoprieto 2005"/><ref>McCoy and Trinkunas (Feb 1999).</ref> | |||
===Bolivarian Revolutionary Army-200=== | |||
== Presidency (1999–present) == | |||
]]] | |||
{{main|Presidency of Hugo Chávez}} | |||
Five years after his creation of the ELPV, Chávez went on to form a new secretive cell within the military, the ] (EBR-200), later redesignated the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200).<ref>]. pp. 48–49, 56.</ref> He was inspired by ], ] and ], who became known as the "three roots of the tree" of the MBR-200.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 March 2015 |title=Leyendo a Hugo Chávez en el segundo aniversario de su muerte |url=https://www.lamarea.com/2015/03/05/leyendo-a-chavez-en-el-segundo-aniversario-de-su-muerte/ |access-date=26 December 2022 |website=La Marea |language=es}}</ref> | |||
===1999: Economic crisis and new constitution=== | |||
] | |||
Chávez took the presidential oath of office on ], ] with a mandate to reverse Venezuela's economic decline and strengthen the role of the state in the economy. Chávez's first few months in office were dedicated primarily to dismantling what his supporters deemed '']'' via new legislation and constitutional reform, while his secondary focus was on immediately allocating more government funds to new social programs. | |||
In 1984 he met ], a recently divorced history teacher with whom he had an affair that lasted several years.<ref>]. pp. 51–53.</ref> During this time ], a soldier interested in ], also joined MBR-200.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gott |first1=Richard |title=In the shadow of the liberator: Hugo Chávez and the transformation of Venezuela |date=2000 |publisher=Verso |location=London; New York |isbn=9781859847756 |page=41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y24Enm_FeZgC |access-date=27 July 2024 |ref=GOTT}}</ref> After some time, some senior military officers became suspicious of Chávez and reassigned him so that he would not be able to gain any more fresh new recruits from the academy. He was sent to take command of the remote barracks at ] in ].<ref>]. p. 50.</ref> | |||
However, as a recession triggered by historically low oil prices and soaring international interest rates rocked Venezuela, the shrunken federal treasury provided very little of the resources Chávez required for his promised massive anti-poverty measures. Consequently, in April 1999 Chávez set his eyes upon the one Venezuelan institution that was costly for the government but did little for the systematic social development that Chávez desired: the military. Chávez ordered all branches of the military to devise programs to combat poverty and to further civic and social development in Venezuela's vast slum and rural areas. This civilian-military program was launched as "]," whose scope included road building, housing construction, and mass ]. The plan faltered at the end of 2001 amid revelations of corruption by military officers, including both military officers who later rebelled against the president in April 2002 and officers linked to the president.<ref>Text of report by Patrick J. O'Donoghue: "President Hugo Chavez, Copyright 2004 British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC Monitoring Latin America - Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring, January 19, 2004.</ref> | |||
==== 1992 coup attempt ==== | |||
Chávez sharply diverged from previous administrations' economic policies, terminating their practice of extensively ] Venezuela's state-owned holdings, such as the national social security system, holdings in the aluminum industry, and the oil sector.{{fact}} However, although Chávez wished to promote the redistribution of wealth, increased regulation, and social spending, he did not wish to discourage ] (FDI). In keeping with his predecessors, Chávez attempted to shore up FDI influxes to prevent an economic crisis of chronic ] and ]. | |||
{{Main|February 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt}} | |||
In 1989, ] was elected president, and though he had promised to oppose the ]'s policies, once he got into office he enacted economic policies supported by the IMF, angering the public.<ref>]. p. 270.</ref> In an attempt to stop widespread lootings and protests that followed his spending cuts, known as '']'', Pérez initiated ], a military contingency plan by the Venezuelan Army to maintain public order, and an outbreak of violent repression unfolded.<ref>].</ref><ref>].</ref> Though members of Chávez's MBR-200 movement allegedly participated in the crackdown,<ref name=NELSON> | |||
Chávez also worked to reduce Venezuelan oil extraction in the hopes of elevating oil prices and, at least theoretically, elevated total oil revenues, thereby boosting Venezuela's severely deflated foreign exchange reserves. He extensively lobbied other ] countries to cut their production rates as well. As a result of these actions, Chávez became known as a "price hawk" in his dealings with the oil industry and OPEC. Chávez also attempted a comprehensive renegotiation of 60-year-old royalty payment agreements with oil giants Philips Petroleum and ].<ref name=fpif>''Hallinan, Conn'' (''Foreign Policy in Focus'' 17 April 2006) Retrieved 12 July 2006</ref> These agreements had allowed the corporations to pay in taxes as little as 1% of the tens of billions of dollars in revenues they were earning from the Venezuelan oil they were extracting. Afterwards, Chávez stated his intention to complete the nationalisation of Venezuela's oil resources. Although unsuccessful in his attempts to renegotiate with the oil corporations, Chávez focused on his stated goal of improving both the "fairness" and efficiency of Venezuela's formerly lax tax collection and ] system, especially for major corporations and landholders. | |||
{{cite book | |||
{{ChavezElections1999}} | |||
|last1=Nelson | |||
|first1=Brian A. | |||
|title-link= The Silence and the Scorpion | |||
|title=The silence and the scorpion: the coup against Chávez and the making of modern Venezuela | |||
|date=2009 | |||
|publisher=Nation Books | |||
|location=New York | |||
|isbn=978-1568584188 | |||
|page=24 | |||
|edition= | |||
}} | |||
</ref> Chávez did not, since he was then hospitalized with ]. He later condemned the event as "]".<ref>]. p. 55.</ref> | |||
] | |||
Chávez began preparing for a military coup d'état known as Operation Zamora.<ref>]. p. 64.</ref> The plan involved members of the military overwhelming military locations and communication installations and then establishing ] in power once Pérez was captured and assassinated.<ref name=ENHfeb2015> | |||
{{cite news | |||
|last1=Maria Delgado | |||
|first1=Antonio | |||
|title=Libro devela sangriento objetivo de la intentona golpista de Hugo Chávez | |||
|trans-title=ook reveals bloody putsch goal of Hugo Chávez | |||
|url=http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/mundo/america-latina/venezuela-es/article10496285.html | |||
|access-date=17 February 2015 | |||
|agency=El Nuevo Herald | |||
|date=16 February 2015 | |||
}} | |||
</ref> Chávez delayed the MBR-200 coup, initially planned for December, until the early twilight hours of 4 February 1992.<ref name="ENHfeb2015"/> | |||
On that date five army units under Chávez's command moved into urban Caracas. Despite years of planning, the coup quickly encountered trouble since Chávez commanded the loyalty of less than 10% of Venezuela's military. After numerous betrayals, defections, errors, and other unforeseen circumstances, Chávez and a small group of rebels found themselves hiding in the Military Museum, unable to communicate with other members of their team. Pérez managed to escape ]. Officially, thirty-two civilians, police officers and soldiers were killed,<ref>{{Harvsp|Márquez|Sanabria|2018|p=138}}</ref> and fifty soldiers and some eighty civilians injured during the ensuing violence.<ref name="sylvia66">]. p. 66.</ref> | |||
Nevertheless, by mid-1999, Chávez was incensed by his administration's setbacks in enacting his much-promised anti-poverty initiatives. The ]'s opposition members impeded the legislation of his political allies. Chávez moved to bypass such opposition by approving the scheduling of two fresh national elections for July 1999—just months after Chávez's presidential election. The first was a nationwide referendum to determine whether a national constitutional assembly should be created. The assembly was tasked with framing a new Venezuelan constitution that hewed more closely to Chávez's own political ideology. A second election was held that elected delegates to this constitutional assembly. The constitutional referendum passed with a ]-audited 72% "yes" vote; in the second election, members of Chávez's MVR and select allied parties formed the ''Polo Patriotico'' ("Patriotic Pole"). Chávez's ''Polo Patriotico'' went on to win 95% (120 out of the total 131) of the seats in the voter-approved Venezuelan Constitutional Assembly. | |||
Chávez gave himself up to the government and appeared on television, in uniform, to call on the remaining coup members to lay down their arms. Chávez remarked in his speech that they had failed only "''por ahora''" (for now).<ref>]. p. 75.</ref><ref>]. p. 04.</ref> Venezuelans, particularly poor ones, began seeing him as someone who stood up against government corruption and ].<ref>].</ref> The coup "flopped militarily—and dozens died—but made him a media star", noted ] of '']''.<ref name=chavshow> | |||
However, in August 1999, the Constitutional Assembly established a special "judicial emergency committee" with the power to remove judges without consulting with other branches of government—over 190 judges were eventually suspended on charges of corruption. In the same month, the Constitutional Assembly declared a "legislative emergency," resulting in a seven-member committee that was tasked with conducting the legislative functions ordinarily carried out by the National Assembly. Legislative opposition to Chávez's policies was immediately disabled. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Assembly prohibited the National Assembly from holding meetings of any sort.<ref>McGirk, Tim. (''Time'', 27 Dec 1999). . Retrieved 03 Nov 2005.</ref> | |||
{{cite news | |||
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/22/donald-trump-hugo-chavez-political-similarities | |||
|author=Rory Carroll | |||
|title=Insult, provoke, repeat: how Donald Trump became America's Hugo Chávez | |||
|work=] | |||
|date=22 June 2016 | |||
|access-date=27 June 2016 | |||
|language=en | |||
|author-link=Rory Carroll | |||
}} | |||
</ref> | |||
Chávez was arrested and imprisoned at the San Carlos military stockade, wracked with guilt and feeling responsible for the failure of the coup.<ref>]. pp. 75–77. | |||
] at the 2005 ] held in ], ].]] | |||
</ref><ref>]. pp. 4–5. | |||
</ref> Pro-Chávez demonstrations outside San Carlos led to his transfer to ].<ref> | |||
]. pp. 91–92. | |||
</ref> ] against the government occurred in November,<ref>]. p. 95.</ref> with the fighting during the coups resulting in the deaths of at least 143 people and perhaps as many as several hundred.<ref name="Uppsala">{{cite web | |||
|title=Venezuela | |||
|website=] Conflict Encyclopedia | |||
|publisher=Department of Peace and Conflict Research, ] | |||
|url=http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=167®ionSelect=5-Southern_Americas# | |||
|access-date=22 April 2014 | |||
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140115040925/http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=167®ionSelect=5-Southern_Americas | |||
|archive-date=15 January 2014 | |||
|url-status=dead | |||
}}</ref> Pérez was impeached a year later, charged with malfeasance and misappropriating funds.<ref> | |||
]. p. 167. | |||
</ref> | |||
==Political rise== | |||
The Constitutional Assembly itself drafted the new 1999 ]. With 350 articles, the document was, as drafted, one of the world's lengthiest ]s. It first changed the country's official name from "Republic of Venezuela" to "Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela." It also increased the presidential term of office from five to six years, allowed for two consecutive presidential terms rather than one, introduced a presidential two-term limit, and introduced provisions for national presidential recall referenda—that is, Venezuelan voters gained the right to remove the president from office before the expiration of his presidential term. Such referenda can only be activated by a petition to do so with the required number of signatures. The presidency was also dramatically strengthened, with the power to dissolve the National Assembly on certain conditions. The new constitution converted the formerly ] National Assembly into a ] legislature, and stripped it of many of its former powers. Provisions were also made for a new position, the Public Defender, an office with the authority to check the activities of the presidency, the National Assembly, and the constitution. Chávez characterised the Public Defender as the guardian of the "moral branch" of the new Venezuelan government, tasked with defending public and moral interests. Lastly, the Venezuelan judiciary was reformed. Judges, under the new constitution, were now to be installed after passing public examinations and were not, as in the old manner, to be appointed by the National Assembly. | |||
] in October 1995]] | |||
While Chávez and the other senior members of the MBR-200 were in prison, his relationship with ] broke up in July 1993.<ref>]. pp. 104–05.</ref> In 1994, ] (1916–2009) of the centrist ] Party who allegedly had knowledge of the coup<ref name=ENHfeb2015/> was elected president and soon afterward he freed Chávez and the other imprisoned MBR-200 members, though Caldera banned them from returning to the military.<ref>]. pp. 107–08.</ref> After his release, on 14 December 1994, Chávez visited Cuba during the ], where he was received by ] with head of state honors. During his visit, Chávez gave a speech at the Aula Magna of the ] before Fidel and the Cuban high hierarchy where, among other things, he said "We have a long term strategic project, in which the Cubans have and would have much to contribute" and "it is a project of a twenty to forty year horizon, a sovereign economic model".<ref>{{Cite book|title=El Legado: Frases y Pensamientos de Hugo Chávez|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s9_0DwAAQBAJ&dq=chavez%2C+habana%2C+%22un+proyecto+estrategico+de+largo+plazo%22&pg=PT937|publisher=Softandnet|date=21 September 2017|access-date=2 September 2021|isbn=978-980-12-7509-1|first=Carlos|last=Herrera}}</ref>{{sfn|Márquez|Sanabria|2018|p=147}} | |||
This new constitution was presented to the national electorate in December 1999 and approved. Over a span of a mere 60 days, the Constitutional Assembly thus framed a document that enshrined as constitutional law most of the structural changes Chávez desired. Chávez stated that such changes were necessary in order to successfully and comprehensively enact his planned social justice programs. He planned to enact sweeping changes in Venezuelan governmental and political structure, and, based on his 1998 campaign pledges, to dramatically open up Venezuelan political discourse to independent and third parties. In the process, Chávez sought to fatally paralyse his ] and ] opposition. All of Chávez's aims were, in one move, dramatically furthered. | |||
] is seen on the far left while Chávez is seen speaking in the center)]] | |||
Travelling around Latin America in search of foreign support for his Bolivarian movement, he visited ], ], ], ], and ], where he met Castro and became friends with him.<ref>]. pp. 214–215, 220.</ref> According to journalist ], during his stay in Colombia, he spent six months receiving guerrilla training and establishing contacts with the FARC and ELN terrorist groups, and even adopted a '']'' Comandante Centeno.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Perdue|first1=Jon B.|title=The War of All the People : The Nexus of Latin American Radicalism and Middle Eastern Terrorism|date=2012|publisher=]|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=978-1597977043|page=100|edition=1st}}</ref> | |||
By now Chávez was a supporter of taking military action, believing that the oligarchy would never allow him and his supporters to win an election.<ref>]. p. 116.</ref> Chávez and his supporters later founded a political party, the ] (MVR – ''Movimiento Quinta República'') in July 1997 in order to support Chávez's candidacy in the ].<ref name="sylvia66" /><ref>]. p. 119.</ref> Chávez went on a tour around the country. On his tours, he met ], who would give birth to their daughter shortly before becoming his second wife in 1997.<ref>]. pp. 235–36.</ref> | |||
On ] 1999, after weeks of heavy rain, statewide ] claimed the lives of an estimated 30,000 people. Critics claim Chávez was distracted by the referendum and that the government ignored a civil defense report, calling for emergency measures, issued the day the floods struck. The government rejected these claims.<ref>''BBC News''. (''BBC'', 29 Dec 1999). . Retrieved 10 Jun 2006.</ref> Chávez personally led the relief effort afterwards.<ref>''BBC News''. (''BBC'', 21 Dec 1999). . Retrieved 10 Jun 2006.</ref> Subsequent mudslides in 2000 left 3 dead.<ref>Kriner, Stephanie. (''Red Cross'', 2000). . Retrieved 10 Jun 2006.</ref> | |||
=== |
===1998 election=== | ||
{{ |
{{main|1998 Venezuelan presidential election}} | ||
]]] | |||
{{ChavezElections2000}} | |||
At the start of the election run-up, front runner ] was backed by one of Venezuela's two primary political parties, ]. Chávez's revolutionary rhetoric gained him support from '']'' (Homeland for All), the '']'' (Venezeuelan Communist Party) and the '']'' (Movement for Socialism). Chávez received support from different sectors: the lower class felt identified with Chávez, that he cared about their needs and would offer a solution to their problems; part of the middle class also supported, feeling frustrated with corruption and wishing for a strong-handed government; Chávez also received support from members of the old left,<ref name=":2" /> as well as the members of the militarist right wing, some of them nostalgic for the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> By May 1998, Chávez's support had risen to 30% in polls, and by August he was registering 39%.<ref name=":2" /> Voter turnout was 63%, and Chávez won the election with 56.2% of the vote.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/Venezuela%27s%201998%20Presidential%2C%20Legislative%20and%20Gubernatorial%20Elections.pdf|title = Venezuela's 1998: Presidential, Legislative, and Gubernatorial Elections: Election Observation Report|date = 12 February 1999|access-date = 17 February 2015|website = Election Observation Report|publisher = International Republican Institute|page = 12|quote = Voter turnout rose significantly in the 1998 elections, reversing a two-decade trend toward lower participation.|archive-date = 4 September 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150904050524/http://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/Venezuela%27s%201998%20Presidential%2C%20Legislative%20and%20Gubernatorial%20Elections.pdf|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.cne.gob.ve/web/documentos/estadisticas/e006.pdf|title = Elecciones Presidenciales Cuadro Comparativo 1958–2000|access-date = 17 February 2014|publisher = Consejo Nacional Electoral}}</ref> | |||
==Presidency (1999–2013) == | |||
Elections for the new unicameral National Assembly were held on ], ]. During this same election, Chávez himself stood for reelection. Chávez's coalition garnered a commanding two-thirds majority of seats in the National Assembly while Chávez ] with 60% of the votes. The ] monitored the 2000 presidential election; their report on that election stated that, due to lack of transparency, CNE partiality, and political pressure from the Chávez government that resulted in unconstitutionally early elections, it was unable to validate the official CNE results.<ref>McCoy and Neuman (2001), pp. 71-72.</ref> However, they concluded that the presidential election legitimately expressed the will of the people.<ref>McCoy and Neuman (2001), p. 10.</ref> | |||
{{further|History of Venezuela (1999–present)}} | |||
===First presidential term: 2 February 1999 – 10 January 2001=== | |||
Later, on ], ], local elections and a referendum were held. The referendum, backed by Chávez, proposed a law that would force Venezuela's labor unions to hold state-monitored elections. The referendum was widely condemned by international labor organisations—including the ]—as undue government interference in internal union matters; these organisations threatened to apply ] on Venezuela.<ref>McCoy and Neuman (2001), p. 73.</ref> | |||
] | |||
Chávez's presidential inauguration took place 2 February 1999. He deviated from the usual words of the presidential oath when he took it, proclaiming: "I swear before God and my people that upon this ''moribund'' constitution I will drive forth the necessary democratic transformations so that the new republic will have a ] befitting these new times".<ref name="ReferenceA">]. p. 127.</ref> Freedom in Venezuela suffered following "the decision of President Hugo Chávez, ratified in a national referendum, to abolish congress and the judiciary, and by his creation of a parallel government of military cronies".<ref name=FH1999>{{cite web|title=Venezuela Country report Freedom in the World 1999|url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/1999/venezuela|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728033454/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/1999/venezuela|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 July 2016|website=]|access-date=28 July 2016|date=28 July 2016}}</ref> Soon after being established into office, Chávez spent much of his time attempting to abolish existing ] in Venezuela.<ref name=FH1999/> He appointed new figures to government posts, adding leftist allies to key positions and "army colleagues were given a far bigger say in the day-to-day running of the country".<ref name=FH1999/> For instance, he put ] founder {{Interlanguage link|Jesús Urdaneta|es}} in charge of the ] and made {{Interlanguage link|Hernán Grüber Ódreman|es}}, one of the 1992 coup leaders, governor of the Federal District of Caracas.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} His critics referred to these government officials as the "]" or "Bolivarian bourgeoisie",<ref>]. p. xx.</ref><ref>].</ref> and highlighted that it "included few people with experience in public administration".<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The number of his immediate family members in Venezuelan politics also led to accusations of ].<ref>]. pp. 250–55.</ref> Chávez appointed businessman Roberto Mandini president of the state-run oil company ].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB917899013133273000|title=PDVSA Names Mandini To Head State Oil Firm|date= 2 February 1999|agency=Dow Jones Newswires|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=27 June 2016}}</ref> | |||
Although Chávez did not believe, as he put it in 1998, "in this paradigm of the Western capitalist, bourgeois democratic world,"<ref>Biardeau R. Javier . Del Árbol de las Tres Raíces al "Socialismo Bolivariano del siglo XXI" ¿Una nueva narrativa ideológica de emancipación?. Revista Venezolana de Economía y Ciencias Sociales . 2009, 15(1), 57-113. ISSN: 1315-6411. Disponible en: https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=17721678005</ref> he initially believed that capitalism was still a valid economic model for Venezuela, but only ], not ].<ref name="Hard Talk">].</ref> Low oil prices made Chavez's government reliant on international free markets during his first months in office, when he showed pragmatism and political moderation, and continued to encourage foreign investment in Venezuela.<ref>]. pp. 148–49.</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last1=Millard |first1=Peter |last2=Hoffman |first2=Cindy |last3=Gertz |first3=Marisa |last4=Lin |first4=Jeremy C. F. |title=A Timeline of Venezuela's Economic Rise and Fall |work=] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-venezuela-key-events/ |access-date=26 December 2022}}</ref> During a visit to the United States in 1999, he rang the closing bell at the ]. His administration held formal talks with the ] until oil prices rose enough to let the government rule out the need for any financial assistance.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
After the May and July 2000 elections, Chávez backed the passage of the "]" by the National Assembly. This act allowed Chávez to ] for one year. In November 2001, shortly before the Enabling Act was set to expire, Chávez enacted a set of 49 decrees. These included the Hydrocarbons Law and the Land Law, which are detailed below. ], a national business federation, and the ], a federation of labor unions, opposed the approval of the new laws and called for a general business ] on ], ] in the hope that the President would reconsider his legislative action and, instead, open a debate about those laws. The strike failed to significantly impact Chávez's decision or policies. | |||
Beginning 27 February 1999, the tenth anniversary of the '']'', Chávez set into motion a social welfare program called ]. He said he had allotted $20.8 million for the plan. The plan involved 70,000 soldiers, sailors and members of the air force repairing roads and hospitals, removing stagnant water that offered breeding areas for disease-carrying mosquitoes, offering free medical care and vaccinations, and selling food at low prices.<ref name="USb2000">{{cite web |title=Venezuelan Soldiers Leave Their Barracks ... To Implement Chavez's Civil-Military Public Works Program |url= https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/143547.pdf |publisher=United States Department of State |access-date=23 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231100518/https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/143547.pdf |archive-date = 31 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>]. p. 138.</ref> Several ] later affected the program as allegations of corruption were formulated against generals involved in the plan and that significant amounts of money had been diverted.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306040647/http://www.analitica.com/va/politica/opinion/6999189.asp|date=6 March 2012}}</ref> | |||
By the end of the first three years of his presidency, Chávez had successfully initiated a ] program and had introduced several reforms aimed at improving the social welfare of the population. These reforms entailed the lowering of infant mortality rates; the implementation of a free, government-funded ]; and free education up to the university level. By December of 2001, following Chávez's imposition of capital controls, inflation fell to 13.4% the lowest in 14 years,<ref>''Banco Central de Venezuela''.(''BCV'' 2 Jan 2001) . Retrieved 16 July 2006 {{es_icon}}</ref> while economic growth was steady at four percent.<ref name=fpif /> Chávez's administration also reported an increase in primary school enrollment by one million students.<ref name=fpif /> | |||
====Constitutional reform==== | |||
===2002: Coup and strike/lockout=== | |||
Chávez called a public referendum, which he hoped would support his plans to form a ] of representatives from across Venezuela and from indigenous tribal groups to rewrite the Venezuelan constitution.<ref name="ReferenceB">]. p. 130.</ref> Chávez said he had to run again; "Venezuela's socialist revolution was like an unfinished painting and he was the artist", he said,<ref name=chavshow /> while someone else "could have another vision, start to alter the contours of the painting".<ref name=chavshow /> | |||
{{see|Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002}} | |||
<!-- this image's fair use is disputed. See image's talk page for discussion. ], ] following a ].]] --> | |||
There was a low turnout of 37.65% and an abstention of 62.35%, 88% of the voters supported his proposal.<ref name="ReferenceB" /><ref name="CONS">{{cite book |last1=Rory |first1=Carroll |title=Comandante : Hugo Chavez's Venezuela |date=2014 |publisher=New York |isbn=978-0143124887 |location=Penguin Books |page=41}}</ref> | |||
On ], ], ] leader ] called for a two-day general strike. Hundreds of thousands <ref>U.S. Department of State. Accessed 1 October 2006.<br>Guardian Unlimted : April 15, 2002 : Accessed 1 October 2006<br>BBC. BBC (12 April 2002). Retrieved 30 September 2006. {{es icon}}</ref> took to the streets on ], ] and marched towards the headquarters of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, ] (PDVSA), in defense of its recently-fired management. The organisers decided to redirect the march to ], the presidential palace, where a pro-Chávez demonstration was taking place. Gunfire and violence erupted between two groups of demonstrators, Caracas' Metropolitan Police (under the control of the oppositionist mayor), and the Venezuelan national guard (under Chávez's command), and snipers were reported from the areas where both opposition and Chávez supporters were concentrated. Domestic and international observers criticised the Government for excessive abuse of its right to call national broadcasts requiring all broadcast media to cease scheduled programming and transmit the broadcasts in their entirety. Between April 9 and 11, the government required all radio and TV stations to transmit numerous speeches by President Chávez, other government officials, and other programming favorable to the Government, even shutting the signals of the stations who refused, in an attempt to block coverage of the demonstrations and ensuing violence.<ref name=USStateHRP2002>U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. March 31, 2003 Accessed 4 Aug 2006.</ref> | |||
Then, unexpectedly, ], commander-in-chief of the Venezuelan armed forces, announced in a broadcast to a nationwide audience that Chávez had tendered his resignation from the presidency. While Chávez was brought to a military base and held there, military leaders appointed the president of the ], ], as Venezuela's interim president. Carmona's first ] reversed all of the major social and economic policies that comprised Chávez's "Bolivarian Revolution," including loosening Chávez's credit controls and ending his oil price quotas by raising production back to pre-Chávez levels. Carmona also dissolved both the National Assembly and the Venezuelan judiciary, while reverting the nation's name back to ''República de Venezuela''. | |||
Chávez called an election on 25 July to elect the members of the constituent assembly. Over 900 of the 1,171 candidates standing for election were Chávez opponents. To elect the members of the assembly, Chávez used a formula designed by mathematical experts and politicians, known at the time as the ''kino'' (lottery) or the "keys of Chávez". Chávez obtained 51% of the votes, but his supporters took 95% of the seats, 125 in total, including all of the seats assigned to indigenous groups, while the opposition won six seats.<ref name=":2">{{Harvsp|Márquez|Sanabria|2018|p=152}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Harvsp|Arráiz Lucca|2007|p=199}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceB"/><ref name="InternationalCrisisGroup05">]. p. 05.</ref> | |||
Carmona's decrees were followed by pro-Chávez uprisings and looting across Caracas. Responding to these disturbances, Venezuelan soldiers loyal to Chávez called for massive popular support for a counter-coup. These soldiers later stormed and retook the presidential palace, and retrieved Chávez from captivity. The shortest-lived government in Venezuelan history was thus toppled, and Chávez resumed his presidency on the night of Saturday, ], ]. Following this episode, Rincón was reappointed by Chávez as Commander of the Army, and later as Interior Minister in 2003<ref name=RinconColaRaid>''CNN''. (''CNN'', 19 Jan 2003). Accessed 19 June 2006.</ref> The opposition would later argue that, since Lucas Rincón remained close to the President, there was no coup but a power vacuum once Chávez resigned, despite the succession order being broken. | |||
On 12 August 1999, the new constituent assembly voted to give themselves the power to abolish government institutions and to dismiss officials who were perceived as corrupt or as operating only in their own interests. Opponents of the Chávez regime argued that it was dictatorial.<ref>].</ref> Most jurists believed that the new constituent assembly had become the country's "supreme authority" and that all other institutions were subordinate to it.<ref name="Gott"> | |||
], ] while on route to the ] convened in ], ] (''Agência Brasil'').]] | |||
{{cite book|last=Gott|first=Richard|title=Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian revolution|year=2005|publisher=Verso|location=London |isbn=978-1844675333|page=147|edition=New}}</ref> The assembly also declared a "judicial emergency" and granted itself the power to overhaul the judicial system. The Supreme Court ruled that the assembly did indeed have this authority, and was replaced in the 1999 Constitution with the Supreme Tribunal of Justice.<ref name="Nelson1"> | |||
{{cite book|last1=Nelson|first1=Brian A.|title-link= The Silence and the Scorpion |title=The silence and the scorpion : the coup against Chávez and the making of modern Venezuela|date=2009|publisher=Nation Books|location=New York|isbn=978-1568584188|pages=1–8}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/31/world/venezuelan-congress-stripped-of-its-last-remaining-powers.html|title = Venezuelan Congress Stripped of Its Last Remaining Powers|date = 31 August 1999|access-date = 15 May 2015|newspaper = The New York Times|last = Rohter|first = Larry}}</ref> The constituent assembly put together ],<ref name="CONS" /> which was voted on at a referendum in December 1999. Seventy-two percent of those who voted approved of the new constitution. There was a low turnout and an abstention vote of over 50%.<ref name="InternationalCrisisGroup05" /> The new constitution provided protections for the environment and indigenous people, socioeconomic guarantees and state benefits, while giving greater powers to the president.<ref name=CONS/><ref name="InternationalCrisisGroup06">]. p. 06.</ref> The presidential term was extended to six years, and a president was allowed to serve for two consecutive terms. Previously, a sitting president could not run for reelection for 10 years after leaving office. It also replaced the bicameral Congress with a unicameral Legislative Assembly and gave the president the power to legislate on citizen rights, to promote military officers and to oversee economic and financial matters.<ref name=CONS/><ref name="InternationalCrisisGroup06"/> The assembly also gave the military a mandated role in the government by empowering it to ensure public order and aid national development, which the previous constitution had expressly forbidden.<ref name="InternationalCrisisGroup06" /> | |||
In the new constitution, the country, until then officially known as the Republic of Venezuela, was renamed the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (República Bolivariana de Venezuela) at Chávez's request.<ref name="InternationalCrisisGroup05" /> Chávez's actions following the ratification the 1999 Venezuelan constitution government weakened many of Venezuela's checks and balances, allowing the government to control every branch of the Venezuelan government for over 15 years after it passed until the ].<ref name=FH1999/><ref> | |||
Controversy regarding US intervention raged afterwards. ] reports ] told Latin American diplomats "the removal of Chavez was not a rupture of democratic rule, as he had resigned and was 'responsible for his fate'" and that "the US would support the Carmona government."<ref>Vulliamy, Ed (''The Observer'' 21 April 2002). Retrieved 19 Aug 2006</ref> After Chávez resumed his presidency in April 2002, he claimed that a plane with U.S. registration numbers had visited and been berthed at Venezuela's Orchila Island airbase, where Chávez had been held captive. On ], ], Chávez alleged that he had definitive proof of U.S. military involvement in April's coup. He claimed that during the coup Venezuelan radar images had indicated the presence of U.S. military naval vessels and aircraft in Venezuelan waters and airspace. '']'' published a claim by former US intelligence officer ] alleging U.S. Navy involvement.<ref>''Campbell, Duncan''. (''The Guardian'', 29 April 2006). . Retrieved 21 Jun 2006]</ref> ] ], D-CT, requested an investigation of concerns that Washington appeared to condone the removal of Mr Chávez,<ref>''BBC News'', (14 May 2002). . Retrieved 21 Jun 2006.</ref><ref>''AP'' (2002), . Retrieved June 9, 2006.</ref> which subsequently found that "U.S. officials acted appropriately and did nothing to encourage an April coup against Venezuela's president", nor did they provide any naval logistical support.<ref name=USEmbCoup> U.S. Embassy, Caracas, Venezuela. Accessed 26 May 2006.</ref><ref name=USStateCoup>U.S. Department of State and Office of Inspector General. Accessed 26 May 2006.</ref> According to '']'', ] documents indicate that the Bush administration knew about a plot weeks before the April 2002 military coup. They cite a document dated 6 April 2002, which says: "dissident military factions...are stepping up efforts to organize a coup against President Chávez, possibly as early as this month." According to ], ambassador to Venezuela, the U.S. embassy in Venezuela warned Chávez about a coup plot in April 2002.<ref name=Crosshairs>''Márquez Humberto''. (IPS March 9 2006) Accessed 21 Jun 2006.</ref> Further, the ] and the investigation by the ] found no evidence that "U.S. assistance programs in Venezuela, including those funded by the ] (NED), were inconsistent with U.S. law or policy" or ". . . directly contributed, or was intended to contribute, to ."<ref name=CIACoupInfo>CIA Documents Show Bush Knew of 2002 Coup in Venezuela. Accessed 15 August 2006.</ref><ref name=USEmbCoup/> | |||
{{cite news | |||
|last1=Ma | |||
Chávez also claimed, during the coup's immediate aftermath, that the U.S. was still seeking his overthrow. On ], ], he stated that he had foiled a new coup plot, and on ], ], he stated that he had barely escaped an assassination attempt while returning from a trip to Europe. During that period, the US Ambassador to Venezuela warned the Chávez administration of two potential assassination plots.<ref name=Crosshairs>''Márquez Humberto''. (IPS March 9 2006) . Retrieved 21 Jun 2006]</ref> | |||
|first1=Alexandra | |||
|title=Will A Venezuelan Opposition Party's Election Victory Bring Real Change? | |||
|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/venezuela-elections-david-smilde_56745723e4b0b958f6567bd8?ir=Latino+Voices§ion=latino-voices | |||
|access-date=19 December 2015 | |||
|agency=] | |||
|date=19 December 2015 | |||
}} | |||
</ref> | |||
In May 2000 he launched his own Sunday morning radio show, '']'' (''Hello, President''), on the state radio network. This followed an earlier Thursday night television show, ''De Frente con el Presidente'' (''Face to Face with the President'').<ref name="petro"> | |||
Following his return to office, Chávez quickly took steps to secure support for his government. First, Chávez fired sixty generals and completely replaced the upper echelons of Venezuela's armed forces, substituting them with personnel that could be described as either more complacent, or more loyal to the state, depending on one's political affiliation. Chávez also sought to strengthen support among rank and file soldiers. He boosted support programs, employment, and benefits for veterans, while promulgating new civilian-military development initiatives. | |||
{{cite book |author=Jeff Colgan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=enReCU97-zQC |title=Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War |date=31 January 2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1107029675 |page=209 |language=en |quote=For Chávez the show accomplishes a number of political objectives. First, it sustains and builds popular support for his leadership. By spending hours each week in front of a camera Chávez reinforces the message that he is the leader of his political movement and the government of Venezuela, its living symbol. Second, the television show is oriented to, and popular among, the lower classes of Venezuela who have traditionally remained outside of the political process. |access-date=27 June 2016 |via=Google Books}} | |||
</ref> He founded two newspapers, ''El Correo del Presidente'' (''The President's Post''), founded in July, for which he acted as editor-in-chief, and ''Vea'' (''See''), another newspaper, as well as ''Question'' magazine and Vive TV.<ref name="petro" /> ''El Correo'' was later shut down among accusations of corruption and mismanagement.<ref> | |||
]. pp. 193–95. | |||
</ref> In his television and radio shows, he answered calls from citizens, discussed his latest policies, sang songs and told jokes.<ref name="petro" /> | |||
In June 2000 he separated from his wife Marisabel, and their divorce was finalised in January 2004.<ref>]. p. 243.</ref> | |||
However, only a few months would pass after the April 2002 coup before the Chávez presidency would enter another crisis. Chávez, outraged by the coup and seeking more funds for his social programs, moved in late 2002 to implement total control over the ] and its revenues. As a result, for two months following ], ], Chávez faced a strike organized by the resistant PDVSA management who sought to force Chávez out of office by completely removing his access to the all-important government oil revenue. The strike, led by a coalition of labor unions, industrial magnates, and oil workers, sought to halt the activities of the PDVSA. As a result, Venezuela ceased exporting its former daily average of 2,800,000 barrels (450,000 m³) of oil and oil derivatives. Hydrocarbon shortages soon erupted throughout Venezuela, with long lines forming at petrol-filling stations. Gasoline imports were soon required. Alarmed, Chávez responded by firing PDVSA's anti-Chávez upper-echelon management and dismissing 18,000 skilled PDVSA employees. Chávez justified this by alleging their complicity in gross mismanagement and corruption in their handling of oil revenues, while opposition supporters of the fired workers stated that his actions were politically-motivated. | |||
===Second presidential term: 10 January 2001 – 10 January 2007=== | |||
=== 2003–2004: Recall vote === | |||
Under the new constitution, it was legally required that new elections be held in order to re-legitimize the government and president. This ] would be a part of a greater "megaelection", the first time in the country's history that the president, governors, national and regional congressmen, mayors and councilmen would be voted for on the same day.<ref>]. p. 140.</ref> Going into the elections, Chávez had control of all three branches of government.<ref name=Nelson1/> For the position of president, Chávez's closest challenger proved to be his former friend and co-conspirator in the 1992 coup, ], who since becoming a governor of Zulia state had turned towards the political centre and begun to denounce Chávez as autocratic. Some of his supporters feared that he had alienated those in the middle class and the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy who had formerly supported him. Chávez was re-elected with 60% of the vote, a larger majority than his 1998 electoral victory.<ref name="ReferenceC">]. p. 141.</ref><ref name="Ramírez 2005. p. 79">]. p. 79.</ref> | |||
] in ], on ], ] ''(Agência Brasil)''.]] | |||
{{see|Venezuelan recall referendum of 2004}} | |||
In 2003 and 2004 Chávez launched a number of social and economic campaigns as he struggled to maintain popular support. In July 2003 he launched "]," billed as a campaign aimed at providing free reading, writing and arithmetic lessons to the more than 1.5 million Venezuelan adults who were illiterate prior to his 1999 election. On ], ], Chávez initiated "]," a program billed as protecting the livelihood, religion, land, culture, and rights of Venezuela's indigenous peoples. In late 2003, the Venezuelan president launched "]," with the stated intent of providing free ] to the two million adult Venezuelans who had not completed their elementary-level education. In November 2003, Chávez announced "]," with the promise of providing remedial education and diplomas for Venezuela's five million high school dropouts. On the first anniversary of Mission Robinson's establishment, Chávez stated in Caracas's Teresa Carreño theater to an audience of 50,000 formerly illiterate Venezuelans, "in a year, we have graduated 1,250,000 Venezuelans." Nevertheless, there were also significant setbacks. Notably, the inflation rate rocketed to 31% in 2002 and remained at the high level of 27% in 2003, causing a great deal of hardship for the poor. | |||
That year, Chávez improved ideological ties with the Cuban government of Fidel Castro by signing an agreement under which Venezuela would supply Cuba with 53,000 barrels of oil per day at preferential rates, in return receiving 20,000 trained Cuban medics and educators. In the ensuing decade, this would be increased to 90,000 barrels a day (in exchange for 40,000 Cuban medics and teachers), dramatically aiding the Caribbean island's economy and standard of living after its "]" of the 1990s.<ref name="convenio">{{cite news |title=Conozca los acuerdos petroleros que dejó Hugo Chávez|url=http://www.finanzasdigital.com/2014/08/conozca-los-acuerdos-petroleros-que-dejo-hugo-chavez/|page=Finanzas Digital|date=22 August 2014|access-date=3 June 2017}}</ref> However, Venezuela's growing alliance with Cuba came at the same time as a deteriorating relationship with the United States. Chávez opposed of the ] in response to the ] against the U.S. by Islamist militants. In late 2001, Chávez showed pictures on his television show of children said to be killed in a bombing attack. He commented that "They are not to blame for the terrorism of ] or anyone else", called on the American government to end "the massacre of the innocents", and describing the war as "fighting terrorism with terrorism." The U.S. government responded negatively to the comments, which were picked up by the media worldwide<ref>]. pp. 208–09.</ref> and recalled its ambassador for consultations.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/03/world/us-irritated-by-criticism-calls-envoy-home-from-venezuela.html|title=U.S., Irritated by Criticism, Calls Envoy Home From Venezuela|last=Rohter|first=Larry|date=3 November 2001|work=]}}</ref> | |||
In ], ], a group of 126 ]ns were captured during a raid of two farms near Caracas. The Colombians were outfit in Venezuelan military uniforms and testified that, once they arrived in Venezuela after receiving promises of legal employment, they were then hired for military action against Venezuelan regulars. The farm was owned by a ] anti-] exile and a leader in the unsuccessful 2002 coup. Chávez soon levelled accusations of the attempted formation of a foreign-funded ] force who intended to violently overthrow his rule.<ref name="BBC_2004coup">''BBC News''. (''BBC'', 25 June 2004). Retrieved 13 June 2006.</ref> These events merely served to further the extreme and violent polarisation of Venezuelan society between pro- and anti-Chávez camps. Chávez's allegations of a ] continue to stir controversy and doubts to this day.<ref name="BBC_2004coup"/> In October 2005, 27 of the accused Colombians were found guilty, while the rest were released and deported.<ref>''El Pais''. (''El Pais'', 2004). . Retrieved 24 July 2006. {{es_icon}}</ref> | |||
{{ChavezElections2004}} | |||
] | |||
In early and mid-2003, ], an opposition-aligned volunteer civilian voter rights organization, began the process of collecting the millions of signatures needed to activate the presidential recall provision provided for in Chávez's 1999 Constitution. In August 2003, around 3.2 million signatures were presented, but these were rejected by the pro-Chávez majority in the ] (CNE; "National Electoral Council") on the grounds that many had been collected before the mid-point of Chávez's presidential term.<ref>''BBC News''. (''BBC News'', 12 Sep 2003). . Retrieved 10 Nov 2005.</ref> Reports then began to emerge among opposition and international news outlets that Chávez had begun to act punitively against those who had signed the petition, while pro-Chávez individuals stated that they had been coerced by employers into offering their signatures at their workplaces. In November 2003, the opposition collected an entirely new set of signatures, with 3.6 million names produced over a span of four days. Riots erupted nationwide as allegations of fraud were made by Chávez against the signature collectors. | |||
Meanwhile, the 2000 elections had led to Chávez's supporters gaining 101 out of 165 seats in the Venezuelan National Assembly, and so in November 2001 they voted to allow him to pass 49 social and economic decrees. This move antagonized the opposition movement particularly strongly.<ref name="InternationalCrisisGroup07"/><ref>]. p. 143.</ref> At the start of the 21st century, Venezuela was the world's fifth largest exporter of ], with oil accounting for 85% of the country's exports, therefore dominating the country's economy. Before the election of Chávez, the state-run oil company, ] (PDVSA) ran autonomously, making oil decisions based on internal guidance to increase profits.<ref name=":5">Wiseman, Colin and Daniel Béland. “The Politics of Institutional Change in Venezuela: Oil Policy During the Presidency of Hugo Chávez.” ''Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies,'' Vol 35, No. 70 (2010), pp. 141–164. ''JSTOR''. Accessed 3 November 2018.</ref> Once he came to power, Chávez started directing PDVSA and effectively turned it into a direct government arm whose profits would be injected into social spending.<ref name=":5" /> The result of this was the creation of "]", oil funded social programs targeting poverty, literacy, hunger, and more.<ref name=":5" /> In 2001, the government introduced a new Hydrocarbons Law through which it sought to gain greater state control over the oil industry. The law increased the transnational companies taxation in oil extraction activities to 30% and set the minimum state participation in "mixed companies" at 51%, whereby the state-run oil company, ] (PDVSA), could have joint control with private companies over industry.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=27 July 2006|archive-date=17 August 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060817050451/http://www.mpd.gov.ve/decretos_leyes/Leyes/ley_hidrocarburos.pdf|title=Ley Orgánica de Hidrocarburos aprobada en 2001|url=http://www.mpd.gov.ve/decretos_leyes/Leyes/ley_hidrocarburos.pdf}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>{{Primary source inline|date=December 2022}} By 2006, all of the 32 operating agreements signed with private companies during the 1990s had been converted from being primarily or privately-run to being at least 51% controlled by PDVSA.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} Chávez had also removed many of the managers and executives of PdVSA and replaced them with political allies, stripping the state-owned company expertise.<ref name=":6">{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/07/16/how-venezuela-struck-it-poor-oil-energy-chavez/|title=How Hugo Chávez Blew Up Venezuela's Oil Patch|last=Johnson|first=Keith|date=16 July 2018|website=]|language=en|access-date=21 July 2018|quote=The fuse for the bomb that is now blowing up Venezuela’s oil industry – and the country along with it – was deliberately lit and fanned by ... the strongman Hugo Chávez ...}}</ref> | |||
The provision in the Constitution allowing for a presidential recall requires the signatures of 20% of the electorate in order to effect a recall. Further, the ''cédulas'' (national identity card numbers) and identities of petition signers are not secret, and in fact were made public by ], a member of the ] representing Chávez' party (] - MVR) and the ] of Táchira state. The government was accused of increasing the voter rolls by giving citizenship to illegal immigrants and refugees, and the opposition claimed that it was a citizenship for votes program. Voter registration increased by about 2 million people ahead of the referendum, which in effect raised the threshold of the 20% of the electorate needed to effect a recall.<ref name=PostVoterRolls>Bronstein, H. (June 14, 2006), ''Washington Post'', Accessed 22 June 2006.</ref> | |||
====Opposition and the Coordinadora Democrática==== | |||
Credible anecdotal evidence emerged that Chávez and his allies were penalising signers of the publicly posted petition by denying them government jobs and services.<ref name=FAInSearch>Shifter, Michael. . ''Foreign Affairs'', May/June 2006. '''85''':3, p. 48. "There is also credible anecdotal evidence of the existence of lists of individuals' votes that have been used to deny Chávez's opponents jobs and services."</ref> Charges were made of summary dismissals from government ministries, PDVSA, the state-owned water corporation, the ], and public hospitals controlled by Chávez's political allies. Finally, after opposition leaders submitted to the CNE a valid petition with 2,436,830 signatures that requested a presidential recall referendum, a recall referendum was announced on ], ] by the CNE. Chávez and his political allies responded to this by mobilising supporters to encourage rejection of the recall with a "no" vote. | |||
Much of Chávez's opposition originated from the response to the "cubanization" of Venezuela.<ref name="Nelson1"/> Chávez's popularity dropped due to his relationship with Fidel Castro and Cuba, with Chávez attempting to make Venezuela in Cuba's image.<ref name=Nelson1/> Chávez, following Castro's example, consolidated the country's ] into a single ] that gave him more power<ref name=CONS/> and created community groups of loyal supporters allegedly trained as paramilitaries.<ref name=Nelson1/> Such actions created great fear among Venezuelans who felt like they were tricked and that Chávez had dictatorial goals.<ref name=Nelson1/> | |||
The first organized protest against the Bolivarian government occurred in January 2001, when the Chávez administration tried to implement educational reforms through the proposed Resolution 259 and Decree 1.011, which would have seen the publication of textbooks with a heavy Bolivarian bias. Parents noticed that such textbooks were really Cuban books filled with ] outfitted with different covers. The protest movement, which was primarily by middle-class parents whose children went to privately run schools, marched to central Caracas shouting out the slogan ''Con mis hijos no te metas'' ("Don't mess with my children"). Although the protesters were denounced by Chávez, who called them "selfish and individualistic", the protest was successful enough for the government to retract the proposed education reforms and instead enter into a consensus-based educational program with the opposition.<ref name=Nelson1/><ref>]. pp. 143–45.</ref> | |||
The recall vote itself was held on ], ]. A record number of voters turned out to defeat the recall attempt with a 59% "no" vote.<ref>''BBC News''. (''BBC'', 21 Sep 2004). . Retrieved 05 Nov 2005.</ref><ref>Carter Center (Sep 2004). p. 7.</ref> The election was overseen by the ] and the ], and was certified by them as fair and open.<ref>Carter Center (Feb 2005). pp. 133-134.</ref> ] observers did not attend, saying too many restrictions had been placed on their participation by the government.<ref>de Cordoba, Jose and Luhnow, David. "Venezuelans Rush to Vote on Chavez: Polarised Nation Decides Whether to Recall President After Years of Political Rifts". ''Wall Street Journal''. (Eastern edition). New York, NY: Aug 16, 2004. pg. A11. "European observers stayed away because they said the government was imposing too many restrictions."</ref> | |||
Later into 2001, an organization known as the ''{{lang|es|]}}'' (Democratic Coordinator, CD) was founded, under which the Venezuelan opposition political parties, corporate powers, most of the country's media, the ], the Institutional Military Front and the ] all united to oppose Chávez's regime.<ref name="InternationalCrisisGroup07">]. p. 7.</ref><ref>]. p. 80.</ref> The prominent businessman ] (1941–) was chosen as the CD's leader.<ref name="InternationalCrisisGroup07"/> ], a U.S. Navy ship docked at ] in the ], in 2002]] The Coordinadora Democrática and other opponents of Chávez's Bolivarian government accused it of trying to turn Venezuela from a democracy into a dictatorship by centralising power amongst its supporters in the Constituent Assembly and granting Chávez increasingly autocratic powers. Many of them pointed to Chávez's personal friendship with Cuba's Fidel Castro and the ] as a sign of where the Bolivarian government was taking Venezuela.<ref name="InternationalCrisisGroup07"/> | |||
Other critics, including economists Ricardo Hausmann of Harvard and Roberto Rigobon of MIT, called the results fraudulent, alleging a "very clear trails of fraud in the statistical record" and alleged electronic voting machines had been reconfigured to allow results to be altered remotely.<ref>. ''Wall Street Journal''. New York, NY: September 9, 2004</ref> In response, the Carter Center consulted with Professor Jonathan Taylor, an independent statistician from ] and Professor Aviel Rubin, a ] computer scientist who both initially concluded that the actual results are within the predicted range and do not of themselves prove fraud.<ref>''Carter Center'' 3 Sep 2004 Retrieved 28 Sep 2006</ref> Subsequently, however, the Carter Center admitted Taylor had "found a mistake in one of the models of his analysis which lowered the predicted number of tied machines, but which still found the actual result to lie within statistical possibility"<ref>''Carter Center'' 3 Sep 2004 Retrieved 28 Sep 2006</ref> | |||
====Coup, strikes and the recall referendum==== | |||
The opposition also cited an exit poll which implied the actual results were the opposite of those reported. "Massive fraud" was alleged and the conclusions of former ] ] were questioned.<ref name=Barone>Barone, M. ''U.S. News & World Report.'' August 20, 2004.</ref> It should be noted that five other opposition polls showed a Chávez victory.<ref> AP (2004). ''Associated Press. Accessed June 9, 2006.</ref> | |||
{{Main|2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt|Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003|Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004}} | |||
], demanding ]]] | |||
Chávez sought to make PDVSA his main source of funds for political projects and replaced oil experts with political allies in order to support him with this initiative.<ref name=":6" /> In early-2002, he placed a leftist professor as the president of PDVSA.<ref name=":6" /> In April 2002, Chávez appointed his allies to head the PDVSA and replaced the company's board of directors with loyalists who had "little or no experience in the oil industry", mocking the PDVSA executives on television as he fired them.<ref name=":6" /><ref name="CNNoil">{{cite news|last=Kahn|first=Jeremy|title=Pumping Trouble: A strike in Venezuela has raised temperatures in Caracas and oil prices around the world.|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2003/02/03/336466/|access-date=21 April 2014|newspaper=CNN|date=3 February 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422232750/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2003/02/03/336466/ |archive-date=22 April 2014}}</ref> Anger with Chávez's decisions led to civil unrest in Venezuela, which culminated in an attempted coup.<ref name=":6" /> On 11 April 2002, ],<ref>]. pp. 171–72.</ref> nineteen people were killed, and over 110 were wounded.<ref>]. p. 168.</ref> | |||
After his victory, a jubilant Chávez pledged to redouble his efforts against both poverty and "imperialism," while promising to foster dialogue with his opponents. Chávez's government subsequently charged the founders of ] with treason and conspiracy for receiving foreign funds, earmarked for voter education, from the ] through the ], triggering commentary from human rights organizations and the ] government.<ref>Human Rights Watch. Accessed 8 June 2006.</ref><ref>World Movement for Democracy. (July 16, 2004) Accessed 8 June 2006.</ref><ref>Embassy of the United States, Venezuela (July 8, 2005). Accessed 18 June 2006.</ref> The trial has been postponed several times. A program called "Mission Identity", to fast track voter registration of immigrants to Venezuela — including Chávez supporters benefiting from his subsidies — has been put in place prior to the upcoming 2006 presidential elections.<ref name=PostVoterRolls>Bronstein, H. (June 14, 2006), ''Washington Post'', Accessed 22 June 2006.</ref> | |||
Chávez believed that the best way to stay in power was to implement ].<ref name="p121134NELSON2">{{cite book|title-link= The Silence and the Scorpion |title=The silence and the scorpion : the coup against Chávez and the making of modern Venezuela|last1=Nelson|first1=Brian A.|date=2009|publisher=Nation Books|isbn=978-1568584188|edition=online|location=New York|pages=121–134}}</ref> Military officers, including General ], a founder of Chávez's ], then decided that they had to pull support from Chávez to deter a massacre<ref name="p121134NELSON2"/> and shortly after at 8:00 pm, Vásquez Velasco, together with other ranking army officers, declared that Chávez had lost his support.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} Chávez agreed to be detained and was transferred by army escort to ]; business leader ] declared himself president of an interim government.<ref>]. pp. 175–84.</ref> Carmona abolished the 1999 constitution and appointed a governing committee. Protests in support of Chávez along with insufficient support for Carmona's government quickly led to Carmona's resignation, and Chávez was returned to power on 14 April.<ref>]. pp. 181–85.</ref> | |||
=== 2004–2005: Focus on foreign relations === | |||
] ] during the closing of a July 2004 joint press conference held in Venezuela ''(Office of the Argentine Presidency)''.]] | |||
Chávez's response was to moderate his approach,{{Disputed inline|date=April 2020}} implementing a new economic team that appeared to be more centrist and reinstated the old board of directors and managers of the state oil company ] (PDVSA), whose replacement had been one of the reasons for the coup.<ref>]. p. 185.</ref> At the same time, the Bolivarian government began to increase the country's military capacity, purchasing 100,000 ] assault rifles and several helicopters from Russia, as well as a number of ] light attack and training planes from Brazil. Troop numbers were also increased.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} | |||
In the aftermath of his referendum victory, Chávez's primary objectives of fundamental social and economic transformation and redistribution accelerated dramatically. Chávez himself placed the development and implementation of the "Bolivarian Missions" once again at the forefront of his political agenda. Sharp increases in global oil prices gave Chávez access to billions of dollars in extra foreign exchange reserves. Economic growth picked up markedly, reaching double-digit growth in 2004 and a 9.3% growth rate for 2005. | |||
Chávez faced a ] at the PDVSA.<ref name="BBCoil">{{cite news|last=Ceaser|first=Mike|title=Venezuelans hit by oil crisis|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1913893.stm|access-date=21 April 2014|newspaper=BBC|date=5 April 2002}}</ref> The Chávez government's response was to fire about 19,000 striking employees for abandoning their posts and then employing retired workers, foreign contractors, and the military to do their jobs instead.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} The total firing of tens of thousands of employees by Chávez would forever damage Venezuela's oil industry due to the tremendous loss of expertise.<ref name=":6" /> By 2005, the members of Venezuela's energy ministries stated it would take more than 15 years for PDVSA to recover from Chávez's actions.<ref name=":6" /> | |||
Many new policy initiatives were advanced by Chávez after 2004. In late March 2005, the Chávez government passed a series of media regulations that criminalised broadcasted libel and slander directed against public officials; prison sentences of up to 40 months for serious instances of character defamation launched against Chávez and other officials were enacted. When asked if he would ever actually move to use the 40-month sentence if a media figure insulted him, Chávez remarked that "I don't care if they call me names.... As ] said, 'If the dogs are barking, it is because we are working.'"<ref>''BBC Talking Point''. (23 Oct 2005). . Retrieved 21 Jun 2006.</ref> Chávez also worked to expand his land redistribution and social welfare programs by authorizing and funding a multitude of new "Bolivarian Missions," including "]"; the second and third phases of "]," both first initiated in June 2005 with the stated aim of constructing, funding, and refurbishing secondary (integrated diagnostic center) and tertiary (hospital) public health care facilities nationwide; and "], which established a national citizen's militia. Meanwhile, Venezuela's doctors went on strike, protesting the siphoning of public funds from their existing institutions to these new Bolivarian ones, run by Cuban doctors. | |||
The 1999 constitution had introduced the concept of a recall referendum into Venezuelan politics, so the opposition called for such a referendum to take place. The resulting ] was unsuccessful. 70% of the eligible Venezuelan population turned out to vote, with 59% of voters deciding to keep the president in power.<ref name="Ramírez 2005. p. 79"/> | |||
]ian President ] on ], ].]]Chávez focused considerably on Venezuela's foreign relations in 2004 and 2005 via new bilateral and multilateral agreements, including ] and construction projects. Chávez has engaged, with varying degrees of success, numerous other foreign leaders, including ]'s ], ]'s ], ]'s ] and ]'s ]. On ], ], Chávez publicly declared that the U.S.-backed ] (FTAA) was "dead." Chávez stated that the neoliberal model of development had utterly failed in improving the lives of Latin Americans, and that an alternative, anti-capitalist model would be conceived in order to increase trade and relations between Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil. Chávez also stated his desire that a leftist, Latin American analogue of ] be established. | |||
===="Socialism of the 21st century"==== | |||
Over the course of 2004 and 2005, the Venezuelan military under Chávez also began in earnest to reduce weaponry sourcing and military ties with the United States. Chávez's Venezuela is thus increasingly purchasing arms from alternative sources, such as Brazil, Russia, China and Spain. Friction over these sales escalated, and in response Chávez ended cooperation between the militaries of the two countries. He also asked all active-duty U.S. soldiers to leave Venezuela. Additionally, in 2005 Chávez announced the creation of a large "military reserve"—the Mission Miranda program, which encompasses a militia of 1.5 million citizens—as a defensive measure against foreign intervention or outright invasion.<ref>Wagner, Sarah. (''Venezuela Analysis'', 25 Apr 2005). . Retrieved 20 Oct 2005.</ref> Additionally, in October 2005, Chávez banished the Christian missionary organization ] from the country, accusing it of "imperialist infiltration" and harboring connections with the ].<ref name=NewTribes>Alford, Deann. (''Christianity Today'', 14 Oct 2005). . Retrieved 09 Nov 2005.</ref> At the same time, he granted inalienable titles to over 6,800 square kilometers of land traditionally inhabited by Amazonian indigenous peoples to their respective resident natives, though this land could not be bought or sold as Western-style title deeds can. Chávez cited these changes as evidence that his revolution was also a revolution for the defense of indigenous rights, such as those promoted by Chávez's ]. | |||
] ], 2005]] | |||
In January 2005, Chávez began openly proclaiming the ideology of "]", something that was distinct from his earlier forms of ], which had been ] in nature, merging elements of capitalism and socialism. He used this new term to contrast the ], which he wanted to promote in Latin America, from the Marxist–Leninist socialism that had been spread by socialist states like the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China during the 20th century, arguing that the latter had not been truly democratic, suffering from a lack of participatory democracy and an excessively authoritarian governmental structure.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} | |||
In May 2006, Chávez visited Europe in a private capacity, where he announced plans to supply cheap Venezuelan oil to poor working class communities in the continent. The Mayor of London ] welcomed him, describing him as "the best news out of Latin America in many years."<ref>].</ref> | |||
During this period, Chávez placed much greater emphasis on alternative economic development and international trade models, much of it in the form of extremely ambitious hemisphere-wide international aid agreements. For example, on ], ], during the first graduation of international scholarship students from Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine, Chávez announced that he would jointly establish with Cuba a second such medical school that would provide tuition-free medical training—an '']'' project valued at between $20 and 30 billion—to more than 100,000 physicians who would pledge to work in the poorest communities of the Global South. He announced that the project would run for the next decade, and that the new school would include at least 30,000 new places for poor students from both Latin America and the ].<ref>Reed, Gail A. (''MEDICC Review''). . Retrieved 16 Nov 2005.</ref> | |||
===Third presidential term: 10 January 2007 – 10 January 2013=== | |||
], Hugo Chávez, ] and ], in ] in 2004.]] | |||
] | |||
Chávez has also taken ample opportunity on the international stage to juxtapose such projects with the manifest results and workings of neoliberal globalization. Most notably, during his speech at the 2005 UN World Summit, he denounced development models that are organised around neoliberal guidelines such as liberalisation of capital flows, removal of trade barriers, and privatisation as the reason for the developing world's impoverishment. Chávez also went on to warn of an imminent global energy famine brought about by ] depletion (based on ]), stating that "we are facing an unprecedented energy crisis.... Oil is starting to become exhausted."<ref>Campbell, Colin J. (''Association of the Study of Peak Oil and Gas'', Nov 2005). . Retrieved 16 Nov 2005.</ref> Additionally, on ], ], Chávez referenced the stalling of the FTAA, stating at the ], held in ], ], that "the great loser today was ]. The man went away wounded. You could see defeat on his face." Chávez took the same opportunity to state that "the taste of victory" was apparent with regards to the promotion of his own trade alternative, the ] (ALBA—''Alternativa Bolivariana para América''), which Venezuela and Cuba inaugurated on ], ].<ref>Parma, Alessandro. (''Venezuela Analysis'', 07 Nov 2005). . Retrieved 09 Nov 2005.</ref> | |||
In the ], which saw a 77% voter turnout, Chávez was once more elected, this time with 63% of the vote, beating his closest challenger ]. The ] (OAS) and the ] concluded that the election results were free and legitimate.<ref>]. p. 1.</ref><ref>].</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Chávez wins Venezuelan election |newspaper=] |url=http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/06/12/04/10087134.html |date=4 December 2006 |access-date=30 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929133525/http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/06/12/04/10087134.html |archive-date=29 September 2007}}</ref> After this victory, Chávez promised an "expansion of the revolution".<ref>Ireland On-Line. (4 December 2006). Retrieved 4 December 2006. {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> | |||
====United Socialist Party of Venezuela and domestic policy==== | |||
In 2005, Chávez demanded the extradition of ], accused of conspiring to bomb ]. A Texas judge blocked the extradition on the grounds that he could be tortured in Venezuela; the Venezuelan embassy blamed the Department of Homeland Security for refusing to contest such accusations during the trial.<ref>''Jim, Lobe''.(''Inter Press Service'' 28 Sep 2006). Retrieved 9,July 2006</ref> Chávez also requested the extradition of former Venezuelan officers and members of ''Militares democraticos'', Lt. German Rodolfo Varela and Lt. Jose Antonio Colina, who are wanted for bombing the Spanish and Colombian embassies after Chávez made a speech criticizing both governments.<ref>''Forero, Juan''. (''New York Times'' 29, Jan 2004). Retrieved 9 July 2006</ref><ref>''Toothaker, Christopher''. (''Latin American Post''). Retrieved 9, July 2006</ref> | |||
] demonstrating against ]<ref name="BBCMarch">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7120133.stm|title= Students stage anti-Chavez rally|work= BBC News |date=30 November 2007|access-date=3 December 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071203105852/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7120133.stm| archive-date= 3 December 2007 | url-status=live}}</ref>]] | |||
On 15 December 2006, Chávez publicly announced that those leftist political parties who had continually supported him in the Patriotic Pole would unite into one single, much larger party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (''Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela'', PSUV). In the speech which he gave announcing the PSUV's creation, Chávez declared that the old parties must "forget their own structures, party colours and slogans, because they are not the most important thing for the fatherland".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6192105.stm |title=Venezuela head seeks party merger |first=Greg |last=Morsbach |date=19 December 2006 |website=] |access-date=16 October 2013}}</ref> | |||
===2006–present=== | |||
:''Main article: ]'' | |||
] leader ] in ] in 2006]] | |||
''The ]'' says that Chavez "has made no secret of the fact that he is in favour of amending the constitution so that he can run again for president in 2012."<ref>Morsbach, Greg. ''BBC News'' (6 December 2005).</ref> He has stated that he intends to retire from the Venezuelan presidency in the year 2021, this site comes from a subsidiary company of ''GrupoTelevisa'' a co-owner company of Univision, this last company is mainly owned by Gustavo Cisneros (Venezuelan media-owner, and one of Chavez's greatest opponants). He is currently seeking re-election and his approval ratings as of August stood at 55%.<ref>''Hooper, Simon'' (''CNN'' 18 Oct 2006) . Retrieved 20 Oct 2006</ref> | |||
], Chávez's socialist political party founded in 2007 succeeding the ]]] | |||
In 2006 Chávez announced Venezuela's bid to win a non-permanent seat on the UN ]; Washington officials encouraged Latin American and Caribbean nations to vote instead for Guatemala.<ref> | |||
Washington Post. (29 June 2006)..Retrieved 1 Aug 2006.</ref> Analysts quoted by '']'' said that Chávez would offer to supply 20% of China's crude oil needs if Beijing backed Venezuela's bid to join the ].<ref> | |||
''Forbes'' (20 August 2006).</ref> In Chile, the press was concerned that Venezuelan grants for flood aid might affect the government's decision about which country to support for admission to the UN Security Council.<ref> ''El Universal'' (11 August 2006).</ref> However, Venezuela was never able to obtain more votes than Guatemala in the forty one separate UN votes in October of 2006 <ref> ''BBC (27 October 2006)</ref>. Because of this deadlock in voting, ] was selected as a consensus candidate and subsequently won the ] for Latin America's seat on the Security Council. | |||
Chávez had initially proclaimed that those leftist parties which chose to not dissolve into the PSUV would have to leave the government. Party membership rose to 5.7 million people by 2007,<ref name="bloomberg.com">Walter, Mathew. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916205622/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive |date=16 September 2015 }}. ''Bloomberg''. 11 October 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2010.</ref> The United Nations' ] expressed concern over some voters' being pressured to join the party.<ref name="eluniversal.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.eluniversal.com/2009/06/16/eco_art_en-pdvsa-y-sidor-se_1433965.shtml |title=En Pdvsa y Sidor se concentra criminalización de las protestas – Economía |newspaper=El Universal |date=16 June 2009 |access-date=28 September 2010|language=es}}</ref> | |||
In accordance with his foreign policy trends, Chávez has visited several countries in Latin America, as well as ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. At the request of ] President ], Chávez also attended the 2006 summit of the ] in ].<!--<ref>{{cite news | first = Sean | last = Sinclair-Day | title = AU Summit in The Gambia | url = http://africanaffairs.suite101.com/article.cfm/au_summit_in_the_gambia | format = HTML|accessdate = 2006-08-23}}</ref>--> He also visited the ] and ]. | |||
<br> | |||
In 2006 Chavez accused the United States government of attempting to turn Colombia into Venezuela's adversary over the recent arms dispute. “The U.S. empire doesn't lose a chance to attack us and try to create discord between us. That's one of the empire's strategies: Try to keep us divided.” Chavez said in response to the United States government.<ref>{{cite news | |||
| author= The Associated Press | |||
| url= http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/05/america/LA_GEN_Venezuela_Colombia_Arms.php | |||
| title= “Venezuela's Chavez thanks Colombia for not siding with Washington in arms purchases dispute” | |||
| publisher= International Herald Tribune | |||
| date= October 5, 2006 | |||
| accessdate= October 6, 2006 | |||
}}</ref> | |||
On 28 December 2006, President Chávez announced that the government would not renew ]'s broadcast license which expired on 27 May 2007, thereby forcing the channel to cease operations on that day.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6215815.stm|title=Chavez to shut down opposition TV|date=29 December 2006|access-date=27 May 2007|publisher=BBC}}</ref> On 17 May 2007, the government rejected a plea made by RCTV to stop the TV station's forced shutdown.<ref name="universities26">{{Cite web|url=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37828|title=Marches and Counter-Marches Over TV Station's End|date=21 May 2007|publisher=Inter Press Service News Agency|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070612203557/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37828|archive-date=12 June 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=28 May 2007}}</ref> Thousands of protesters marching both against and in support of the government's decision remained on the streets in Caracas. Other marches took place in ] and ].<ref name="universities26"/> On 21 May 2007, hundreds of journalists and students marched in Caracas carrying a banner reading "S.O.S. Freedom of Expression".<ref name="universities26" /> A few days later, on 25 May 2007, university students from the ], the ] and the ] protested against the government's intentions.<ref name="universities15">{{cite news|url=http://politica.eluniversal.com/2007/05/25/rctv_ava_estudiantes-de-la-uc_25A874209.shtml|title=Estudiantes de la UCAB y la USB protestan en apoyo a RCTV|date=25 May 2007|newspaper=]|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070527074433/http://politica.eluniversal.com/2007/05/25/rctv_ava_estudiantes-de-la-uc_25A874209.shtml|archive-date=27 May 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=28 May 2007}}</ref><ref name="universities35">{{cite news|url=http://politica.eluniversal.com/2007/05/25/rctv_ava_ucevistas-protestaro_25A874355.shtml|title=Ucevistas protestaron en la autopista Francisco Fajardo cierre de RCTV|date=25 May 2007|newspaper=]|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831010331/http://politica.eluniversal.com/2007/05/25/rctv_ava_ucevistas-protestaro_25A874355.shtml|archive-date=31 August 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=28 May 2007}}</ref> On 26 May, tens of thousands of protesters marched in support of RCTV to their headquarters.<ref name="REUT20076">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-television-march-idUSN2621739620070526|title=Venezuelans march against closure of TV station|last1=Ellsworth|first1=Brian|date=26 May 2007|access-date=29 March 2015|work=Reuters|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402214351/http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/05/26/us-venezuela-television-march-idUSN2621739620070526|url-status=live}}</ref> Since the week prior to the shutdown of RCTV, many individuals, international organizations and ]s—including the ]'s ] ]<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.oas.org/OASpage/press_releases/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-001/07|publisher=Organization of American States|title=Secretary General expresses concern over decision not to renew broadcasting license of Venezuelan television station|date=5 January 2007|access-date=28 May 2007}}</ref> and its ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cidh.oas.org/relatoria/showarticle.asp?artID=688&lID=1|title=Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression expresses concern over the situation of RCTV in Venezuela|date=31 December 2006|publisher=Organization of American States|access-date=28 May 2007}}</ref> the ],<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.sipiapa.com/pressreleases/srchcountrydetail.cfm?PressReleaseID=1828|title=IAPA assails Venezuela's Chávez over non-renewal of TV station license|publisher=Inter American Press Association|date=29 December 2006|access-date=28 May 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928061613/http://www.sipiapa.com/pressreleases/srchcountrydetail.cfm?PressReleaseID=1828|archive-date=28 September 2007}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/05/22/venezu15986.htm|title=Venezuela: TV Shutdown Harms Free Expression|date=22 May 2007|publisher=]|access-date=28 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081114234127/http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2007/05/22/venezu15986.htm|archive-date=14 November 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the ],<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.cpj.org/news/2007/americas/ven12jan07na.html|title='Lack of transparency' in Venezuelan broadcast case|publisher=Committee to Protect Journalists|date=12 January 2007|access-date=28 May 2007}}</ref>—have expressed concerns for freedom of the press following the shutdown.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/82816|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804061313/http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/82816|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 August 2012|title=Non-renewal of RCTV license a threat to media pluralism, will cost 2,000 their jobs, says IFJ|publisher=International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX)|date=24 April 2007|access-date=27 May 2007}}</ref> However, Secretary Insulza also stated that it was up to the Venezuelan courts to solve this dispute<ref name="ElUniversal20071805">{{cite news|url=http://english.eluniversal.com/2007/05/18/en_pol_art_insulza:-rctv-case-w_18A870835.shtml|title=Insulza: RCTV case will be solved by Venezuelan courts|date=18 May 2007|newspaper=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901111430/http://english.eluniversal.com/2007/05/18/en_pol_art_insulza%3A-rctv-case-w_18A870835.shtml|archive-date=1 September 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=17 June 2007}}</ref> and that he believed that this was an administrative decision.<ref name="ElUniversal20070611">{{cite news|url=http://english.eluniversal.com/2007/06/11/en_pol_art_insulza-hopes-venezu_11A883121.shtml|title=Insulza hopes Venezuela "to continue to be democratic"|date=11 June 2007|newspaper=]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122060100/http://english.eluniversal.com/2007/06/11/en_pol_art_insulza-hopes-venezu_11A883121.shtml|archive-date=22 January 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=17 June 2007}}</ref> | |||
====Speech to the United Nations==== | |||
:''Main article: ]'' | |||
On ] ], Chávez delivered a speech to the ] damning U.S. President George Bush.<ref> Hosted by the UN webcast website (q.v. http://www.un.org/webcast). Requires Real Media Player.</ref> In the speech Chavez referred to Bush as "the devil," adding that Bush, who had given a speech to the assembly a day earlier, had come to the General Assembly to "share his nostrums to try to preserve the current pattern of domination, exploitation and pillage of the peoples of the world."<ref> '']'' (20 September 2006).</ref><ref></ref> Although it was widely condemned by U.S. politicians and media <ref> '']'' (21 September 2006)</ref><ref> Accessed 21 September 2006.</ref> <ref> MercoSur. Accessed 21 September 2006.</ref>, the speech was received with "wild applause" in the Assembly. <ref>CBS News. (September 25 2006). Retrieved October 14 2008.</ref> <ref>. September 24, 2006. Accessed 7th October 2006.</ref> | |||
In 2007, the Bolivarian government set up a constitutional commission in order to review the 1999 constitution and suggest potential amendments to be made to it. Led by the prominent pro-Chávez intellectual ], it suggested measures that would have increased many of the president's powers, for instance increasing the presidential term limit to seven years, allowing the president to run for election indefinitely and centralizing powers in the executive. The government put the suggested changes to a ].<ref name="reuters20070816">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1526395420070816|title=Venezuela's Chávez calls for end to term limits|access-date=16 August 2007|work=Reuters|date=16 August 2007|last=Ellsworth |first=Brian}}</ref> Abstention rate was high however, with 44% of registered voters not turning out, and in the end the proposed changes were rejected by 51% of votes.<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/04/world/americas/04venezuela.html |title= Venezuela Vote Sets Roadblocks on Chávez Path |work= The New York Times|date = 4 December 2007 |access-date=26 February 2010 |last=Romero |first=Simon}}</ref> This would prove to the first electoral loss that Chávez had faced in the thirteen electoral contests held since he took power, due to the top-down nature of the changes, as well as general public dissatisfaction with "the absence of internal debate on its content, as well as dissatisfaction with the running of the social programmes, increasing street crime, and with corruption within the government".<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 December 2007 |title=Chávez: "Fue una victoria de mierda y la nuestra una derrota de coraje" |url=https://www.libertaddigital.com/mundo/chavez-fue-una-victoria-de-mierda-y-la-nuestra-una-derrota-de-coraje-1276318942/ |access-date=23 April 2023 |website=Libertad Digital}}</ref> | |||
====Subsidising heating fuel for the poor in the U.S.==== | |||
In 2005, President Chávez initiated a program to provide cheaper heating fuel for poor people in several areas of the United States (New York Daily News, September 21, 2006). The program was expanded in September 2006 to include four of New York City's five boroughs, earmarking 25 million gallons of fuel for low-income New York residents this year at 40% off the wholesale market price. That quantity provides sufficient fuel to heat 70,000 apartments, covering 200,000 New Yorkers, for the entire winter (New York Daily News, September 21, 2006). It has also been reported that Chavez is sending heating oil to poor, remote villages in Alaska. Some have questioned the motives of this generosity. Legislative leaders in Maine have asked that state's governor to refuse the subsidised oil,<ref>Adams, Glenn. '']'' (21 September 2006).</ref> and ] criticized his offer by calling him an "oil pimp."<ref> ''New York Daily News'' (21 September 2006).</ref> | |||
In mid 2010, tons of rotten food supplies imported during Chávez's government through subsidies of state-owned enterprise ] were found. Due to the scandal, PDVAL started being administrated by the ] and afterwards by the Alimentation Ministry.<ref name="great">{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/epa/article/ALeqM5hGxTMTytdWbdjg85kySFN_Z4ZBZQ|title=Unos 170 millones de kilos de alimentos importados por Venezuela se han vencido, afirma la oposición|access-date=31 July 2010|publisher=]|date=31 July 2010|work=]|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100804174844/http://www.google.com/hostednews/epa/article/ALeqM5hGxTMTytdWbdjg85kySFN_Z4ZBZQ|archive-date=4 August 2010}}</ref> Three former managers were detained,<ref name="elnacional20100729">{{cite web|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/www/site/p_contenido.php?q=nodo/147369/Nacional/Audiencia-preliminar-por-caso-Pdval-ser%C3%A1-el-10-de-agosto|title=Audiencia preliminar por caso PDVAL será el 10 de agosto|author=Agencia Venezolana de Noticias|date=1 August 2010|website=]|language=es|access-date=29 July 2010|author-link=Agencia Venezolana de Noticias}}{{dead link|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/www/site/p_contenido.php?q=nodo%2F147369%2FNacional%2FAudiencia-preliminar-por-caso-Pdval-ser%C3%A1-el-10-de-agosto|bot=InternetArchiveBot|date=March 2019}}</ref> but were released afterwards<ref name="elmundo20111106">{{cite web|url=http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/petroleo/pdvsa/los-tres-acusados-por-el-caso-pdval-seran-enjuicia.aspx|title=Los tres acusados por el caso PDVAL serán enjuiciados en libertad condicional|last=García Mora|first=Ileana|date=6 November 2011|website=]|access-date=14 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522213123/http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/petroleo/pdvsa/los-tres-acusados-por-el-caso-pdval-seran-enjuicia.aspx|archive-date=22 May 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> and two of them had their positions restored.<ref name="ultimasnoticias20120514">{{cite web|url=http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/imputados-de-pdval-volvieron-a-sus-cargos-en-pdvsa.aspx|title=Imputados de PDVAL volvieron a sus cargos en Pdvsa|date=14 May 2012|website=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712120057/http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/imputados-de-pdval-volvieron-a-sus-cargos-en-pdvsa.aspx|archive-date=12 July 2012|access-date=17 May 2012}}</ref> In July 2010, official estimates stated that 130,000 tons of food supplies were affected, while the political opposition informed of 170,000 tons.<ref name="great" /> As of 2012, any advances in the investigations by the ] were unknown.<ref name="globovision20120515">{{cite web|url=http://globovision.com/news.php?nid=230805|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411005550/http://globovision.com/news.php?nid=230805|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 April 2013|title=Rechazan incluir en orden del día caso de alimentos descompuestos de PDVAL|last=Ackerman|first=Sasha|date=15 May 2012|website=]|access-date=17 May 2012}}</ref> The most accepted explanation of the loss of food supplies is the organization of PDVAL, because the food network allegedly imported supplies faster than what it could distribute them. The opposition considers the affair as a corrupt case and spokespeople have assured that the public officials deliberately imported more food that could be distributed to embezzle funds through the import of subsidized supplies.<ref name="bbcresumen">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/economia/2010/06/100608_venezuela_escandalo_alimentos_lr.shtml|title=Venezuela: escándalo por alimentos vencidos|author=Valery, Yolanda|date=8 June 2010|work=]|language=es|access-date=29 July 2010}}</ref> | |||
== Impact of Presidency == | |||
=== Domestic policy === | |||
{{Bolivarian Missions Infobox 1}} | |||
{{see also|Bolivarian Missions}} | |||
Chávez's domestic policy relies heavily on the "]," a series of political campaigns aimed at radically altering the economic and cultural landscape of Venezuela. | |||
In order to ensure that his ] became socially ingrained in Venezuela, Chávez discussed his wish to stand for re-election when his term ran out in 2013, and spoke of ruling beyond 2030.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chávez dice que seguirá en el poder hasta 2030 |url=https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/internacionales/Chavez-dice-que-seguira-en-el-poder-hasta-2030-20111001-0037.html |access-date=26 December 2022 |website=] |date=October 2011 |language=es}}</ref> Under the 1999 constitution, he could not legally stand for re-election again, and so brought about a ] to abolish the two-term limit for all public offices, including the presidency. Approximately 70% of the Venezuelan electorate voted, and they approved this alteration to the constitution with over 54% in favor, allowing any elected official the chance to try to run indefinitely.{{sfn|Carroll|2009}}<ref>{{Cite news|last=Forero |first=Juan |date=16 February 2009 |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/15/AR2009021500136.html |title= Chávez Wins Removal of Term Limits |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> | |||
The "Bolivarian Missions" have entailed the launching of government anti-] initiatives,<ref>Niemeyer, p. 36. "The World Bank asserted on 7th October 2003 that Latin America's biggest issue is the fight against poverty. The ] seems to be the only process worldwide which is taking this problem seriously and is effectively tackling poverty with government programs. The financing of these programs by spending a good portion of the Nation's ] (0.2% in August 2003 alone) ... "</ref><ref>UNICEF. (UNICEF, 2005). . Retrieved 15 Oct 2005. UNICEF, p. 2. "''Barrio Adentro'' ... is part and parcel of the government's longterm poverty-reduction and social inclusion strategy to achieve and surpass the Millennium Development Goals."</ref> the construction of thousands of free medical clinics for the poor,<ref>Kuiper, Jeroen. (''Venezuela Analysis'', 28 Jul 2005). | |||
. Retrieved 18 October 2005. "After spreading primary health care through the ''Mision Barrio Adentro'' all over Venezuela in just two years, by constructing thousands of ''consultorios'' (doctor's offices) ... "</ref> the institution of educational campaigns that have reportedly made more than one million adult Venezuelans literate,<ref>Niemeyer, pp. 14-15. "With high levels of illiteracy to be found amongst the population the alphabetisation campaign called 'Mission Robinson' was brought into action. It has already taught more than a million people how to read and write and gained widespread support. Older people participate while youngsters enjoy access to University through a program guaranteeing equal access to Universities. This program is referred to as 'Mission Sucre'."</ref><ref>Burbach, Roger. (''CounterPunch'', 7 Nov 2005). . Retrieved 08 Nov 2005.</ref> and the enactment of food<ref>Niemeyer, p. 15. "Probably the most important achievement can be seen in the state run supermarkets, referred to as 'Mercal' which provide the basic necessities at affordable prices which are in many cases more than 30 percent cheaper than in regular shops."</ref> and housing subsidies.<ref>''Venezuela Analysis'', . " ... government is investing $2.8 billion in the housing program ... According to a report that Julio Montes, the Minister of Housing and Habitat, presented, only 43,000 homes had been constructed so far this year, while the government’s goal is to construct at least 120,000."</ref> There have been marked improvements in the infant mortality rate between 1998 and 2006.<ref>Central Intelligence Agency. (CIA, 1998). ''''. Retrieved 18 Oct 2005.</ref><ref name=CIA2005>Central Intelligence Agency. (CIA, 2005). ''''. Retrieved 22 July 2006.</ref> The government earmarked 44.6% of the 2007 budget for social investment, with 1999-2007 averaging 12.8% of GDP.<ref name=Merentez>''Perdomo,Eucaris'' (''Panorama'' 24 Oct 2006). {{es_icon}} Retrieved 24 Oct 2006</ref> | |||
], Bolivia's ], Brazil's ] and Ecuador's ])]] | |||
The Missions have overseen widespread experimentation in what Chávez supporters term citizen- and worker-managed governance,<ref>Albert, Michael ('' Z Communications'', 06 Nov 2005). . Retrieved 12 Nov 2005.</ref><ref>Ellsworth, Brian. (''New York Times'', 3 Aug 2005). . Retrieved 12 Nov 2005.</ref> as well as the granting of thousands of free land titles, reportedly to formerly landless poor and indigenous communities.<ref>Wilpert, Gregory. (''Venezuela Analysis'', 12 Sep 2005). . Retrieved 18 Oct 2005. " ... the celebration of the handing out of over 10,000 land titles to families living in Venezuela's poorest urban neighborhoods ... As of mid 2005, the National Technical Office has issued over 84,000 titles to 126,000 families, benefiting about 630,000 barrio inhabitants."</ref> Several allegedly unused estates and factories have been expropriated to provide this land. | |||
===Fourth presidential term: 10 January 2013 – 5 March 2013=== | |||
On March 2006 the Communal Council Law was approved, whereby communities that decide to organize themselves into a council can be given official state recognition and access to federal funds and loans for community projects. This skips the local and state governments that are perceived as corrupt.<ref>''Conexion social''. (Conexion social, 2006). . Retrieved June 9, 2006.</ref> | |||
{{Further|Immediate Mobilization Networks}} | |||
On 7 October 2012, Chávez won election as president for a fourth time, his third six-year term. He defeated ] with 54% of the votes versus 45% for Capriles, which was a lower victory margin than in his previous presidential wins, in the ].<ref name=extend/><ref name="APFox2012">{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/10/07/venezuelan-president-hugo-chavez-wins-another-6-year-term-electoral-council/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008034702/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/10/07/venezuelan-president-hugo-chavez-wins-another-6-year-term-electoral-council/|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 October 2012|title=Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez wins another 6-year term, electoral council says|date=8 October 2012|work=]|access-date=30 December 2012}}</ref> Turnout in the election was 80%, with a hotly contested election between the two candidates.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/world/americas/venezuela-presidential-election.html?hp |title= Chávez Wins a Third Term in Venezuela Amid Historically High Turnout |publisher= NYT |date= 7 October 2012 |access-date=8 October 2012 |first=William |last=Neuman}}</ref> There was significant support for Chávez amongst the Venezuelan lower class. Chávez's opposition blamed him for unfairly using state funds to spread largesse before the election to bolster Chavez's support among his primary electoral base, the lower class.<ref name="APFox2012" /> | |||
=== Labor policy === | |||
] | |||
Chávez has had a combative relationship with the nation's largest ] confederation, the ] (CTV), which is historically aligned with the ] 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 ] (ILO) and ] (ICFTU) as undue interference in internal union matters, passed by a large margin on a very low electoral turnout. In the ensuing CTV elections, ] declared his victory and remained in office as CTV president, while '']'' (pro-Chávez) candidates declared fraud. | |||
The inauguration of Chávez's new term was scheduled for 10 January 2013, but as he was undergoing medical treatment at the time in ], he was not able to return to Venezuela for that date. The National Assembly president ] proposed to postpone the inauguration and the Supreme Court decided that, being just another term of the sitting president and not the inauguration of a new one, the formality could be bypassed. The ] opposed the verdict, stating that the constitution must be respected, and the Venezuelan government had not been transparent regarding details about Chávez's health.<ref>{{cite news |title=Church warns Venezuela govt on constitution |agency=] |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20130107-church-warns-venezuela-govt-constitution |newspaper=France 24 |date=7 January 2013 |access-date=8 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111082713/http://www.france24.com/en/20130107-church-warns-venezuela-govt-constitution |archive-date=11 January 2013}}</ref> | |||
The '']'' (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. | |||
Acting executive officials produced orders of government signed by Chávez, which were suspected of forgery by some opposition politicians, who claimed that Chávez was too sick to be in control of his faculties. ], recently dismissed from the office of ]nian ambassador to the ], even claimed that Chávez had been ] since 31 December 2012.<ref name="univision">{{cite web | url=http://noticias.univision.com/america-latina/venezuela/hugo-chavez/noticias/article/2013-02-27/nuevos-rumores-sobre-muerte-de-hugo-chavez | title=Nuevos rumores de muerte para Hugo Chávez | publisher=Univision Communications Inc. | date=27 February 2013 | access-date=28 February 2013 | language=es | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228000713/http://noticias.univision.com/america-latina/venezuela/hugo-chavez/noticias/article/2013-02-27/nuevos-rumores-sobre-muerte-de-hugo-chavez | archive-date=28 February 2013}}</ref><ref name="PanARMENIAN">{{cite web | url=http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/147881/ | title=Former envoy claims Venezuela's Chávez is dead | publisher=PanArmenian.Net | date=28 February 2013 | access-date=28 February 2013}}</ref> | |||
Further augmenting state involvement in Venezuela's economy, Chávez ] Venepal, a formerly closed paper and cardboard manufacturing firm, on ], ]. 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. | |||
Due to the ], Vice President ] took over the presidential powers and duties for the remainder of Chávez's abbreviated term until presidential elections were held. Venezuela's constitution specifies that the speaker of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, should assume the interim presidency if a president cannot be sworn in.<ref>{{cite news|title=Even after death, Hugo Chavez gets his choice of successor|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/06/even-after-death-hugo-chavez-gets-his-choice-of-successor/|access-date=6 March 2013|newspaper=National Post}}</ref> Maduro remains in power as president as of 2024. | |||
Under Chávez, Venezuela has also instituted worker-run "co-management" initiatives, in which worker councils are the cornerstone of the management of a plant or factory. In co-management experiments such as at the Alcasa factory, both workers and strategists take part in management discussions and decisions, amid reams of statistics, charts sketched on white boards, and scale models. One representative is elected from each department or sector to work with the company executives.<ref>Bruce, Iain. BBC News. (17 August 2005). Accessed 22 September 2006.</ref> | |||
==Political ideology== | |||
=== Economic policy === | |||
{{see also|Socialism of the 21st century}}Chávez was described as a leftist, with one journal stating that he was "billed as the hemisphere’s second leftist leader after Cuba’s Fidel Castro."<ref></ref> In a 1996 interview, Chávez stated “I am not Marxist, but I am not anti-Marxist. I am not communist, but I am not anti-communist.” In 1999, Chávez told the ''New York Times'' that “If you are attempting to determine whether Chavez is of the left, right, or center, if he is socialist, Communist, or capitalist, well, I am none of those, but I have a bit of all of those.”<ref>Hugo! The Hugo Chávez Story from Mud Hut to Perpetual Revolution By Bart Jones, 2009</ref> In a 1998 interview, Chávez stated that "I am not a socialist. I believe that today's world, Latin America and the world to come require a leap forward. We are going beyond socialism and even savage capitalism."<ref name="bbc.com"></ref> | |||
] | |||
=== Opposition to capitalism and neoliberalism === | |||
Venezuela is a major producer of oil products, which remain the keystone of the Venezuelan economy. Chávez has gained a reputation as a price hawk in ], pushing for stringent enforcement of production quotas and higher target oil prices. At a June 2006 meeting, Venezuela was the only OPEC country calling for lowered production to drive oil prices higher. Industry analysts say Venezuela wants lower quotas because, under Chávez's administration, the output of ] (PDVSA), Venezuela's state-owned oil company, has been reduced by 25% and Venezuela cannot meet its current quota.<ref name=EconForPol>The Economist, (June 8, 2006), ''The Economist,'' Accessed 20 June 2006.</ref> However, '']'' argues that some oil production numbers are politically motivated, intended to discredit the Venezuelan industry.<ref>''Oxford Analytica''. (''Forbes'' 16 Jun 2006). Retrieved 27 Jun 2006</ref> Nonetheless, Chávez has attempted to broaden Venezuela's customer base, striking joint exploration deals with other developing countries, including ], ], ] and ]. Record oil prices have meant more funding for social programs, but have left the economy increasingly dependent on both the Chávez government and the oil sector; the private sector's role has correspondingly diminished. | |||
{{Quote box | |||
| width = 246px | |||
Chávez has redirected the focus of PDVSA by bringing it more closely under the direction of the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. 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, ]. The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has been successful in restructuring Citgo's profit structure,<ref>Ramirez, Rafael. (Minister of Energy and Petroleum, 25 May 2005). . ''VenezuelaAnalysis.'' Retrieved 31 Oct 2005.</ref> resulting in large increases in dividends and income taxes from PDVSA. Even with high oil prices the Venezuelan government for the first time recieved more income from taxation than the oil industry.<ref name=Merentes /> | |||
| align = right | |||
| quote = Democracy is impossible in a capitalist system. Capitalism is the realm of injustice and a tyranny of the richest against the poorest. ] said, 'Between the powerful and the weak all freedom is oppressed. Only the rule of law sets you free.' That's why the only way to save the world is through socialism, a democratic socialism ... , it's much more than that, it's a way of life, it's giving power to the people ... it is not the government of the rich over the people, which is what's happening in almost all the so-called democratic Western capitalist countries. | |||
| source = —Hugo Chávez, June 2010<ref name="Hard Talk"/> | |||
}} | |||
Both before and during his presidency, Chávez spoke out against "savage capitalism," neoliberal capitalism and simply capitalism in various speeches. During his first electoral campaign, as noted by one observer, Chávez made clear his rejection of what he called "savage capitalism," using the words of ]. Chávez wanted greater state intervention in the economy, but “built bridges to the private sector to promote the development of national industry.” According to Eduardo Semtei, a political scientist considered close to the ideas of Chavez, "From the beginning he had the idea that the classic capitalist model is a model contrary to the development of society."<ref></ref> | |||
In 1999, Chávez argued that a new constitution drafted by an assembly packed with his allies would distance Venezuela from "savage capitalism."<ref></ref> He reiterated this position on 28 September 2001, when Chavez spoke negatively of neoliberal capitalism and the economic measures of the ], {{Ill|El Gran Viraje|lt=El Gran Viraje|es}}, one of the causes of the ] riots.<ref></ref> | |||
In various interviews conducted in 2002, Chávez shared his views on capitalism, saying that the Bolivarian Revolution was an alternative to neoliberalism, saying that capitalism was "sown ... in the marrow" of Venezuela and the rest of the world, stating that his revolution and its missions were more humane.<ref name="marxists.org"></ref> Ultimately, Chávez said that the Bolivarian Revolution was "an alternative economy to dehumanized capitalism."<ref name="marxists.org"/> | |||
In 2003, Chávez argued that the Soviet Union disappeared when it failed in its efforts to dismantle "the devastating logic of capital," stating that it is the "alternative model" that he promoted was the one now confronting "neoliberalism and savage capitalism."<ref></ref> While at the World Social Forum on 26 January 2003, Chávez criticized the idea that capitalism and neoliberalism "won" following the ], saying that some individuals raised "the thesis of single thinking, there are no more alternatives, ... socialism is over, and communism is over and long live neoliberal capitalism and all this fairy tale."<ref name="web.archive.org"></ref> | |||
Chávez noted in a 2005 interview that "At one time I came to think about the Third Way. I was having trouble interpreting the world. I was confused ... I spoke and wrote a lot about 'human capitalism'. Today I am convinced that it is impossible ... I became convinced that socialism is the way."<ref name="bbc.com" /> | |||
Chávez arguably did not fully talk openly about the ] until 3 December 2006, during a speech after his reelection in the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Torres |first=Ana Teresa |author-link=Ana Teresa Torres |url=https://www.anateresatorres.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LA-HERENCIA-DE-LA-TRIBU.pdf |title=La Herencia de la Tribu |publisher=Alfa |year=2009 |isbn=978-9803542849 |pages=146–147 |language=es |quote=Con diferentes matices estas ambigüedades del discurso se mantuvieron hasta el triunfo en la reelección presidencial de 2006, siendo su contrincante Manuel Rosales, gobernador del estado Zulia. En el discurso del 3 de diciembre, desde el llamado «Balcón del Pueblo» del Palacio de Miraflores, el socialismo apareció expuesto con toda claridad.}}</ref> | |||
===Marxism and socialism=== | |||
Chávez's connection to ] was a complex one, though he had described himself as a Marxist on some occasions.<ref name="en.ria.ru">{{cite web |date=16 January 2010 |title=Hugo Chavez admits to being Marxist, just like Christ | World | RIA Novosti |url=http://en.ria.ru/world/20100116/157569985.html |access-date=19 May 2014 |publisher=En.ria.ru}}</ref><ref name="BBCmarx" /><ref name="N24marx" /><ref name="ABCmarx" /><ref name="CLARINmarx" /> In May 1996, he gave an interview with {{ill|Agustín Blanco Muñoz|es}} in which he remarked, "I am not a Marxist, but I am not anti-Marxist. I am not communist, but I am not anti-communist."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Marcano |first1=Cristina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pbAe2wmXSrgC&q=I+am+not+a+Marxist |title=Hugo Chavez |last2=Tyszka |first2=Alberto Barrera |date=2007-08-14 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-58836-650-4 |language=en}}</ref> In a 2009 speech to the national assembly, he said: "I am a Marxist to the same degree as the followers of the ideas of Jesus Christ and the liberator of America, ]".<ref name="en.ria.ru" /> He was well versed in many Marxist texts, having read the works of many Marxist theoreticians, and often publicly quoted them. Various international Marxists supported his government, believing it to be a sign of proletariat revolution as predicted in ].<ref>See for instance ] and ].</ref> In 2010, Hugo Chávez proclaimed support for the ] of Marxist ], saying "When I called him (former Minister of Labour, ])" Chávez explained, "he said to me: 'President I want to tell you something before someone else tells you ... I am a Trotskyist', and I said, 'well, what is the problem? I am also a Trotskyist! I follow Trotsky's line, that of permanent revolution", and then cited ] and ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Malinarich |first=Nathalie |date=10 January 2007 |title=Chávez accelerates on path to socialism |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6246219.stm |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Martin |first=Jorge |date=12 January 2007 |title="What is the problem? I am also a Trotskyist!" – Chavez is sworn in as president of Venezuela |url=http://www.marxist.com/chavez-trotskyist-president120107.htm |website=In Defense of Marxism}}</ref> | |||
Chávez also noted his identification with socialism, noting that "The Constitution speaks that the socioeconomic regime of Venezuela must have a strong cooperative and associative content and that gives it a charge that breaks with individualism and neoliberalism, which gives a strong socialist content to the project. In that direction we have to go all out. To cooperate is to socialize the economy, to give it a social content. I am sure that in Puerto Cruz, agricultural cooperatives will emerge."<ref></ref> Later in his presidency Chávez promoted the ]. His approach was more heavily influenced by the theories of ], Michael Lebowitz and ], who was Chávez's adviser between 2004 and 2011, rather than by those of ].{{citation needed|date=February 2024}} | |||
===Bolivarianism=== | |||
{{Main|Bolivarianism|Bolivarian Circles}} | |||
] provided a basis for Chávez's political ideas]] | |||
Hugo Chávez defined his political position as ], an ideology he developed from that of ] (1783–1830) and others. Bolívar was a 19th-century general who led the fight against the ] Spanish authorities and who is widely revered across Latin America today. Along with Bolívar, the other two primary influences upon Bolivarianism are ] (1769–1854), a philosopher who was Bolívar's tutor and mentor, and ], (1817–1860), the Venezuelan Federalist general.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cameron |first=Maxwell |year=2001 |title=Venezuela's Hugo Chávez: Savior or Threat to Democracy? |journal=Latin American Research Review |volume=36 |issue=3 |page=263 |doi=10.1017/S0023879100019270 |issn=0023-8791 |s2cid=252749214 |doi-access=free}}. Online at </ref>{{primary source inline|date=August 2022}} The fact that Chávez's ideology originated from Bolívar has also received some criticism because Chávez had occasionally described himself as being influenced by ], a critic of Bolívar.<ref name="marx">{{cite web| url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1858/01/bolivar.htm| title=Bolivar y Ponte| date=1858| first=Karl| last=Marx| author-link=Karl Marx| publisher=marxists.org| access-date=18 August 2010}} First published in the New American Cyclopedia, Vol. III, 1858.</ref>{{primary source inline|date=August 2022}}<ref name="MARXbolivar">{{cite book|last1=Beddow|first1=D. Méndez|last2=Thibodeaux|first2=Sam J.|title=Gangrillas : the unspoken pros and cons of legalizing drugs|date=2010|publisher=Trafford on Demand Pub|location=|isbn=978-1426948466|page=29}}</ref> Beddow and Thibodeaux noted the complications between Bolívar and Marx, stating that "escribing Bolivar as a socialist warrior in the class struggle, when he was actually member of the aristocratic 'criollos', is peculiar when considering Karl Marx's own writings on Bolivar, whom he dismissed as a false liberator who merely sought to preserve the power of the old Creole nobility which he belonged".<ref name="MARXbolivar" />{{primary source inline|date=August 2022}} | |||
===Other influences=== | |||
Chávez's early heroes were nationalist military dictators that included former Peruvian president ] and former Panamanian "Maximum Leader" ].<ref name=ECONmarch2013>{{cite news|title=Venezuela after Chávez Now for the reckoning|url=https://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21573095-after-14-years-oil-fuelled-autocracy-hugo-chávezs-successors-will-struggle-keep|access-date=23 December 2014|agency=The Economist|date=9 March 2013}}</ref> One dictator Chávez admired was ], a former president of Venezuela that he praised for the public works he performed.<ref name=Carroll193/> Chávez praised Pérez Jiménez in order to vilify preceding democratic governments, stating that "General Pérez Jiménez was the best president Venezuela had in a long time ... He was much better than ], much better than all of those others. They hated him because he was a soldier."<ref name=Carroll193/> | |||
Chávez was also well acquainted with the various traditions of Latin American socialism, espoused by such figures as Colombian politician ]<ref name="coanews.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.coanews.org/article/2007/wall-street-journal-claims-chavez-oil-policy-aims-to-weaken-us |title=Wall Street Journal Claims Chávez Oil Policy "Aims to Weaken US" |first=Stephen |last=Lendman |work=COA News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430200239/http://coanews.org/article/2007/wall-street-journal-claims-chavez-oil-policy-aims-to-weaken-us |archive-date=30 April 2009}}</ref> and former Chilean president ].<ref name="coanews.org"/> Early in his presidency, Chávez was advised and influenced by the Argentine Peronist ].<ref name=ECONmarch2013/> ] ] and ] also influenced Chávez, especially with Castro's government assistance with the Bolivarian Missions.<ref name=ECONmarch2013/><ref name="coanews.org"/> | |||
Chávez also spoke admiringly of ], stating in a 2005 speech, stating "we must remember that thought of Gandhi that reflects a deep respect for himself, for his own country, for a healthy nationalism" and expressed support for what he said was Gandhi's espousal of being anti-capitalist, anti-colonialist and anti-imperialist.<ref name=":8"></ref> During the same speech, Chávez also expressed influence from ], noting he was a main figure of the ], with Chávez citing his leadership as an inspiration "of the need, of brotherhood and solidarity among the peoples of the Third World. The need to unite to defend the interests of our people, of poor people against the abuse of rich people."<ref name=":8" /> | |||
Other indirect influences on Chávez's political philosophy are the Gospel teachings of ].<ref>, Robin Lustig, BBC News, Paris</ref><ref>, 10 January 2007, '']''.</ref> Other inspirations of Chávez's political view are ],<ref>{{in lang|it}} </ref> ] and ].<ref>{{in lang|it}} </ref><ref>{{cite news|author= Redazione Il Fatto Quotidiano|url=http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2011/03/18/nord-africa-lotte-francesi-antiberlusconismo-in-300-a-lezione-da-toni-negri/98408/| title=North Africa, french fightings, anti-Berlusconi. 300 at Toni Negri's lesson|publisher=] |date=18 March 2011 |language=it}}</ref><ref>''Understanding the Venezuelan Revolution: Hugo Chavez Talks to Marta Harnecker'', New York: Monthly Review, 2005</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Cotroneo |last=Rocco|url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2007/agosto/17/Chavez_preme_sul_pedale_del_co_9_070817090.shtml| title=Chávez insists for socialism|access-date=22 August 2011|publisher=Corriere della Sera.it|date=17 August 2007|language=it}}</ref> | |||
====Promotion of conspiracy theories==== | |||
In September 2006, Chávez said ] were "not absurd" and that "a building never collapses like that, unless it's with an implosion".<ref>{{cite news|title=Chavez says U.S. may have orchestrated 9/11|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna13401534|work=msnbc.com|date=12 September 2006|language=en}}</ref> Chávez also told ] that he did not believe that the footage of the ].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hitchens|first1=Christopher|title=Hugo Boss|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2010/08/hugo_boss.html|work=Slate|date=2 August 2010}}</ref> | |||
==Policy overview== | |||
===Economic and social policy=== | |||
{{See also|Economic policy of the Hugo Chávez administration|Economy of Venezuela}} | |||
] | |||
] is in billions of ] that has been adjusted for inflation<br /> '''Sources''': ], ] | |||
]] | |||
From his election in 1998 until his death in March 2013, Chávez's administration proposed and enacted ] ]. The social programs were designed to be short-term, though after seeing political success as their result, Chávez made the efforts central to his administration and often overspent outside of Venezuela's budget.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=El ocaso del chavismo: Venezuela 2005–2015|last=López Maya|first=Margarita|year=2016|isbn=9788417014254|pages=354–355|publisher=Editorial Alfa }}</ref> | |||
Due to increasing oil prices in the early 2000s which raised funds not seen in Venezuela since the 1980s, Chávez created the ], aimed at providing public services to improve economic, cultural, and social conditions,<ref name="p. 54">{{cite web|url=http://www.ops-oms.org.ve/site/pwr/docs/CCS_MS_OPS-OMS.pdf|title=Estrategia de Cooperación de OPS/OMS con Venezuela 2006–2008|date=June 2006|publisher=]|pages=|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061024054050/http://www.ops-oms.org.ve/site/pwr/docs/CCS_MS_OPS-OMS.pdf|archive-date=24 October 2006|access-date=31 December 2006}}</ref><ref name="http">{{cite news|url=http://www.eluniversal.com/2006/11/10/eco_art_64504A.shtml|title=Banco de la Vivienda transfirió 66 millardos para subsidios|date=10 November 2006|newspaper=]|access-date=29 December 2006|language=es}}</ref><ref name="Barreiro C">{{cite news|url=http://www.eluniversal.com/2006/03/04/eco_art_04206A.shtml|title=Mercal es 34% más barato|last=Barreiro C.|first=Raquel|date=4 March 2006|newspaper=]|access-date=29 December 2006|language=es}}</ref><ref name=FTWD>{{cite book |last1=Heritage |first1=Andrew |title=Financial Times World Desk Reference |date=December 2002 |publisher=] |isbn=9780789488053 |pages=618–21|title-link=Financial Times }}</ref> using these populist policies in order to maintain political power.<ref name="CHOSUN2">{{Cite news|url=http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2018/05/02/2018050201490.html|script-title=ko:화폐경제 무너졌는데…최저임금 인상에 목매는 베네수엘라|last=남민우|first=기|date=2 May 2018|work=]|access-date=22 May 2018|language=ko|quote=''Venezuela's fall is considered to be mainly caused by the populist policy ... Venezuela, for decades, has increased the number of public sector employees and has promoted populist support to maintain the regime''}}</ref><ref name="FPmarch2013" /><ref name=STRATexpensive>{{cite web|title=Venezuela's Expensive Friendships|url=https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/venezuelas-expensive-friendships|website=]|access-date=20 January 2016}}</ref> According to Corrales and Penfold, "aid was disbursed to ''some'' of the poor, and more gravely, in a way that ended up helping the president and his allies and cronies more than anyone else".<ref name="DRAGONp5">{{cite book|last1=Corrales|first1=Javier|last2=Penfold|first2=Michael|title=Dragon in the Tropics: The Legacy of Hugo Chávez|date=2 April 2015|publisher=]|isbn=978-0815725930|page=5}}</ref> The Missions, which were directly overseen by Chávez and often linked to his political campaigns,<ref name=":0" /> entailed the construction of thousands of free medical clinics for the poor<ref name="p. 54"/> and the enactment of food<ref name="Barreiro C"/> and housing subsidies.<ref name="http"/> The quality of life of Venezuelans had also improved temporarily according to a UN Index.<ref name="UN">Charlie Devereux & Raymond Colitt. 7 March 2013. {{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-07/venezuelans-quality-of-life-improved-in-un-index-under-chavez.html |title=Venezuelans' Quality of Life Improved in UN Index Under Chavez |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |access-date=7 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107050220/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-07/venezuelans-quality-of-life-improved-in-un-index-under-chavez.html |archive-date=7 November 2014 |url-status=unfit }}</ref> ] wrote that Chávez's popularity strongly depended "on the lower classes who have benefited from these health initiatives and similar policies".<ref>]. ''A History of Modern Latin America: 1800 to the Present'' (Oxford 2010), p. 313.</ref> Following elections, social programs saw less attention from the government and their overall effectiveness decreased.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
The ], a measure of ], dropped from .495 in 1998 to .39 in 2011, putting Venezuela behind only Canada in the Western Hemisphere.<ref name=unstable>{{cite news |title=Chavez leaves Venezuelan economy more equal, less stable |first=Kevin |last=Voigt |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/06/business/venezuela-chavez-oil-economy/ |publisher=CNN |date=6 March 2013 |access-date=6 March 2013}}</ref> 95% of Venezuelans aged 15 and older could also read and write,<ref>], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811111154/http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=121&IF_Language=eng&BR_Country=8620 |date=11 August 2011 }}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=January 2023}} though some scholars have disputed the claim that literacy improvements during Chavez's presidency resulted from his administration's policies.<ref>{{cite news |title=Propaganda, not policy |url=http://www.economist.com/node/10766504 |access-date=3 May 2014 |newspaper=The Economist|date=28 February 2008}}</ref> The poverty rate fell from 48.6% in 1999 to 32.1% in 2013, according to the Venezuelan government's National Statistics Institute (INE).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ine.gov.ve/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=104&Itemid=45#|website=Instituto Nacional de Estadística|access-date=20 January 2016|format=xls|title=Hogares pobres por ingreso, 1er semestre 1997-1er semestre 2015|language=es|trans-title=Poor households by income, 1997-1er semester 1st semester 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120727181241/http://www.ine.gov.ve/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=104&Itemid=45|archive-date=27 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The drop of Venezuela's poverty rate compared to ] was slightly behind that of Peru, Brazil and Panama<ref name=5waysFUSION>{{cite news |last=Keppel |first=Stephen |title=5 Ways Hugo Chavez Has Destroyed the Venezuelan Economy |url=http://fusion.net/abc_univision/news/story/ways-chavez-destroyed-venezuelan-economy-16104 |access-date=21 April 2014 |newspaper=Fusion |date=17 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140919223723/http://fusion.net/abc_univision/news/story/ways-chavez-destroyed-venezuelan-economy-16104 |archive-date=19 September 2014}}</ref> with the poverty rate becoming higher than the Latin American average in 2013 according to the UN.<ref name="CSM25march">{{cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2015/0325/Venezuela-Does-an-increase-in-poverty-signal-threat-to-government|title=Venezuela: Does an increase in poverty signal threat to government?|last1=Gallagher|first1=J. J.|date=25 March 2015|access-date=29 March 2015|agency=]}}</ref> In the two years following Chávez's death, the poverty rate returned to where it had been before his presidency,<ref name=CSM25march/> with a 2017 ] analysis stating that "reductions in poverty and inequality during the Chávez years were real, but somewhat superficial ... structural poverty and inequality, such as the quality of housing, neighborhoods, education, and employment, remained largely unchanged".<ref name=NACLAcrimeREV/> | |||
Chávez's populist policies eventually led to a severe socioeconomic crisis in Venezuela.<ref name="CHOSUN2"/> The social works initiated by Chávez's government relied on ], the keystone of the Venezuelan economy, with Chávez's administration suffering from ] as a result.<ref name=FPmarch2013/><ref name=USVEN>{{cite book |last1=Corrales |first1=Javier |last2=Romero |first2=Carlos |title=U.S.–Venezuela relations since the 1990s : coping with mid-level security threats |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=978-0415895248 |pages=79–81}}</ref> In 2012, the World Bank also explained that Venezuela's economy was "extremely vulnerable" to changes in oil prices since in 2012 "96% of the country's exports and nearly half of its fiscal revenue" relied on oil production, while by 2008, according to '']'', exports of everything but oil "collapsed".<ref name=FPmarch2013/><ref>{{cite web |title=Venezuela Overview |url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/venezuela/overview |publisher=World Bank |access-date=13 April 2014}}</ref> The Chávez administration then spent governmental proceeds from the high oil prices on his populist policies to gain the approval of voters.<ref name=FPmarch2013/><ref name=FTWD/> | |||
Economists say that the Venezuelan government's overspending on social programs and strict business policies caused to imbalances in the country's economy, contributing to rising inflation, poverty, low healthcare spending and ] going into the final years of his presidency.<ref name="UN"/><ref name="ELPAISfeb2015" /><ref name=FTWD/><ref>{{cite web |title=Health expenditure, total (% of GDP) |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.TOTL.ZS |website=] |access-date=19 May 2015}}</ref> Such occurrences, especially the risk of ] and the unfriendliness toward private businesses, led to a lack of foreign investment and stronger foreign currencies,<ref name=STRATexpensive/> though the Venezuelan government argued that the private sector had remained relatively unchanged during Chavez's presidency despite several nationalizations.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/9179275 |title=Despite Chávez, Venezuela economy not socialist |last=James |first=Ian |date=19 July 2010 |work=The Guardian |access-date=17 November 2012 |location=London}}</ref> In January 2013 near the end of Chávez's presidency, ] and '']'' gave Venezuela's economic freedom a score of 36.1, down from 56.1 in 1999, ranking its freedom very low at 174th of 177 countries, with freedom on a downward trend.<ref>{{cite web |title=2013 Index of Economic Freedom |url=http://www.heritage.org/index/pdf/2013/book/index_2013.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415231306/http://www.heritage.org/index/pdf/2013/book/index_2013.pdf |archive-date=15 April 2013 |url-status=live |publisher=Heritage Foundation |access-date=2 April 2014}}</ref> According to some analysts, the economic problems Venezuela has suffered under President ] would likely have emerged even if Chávez had remained president.<ref name=WHARTON>{{cite web |title=Post-Chavez, Venezuela Enters a Downward Spiral |url=http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/post-chavez-venezuela-enters-downward-spiral/ |website=] |access-date=21 February 2015}}</ref> | |||
====Food and products==== | |||
In the 1980s and 1990s, health and nutrition indexes in Venezuela were generally low, and social inequality in access to nutrition was high.<ref>George W. Schuyler. 2002. Globalization and Health: Venezuela and Cuba | |||
Canadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue canadienne d'études du développement | |||
Vol. 23, Iss. 4,</ref> Chávez made it his stated goal to lower inequality in access to basic nutrition, and to achieve ] for Venezuela.<ref>Parker, Dick. 2005. Chávez and the Search for an Alternative to Neoliberalism. Latin American Perspectives 32:39 p. 36</ref> The main strategy for making food available to all economic classes was the controversial policy of creating fixed price ceilings for basic staple foods, which was implemented in 2003.<ref name="bloomberg1">{{cite news |last=Devereux |first=Charlie |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-22/chavez-activates-price-law-to-end-capitalist-speculation-1-.html |title=Chávez Activates Price Law to End Capitalist Speculation |publisher=Bloomberg.com |date=22 November 2011 |access-date=2 February 2013}}</ref> Between 1998 and 2006, malnutrition related deaths fell by 50%.<ref>Derham, Michael. 2010 Politics in Venezuela: Explaining Hugo Chávez. Peter Lang. p. 296.</ref> Chávez also ]d and ] 5 million acres of farmland from large landowners.<ref>, Washington Post, 20 June 2009</ref> | |||
] store]] | |||
Price controls initiated by Chávez created product shortages since merchants could no longer afford to import necessary goods.<ref>{{cite news |title=Venezuelan food shortages bode ill for Chavez's re-election |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-08-12/hugo-chavez-venezuela-food-shortages/57021168/1 |access-date=9 October 2012 |newspaper=USA Today |date=13 August 2012 |archive-date=4 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204020223/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-08-12/hugo-chavez-venezuela-food-shortages/57021168/1 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=With Venezuelan Food Shortages, Some Blame Price Controls |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/world/americas/venezuela-faces-shortages-in-grocery-staples.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |access-date=9 October 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times|date=20 April 2012 |first=William |last=Neuman}}</ref> Chávez blamed "speculators and hoarders" for these scarcities<ref name="CNN Food">{{cite news|last=Romo |first=Rafael |title=Food shortages worry Venezuelans |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-12-13/americas/world_americas_venezuela-food-shortages_1_food-shortages-traditional-venezuelan-dish-guaicaipuro?_s=PM:AMERICAS |access-date=16 May 2012 |publisher=CNN |date=13 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401204443/http://articles.cnn.com/2011-12-13/americas/world_americas_venezuela-food-shortages_1_food-shortages-traditional-venezuelan-dish-guaicaipuro?_s=PM%3AAMERICAS |archive-date=1 April 2012 }}</ref> and strictly enforced his price control policy, denouncing anyone who sold food products for higher prices.<ref name="bloomberg1"/> In 2011, ] in Caracas were nine times higher than when the price controls were put in place and resulted in shortages of cooking oil, chicken, powdered milk, cheese, sugar and meat.<ref name=ECONfood>{{cite news |title=Venezuela's economy: Medieval policies |url=http://www.economist.com/node/21526365 |access-date=21 April 2014 |newspaper=The Economist|date=20 August 2011}}</ref> The price controls increased the demand for basic foods while making it difficult for Venezuela to import goods causing increased reliance on domestic production. Economists believe this policy increased shortages.<ref name="CNN Food"/><ref name="NYT Food">{{cite news |last=Neuman |first=William |title=With Venezuelan Food Shortages, Some Blame Price Controls |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/world/americas/venezuela-faces-shortages-in-grocery-staples.html?pagewanted=all |access-date=16 May 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=20 April 2012}}</ref> Shortages of food then occurred throughout the rest of Chávez's presidency with food shortage rates between 10% and 20% from 2010 to 2013.<ref name="ELUgraph">{{cite news|url=http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140213/el-ascenso-de-la-escasez|title=El ascenso de la escasez|date=13 February 2014|newspaper=El Universal|access-date=21 April 2014}}</ref> One possible reason for shortages is the relationship between inflation and subsidies, where a lack profitability due to price regulations affects operations. In turn, the lack of dollars made it difficult to purchase more food imports.<ref name="ByNfood">{{cite news|url=http://bancaynegocios.com/los-principales-causas-de-la-escasez-en-venezuela/|title=Las principales causas de la escasez en Venezuela|date=27 March 2014|newspaper=Banca & Negocios|access-date=21 April 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422232415/http://bancaynegocios.com/los-principales-causas-de-la-escasez-en-venezuela/|archive-date=22 April 2014}}</ref> Chávez's strategy in response to food shortages consisted of attempting to increase domestic production through nationalizing large parts of the food industry,{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} though such nationalizations allegedly did the opposite and caused decreased production instead.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Minaya |first1=Ezequiel |last2=Schaefer Muñoz |first2=Sara |title=Venezuela Confronts Retail Sector |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuela-confronts-retail-sector-1423528705 |access-date=1 March 2015 |work=]|date=9 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Empty shelves and rhetoric |url=https://www.economist.com/news/americas/21640395-government-offers-no-solutions-mounting-economic-crisis-empty-shelves-and-rhetoric |access-date=1 March 2015 |agency=]|date=24 January 2015}}</ref> | |||
As part of his strategy of food security Chávez started a national chain of supermarkets, the ], which had 16,600 outlets and 85,000 employees that distributed food at highly discounted prices, and ran 6,000 soup kitchens throughout the country.<ref name="FoodFight"/> Simultaneously Chávez expropriated many private supermarkets.<ref name="FoodFight">, Business Week, 11 March 2010</ref> The Mercal network was criticized by some commentators as being a part of Chávez's strategy to brand himself as a provider of cheap food, and the shops feature his picture prominently.{{According to whom|date = May 2015}} The Mercal network was also subject to frequent shortages of basic staples such as meat, milk and sugar—and when scarce products arrived, shoppers had to wait in lines.<ref name="FoodFight"/> | |||
====Communes==== | |||
After his election in 1998, more than 100,000 state-owned cooperatives—which claimed to represent some 1.5 million people—were formed with the assistance of government start-up credit and technical training.<ref name="vene-coop-rev">{{Cite journal |last1=Bowman |first1=Betsy |last2=Stone |first2=Bob |title=Venezuela's Cooperative Revolution |journal=Dollars and Sense |volume=15 |issue=266 |date=July–August 2006 |url=http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2006/0706bowmanstone.html}}</ref> | |||
The Venezuelan government often failed to construct the number of homes they had proposed.<ref name="EUhome"> ''El Universal'' (31 July 2006). {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411130530/http://english.eluniversal.com/2006/07/31/en_eco_art_31A756381.shtml |date=11 April 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Misión Vivienda incumplió 70% de su objetivo de 2014 |url=http://www.lapatilla.com/site/2014/12/30/mision-vivienda-incumplio-70-de-su-objetivo-de-2014/ |access-date=4 January 2015 |agency=La Patilla |date=30 December 2014}}</ref> According to Venezuela's '']'', one of the Chávez administration's outstanding failures was the inability to meet its goals of constructing housing.<ref name="EUhome" /> | |||
====Currency controls==== | |||
{{further|Economy of Venezuela#Currency Black Market}} | |||
] (VEF) compared to the ] (USD)</span><p style="color:#f00;"><span style="color:#f00;">The red line represents what the Venezuelan government officially rates the hard bolívar</span><br /><small>'''Sources''': , , , </small></p>]] | |||
In the first few years of Chavez's office, his newly created social programs required large payments in order to make the desired changes. On 5 February 2003, the government created ], a currency control board charged with handling foreign exchange procedures. Its creation was to control ] by placing limits on individuals and only offering them so much of a foreign currency.<ref>CADIVI, {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205143924/http://www.cadivi.gov.ve/cadivi/cadivi.html |date=5 December 2008 }}</ref> This limit to foreign currency led to a creation of a currency ] economy since Venezuelan merchants rely on foreign goods that require payments with reliable foreign currencies. As Venezuela printed more money for their social programs, the bolívar continued to devalue for Venezuelan citizens and merchants since the government held the majority of the more reliable currencies.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hanke |first=Steve |title=The World's Troubled Currencies |url=http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article41552.html |publisher=The Market Oracle |access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref> | |||
The implied value or "black market value" is what Venezuelans believe the ] is worth compared to the ].<ref>{{cite news |title=Venezuela's black market rate for US dollars just jumped by almost 40% |url=http://qz.com/192395/venezuelas-black-market-rate-for-us-dollars-just-jumped-by-almost-40/#/h/56869,3/ |access-date=27 March 2014 |newspaper=Quartz |date=26 March 2014}}</ref> The high rates in the black market make it difficult for businesses to purchase necessary goods since the government often forces these businesses to make price cuts. This leads to businesses selling their goods and making a low profit.<ref>{{cite news |last=Pons |first=Corina |title=McDonald's Agrees to Cut the Price of a Venezuelan Big Mac Combo |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-14/mcdonald-s-agrees-to-cut-the-price-of-a-venezuelan-big-mac-combo.html |access-date=26 January 2014 |newspaper=Bloomberg L.P. |date=14 January 2014}}</ref> Since businesses make low profits, this leads to shortages since they are unable to import the goods that Venezuela is reliant on.<ref>{{cite news |last=Goodman |first=Joshua |title=Venezuela overhauls foreign exchange system |url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2014-01-22/venezuela-food-giant-warns-production-at-risk |access-date=26 January 2014 |newspaper=Bloomberg L.P. |date=22 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214224213/http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2014-01-22/venezuela-food-giant-warns-production-at-risk |archive-date=14 February 2014}}</ref> Chavez used exchange rate subsidies to underwrite imports; this policy was not welfare-maximizing, but rather benefited special interests.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gulotty|first1=Robert|last2=Kronick|first2=Dorothy|date=2021|title=The Arbitrage Lobby: Theory and Evidence on Dual Exchange Rates|journal=International Organization|volume=76|pages=105–125|language=en|doi=10.1017/S002081832100031X|issn=0020-8183|doi-access=free}}</ref> | |||
===Crime and punishment=== | |||
{{further|Crime in Venezuela}} | |||
]|date=10 December 2014}}</ref><br /> '''*''' UN line between 2007 and 2012 is simulated missing data]] | |||
]<ref name="oas.org">{{cite web|title=Seguridad Pública y Privada: Venezuela y Bolivia|url=https://www.oas.org/dsp/documentos/Publicaciones/Seg%20Publica-%20Venezuela%20y%20Bolivia.pdfela%20y%20Bolivia.pdf|website=oas.org|date=August 2009 |publisher=]|access-date=18 October 2015}}{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=CICPC2009>{{cite web|url=http://issuu.com/lexys/docs/fact_sheet_paz_activa/1 |title=Venezuela: Gravísima Crisis de Seguridad Pública by Lexys Rendon |date=12 September 2011 |publisher=ISSUU |access-date=18 October 2015}}</ref><ref name="eluniversal1">{{cite news|url=http://www.eluniversal.com/sucesos/120104/segun-el-cicpc-el-2011-cerro-con-1150-secuestros-en-todo-el-pais |title=Según el Cicpc el 2011 cerró con 1.150 secuestros en todo el país – Sucesos |newspaper=El Universal |access-date=18 October 2015}}</ref><br />'''*''' ]s may not be included in data]] | |||
During the 1980s and 1990s there was a steady increase in crime in Latin America. The countries of Colombia, El Salvador, Venezuela, and Brazil all had homicide rates above the regional average.<ref>Reid, Michael.''Forgotten continent: the battle for Latin America's soul'', p. 248. Yale, CT: Yale University Press, 2007. {{ISBN|0-300-11616-0}}</ref> During Chávez's terms as president, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans were murdered due to violent crimes occurring in the country.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rueda |first=Manuel |title=How Did Venezuela Become So Violent? |url=http://fusion.net/leadership/story/venezuela-violent-iraq-365361 |publisher=Fusion |access-date=10 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110235719/http://fusion.net/leadership/story/venezuela-violent-iraq-365361 |archive-date=10 January 2014 }}</ref> Gareth A. Jones and Dennis Rodgers stated in their book ''Youth violence in Latin America: Gangs and Juvenile Justice in Perspective'' that, "With the change of political regime in 1999 and the initiation of the ], a period of transformation and political conflict began, marked by a further increase in the number and rate of violent deaths" showing that in four years, the murder rate had increased to 44 per 100,000 people.<ref name=YOUTHviolence>{{cite book | url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9780230101333 |last1=Jones |first1=Gareth A. |last2=Rodgers | first2=Dennis |title=Youth violence in Latin America: gangs and juvenile justice in perspective |date=2008 |publisher=] |location=Basingstoke |isbn=9780230600560 |pages=84–85 |edition=1st|doi=10.1057/9780230101333 }}</ref> Kidnappings also rose tremendously during Chávez's tenure, with the number of kidnappings over 20 times higher in 2011 than when Chavez was elected.<ref name="oas.org"/><ref name="CICPC2009"/><ref name="eluniversal1"/> Documentary filmmaker ], stated "kidnapping crimes had skyrocketed ... after late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez freed thousands of violent prisoners as part of controversial criminal justice system reforms" while kidnappings and murders also increased due to Colombian organized crime activity as well.<ref name=NAnov2013>{{cite news|title=Welcome to Venezuela, the kidnap capital of the world|url=http://www.news.com.au/world/south-america/welcome-to-venezuela-the-kidnap-capital-of-the-world/story-fnh81jzo-1226758654049|access-date=11 December 2014|agency=]|date=13 November 2013|work=news.com.au|archive-date=13 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213042708/http://www.news.com.au/world/south-america/welcome-to-venezuela-the-kidnap-capital-of-the-world/story-fnh81jzo-1226758654049|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=INDoct2013>{{cite news|last1=Brabazon|first1=James|title=Taking no prisoners in the kidnap capital of the world: On the streets of Caracas with an elite police squad|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/taking-no-prisoners-in-the-kidnap-capital-of-the-world-on-the-streets-of-caracas-with-an-elite-police-squad-8872390.html|access-date=11 December 2014|agency=The Independent|date=10 October 2013|location=London}}</ref> He further explained that common criminals felt that the Venezuelan government did not care for the problems of the higher and middle classes, which in turn gave them a sense of impunity that created a large business of kidnapping-for-ransom.<ref name=NAnov2013/> | |||
Under Chávez's administration, crimes were so prevalent that by 2007 the government no longer produced crime data.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gallegos|first=Raul|title=Miss Venezuela's Murder Is the Price of Politics|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-10/miss-venezuela-s-murder-is-the-price-of-politics.html|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=Bloomberg L.P.|date=10 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140127115104/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-10/miss-venezuela-s-murder-is-the-price-of-politics.html |archive-date=27 January 2014}}</ref> Homicide rates in Venezuela more than tripled, with one NGO finding the rate to have nearly quadrupled. The majority of the deaths occur in crowded slums in Caracas.<ref name='Chávez defends his record on crime in Venezuela'>{{Cite news| first = Enrique Andres | last = Pretel | title = Chavez defends his record on crime in Venezuela | date = 2 September 2010 | url = https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100903/wl_nm/us_venezuela_crime_1 | agency = Reuters | access-date =10 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100916213105/http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100903/wl_nm/us_venezuela_crime_1 |archive-date=16 September 2010 }}</ref><ref name='Venezuela murder-rate quadrupled under Chávez: NGO'>{{Cite news| title = Venezuela murder-rate quadrupled under Chávez: NGO | date = 11 March 2010 | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62A44A20100311 | work = Reuters | access-date =10 September 2010}}</ref> The NGO found that the number of homicides in the country increased from 6,000 in 1999 to 24,763 in 2013.{{sfn|Holland|2008}}{{page needed|date=December 2022}}<ref name="Globe Crime">{{cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2012/03/27/chavez_criticizes_us_take_on_crime_in_venezuela/|title=Chavez criticizes US take on crime in Venezuela|date=27 March 2012|newspaper=The Boston Globe|access-date=16 May 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217062938/http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2012/03/27/chavez_criticizes_us_take_on_crime_in_venezuela/?camp=pm|archive-date=17 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Venezuela's Homicide Rate Quadruples in Fifteen Years, NGO Reports|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/26/venezuela-homicide-rate_n_4506363.html|access-date=21 April 2014|newspaper=HuffPost|date=26 December 2014}}</ref> In 2010 Caracas had the highest murder rate in the world,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/08/25/en_pol_esp_caracas-has-become-t_25A4380891.shtml |title=Caracas has become the deadliest city in the world |date=25 August 2010 |work=] |last=Ramírez Miranda |first=Deivis |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828130358/http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/08/25/en_pol_esp_caracas-has-become-t_25A4380891.shtml |archive-date=28 August 2010}} | |||
* {{cite news |url=http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=101723908 |title=Venezuelans protest rampant violence, some liken bloodshed to 'undeclared war' |last=James |first=Ian |agency=Associated Press |publisher=startribune.com |date=28 August 2010 |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118040443/http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=101723908 |archive-date=18 November 2012 |url-status=dead }} | |||
* {{cite web |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Venezuelans-Despair-Over-Rampant-Deadly-Violence-101380809.html |title=Venezuelans Despair Over Rampant, Deadly Violence |last=Bowman |first=Michael |date=24 August 2010 |publisher=] |access-date=28 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827052234/http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Venezuelans-Despair-Over-Rampant-Deadly-Violence-101380809.html |archive-date=27 August 2010 |url-status=dead }} | |||
* {{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/world/americas/23venez.html?_r=1 |title=Venezuela, More Deadly Than Iraq, Wonders Why |work=The New York Times |last=Romero |first=Simon |date=22 August 2010 }}</ref> having more deaths than ] during the ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 August 2010 |title=Los muertos que esconde Chávez |url=https://www.larazon.es/historico/1978-los-muertos-que-esconde-chavez-NLLA_RAZON_304563/ |access-date=23 April 2023 |website=] |language=es}}</ref> According to the ], in 2012 there were 13,080 murders in Venezuela.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/crime/Homicide_statistics2012.xls |title=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – Murder rates (most recent year) – spreadsheet |access-date=8 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309231127/http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/crime/Homicide_statistics2012.xls |archive-date=9 March 2013}}</ref> | |||
In leaked government INE data for kidnappings in the year 2009, the number of kidnappings were at an estimated 16,917, contrasting the CICPCs number of only 673,<ref name=CICPC2009/> before the Venezuelan government blocked the data.<ref name=INDoct2013/><ref>{{cite news|title=En el 2009 se cometieron más de 16.000 secuestros en Venezuela, según el gobierno local LOCAL|url=http://www.abc.com.py/articulos/en-el-2009-se-cometieron-mas-de-16000-secuestros-en-venezuela-segun-el-gobierno-local-150064.html|access-date=6 January 2015|agency=Noticias24|publisher=ABC Color|date=22 August 2010}}</ref><ref name=PRENSA2009>{{cite news|title=Hubo 16,917 secuestros en 2009 en Venezuela|url=http://www.laprensa.hn/mundo/489228-97/hubo-16917-secuestros-en-2009-en-venezuela|access-date=6 January 2015|agency=La Prensa|date=23 August 2010}}</ref> According to the leaked INE report, only 1,332 investigations for kidnappings were opened or about 7% of the total kidnapping cases, with 90% of the kidnappings happening away from rural areas, 80% of all being express kidnappings and the most common victim being lower-middle or middle class Venezuelans and middle-aged men.<ref name=PRENSA2009/> Also in 2009, it was reported that Venezuelan authorities would assign judicial police to Caracas area morgues to speak with families.<ref name=EMaug2010>{{cite news|title=Venezuela favorece a los familiares de fallecidos que no informan a la prensa|url=http://www.elmundo.es/america/2010/08/22/venezuela/1282502008.html|access-date=6 January 2015|agency=]|date=22 August 2010}}</ref> At that time, they would advise families not to report the murder of their family member to the media in exchange for expediting the process of releasing the victim's body.<ref name=EMaug2010/> | |||
In September 2010, responding to escalating crime rates in the country, Chávez stated that Venezuela was no more violent than it was when he first took office.<ref name="Chávez Defends Record on Crime">{{Cite news| first = Enrique Andres | last = Pretel | title = Chávez defends his record on crime in Venezuela | date = 2 September 2010 | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68201520100903 | work = Reuters | access-date =10 September 2010}}</ref> An ] report that same year stated that when Chávez took office, there were some factors beyond his control that led to the crime epidemic throughout Venezuela, but that Chávez ignored it as well as corruption in the country; especially among fellow state officials. The report also stated that international organised crime filters between Colombia and Venezuela with assistance from "the highest spheres of government" in Venezuela, leading to higher rates of kidnapping, drug trafficking, and homicides. Chávez supporters stated that the ] had reduced crime and also said that the states with the highest murder rates were controlled by the opposition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/violence-venezuela |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111003632/http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/violence-venezuela |archive-date=11 November 2013 |title=Violence in Venezuela |work=The Stream |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=6 August 2011 |access-date=14 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Stream – Violence in Venezuela|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTTvZcuaJQQ| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211132729/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTTvZcuaJQQ| archive-date=11 December 2013 | url-status=dead|website=YouTube|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=22 February 2015}}</ref> | |||
====Prisons==== | |||
During Chávez's presidency, there were reports of prisoners having easy access to firearms, drugs, and alcohol. Carlos Nieto, head of Window to Freedom, alleged that heads of gangs acquire military weapons from the state, saying: "They have the types of weapons that can only be obtained by the country's armed forces. ... No one else has these." Use of internet and mobile phones were also commonplace, allowing criminals to take part in street crime while in prison. One prisoner explained how, "if the guards mess with us, we shoot them" and that he had "seen a man have his head cut off and people play ] with it".<ref>{{cite news|last=Gupta|first=Girish|title=In Venezuela's prisons, inmates are the wardens|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/venezuela/120511/inside-violent-venezuelan-prison-la-planta|access-date=20 April 2014|newspaper=Global Post|date=14 May 2012}}</ref> | |||
Edgardo Lander, a sociologist and professor at the Central University of Venezuela with a PhD in sociology from Harvard University, explained that Venezuelan prisons were "practically a school for criminals" since young inmates come out "trained and hardened" compared to before their incarceration. He also explained that prisons are controlled by gangs and that "very little has been done" to restrain their activities.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jay|first=Paul|title=The Modern History of Venezuela, Why Still So Much Crime? – Edgardo Lander on Reality Asserts Itself (7/9)|url=http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11760|access-date=20 April 2014|newspaper=The Real News|date=19 April 2014|archive-date=20 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420034230/http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11760|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
=== Elections under Chávez === | |||
] | |||
The electoral processes surrounding Venezuela's democracy under Chávez were often observed controversially. According to ], he changed Venezuela from a democracy to "a largely ] system".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/quicktake/venezuela-price-revolution|title=Venezuela's Collapse|date=14 May 2018|publisher=]|access-date=22 May 2018|language=en}}</ref> | |||
However, there were limits to his authoritarianism, and he thought of the electoral system as a key way to make himself more effective as a leader.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Aleem |first=Zeeshan |date=19 September 2017 |title=How Venezuela went from a rich democracy to a dictatorship on the brink of collapse |url=https://www.vox.com/world/2017/9/19/16189742/venezuela-maduro-dictator-chavez-collapse |access-date=22 December 2023 |website=Vox |language=en}}</ref> | |||
As New York University historian ] has pointed out, Chávez “submitted himself and his agenda to 14 national votes, winning 13 of them by large margins, in polling deemed by ] to be ‘best in the world.’”<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite news |last=Weisbrot |first=Mark |date=3 October 2012 |title=Why the US demonises Venezuela's democracy |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/03/why-us-dcemonises-venezuelas-democracy |access-date=22 December 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> | |||
Francisco Toro, editor of ], an opposition-friendly news and analysis site, said “Chávez was always careful to maintain electoral legitimacy” .<ref name=":4" /> Toro says that Chávez had big advantages with friendly media and his tendency to use state money on his campaigns, but that he didn’t “steal or cancel elections blatantly.”<ref name=":4" /> Chávez even allowed his opposition to run a recall referendum against him in 2004 just two years after surviving a coup attempt. He won the referendum by a huge margin.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Norris |first=Michele |date=16 August 2004 |title=Chavez Wins Recall as Venezuelan President |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2004/08/16/3853809/chavez-wins-recall-as-venezuelan-president |access-date=21 December 2023}}</ref> | |||
Since 1998, ] have been automated using ] ]s, which provide a ] and administered by the ].<ref name=":7"/> | |||
In Venezuela, voters touch a computer screen to cast their vote and then receive a paper receipt, which they verify and deposit in a ballot box.<ref name=":7" /> Most of the paper ballots are compared with the electronic tally. This system makes vote-rigging nearly impossible: to steal the vote would require hacking the computers and then stuffing the ballot boxes to match the rigged vote.<ref name=":7"/> | |||
Beginning in 2012, Venezuela’s elections used biometric authentication to activate the voting machine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Venezuela: World's first national e-Voting with paper trail election (2004-2017) |url=https://www.smartmatic.com/case-studies/venezuela-worlds-first-national-election-using-e-voting-with-paper-trail-2004-2017/ |access-date=21 December 2023 |website=smartmatic}}</ref> | |||
===Corruption=== | |||
{{further|Corruption in Venezuela}} | |||
</small>]] | |||
In December 1998, Hugo Chávez declared three goals for the new government; "convening a constituent assembly to write a new constitution, eliminating government corruption, and fighting against social exclusion and poverty". However, according to the ] ], during Hugo Chávez's time in power, corruption has become widespread throughout the government due to impunity towards members of the government, bribes and the lack of transparency.<ref name=CATOhc>{{cite web|last=Coronel|first=Gustavo|title=Corruption, Mismanagement, and Abuse of Power in Hugo Chávez's Venezuela|url=http://www.cato.org/publications/development-policy-analysis/corruption-mismanagement-abuse-power-hugo-chavezs-venezuela|publisher=Cato Institute}}</ref> In 2004, Hugo Chávez and his allies took over the Supreme Court, filling it with supporters of Chávez and made new measures so the government could dismiss justices from the court.<ref name=HRW2012>{{cite book |url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2012/country-chapters/venezuela | title=World Report 2012: Venezuela | date=22 January 2012 |publisher=]}}</ref> According to the Cato Institute, the ] was under control of Chávez where he tried to "push a constitutional reform that would have allowed him unlimited opportunities for reelection".<ref name=CATOcorruption>{{cite web|last=Coronel|first=Gustavo|title=The Corruption of Democracy in Venezuela|url=http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/corruption-democracy-venezuela|publisher=Cato Institute|access-date=18 March 2014}}</ref> The ], produced annually by the Berlin-based NGO ] (TNI), reported that in the later years of Chávez's tenure, corruption worsened; it was 158th out of 180 countries in 2008, and 165th out of 176 (tied with ], ], and ]).<ref name=2012Index>{{cite news|title=Factbox: Transparency International's global corruption index|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-corruption-transparency-global-idUSBRE8B406G20121205|access-date=5 December 2012|newspaper=Reuters|date=5 December 2012|first=David|last=Cutler|archive-date=5 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121205104850/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/05/us-corruption-transparency-global-idUSBRE8B406G20121205|url-status=live}}</ref> Most Venezuelans believed the government's effort against corruption was ineffective; that corruption had increased; and that government institutions such as the judicial system, parliament, legislature, and police were the most corrupt.<ref>{{cite web|title=Global Corruption Barometer 2010/11|url=http://www.transparency.org/country#VEN_PublicOpinion|publisher=Transparency International|access-date=26 February 2014|archive-date=12 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512190640/https://www.transparency.org/country#VEN_PublicOpinion|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
In ]'s 2006 Corruption Index, Venezuela ranked 31st out of 101 countries according to how widespread the population perceive corruption as being in the government and in business. The index listed Venezuela as the second least corrupt nation in Latin America, behind Chile.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Steve |last1=Crabtree |first2=Nicole |last2=Naurath |url=http://www.hra.am/file/gallup_corruption.htm |title=Gallup Launches Worldwide Corruption Index |publisher=Gallup Poll News Service |access-date=21 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124180011/http://www.hra.am/file/gallup_corruption.htm |archive-date=24 November 2007}}</ref> Some criticism came from Chávez's supporters, as well. Chávez's own political party, ] (MVR), had been criticized as being riddled with the same cronyism, political patronage, and corruption that Chávez alleged were characteristic of the old "Fourth Republic" political parties. Venezuela's trade unionists and indigenous communities participated in peaceful demonstrations intended to impel the government to facilitate labor and land reforms. These communities, while largely expressing their sympathy and support for Chávez, criticized what they saw as Chávez's slow progress in protecting their interests against managers and mining concerns, respectively.<ref>Fuentes, F. (2005), ''Green Left Weekly''. Accessed 15 February 2006.</ref><ref>Márquez, H. (2005), {{cite web|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/new_nota.asp?idnews%3D28150 |title=ENVIRONMENT-VENEZUELA: Indigenous Peoples Protest Coal Mining |access-date=21 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402041047/http://www.ipsnews.net/new_nota.asp?idnews=28150 |archive-date=2 April 2012}} ''Inter Press Service''. Accessed 2 February 2006.</ref> | |||
====Aiding FARC==== | |||
] | |||
According to the ] (IISS), "Chavez's government funded ]'s office in Caracas and gave it access to Venezuela's intelligence services" and said that during the 2002 coup attempt that "FARC also responded to requests from to provide training in urban terrorism involving targeted killings and the use of explosives". The IISS continued saying that "the archive offers tantalizing but ultimately unproven suggestions that FARC may have undertaken assassinations of Chavez's political opponents on behalf of the Venezuelan state". Venezuelan diplomats denounced the IISS' findings saying that they had "basic inaccuracies".<ref>{{cite news|last=Martinez|first=Michael|title=Study: Colombian rebels were willing to kill for Venezuela's Chavez|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/05/10/venezuela.farc.documents/index.html|access-date=21 April 2014|newspaper=CNN|date=10 May 2011}}</ref> | |||
In 2007, authorities in ] declared that through laptops they had seized on a raid against ], they found in documents that Hugo Chávez offered payments of as much as $300 million to the FARC "among other financial and political ties that date back years" along with other documents showing "high-level meetings have been held between rebels and Ecuadorean officials" and some documents arguing that FARC had "bought and sold ]".<ref name="Padgett">{{cite news|last=Padgett|first=Tim|title=Chávez and the Cash-Filled Suitcase|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1838145,00.html|access-date=28 March 2014|newspaper=TIME|date=3 September 2008}}</ref><ref name=USATODAYfarc>{{cite news|title=Colombia: Chavez funding FARC rebels|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-03-02-venezuelacolombia_N.htm?csp=34|access-date=21 April 2014|newspaper=USA Today|date=4 March 2008}}</ref> | |||
In 2015, Chávez's former bodyguard ] stated in the book ''Bumerán Chávez'' that Chávez met with the high command of FARC in 2007 somewhere in rural Venezuela. Chávez created a system in which the FARC would provide the Venezuelan government with drugs that would be transported in live cattle and the FARC would receive money and weaponry from the Venezuelan government. According to Salazar, this was done in order to weaken Colombian President ], an enemy of Chávez.<ref name=ROTTENstate>{{cite news|last1=Cristóbal Nagel|first1=Juan|title=Something Is Rotten in the State of Venezuela|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/04/28/something-is-rotten-in-the-state-of-venezuela-chavez-maduro-cabello-salazar-farc/|access-date=17 May 2015|agency=]|date=28 April 2015}}</ref> | |||
In 2019, federal prosecutors from the ] further provided documents outlining that in 2005 Chávez ordered top lieutenants to discuss plans to ship cocaine to the United States with the help of the FARC and "flood" the country with the drug, as part of his policy objectives to combat the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Forero |first1=Juan |last2=de Córdoba |first2=José |date=15 September 2019 |title=Venezuela's Hugo Chávez Worked to Flood U.S. With Cocaine, U.S. Prosecutors Say |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuelas-hugo-chavez-worked-to-flood-u-s-with-cocaine-u-s-prosecutors-say-11568557780 |access-date=3 May 2023 |website=]}}</ref> | |||
===Human rights=== | |||
{{further|Human rights in Venezuela}} | |||
====Criticisms==== | |||
]] | |||
Shortly after Hugo Chávez's election, ratings for freedom in Venezuela dropped according to political and human rights group ] and Venezuela was rated "partly free".<ref name=FH2013>{{cite web|title=Country ratings and status, FIW 1973–2014|url=https://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/Country%20Ratings%20and%20Status%2C%201973-2014%20%28FINAL%29.xls|website=Freedom House|access-date=16 December 2014}}</ref> In 2004, Amnesty International criticized Chavez's administration of not handling the 2002 coup in a proper manner, saying that violent incidents "have not been investigated effectively and have gone unpunished" and that "impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators encourages further human rights violations in a particularly volatile political climate".<ref name=AImarch2004>{{cite web|title=Venezuela: Protestors in civil disturbances|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR530032004?open&of=ENG-VEN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040322012454/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR530032004?open&of=ENG-VEN|archive-date=22 March 2004|website=Amnesty International|access-date=15 December 2014}}</ref> Amnesty International also criticized the ] and the ] stating that they "allegedly used excessive force to control the situation on a number of occasions" during protests involving the ].<ref name=AImarch2004/> It was also noted that many of the protesters detained seemed to not be "brought before a judge within the legal time limit".<ref name=AImarch2004/> | |||
In 2008, ] released a report reviewing Chávez's human rights record over his first decade in power.{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=1}} The report praises Chávez's 1999 amendments to the constitution which significantly expanded human rights guarantees, as well as mentioning improvements in ] and ], but noted a "wide range of government policies that have undercut the human rights protections established" by the revised constitution.{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=1}} In particular, the report accused Chávez and his administration of engaging in discrimination on political grounds, eroding the independence of the judiciary, and of engaging in "policies that have undercut journalists' freedom of expression, workers' freedom of association, and civil society's ability to promote human rights in Venezuela".{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=2}} The Venezuelan government retaliated for the report by expelling members of Human Rights Watch from the country.<ref name="Venezuela expels rights activists">BBC NEWS. (19 September 2008).</ref> Subsequently, over a hundred Latin American scholars signed a joint letter with the ], a leftist NGO<ref>{{cite book|last1=Seliktar|first1=Ofira|title=Failing the crystal ball test : the Carter administration and the fundamentalist revolution in Iran|date=2000|publisher=Praeger|location=Westport, Conn |isbn=978-0275968724|page=44|edition=}}</ref> that would defend Chávez and his movement, with the individuals criticizing the Human Rights Watch report for its alleged factual inaccuracy, exaggeration, lack of context, illogical arguments, and heavy reliance on opposition newspapers as sources, amongst other things.<ref name="coha-hrw-letter">{{cite press release|url=http://www.coha.org/taking-human-rights-watch-to-task/|title=Taking Human Rights Watch to Task on the Question of Venezuela's Purported Abuse of Human Rights|publisher=]|date=18 December 2008}}</ref><ref name="coha-letter-replies">{{cite press release|url=http://www.coha.org/scholars-respond-to-hrw-directors-riposte-on-venezuelan-human-rights/|title=Scholars Respond to HRW's Kenneth Roth's Riposte on Venezuelan Human Rights|publisher=Council on Hemispheric Affairs|date=12 January 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Moynihan|first1=Michael|title=Venezuela's Useful Idiots|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/24/venezuela-s-useful-idiots.html|access-date=20 February 2015|agency=]|date=24 February 2014}}</ref>{{better source needed|need less biased secondary source here|date=June 2022}} | |||
The ] of the United Nations had also expressed concern over voters being pressured to join the party.<ref name="eluniversal.com"/> | |||
In 2009, ] was arrested on charges of corruption after ordering the conditional release on bail of businessman ], who then fled the country.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/03/24/en_pol_esp_human-rights-groups_24A3637413.shtml|title=Human rights groups denounce in OAS flaws in Venezuela's justice system|author=Alonso, Juan Francisco|date=24 March 2010|work=]|access-date=14 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329091738/http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/03/24/en_pol_esp_human-rights-groups_24A3637413.shtml|archive-date=29 March 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> She was moved to house arrest in Caracas in February 2011,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/130617/jueza-afiuni-se-impuso-de-su-libertad-condicional-en-el-tribunal|title=Jueza Afiuni se impuso de su libertad condicional en el Tribunal|date=17 June 2013|website=El Universal|access-date=21 March 2015}}</ref><ref name="NYT61413">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/world/americas/court-in-venezuela-orders-release-of-a-judge-once-scorned-and-jailed-by-chavez.html|title=Court in Venezuela Orders Release of a Judge Once Scorned and Jailed by Chávez|author=William Neuman|date=14 June 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=15 June 2013|author2=María Eugenia Díaz}}</ref> but she is still barred from practicing law, leaving the country, or using her bank account or social networks.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141213/lawyer-judge-afiuni-has-been-professionally-disabled|title=Lawyer: Judge Afiuni has been professionally disabled|date=13 December 2014|access-date=22 March 2015}}</ref> Human rights groups accused Chávez of creating a ] that threatened the independence of the judiciary. ''Reuters'' said Afiuni is "considered by opponents and jurists as one of the most emblematic political prisoners" in Venezuela, because Chávez called for her to be imprisoned.<ref name=CondenaCinco>{{Cite web|url=https://lta.reuters.com/articulo/politica-venezuela-tribunal-idLTAKCN1R301C|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322153147/https://lta.reuters.com/articulo/politica-venezuela-tribunal-idLTAKCN1R301C|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 March 2019|title=Tribunal en Venezuela condena a 5 años de prisión a jueza inculpada por pedido de expresidente Chávez|date=22 March 2019|website=Reuters|language=es|access-date=22 March 2019}}</ref> | |||
In 2009, the Attorney General announced the creation of an investigative team to examine 6,000 reports of extrajudicial killings between 2000 and 2007.<ref>], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902131912/http://report2009.amnesty.org/en/regions/americas/venezuela|date=2 September 2009}}</ref> | |||
] ] at the ] on 19 April 2009]] | |||
In 2010, ] criticized the Chávez administration for targeting critics following several politically motivated arrests.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/venezuelan-government-deliberately-targeting-opponents-2010-04-01 |title=Venezuelan government deliberately targeting opponents |publisher=Amnesty International |date=1 April 2010 |access-date=27 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816043032/http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/venezuelan-government-deliberately-targeting-opponents-2010-04-01 |archive-date=16 August 2013}}</ref> ] listed Venezuela as being "partly free" in its 2011 Freedom in the World annual report, noting a recent decline in civil liberties.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128074729/http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2011 |date=28 November 2011 }} Freedom House. 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.</ref> A 2010 ] report found concerns with freedom of expression, human rights abuses, authoritarianism, press freedom, threats to democracy,<ref name="IACHRRequests" /><ref name=ChavezCriticized>{{Cite news|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/24/AR2010022401884.html?hpid=moreheadlines |title= Venezuela, President Chávez criticized in OAS report |last=Forero |first=Juan |newspaper= The Washington Post |date = 24 February 2010 |access-date=24 February 2010}}</ref><ref name=CNNOAS>{{Cite news|url= http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/24/venezuela.human.rights/ |title= Venezuela violates human rights, OAS commission reports |date= 24 February 2010 |access-date=24 February 2010 |publisher= CNN}}</ref><ref name="OAS2010">{{cite press release |url=http://www.cidh.oas.org/Comunicados/English/2010/20V-10eng.htm |title=Press release N° 20/10, IACHR publishes report on Venezuela |publisher=] |work=Inter-American Commission on Human Rights |date=24 February 2010 |access-date=26 February 2010}}</ref><ref name="Jurist">{{cite web |last=Schimizzi |first=Carrie |date=24 February 2010 |title=Venezuela government violating basic human rights: report |url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/02/venezuela-government-violating-basic.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020120703/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/02/venezuela-government-violating-basic.php |archive-date=20 October 2013 |access-date=25 February 2010 |publisher=Jurist: Legal news and research}}</ref> as well as erosion of separation of powers, the economic infrastructure and ability of the president to appoint judges to federal courts.<ref name=ChavezCriticized/><ref name=CNNOAS/><ref name=WSJOAS>{{Cite news|url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703510204575085801117383696 |title= OAS Report Chastises Venezuela |work= The Wall Street Journal |date= 24 February 2010 |access-date=24 February 2010 |last=Prado |first=Paulo}}</ref> OAS observers were denied access to Venezuela;<ref name=WSJOAS/> Chávez rejected the OAS report, pointing out that its authors did not go to Venezuela.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/25/world/AP-LT-Venezuela-Rights-Report.html |title=Chávez Rejects Report Citing Rights Violations |work=The New York Times|agency=Associated Press |date=25 February 2010 |access-date=25 February 2010 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Venezuelan ombudswoman ] said the report distorted and took statistics out of context, and said that "human rights violations in Venezuela have decreased".<ref>{{Cite news |url= http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/25/venezuela.human.rights.report/?hpt=Sbinn |title= Venezuelan official disputes report on human rights abuses |publisher= CNN |date= 25 February 2010 |access-date= 26 February 2010 |archive-date= 4 June 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110604121813/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/25/venezuela.human.rights.report/?hpt=Sbinn |url-status= dead }}</ref> | |||
In November 2014, Venezuela appeared before the ] over cases between 2002 and 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=Venezuela ante la ONU: "Puede haber individuos armados dentro de los colectivos"|url=http://www.infobae.com/2014/11/08/1607401-venezuela-la-onu-puede-haber-individuos-armados-dentro-los-colectivos|access-date=9 November 2014|agency=]|date=8 November 2014}}</ref> Human rights expert of the UN committee, ], noted that in "only 12 public officials have been convicted of human rights violations in the last decade when in the same period have been more than 5,000 complaints".<ref>{{cite news|title=Venezuela tuvo que responder por más de 3.000 casos de tortura ante Naciones Unidas|url=http://www.infobae.com/2014/11/06/1606934-venezuela-tuvo-que-responder-mas-3000-casos-tortura-naciones-unidas|access-date=9 November 2014|agency=]|date=6 November 2014}}</ref> The United Nations stated that there were 31,096 complaints of human rights violations received between the years 2011 and 2014.<ref name=EN28nov2014>{{cite news|title=Como "una tragedia" cataloga la ONU situación de las cárceles en el país|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/mundo/tragedia-cataloga-ONU-situacion-carceles_0_527947243.html|access-date=29 November 2014|agency=El Nacional|date=28 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128201039/http://www.el-nacional.com/mundo/tragedia-cataloga-ONU-situacion-carceles_0_527947243.html|archive-date=28 November 2014}}</ref> Of the 31,096 complaints, 3% of the cases resulted in only in an ] by the Venezuelan Public Ministry.<ref name=EN28nov2014/><ref name=LPnov2014>{{cite news|title=La situación de las cárceles venezolanas es una tragedia, dice la ONU|url=http://www.lapatilla.com/site/2014/11/28/la-situacion-de-las-carceles-venezolanas-es-una-tragedia-dice-la-onu/|access-date=29 November 2014|agency=La Patilla|date=29 November 2014}}</ref> | |||
=====Allegations of antisemitism===== | |||
{{See also|Antisemitism in Venezuela#Accusations of Chávez anti-Semitism|l1=Accusations of Chávez antisemitism}} | |||
Chavez's ] and ] led to accusations of ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lauder urges Venezuela to fight anti-Semitism, resume ties with Israel|url=http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/12950/lauder_urges_venezuela_to_fight_anti_semitism_resume_ties_with_israel |publisher=World Jewish Congress|access-date=11 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/02/13/chavez-jews-referendum-opinions-contributors_0215_rowan_schoen.html |title=Hugo Chavez And Anti-Semitism |magazine=Forbes |access-date=19 May 2014 |date=15 February 2009}}</ref> Such claims were made by the Venezuelan Jewish community at a ] Plenary Assembly in ], after Venezuela's oldest synagogue was vandalized by armed men.<ref name=WJCchavez /> Claims of antisemitism were prompted by various remarks Chávez made, including in a 2006 Christmas speech where he complained that "a minority, the descendants of the same ones that crucified Christ", now had "taken possession of all of the wealth of the world".<ref>{{cite web|title=Venezuela's Jews Defend Leftist President in Flap Over Remarks|url=http://forward.com/articles/1874/venezuelaes-jews-defend-leftist-president-in-fla/|work=The Jewish Daily Forward|date=13 January 2006|access-date=11 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Playing the 'Anti-Semitism' Card Against Venezuela|url=https://nacla.org/node/6106|publisher=North American Congress on Latin America|date=September 2009|access-date=11 May 2014}}</ref> In 2009, attacks on a synagogue in Caracas were alleged to be influenced by "vocal denunciations of Israel" by the Venezuelan state media and Hugo Chávez, even though Chavez promptly condemned the attacks, blaming an "oligarchy".<ref name=WJCchavez>{{cite web|title=Venezuela's oldest synagogue vandalized by armed men|url=http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/7835/venezuela_s_oldest_synagogue_vandalized_by_armed_men|publisher=World Jewish Congress|access-date=11 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eluniversal.com/2009/02/01/pol_ava_chavez-responsabiliz_01A2212005 |title=Chávez responsabiliza a "oligarquía" por ataque a la sinagoga |work=El Universal |date=1 February 2009 |access-date=4 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606232025/http://www.eluniversal.com/2009/02/01/pol_ava_chavez-responsabiliz_01A2212005 |archive-date=6 June 2014}}</ref> A weeklong investigation by the Venezuelan ] stated the synagogue attack to be an 'inside job', the motive apparently being robbery rather than antisemitism.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/24250/presento-los-resultados-de-la-investigacion-de-los-ataques-a-la-sinagoga/ |title=Presentó los resultados de la investigación de los ataques a la Sinagoga |work=Noticias24.com |date=9 February 2009 |access-date=4 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831152552/http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/24250/presento-los-resultados-de-la-investigacion-de-los-ataques-a-la-sinagoga/ |archive-date=31 August 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/24321/trasladan-a-los-tribunales-a-implicados-en-ataque-a-la-sinagoga/ |title=Trasladan a los Tribunales a implicados en ataque a la sinagoga |work=Noticias24.com |date=10 February 2009 |access-date=4 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607003809/http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/24321/trasladan-a-los-tribunales-a-implicados-en-ataque-a-la-sinagoga/ |archive-date=7 June 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
===Media and the press=== | |||
] | |||
Under Chávez, press freedom declined while ] increased. He used state-run bodies to silence the media and to disseminate ]. Other actions included pressuring media organizations to sell to those related to his government or to face closure.<ref name=":02">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/as-it-slides-toward-authoritarianism-venezuela-targets-one-of-its-last-independent-newspapers/2018/07/03/9cb5fe22-7a2d-11e8-ac4e-421ef7165923_story.html|title=As it slides toward authoritarianism, Venezuela targets one of its last independent newspapers|date=5 July 2018|newspaper=]|language=en|access-date=6 July 2018}}</ref> | |||
] criticized Chávez for engaging in "often discriminatory policies that have undercut journalists' freedom of expression".{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=2}} ] criticized the Chávez administration for "steadily silencing its critics".<ref name=Freedom>{{cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/node/79183 |title=World Press Freedom Index 2009: Obama effect in US, while Europe continues to recede Israel in free fall, Iran at gates of infernal trio | work=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930230930/http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2009%2C1001.html |archive-date=30 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
In 2004, Chávez used the ] and the Social Responsibility in Radio, Television and Electronic Media law to officially censor media organizations.<ref name=":02" /> | |||
During Chávez's presidency from 1999 to 2004, per-capita ] dropped 1–2%,<ref name=Econ1>Economist (June 2003). ''The Economist''. Accessed June 4, 2003.</ref> but with the help of rising oil prices, the end of the oil strike, and strong consumption growth, recent economic activity under Chávez has been robust. GDP growth rates were 18% in 2004,<ref name=EconPov>The Economist (Feb 16, 2006), ''The Economist'', Retrieved 22 June 2006.</ref> 9% in 2005,<ref name=BCV2005> ''El Universal'' (August 9, 2006).</ref> and 9.6% in the first half of 2006, with the private sector growing at a 10.3% clip.<ref name="BCV06Growth">''Banco Central de Venezuela'' (''BCV'' 15 Aug 2006). Retrieved 16 Aug 2006 {{es icon}} "Este resultado, unido al aumento de 9,9% observado en el primer trimestre, ubica el crecimiento del primer semestre en 9,6%." "Desde el punto de vista institucional, el sector público creció en 4,6% y el privado en 10,3%." ""La inversión bruta fija continuó su ritmo expansivo, alcanzando niveles superiores a los observados en toda la serie desde el año 1997."</ref> From 2004 to the first half of 2006, non-petroleum sectors of the economy showed growth rates greater than 10%.<ref>''El Universal (2006) . Retrieved 25 Jun 2006</ref> Datos reports real income grew by 137% between 2003 and Q1 2006.<ref>''Datos'', (2006). p.18. Retrieved 29 Aug 2006. {{es_icon}}</ref> Official poverty figures dropped by 10%.<ref>Weisbrot, Mark & Sandoval, Luis & Rosnick, David (''CEPR'' May 2006). Retrieved 19 Aug 2006</ref><ref>''El Universal'' Retrieved 23 Sep 2006 {{es icon}} "La pobreza se ubicó en 33,9% en el primer semestre del año, lo que representó una disminución de 8,5 puntos porcentuales con respecto a igual período de 2005"</ref> Some economists argue that this subsidized growth could stop if oil prices decline,<ref name=PostVoterRolls>Bronstein, H. (June 14, 2006), ''Washington Post'', Accessed 22 June 2006.</ref> but the government argues its budget uses 29$ a barrel and 60 billion dollars in reserves as a cushion for a sudden drop.<ref>''Marx, Gary''(''Chicago Tribune'' 13 Nov 2006) Retrieved 14 Nov 2006</ref> Some social scientists and economists claim that the government's reported poverty figures have not fallen in proportion to the country's vast oil revenues in the last two years.<ref name=EconPov/> | |||
The president of Datos said that, although his surveys showed rising incomes because of subsidies and grants, the number of people in the worst living conditions has grown. "The poor of Venezuela are living much better lately and have increased their purchasing power . . . without being able to improve their housing, education level, and social mobility," he said. "Rather than help become stakeholders in the economic system, what done is distribute as much oil wealth as possible in missions and social programs."<ref name=Windfall>Lakshmanam, Indira A.R. Boston.com ''Boston Globe'' (13 August 2006).</ref> | |||
], ] in ], ]. He is flanked by ]i Emir ] and ] Prime Minister Nagib Mikati ''(Agência Brasil)''.]] | |||
According to government figures, unemployment has dropped by 7.7% since the start of Chávez's presidency.<ref>''Instituto Nacional de Estadistica''.(''INE'', Jan 1999) . Retrieved 13 Jun 2006."Tasa de Desocupacion 16.6%" {{es icon}}</ref><ref>''Instituto Nacional de Estadistica''.(''INE'', April 2006) . Retrieved 18 Nov 2006."Tasa de Desocupacion 8.9%" {{es icon}}</ref> Venezuela's ] dropped to 10% in February 2006 from the 2003 high of 20%, which occurred during a two-month strike and business lockout that shut down the country's oil industry. However, some economists argue that recent job creation may not be permanent, for it relies on an expanded public payroll that will become unaffordable if oil prices fall.<ref name=EconPov/> According to the Venezuelan government, an unemployed person is a citizen above the age of 15 who has been seeking employment for more than one week.<ref>''Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas''. Retrieved 19 Aug 2006 {{es icon}} "Personas de 15 años o más, de uno u otro sexo, quienes declararon que durante la semana anterior al día de la entrevista no estaban trabajando y estaban buscando trabajo con remuneración. Asimismo, se incluyen aquellas personas que nunca han trabajado y buscan trabajo por primera vez."</ref> But, according to '']'', critics say that the government defines "informal workers, such as street vendors, as employed, and exclud adults who are studying in missions from unemployment numbers." Critics also point to figures released by the president of the Venezuelan National Statistics Institute, Elías Eljuri, which showed that poverty had actually risen by more than 10 percentage points under Chávez (to 53% in 2004). Chávez called for a new measure of poverty, a "social well-being index". Under this new definition, poverty registers at 40 percent.<ref name=Windfall/> Eljuri denies changing the statistic and claims it is entirely income excluding social programs.<ref>''El Universal'' (''El Universal'' 15 Oct 2005) Retrieved 19 Aug 2006 {{es icon}} "Según explicó Elías Eljuri, las cifras presentadas por el instituto en esta oportunidad miden la pobreza sólo por el nivel de ingreso de los hogares. " "Aclaró que las cifras presentadas no incluyen el efecto que han logrado en el tema la aplicación de los programas sociales del actual gobierno y que esto será presentado en otra oportunidad. "</ref> The World Bank calculated a 10% drop in poverty<ref>''Panodi''(''Venezuela Analysis'' 03 Jun 2006). Retrieved 19 Aug 2006</ref> | |||
Chávez inaugurated ] in July 2005, a ] ] similar to ], which sought to challenge Latin American television news by ]<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/world/americas/and-now-the-news-in-latin-americas-view.html |title=And Now, the News in Latin America's View |last=Forero |first=Juan |date=16 May 2005 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and the United States–based ].<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4620411.stm | title=Venezuela sets up 'CNN rival' | last=Bruce | first=Ian | work=] | date=28 June 2005}}</ref> In 2006, Chávez inaugurated a state-funded movie studio called '']'' (English: Cinema City).<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.newsweek.com/venezuelan-president-hugo-chavezs-movie-studio-81249 | title=Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's Movie Studio | work=] | date=23 October 2009}}</ref> | |||
According to the Banco Central de Venezuela, ] dropped from 29.9% to 14.4%.<ref>''Banco Central de Venezuela''. (''BCV'' 12 Dec 2006). Retrieved 11 Aug 2006 {{es icon}} "la variación acumulada del IPC para el año 1998, se ubicó en 29,9%"</ref><ref name=BCV2005/> During 2005, imported goods were cheaper than commodities made in Venezuela; variability in the price of goods was linked to import performance and exchange stability.<ref name=BCV2005/> In the second quarter of 2006 gross ] was the highest ever recorded by the Banco Central de Venezuela since it started tracking the statistic in 1997.<ref name="BCV06Growth"/> | |||
In the group's 2009 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders noted that "Venezuela is now among the region's worst press freedom offenders."<ref name=Freedom/> ] listed Venezuela's press as being "Not Free" in its 2011 Map of Press Freedom, noting that "he gradual erosion of press freedom in Venezuela continued in 2010."<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223025709/http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=251&year=2011 |date=23 December 2011 }} Freedom House.org. 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.</ref> | |||
While the Venezuelan Government enjoys a windfall of oil profits, the business environment is risky and discourages investment, according to ''El Universal''. As measured by prices on local stock exchanges, investors are willing to pay on average 16.3 years worth of earnings to invest in Colombia companies, 15.9 in Chile, 11.1 in Mexico, and 10.7 in Brazil, but only 5.8 in Venezuela. The ] ranked Venezuela as 82 out of 102 countries on a measure of how favorable investment is for institutions. In Venezuela, an investor needs an average of 119 days and must complete 14 different proceedings to organize a business, while the average in OECD countries is 30 days and six proceedings.<ref> ''El Universal'' (17 August 2006).</ref> | |||
Chávez also had a ] account with more than 3,200,000 followers as of August 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/chavezcandanga |title=Hugo Chávez Frías (@chavezcandanga) op Twitter |publisher=Twitter.com |access-date=8 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/28/hugo-chavez-twitter-venezuela | last=Carroll | first=Rory | title=Hugo Chávez embraces Twitter to fight online 'conspiracy' | work=] | date=28 April 2010}}</ref> A team of 200 people sorted through suggestions and comments sent via Twitter. Chávez said Twitter was "another mechanism for contact with the public, to evaluate many things and to help many people",<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/10/hugo-chavez-twitter-venezuela |location=London |work=The Guardian | title=Hugo Chávez's Twitter habit proves a popular success | date=10 August 2010 | first=Rory | last=Carroll}}</ref> and that he saw Twitter as "a weapon that also needs to be used by the revolution".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2010/05/hugo_chasez_has_a_team_of_200.html | title=Hugo Chavez Has a Team of 200 Helping Him Tweet | first=Josh | last=Duboff | work=] | date=9 May 2010}}</ref> | |||
Public spending in Venezuela has broken unprecedented records as measured by local currency Central Bank debt, which could increase inflation.<ref> ''El Universal'' (18 August 2006.)</ref> | |||
===Foreign policy=== | ===Foreign policy=== | ||
{{further|Foreign policy of the Hugo Chávez government}} | |||
], ] in ] as a gesture of mutual solidarity in their opposition to the ] and the ] proposal ''(Office of the Argentine Presidency)''.]] | |||
] in Brasília, 6 June 2011]] | |||
{{main|Foreign policy of Hugo Chávez}} | |||
Though Chávez inspired other movements in Latin America to follow his model of ''chavismo'' in an attempt to reshape South America, it was later seen as being erratic and his influence internationally became exaggerated.<ref name=curse>{{cite web |last1=Marthoz|first1=Jean-Paul |title=Venezuela's foreign policy: a mirage based on a curse |url=https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/186054/5ac5220191adf69475fb57f9e303479c.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024192156/https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/186054/5ac5220191adf69475fb57f9e303479c.pdf |archive-date=24 October 2018 |url-status=live|access-date=25 January 2016}}</ref> Domestic mishandling of the country under Chávez prevented Venezuela from strengthening its position in the world.<ref name=curse/> | |||
Chávez has refocused Venezuelan ] on ]n economic and social integration by enacting bilateral trade and reciprocal aid agreements, including his so-called "oil diplomacy".<ref>The Economist. (''The Economist'', 28 Jul 2005). . Retrieved 11 Jun 2005.</ref><ref>''Guyana Diary''. (''Monthly Newsletter of the Guyana Embassy, Caracas, Venezuela'', Feb 2004). Retrieved 14 Jun 2006." Under the Caracas Energy Accord, countries can purchase oil supplies on concessional terms. It complements the terms of the San Jose Agreement, through which Venezuela offers special financial conditions to signatory oil-buying countries."</ref> Chávez stated that Venezuela has "a strong oil card to play on the geopolitical stage . . ." He said, "It is a card that we are going to play with toughness against the toughest country in the world, the United States."<ref>Blum, Justin (''Washington Post'', 22 Nov 2005). . Retrieved 29 Nov 2005.</ref> Chávez has focused on a variety of multinational institutions to promote his vision of Latin American integration, including ], Petrosur, and ]. Bilateral trade relationships with other Latin American countries have also played a major role in his policy, with Chávez increasing arms purchases from ], forming oil-for-expertise trade arrangements with ], and creating unique ] arrangements that exchange Venezuelan petroleum for cash-strapped Argentina's meat and dairy products. Additionally, Chávez worked closely with other Latin American leaders following the ] ] in many areas—especially energy integration—and championed the ] decision to adopt the Anti-Corruption Convention. Chávez also participates in the ] Friends groups for ], and is pursuing efforts to join and engage the ] trade bloc to expand the hemisphere's trade integration prospects. | |||
According to communications studies academic Stuart Davis, Chávez's foreign policy aimed to promote ].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1345216431 |title=Sanctions as War: Anti-Imperialist Perspectives on American Geo-Economic Strategy |date=2023 |publisher=Haymarket Books |isbn=978-1-64259-812-4 |location= |pages=275 |oclc=1345216431|last1=Davis |first1=Stuart}}</ref> He refocused Venezuelan foreign policy on Latin American economic and social integration by enacting bilateral trade and reciprocal aid agreements, including his so-called "oil diplomacy"<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2005/07/28/using-oil-to-spread-revolution | title=Using oil to spread revolution | newspaper=] | date=28 July 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.landofsixpeoples.com/news401/ns401205.htm |title=Guyana to Try for Better Oil Rates Under Caracas Accord |work=] |date=20 January 2004}}</ref> making Venezuela more dependent on using oil, its main commodity, and increasing its longterm vulnerability.<ref name=curse/> Chávez also focused on a variety of multinational institutions to promote his vision of Latin American integration, including ], Petrosur, and ]. Bilateral trade relationships with other Latin American countries also played a major role in his policy, with Chávez increasing arms purchases from Brazil, forming oil-for-expertise trade arrangements with Cuba, and creating unique ] arrangements that exchange Venezuelan petroleum for cash-strapped Argentina's meat and dairy products.<ref name=smoke/> | |||
Abroad, Chávez regularly portrays his movement's objectives as being diametrically opposed to "]" and "]". Chávez has, for example, denounced U.S. foreign policy regarding areas such as ], ], and the ]. Chávez's warm and public friendship with Cuban President ] has markedly compromised the U.S. policy of isolating Cuba diplomatically and economically.<ref>Macbeth, Hampden. (''] (COHA)'', 22 Jun 2005). . Retrieved 31 Oct 2005.</ref> Long-standing ties between the U.S. and Venezuelan militaries were also severed by Chávez. Moreover, his stance as an OPEC price hawk has made him unpopular in the United States. In 2000, Chávez made a ten-day tour of OPEC countries in a bid to promote his policies, becoming the first ] to meet ] since the ]. | |||
Chávez also aligned himself with authoritarian nations and radical movements that were seen as being anti-Western,<ref name=curse/> with relations with ] and ] becoming a particular importance. He also befriended ]s such as Belarus and Iran.<ref name=smoke>{{cite news | url=https://www.ft.com/content/e0cdedba-fe4e-11e1-8228-00144feabdc0 |last=Mander |first=Benedict |title=Venezuela: Up in smoke | work=] | date=16 September 2012 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> | |||
Chávez's foreign policy conduct and anti-Bush rhetoric has occasionally reached the level of personal attacks. Chávez once referred to U.S. President ] as a '']'' ("dumbass"), and constantly refers to him as ]. In a later speech, he made personal remarks regarding ], referring to her as a "complete illiterate" when it comes to comprehending Latin America.<ref>Ministerio de Comunicación e Información. (23 Jan 2005). Retrieved 10 Nov 2005.</ref><ref name="diehl_28mar2005">Diehl, Jackson. (''Washington Post'', 28 Mar 2005). Retrieved 10 Nov 2005.</ref><ref>''People's Daily''. (12 Jan 2004). Retrieved 10 Nov 2005.</ref> On ], ] Chavez called Bush "the devil".<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/09/20/chavez.un/index.html</ref> | |||
In particular, relations between Venezuela and the United States deteriorated markedly as Chávez became highly critical of the ],<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5365142.stm | title=Chavez tells UN Bush is 'devil' | work=] | date=10 September 2006}}</ref> opposing the U.S. led ] and condemning the NATO-led ]. Relations thawed somewhat under President ] in June 2009, only to steadily deteriorate once again shortly afterwards.<ref>{{cite web|title=Venezuela expels 3 American Diplomats over Violence Conspiracy|url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/02/venezuela-expels-3-american-diplomats-over-violence-conspiracy/|work=IANS|publisher=news.biharprabha.com|access-date=18 February 2014}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=June 2022}} | |||
After ] battered the United States’ ] in late 2005, the Chávez administration was the first foreign government to offer aid to the devastated regions. The Bush administration opted to refuse this aid. Later during the winter of 2005, various officials in the Northeastern United States signed an agreement with Venezuela to provide discounted heating oil to low income families. | |||
==Personal life== | |||
In a 2006 letter to the ], Chávez called on the U.S. Congress to "demand that the government of President Bush explain the self-inflicted attack on the World Trade Center and its victims, the supposed aircraft that crashed into the Pentagon and the links between the bin Laden family and the Bush family." Chávez has referred several times in the past to suspicions that the 9/11 attacks were planned by the Bush administration, and has called for an inquiries in the past as well. | |||
Chávez married twice. He first wed Nancy Colmenares ({{died-in|2022}}), a woman from a poor family in Chávez's hometown of Sabaneta. Chávez and Colmenares remained married for 18 years, during which time they had three children: Rosa Virginia, María Gabriela, and Hugo Rafael, the last of whom suffers from behavioural problems.<ref name="MarcanoTyszka 254-255">]. pp. 254–255.</ref> The couple separated soon after Chávez's 1992 coup attempt. During his first marriage, Chávez had an affair with historian ]; their relationship lasted nine years.<ref>Byrne, Jennifer. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060526160431/http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/stories/s882059.htm |date=26 May 2006 }}.''Foreign Correspondent''. 3 June 2003. Retrieved 11 November 2005.</ref> Chávez's second wife was journalist ], from whom he separated in 2002 and divorced in 2004.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2008/11/17/ex-wifes-mayoral-campaign-embarrasses-chavez/ | title=Ex-wife's mayoral campaign embarrasses Chavez | first=Rebecca | last=Frankel | work=] | date=17 November 2008}}</ref> Through that marriage, Chávez had another daughter, Rosinés.<ref name="MarcanoTyszka 254">]. p. 254.</ref> Both María and Rosa had children.<ref name="MarcanoTyszka 254-255"/><ref>Guevara, Aleida, and Hugo Chávez. ''Chávez, Venezuela and the new Latin America''. New York: Ocean Press. 2005. p 95.</ref> When Chávez was released from prison, he initiated affairs with women that had been his followers.<ref name=LOVE>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VayMEAAAQBAJ |last1=Rory |first1=Carroll | title=Comandante: Hugo Chavez's Venezuela | date=February 25, 2014 | location=New York | publisher=] |isbn=978-0143124887 |pages=49–52}}</ref> Allegations were also made that Chávez was a womanizer throughout both his marriages, having encounters with actresses, journalists, ministers, and ministers' daughters.<ref name=LOVE/> The allegations remained unproven and are contradicted by statements provided by other figures close to him,<ref>]. pp. 230–232.</ref> though one retired aide shared that while Chávez was married to Marisabel and afterward, he participated in liaisons with women and gave them gifts, with some rumors among his aides stating that some of the women bore children from Chávez.<ref name=LOVE/> | |||
Those who were very close to Chávez felt that he had ].<ref name=BIPOLAR>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VayMEAAAQBAJ | last=Rory | first=Carroll | title=Comandante : Hugo Chavez's Venezuela | date=February 25, 2014 | location=New York | publisher=] | isbn=978-0143124887 | pages=92–93}}</ref> Salvador Navarrete, a physician that treated Chávez during his first years in the presidency believed that Chávez was bipolar.<ref name=BIPOLAR/> In 2010, ], then vice president of Chávez's party, PSUV, stated that Chávez had "a tendency toward ]—]s that range from moments of extreme euphoria to moments of despondence".<ref name=BIPOLAR/> A different explanation was that such behavior was a tactic used by Chávez in order to attack opponents and polarize.<ref name=BIPOLAR/> | |||
There have also been heated disputes between Chávez and other Latin American leaders, including one with Mexican President ] over what Chávez alleged was Fox's support of U.S. trade interests. The dispute resulted in a strained diplomatic relationship between the two countries.<ref>''BBC News''. (14 Nov 2005). . Retrieved 14 Nov 2005.</ref> Another diplomatic row with ], referred to as the ], occurred in 2004, after the ] of Rodrigo Granda, a high ranking member of the political wing of the ]. In 2001, a dissension with ] occurred over suspicions that Chávez's administration was protecting and hiding ],<ref name = PeruVenSpat>BBC News. Accessed 23 May 2006.</ref> a former Peruvian intelligence director under the ] administration, wanted for corruption. Between January and March of 2006, Chávez commented on the candidates of the 2006 Peruvian Presidential election, openly backing ] while referring to ] as a "thief" and a "crook".<ref>BBC News. Accessed 23 May 2006.</ref><ref>BBC News. Accessed 23 May 2006.</ref> The Peruvian government therefore admonished Chávez for interfering in Peru's affairs. | |||
Chávez was a ]. He intended at one time to become a priest. He saw his socialist policies as having roots in the teachings of Jesus Christ (]),<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1819661120070519/ | title=Chávez demands Pope apologize for Indian comments | work=] | date=19 May 2007}}</ref> and he publicly used the slogan of "Christ is with the Revolution!"<ref>Chávez quoted in ]. p. 140.</ref> Although he traditionally kept his own faith a private matter, Chávez over the course of his presidency became increasingly open to discussing his religious views, stating that he interpreted Jesus as a Communist.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2007/01/11/with-marx-lenin-and-jesus-christ | title=With Marx, Lenin and Jesus Christ | newspaper=] | date=11 January 2007}}</ref> He was, in general, a ], some of whose declarations were disturbing to the religious community of his country. In 2008, he said that an ] does not exist.<ref>Jairo Vargas (2013). " {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517114516/http://www.latino-news.com/ni-el-poder-ni-el-dinero/ |date=17 May 2014 }}". Latino News</ref> He also believed in ]'s ], stating that "it is a lie that God created man from the ground".{{clarify|reason=this is not contrary to Catholicism. As much as Chavez CAN be organized, probably his disagreements with Catholics ought to be kept separate from disagreements with other religions|date=July 2015}}<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.notiactual.com/bocaranda-la-nueva-religiosidad-de-chavez-revela-la-gravedad-de-su-cancer/ | title=Bocaranda: La nueva religiosidad de Chávez revela la gravedad de su cáncer | trans-title=Bocaranda: Chávez's new religiosity reveals the seriousness of his cancer | work=NotiActual | date=9 April 2012 | language=es}}</ref> He cursed the state of Israel,<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nacion.com/el-mundo/chavez-condena-ataque-genocida-del-maldito-estado-de-israel/H7D2KT4UUFFQPLT2N45POS4K54/story/ | title=Chávez condena ataque "genocida" del "maldito" Estado de Israel | trans-title=Chávez condemns "genocidal" attack by the "damned" State of Israel | work=] | date=2 June 2010 | location=] | language=es}}</ref> and he had some disputes with both the Venezuelan Catholic clergy and Protestant groups like the ],<ref name=NewTribes>].</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.jornada.com.mx/2006/02/12/mas-otaola.html | title=Chávez y sus demonios | trans-title=Chávez and his demons | first=Javier | last=Otaola | work=] | date=12 February 2006 | language=es}}</ref> whose evangelical leader he "condemned to hell".<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.emol.com/noticias/internacional/2007/11/23/282912/chavez-condeno-al-infierno-a-un-lider-evangelico.html | title=Chávez condenó al "infierno" a un líder evangélico | trans-title=Chávez condemned an evangelical leader to "hell" | work=] | date=23 November 2007 | language=es | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517130420/http://www.emol.com/noticias/internacional/2007/11/23/282912/chavez-condeno-al-infierno-a-un-lider-evangelico.html |archive-date=17 May 2014 }}</ref> In addition, he showed ] practices such as the worship of the Venezuelan goddess ].<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3815145.stm | title=The goddess and the president | first=Mike | last=Ceaser | work=] | location=] | date=21 June 2004}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chavez-summons-ancient-spirits-in-cancer-bout/ | title=Chavez summons ancient spirits in cancer bout | agency=] | work=] | date=5 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://laprensa.mx/notas.asp?id=123582 | title=Chávez, después del cancer, recurre a la religión | trans-title=Chávez, after cancer, turns to religion | date=7 May 2012 | language=es | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517151531/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/845854.html| archive-date=17 May 2014 | url-status=live}}</ref> In his last years, after he discovered he had cancer, Chávez became more attached to the Catholic Church.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/44635/hugo-chavez-murio-en-el-seno-de-la-iglesia | title=Hugo Chávez murió "en el seno de la Iglesia" | trans-title=Hugo Chávez died "in the bosom of the Church" | work=ACI Prensa | date=6 March 2013 | language=es}}</ref> | |||
On ], ] Chávez ordered the Venezuelan ] to ] to return from ] to Venezuela, protesting the ]. Israel responded by recalling its Israeli ambassador to Venezuela.<ref> ''El Universal'' (4 August 2006). Accessed 4 Aug 2006.</ref><ref> ''El Universal'' (August 9, 2006).</ref><ref>Haaretz.com. ''Haaretz service'' (August 8, 2006).</ref> Chávez made statements comparing Israel to Hitler and describing their actions as a "new Holocaust", and blaming the United States.<ref name=MiamiUproar>Shoer-Roth, Daniel. MiamiHerald.com (9 August 2006) Accessed 9 Aug 2006.</ref> | |||
He was strongly criticized by supporters of Israel for allegedly trivializing the ].<ref name=MiamiUproar/> | |||
==Illness== | |||
==Chávez and the media== | |||
] in Caracas in July 2011, shortly after his first cancer surgery]] | |||
{{main|Media representation of Hugo Chávez}} | |||
On June 30, 2011, Chávez revealed in a televised address from ], Cuba, that he was recovering from 2 operations in Cuba, including an operation to remove an abscessed tumor with ]s in the pelvic region.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/world/americas/01venez.html | title=Chávez Says a Cancerous Tumor Was Removed | first=Simon | last=Romero | work=] | date=1 July 2011 | url-access=limited}}</ref> During the speech, he was noticeably thinner and paler and had a serious and at times sad expression, and stated that he regretted his lack of medical checkups. Analysts theorized that he was suffering from ].<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.today.com/news/chavez-reveals-he-fighting-cancer-after-surgery-wbna43602163 | title=Chavez reveals he is fighting cancer after surgery | first=IAN | last=JAMES | work=] | date= 30 June 2011}}</ref> He returned to Venezuela from Cuba on 4 July, but on 17 July 2011, he returned to Cuba for further ] treatments. At that time, some powers were delegated to cabinet ministers but he resisted requests by the opposition to give up all powers during his absence.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-14175027 | title=Venezuela's Chavez back in Cuba for cancer treatment | work=] | date=17 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-07-17/chavez-delegates-powers-to-rule-from-cuba | title=Chavez Delegates Some Powers, Says He Will Rule From Cuba | first=Charlie | last=Devereaux | work=] | date=17 July 2011 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> | |||
Even before the April 2002 coup, many owners, managers, and commentators working for the five major private mainstream television networks and largest mainstream newspapers had stated their opposition to Chávez's policies.<ref name=CJR>Dinges, John. ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (July 2005). Retrieved 13 Jun 2006.</ref> These media outlets have accused the Chávez administration of intimidating their journalists using specially-dispatched gangs.<ref name=CJR /> Chávez in turn alleges that the owners of these networks have primary allegiance not to Venezuela but to the United States, and that they seek the advancement of what he terms ] via corporate ]. | |||
Chávez gave a public appearance on 28 July 2011, his 57th birthday, in which he stated that his health troubles had led him to radically reorient his life towards a "more diverse, more reflective and multi-faceted" outlook, and he went on to call on the middle classes and the ] to get more involved in his Bolivarian Revolution, something he saw as "vital" to its success.<ref>].</ref> In August, Chávez announced that his government would nationalize Venezuela's gold industry, taking it over from Russian-controlled company Rusoro, while at the same time also moving the country's gold stocks, which were largely stored in western banks, to banks in allied countries such as Russia, China and Brazil.<ref>].</ref> | |||
According to Greg Grandin, professor of Latin American history at New York University, {{cquote| media is chronically obsessed with Chávez, and critical in a way that would be completely alien for most U.S. observers.'}} After the media-backed 2002 coup attempt, Venezuela passed 'social responsibility' legislation ostensibly regulating the media but has largely failed to enforce it.<ref name=DN21906>Democracy Now! Thursday, September 21st, 2006. Retrieved 4 Oct 2006.</ref> | |||
On 9 July 2012, Chávez declared himself fully recovered from cancer just three months before the ], which he won, securing a fourth term as president.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/venezuela-s-chavez-says-totally-free-of-cancer-again-idUSBRE8681CQ/ | title=Venezuela's Chavez says "totally free" of cancer, again | first1=Mario | last1=Naranjo | first2=Andrew | last2=Cawthorne | work=] | date=9 July 2012}}</ref> In November 2012, Chávez announced plans to travel to Cuba for more medical treatment for cancer.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hugo-chavez-heading-to-cuba-for-more-treatment/ |title=Hugo Chávez heading to Cuba for more treatment | agency=] | work=] |date=27 November 2012 |archive-date=28 November 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128200022/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57554992/hugo-chavez-heading-to-cuba-for-more-treatment/ |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
Throughout his presidency, Chávez has hosted the live talk show known as '']'' ("Hello, President!").<ref>Lakshmanan, Indira. '']'' (27 Jul 2005). Retrieved 15 Oct 2005.</ref> The show broadcasts in varying formats on state owned ] (VTV—Venezuelan State Television) each Sunday at 11:00 AM. The show features Chávez addressing topics of the day, taking phone calls and live questions from both the studio and broadcast audience, and touring locations where government social welfare programs are active. Additionally, on ], ], Chávez inaugurated ], a proposed pan-American homologue of ] that seeks to challenge the present domination of Latin American television news by ] and the United States-based ]. Chávez's media policies have contributed to elevated tensions between the United States and Venezuela.<ref>''Bruce, Ian''. (''BBC'', 28 Jun 2005). . Retrieved 13 Jun 2006.</ref> | |||
On 8 December 2012, Chávez announced he would undergo another operation after doctors in Cuba detected ]s; the operation took place on 11 December 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/12/08/world/americas/venezuela-chavez/ | title=Chávez to undergo new cancer surgery | first=Patrick | last=Oppmann | work=] | date=10 December 2012}}</ref> Chávez suffered complications from the surgery including a ] as well as unexpected bleeding.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chávez Suffers Respiratory Infection After Surgery | url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2012/12/18/chavez-suffers-respiratory-infection-after-surgery/ | agency=] | work=] | date=18 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Venezuela VP: Chávez Suffers 'New Complications' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna50327377 | first=IAN | last=JAMES | agency=] | work=] | date=30 December 2012}}</ref> It was announced on 3 January 2013, that Chávez had a severe ] that had caused ]s following a strict treatment regimen for respiratory insufficiency; he was then breathing through a ] but was giving orders to ministers by writing them down.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/01/03/world/americas/venezuela-chavez-health/index.html | title=Chávez battling 'severe' lung infection, respiratory failure | first1=Melissa | last1=Gray | first2=Marilia | last2=Brochetto | work=] | date=5 January 2013}}</ref> However, he was reported to have overcome the infection by 26 January and was then undergoing further treatment.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/venezuela-s-chavez-overcomes-infection-still-having-treatment-idUSBRE90P0L1/ | title=Venezuela's Chavez overcomes infection, still having treatment | first1=Fabian | last1=Cambero | first2=Brian | last2=Ellsworth | work=] | date=26 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/1/27/venezuelas-chavez-overcomes-infection | title=Venezuela's Chávez 'overcomes infection' | work=] | date=27 January 2013}}</ref> On 18 February 2013, Chávez returned to Venezuela after two months of cancer treatment in Cuba.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-21495976 | title=Hugo Chávez 'back in Venezuela' after Cuba cancer care | work=] | date=18 February 2013}}</ref> On 1 March 2013, after opposition leader ] accused the government of lying about Chávez's condition, Vice President Nicolás Maduro said that Chávez had been receiving ] in Venezuela following his surgery in Cuba and "continues his battle for life". A ], broadcast on live television, was held in the hospital in which Chávez was staying.<ref>{{cite news | title=Venezuela Says Chávez Receiving Chemotherapy | url=https://apnews.com/f929055d42f54bc3a480a147eee66ceb | work=] | date=2 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/02/chavez-venezuela-cancer-chemotherapy/1958391/ | title=Venezuela says Chávez receiving chemotherapy | first=Girish | last=Gupta | work=] | date=2 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-21639726 | title=Venezuela Chavez having chemotherapy, says VP Maduro | work=] | date=2 March 2013}}</ref> On 4 March, it was announced that Chávez's breathing problems had worsened and he was suffering a new, severe ].<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/chavezs-breathing-problems-worsen-has-severe-new-infection-flna1c8687352 | title=Chavez's breathing problems worsen, has severe new infection | work=] | date=5 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/03/04/venezuela-says-chavezs-breathing-problems-have-worsened/ | title=Venezuela says Chávez's breathing problems have worsened |agency=] | work=] | date=5 March 2013 | url-access=limited}}</ref> | |||
== Bolivarianism and Chavismo == | |||
]. (''Agência Brasil'')]] | |||
{{main|Bolivarianism|Bolivarian Circles|Criticism of Hugo Chávez}} | |||
Chávez's version of ], although drawing heavily from ]'s ideals, was also influenced by the writings of ] historian ]. Chávez was well acquainted with the various traditions of Latin American socialism espoused by ] and ] and from a young age by the ] doctrine of ] and ]. Other key influences on Chávez's political philosophy include ] and ]. Other indirect influences on Chávez's political philosophy are the writings of ] and the teachings of ] as recorded in the Bible (Chávez describes Jesus as the world's first socialist.) Although Chávez himself refers to his ideology as ''Bolivarianismo'' ("Bolivarianism"), Chávez's supporters and opponents in Venezuela refer to themselves as being either for or against "''chavismo''." Thus, Chávez supporters refer to themselves not as "Bolivarians" or "Bolivarianists," but rather as "'']s''." | |||
==Death== | |||
Later in his life, Chávez would acknowledge the role that ] (a form of socialism that emphasizes grassroots democratic participation) plays in Bolivarianism.<ref>Sojo, Cleto A. (''Venezuela Analysis'', 31 Jan 2005). . Retrieved 20 Oct 2005.</ref> Because his Bolivarianism relies on popular support, Chávez has organized the "]," which he cites as examples of grassroots and participatory democracy. The circles are charged with such tasks as neighborhood beautification, mass mobilization, lending support to small businesses, and providing basic social services, but critics are suspect of their independence and aims. | |||
{{Main|Death of Hugo Chávez}} | |||
] | |||
{{Quote box | |||
| width = 270px | |||
| align = left | |||
| quote = Venezuela's hybrid regime, after Chávez's death, became more selectively accommodating on the inside and more explicitly repressive on the outside. This allowed the regime to survive, but not to thrive. Regime survival was purchased at the cost of policy immobilism. And policy immobilism has left Venezuela with the deepest economic crisis in Venezuela's history. | |||
| source = —Corales and Penfold, ''Dragon in the Tropics: The Legacy of Hugo Chávez''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Corrales |first1=Javier |last2=Penfold| first2=Michael| title=Dragon in the Tropics: The Legacy of Hugo Chávez |date=2 April 2015 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0815725930 |page=14}}</ref> | |||
}}On 5 March 2013, Vice President Nicolás Maduro announced on state television that Chávez had died in a military hospital in Caracas at 16:25 ] (20:55 ]).<ref name=hero>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-xpm-2013-mar-05-la-me-hugo-chavez-20130306-story.html | title=President Hugo Chavez dies at 58; hero to Venezuela's poor | first1=Chris | last1=Kraul | first2=Mery | last2=Mogollon | work=] | date=5 March 2013 | url-access=limited}}</ref> Maduro said Chávez died "after battling a tough illness for nearly two years".<ref name=hero/> According to the head of Venezuela's presidential guard, Chávez died from a massive ], and his cancer of the pelvic region was very advanced when he died.<ref name=suffering>{{Cite news | url=https://apnews.com/general-news-b97aa654e66e42e9b73e8c9d7ca54218 | title=General: Heart attack killed a suffering Chavez | work=] | date=7 March 2013}}</ref> José Ornella said that near the end of his life Chávez "couldn't speak but he said it with his lips ... '''No quiero morir, por favor no me dejen morir''{{'}} ('I don't want to die. Please don't let me die'), because he loved his country, he sacrificed himself for his country".<ref name=suffering/> Chávez is survived by four children and four grandchildren.<ref name=hero/> | |||
Chávez was entombed in a marble sarcophagus at the Mountain Barracks in Caracas.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/thousands-make-pilgrimage-to-chavezs-tomb-zbctg5tzl20 | title=Thousands make pilgrimage to Chávez's tomb | work=] | date=17 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/chavez-shrine-draws-crowds-of-pilgrims-a-month-after-his-death-idUSBRE9340C0/ | title=Chavez shrine draws crowds of pilgrims a month after his death | first=Andrew | last=Cawthorne | work=] | date=5 April 2013}}</ref> | |||
==Criticism== | |||
]. This protest was in favor of a "yes" vote in the ].]] | |||
{{main|Criticism of Hugo Chávez}} | |||
With respect to domestic policies, critics report that both corruption and crime are rampant.<ref name=PostCrime>Reel, M. ''Washington Post'' (May 10, 2006), p. A17. Accessed 24 June 2006.</ref><ref>The Economist (Mar 30 2006), ''The Economist. Accessed 19 June 2006.</ref> They also cite a failing infrastructure and public hospitals.<ref name=EconPov>The Economist (Feb 16, 2006). ''The Economist'', Retrieved 22 June 2006.</ref> Criticism from Chávez supporters arises from reports that Chávez is not fulfilling his major campaign pledges with respect to labor and land reform.<ref>Fuentes, Federico. (''Venezuela Analysis'', 26 Sep 2005). . Retrieved 05 Nov 2005.</ref><ref>Márquez, Humberto. (''Inter Press Service'', 05 Apr 2005). . Retrieved 05 Nov 2005.</ref><ref>Parma, Alessandro. (''Venezuela Analysis'', 20 Oct 2005). Retrieved 15 Oct 2005.</ref> | |||
] | |||
Critics have also charged that the Chávez government has engaged in "gigantic fraud" during the 2004 recall referendum.<ref>''BBC News''. (''BBC'' 17 August 2004). . Retrieved 20 July 2006 </ref> The United States government claims that his cooperation in the ] is negligible or purposely indifferent with regards to the FARC and ELN;<ref>Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. (US State Dept., April 28. 2006). Retrieved June 26, 2006.</ref> nonetheless, the U.S. government says there is no evidence of a direct link between terrorism and Chávez.<ref>Kraul, Chris. (''LA Times'', 25 Jun 2006). Retrieved 25 Jun 2006.</ref> | |||
After defecting from Venezuela, former bodyguard for Chávez, ], stated that he died in December 2012, months before his death was officially announced.<ref name="INFOBAEjan2015">{{cite news|url=http://www.infobae.com/2015/01/29/1623711-el-jefe-seguridad-chavez-declaro-que-el-caudillo-murio-dos-meses-antes-la-fecha-oficial|title=El jefe de Seguridad de Chávez declaró que el caudillo murió dos meses antes de la fecha oficial|date=29 January 2015|access-date=30 January 2015|agency=]}}</ref> In July 2018, former Attorney General ] also said that Chávez had actually died in December 2012 and the announcement of his death was delayed for political reasons. In an interview cited by Venezuelan daily ], the former Chávez supporter said that the Venezuelan president died on 28 December, but his closest allies decided to delay the announcement and never submitted the death certificate to the Office of the Attorney General.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/politica/luisa-ortega-diaz-revelo-que-diosdado-cabello-llamo-morir-chavez_243720|title=Diosdado Cabello a Luisa Ortega Díaz: "vente que Chávez se murió"|last=Web|first=El Nacional|date=12 July 2018|work=El Nacional|access-date=12 July 2018|language=es}}</ref> The supposed delay in announcing Chávez's death raised concerns that laws signed in his name during that period were forged for political purposes.<ref name="INFOBAEjan2015" /> | |||
Several public figures have even gone so far as to call for the assassination of Chávez, most notably US Conservative Christian televangelist ].<ref>ABCNews. "Televangelist Calls for Chavez's Death. Accessed 23 May 2006. </ref> Other such requests have been expressed by Venezuelan actor ]<ref name=Crosshairs>''Márquez Humberto''. (IPS March 9 2006) Accessed 21 Jun 2006.</ref> and former president of Venezuela ].<ref>Branford, Becky. ''BBC News'' (August 13, 2004). ''BBC''. Accessed 26 June 2006.</ref> The US Ambassador to Venezuela between 2001 and 2004, Charles Shapiro, also reported to the Chávez administration two potential assassination plots.<ref name=Crosshairs /> | |||
Chavez has been accused of concentrating power of judicial and legislative branches.<ref>''The Washington Times'' (December 6, 2005). ''The Washington Times''.</ref> | |||
His death triggered a constitutional requirement that a ] be called within 30 days. Maduro, Chavez's vice president, was elected president on 14 April 2013. | |||
== Personal life == | |||
] | |||
{{main|Early life of Hugo Chávez}} | |||
Hugo Chávez has been married twice. He first wedded ], a woman from a poor family originating in Chávez's own hometown of Sabaneta. Chávez and Colmenares remained married for eighteen years, during which time they had three children: Rosa Virginia, María Gabriela, and Hugo Rafael. They separated soon after Chávez's 1992 coup attempt. During his first marriage, Chávez also had an affair with young historian ]; they had a relationship which lasted nine years, but ended.<ref name="Guillermoprieto 2005"/><ref>Byrne, Jennifer. (''Foreign Correspondent'', 03 Jun 2003). . Retrieved 11 Nov 2005.</ref> Chávez is separated from his second wife, journalist ]. Through that marriage, Chávez had another daughter, Rosa Inés. Chávez has one granddaughter, Gabriela.<ref>Palast, Greg. (''BBC Newsnight'', 2 May 2002). . Retrieved 09 Nov 2005.</ref> | |||
==Honors and awards== | |||
Chávez is of ] extraction,<ref>Hugo Chávez. (10 July 2001).Accessed 12 October 2006.{{es icon}}</ref> although he has had a series of disputes with both the Venezuelan Catholic clergy and the ] church hierarchies.<ref name=NewTribes/><ref>Kozloff, Nikolas. (''Venezuela Analysis'', 24 Oct 2005). . Retrieved 11 Nov 2005.</ref> He has traditionally kept his own faith a private matter, but over the course of his presidency, Chávez has become increasingly open to discussing his religious views, stating that both his faith and his interpretation of ]' personal life and ideology have had a profound impact on his leftist and progressivist views.<ref name="chavez_17sep2005" /> He often invokes God and asks for prayer in speeches, as he did when he asked Venezuelans to pray for ].<ref>Obiko Pearson, Natalie. ''Associated Press'' (August 10, 2006). ''The Washington Post.''</ref> | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;" | |||
==See also== | |||
|- | |||
{{Topics related to Hugo Chávez}} | |||
! colspan="2"| Award or decoration | |||
{{VEpresidents}} | |||
! style="width:110px;"| Country | |||
! style="width:110px;"| Date | |||
! style="width:110px;"| Place | |||
! style="width:300px;"| Note | |||
|- | |||
| style="width:80px;"| ] | |||
|]<ref> Londres2012.ain.cu {{in lang|es}}</ref> | |||
|{{flag|Cuba}} | |||
|17 November 1999 | |||
|] | |||
|Cuban highest order of merit. | |||
|- | |||
| style="width:80px;"| ] | |||
|]<ref> Ordens.presidencia.pt {{in lang|pt}}</ref> | |||
|{{flag|Portugal}} | |||
|8 November 2001 | |||
|] | |||
|For exceptional and outstanding merit to Portugal and its ] | |||
|- | |||
|style="width:80px;"| ] | |||
|Order of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fidelcastro.cu/en/node/1279|publisher=Fidel: Soldado de las Ideas|title=Discurso pronunciado por el Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz en el acto de condecoración con la Orden "Carlos Manuel de Céspedes" al Presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, en el X Aniversario de su primera visita a Cuba. Teatro "Carlos Marx", 14 de diciembre de 2004|language=es|access-date=11 April 2021|archive-date=12 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412133222/http://www.fidelcastro.cu/en/node/1279|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
|{{flag|Cuba}} | |||
|14 December 2004 | |||
|] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| style="width:80px;"| ] | |||
|]<ref>{{cite news|title=Highest Badge of Honor Granted to Chavez|url=http://english.farsnews.ir/newstext.php?nn=8505080516|publisher=]|date=30 July 2006|access-date=12 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103143210/http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8505080516 |archive-date=3 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian President Awarded Iran's Medal of Honor|url=http://english.people.com.cn/200607/31/eng20060731_288280.html|newspaper=]|date=31 July 2006|access-date=12 June 2013}}</ref> | |||
|{{flag|Iran}} | |||
|29 July 2006 | |||
|] | |||
|Highest national medal of Iran. | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
|]<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020193525/http://venezuela-us.org/es/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/23-JUL-2008%20IMPOSICION%20ORDEN%20AMISTAD%20DE%20LOS%20PUEBLOS.pdf |date=20 October 2013 }} Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela – Washington D.C., US {{in lang|es}}</ref> | |||
|{{flag|Belarus}} | |||
|23 July 2008 | |||
|] | |||
|Highest Belarusian award for foreigners. | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
|]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2010/06/27/actualidad/1277589602_850215.html|newspaper=El País|title=Chávez y El Asad crean el "eje de los valientes" frente al imperialismo|date=27 June 2010|language=es|access-date=13 May 2021}}</ref> | |||
|{{flag|Syria|1980}} | |||
|27 June 2010 | |||
|] | |||
|Syrian highest order of merit. | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
|]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eluniverso.com/2010/07/23/1/1361/venezuela-estrecha-relacion-abjasia-osetia-sur.html|publisher=El Universo|title=Venezuela estrecha relación con Abjasia y Osetia del Sur|date=23 July 2010|language=es|access-date=11 April 2021}}</ref> | |||
|{{flag|South Ossetia}} | |||
|23 July 2010 | |||
|] | |||
|South Ossetian highest order of merit. | |||
|- | |||
|] | |||
|]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.predsednik.rs/node/574 |title=Председник Николић постхумно одликовао Уга Чавеса, председника Венецуеле |publisher=Predsednik.rs |date=6 March 2013|access-date=7 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020130246/http://www.predsednik.rs/node/574 |archive-date=20 October 2013}}</ref> | |||
|{{flag|Serbia}} | |||
|6 March 2013 | |||
|] | |||
|Serbian highest order of merit. Awarded posthumously. | |||
|- | |||
|] | |||
|Order of Francisco Morazán<ref>{{cite news |title=Presidente Lobo reconoce labor de Hugo Chávez a favor de Honduras |url=https://www.20minutos.com.mx/noticia/b109801/presidente-lobo-reconoce-labor-de-hugo-chavez-a-favor-de-honduras/ |date=26 January 2014 |language=es|via=20minutos.com.mx}}</ref> | |||
|{{flag|Honduras|1949}} | |||
|27 January 2014 | |||
|] | |||
|Honduran highest order of merit. Awarded posthumously. | |||
|- | |||
|] | |||
|]<ref>{{cite news |title=Maduro recibió al palestino Abbas y desafió a Occidente prometiéndole apoyo internacional |url=https://www.infobae.com/2014/05/16/1564993-maduro-recibio-al-palestino-abbas-y-desafio-occidente-prometiendole-apoyo-internacional/ |work=] |date=16 May 2014 |language=es}}</ref> | |||
|{{flag|Palestine}} | |||
|16 May 2014 | |||
|] | |||
|Palestinian highest order of merit. Awarded posthumously. | |||
|} | |||
===Recognition=== | |||
The United States–based '']'' magazine included Chávez among their list of the world's ] in 2005 and 2006, noting the spreading of his anti-globalization efforts and anti-US sentiment throughout Latin America.<ref name=autogenerated4>].</ref><ref name=influence>].</ref> In a 2006 list compiled by the left-wing British magazine '']'', he was voted 11th in the list of "Heroes of our time".<ref>].</ref> In 2010 the magazine included Chávez in its annual ''The World's 50 Most Influential Figures''.<ref name="htanna">].</ref> His biographers Marcano and Tyszka believed that within only a few years of his presidency, he "had already earned his place in history as the president most loved and most despised by the Venezuelan people, the president who inspired the greatest zeal and the deepest revulsion at the same time".<ref>]. p. 148.</ref> | |||
In the ]'s capital ] a park was named after Chávez on 18 October 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://minsk.gov.by/en/news/events/2014/10/18/1944/|title=News – Minsk city executive committee|website=minsk.gov.by|access-date=3 August 2017|archive-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804052709/http://minsk.gov.by/en/news/events/2014/10/18/1944/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In addition in ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.palwatch.org/pages/news_archive.aspx?doc_id=9367|title=El-Bireh Municipality dedicates a street to Hugo Chavez – Palestinian Daily News|access-date=3 August 2017}}</ref> and in ],<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=3 July 2013|title=Moscow Street Named After Late Venezuelan Leader Chavez|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2013/07/03/moscow-street-named-after-late-venezuelan-leader-chavez-a25490|access-date=16 April 2021|website=The Moscow Times|language=en}}</ref> streets were also named after Chávez. | |||
===Honorary degrees=== | |||
Chávez was awarded the following honorary degrees:<ref name="GOV_2005">{{cite web| publisher=Government of Venezuela | year = 2005| title = Gobierno en Línea: Biografía del Presidente Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías | url = http://gobiernoenlinea.gob.ve/home/poderG_detalle_interna.dot | access-date = 15 October 2011|language=es}}</ref> | |||
* ], South Korea; Honorary Doctorate in Political Science – Granted by Rector Chungwon Choue on 16 October 1999. | |||
* ], Dominican Republic; Honorary Doctorate in Jurisprudence, 9 March 2001. | |||
* ], Brazil; Honorary Doctorate – Granted by Rector Alberto Pérez on 3 April 2001. | |||
* ], Nicaragua; Honorary Doctorate in Engineering – Granted by Rector Aldo Urbina in May 2001.<ref>{{cite news|title=UNI otorgará "Honoris Causa" a Chávez|url=http://impreso.elnuevodiario.com.ni/2007/01/05/politica/37958|newspaper=]|date=5 January 2007|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022100042/http://impreso.elnuevodiario.com.ni/2007/01/05/politica/37958 |archive-date=22 October 2013}}</ref> | |||
* ], Russia; Honorary Doctorate, 15 May 2001. | |||
* ], China; Honorary Doctorate in Economics, 24 May 2001. | |||
* ], Bolivia; Honorary Doctorate, 24 January 2006.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020194226/http://www.eldiario.net/noticias/2006/2006_01/nt060124/4_05scd.html |date=20 October 2013 }} Eldiario.net, 24 January 2006 {{in lang|es}}</ref> | |||
* ], Chile; Honorary Doctorate – Granted by Rector Carlos Margotta Trincado on 7 March 2006.<ref>{{cite news|title=Universidad de Arte y Ciencias Sociales de Chile entrega Doctorado Honoris Causa al presidente Chávez|url=http://minci2.minci.gob.ve/noticias-prensa-presidencial/28/16560/universidad_de_arte.html|publisher=]|date=10 November 2007|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616043715/http://minci2.minci.gob.ve/noticias-prensa-presidencial/28/16560/universidad_de_arte.html|archive-date=16 June 2013}}</ref> | |||
* ], Syria; Honorary Doctorate – Granted by Rector Wael Moualla on 30 August 2006.<ref>{{cite news|title=Universidad de Damasco otorgó Doctorado Honoris Causa al presidente Chávez|url=http://minci2.minci.gob.ve/noticias-prensa-presidencial/28/10065/universidad_de_damasco.html|publisher=]|date=30 August 2006|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616043610/http://minci2.minci.gob.ve/noticias-prensa-presidencial/28/10065/universidad_de_damasco.html|archive-date=16 June 2013}}</ref> | |||
* ], Libya; Honorary Doctorate in Economy and Human Sciences, 23 October 2010.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chávez fue investido doctor "honoris causa" por la Universidad de Trípoli|url=http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/elmundo/articulo-231171-chavez-fue-investido-doctor-honoris-causa-universidad-de-tripoli|newspaper=]|date=23 October 2010|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Chávez fue investido doctor "honoris causa" por la Universidad de Trípoli|url=http://www.americaeconomia.com/politica-sociedad/politica/chavez-fue-investido-doctor-honoris-causa-por-la-universidad-de-tripoli|publisher=]|date=23 October 2010|access-date=15 June 2013|language=es}}</ref> | |||
==In popular culture== | |||
] city]] | |||
* Syndicated cartoonists from around the world created cartoons, illustrations, and videos of Hugo Chávez's controversial political career and the reactions to his death.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-cartoons-the-quotable-hugo-chavez-20130308,0,4564213.photogallery?index=la-ol-hugo-chavez-on-capitalism-20130308|title=Hugo Chavez Cartoons and Comics|first=Steve |last=Brodner|date=8 March 2013|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=21 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://thecontributor.com/humor/cartoonists-say-goodbye-hugo-chavez|title=Cartoonists Say Goodbye to Hugo Chavez|author=<!--staff writer; no by-line.-->|date=6 March 2013|publisher=The Contributor|access-date=21 April 2013|archive-date=15 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315130134/http://thecontributor.com/humor/cartoonists-say-goodbye-hugo-chavez|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/directory/H/Hugo_Chavez.asp | |||
|title=Hugo Chavez Cartoons and Comics|author=<!--staff writer; no by-line.-->|date=21 April 2013|publisher=News Cartoons, Cartoonstock|access-date=21 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://photos.mercurynews.com/2013/03/07/cartoons-hugo-chavezs-death/|title=Hugo Chavez Cartoons and Comics|author=<!--staff writer; no by-line.-->|date=7 March 2013|newspaper=The Mercury News|access-date=7 April 2013|archive-date=16 June 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616043702/http://photos.mercurynews.com/2013/03/07/cartoons-hugo-chavezs-death/|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
* Chávez was indirectly/subliminally portrayed in two Venezuelan ] from the ], which were critical of his government: ] from ] (with the character of Pedro Elías Ferrer), produced by ], and ] from ] (with the character of Olegario Pérez), produced by ]. In both telenovelas Chávez was "played" by the actor ], with whom he shares a similar physical appearance. His ex wife (current wife at that moment), ], was also portrayed in the first production, by ](with the character of Clara Inés Ramírez). <ref name=":9" /> <ref name=":10" /> <ref name=":11" /> | |||
* ] directed the 2009 documentary '']'', where he "sets out on a road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media's misperception of South America, while interviewing seven of its elected presidents". Chávez appears in one segment being interviewed by Stone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.movies.ie/movies/South_of_the_Border |title=South of the Border |date=30 December 2010 |publisher=Movies.is |access-date=21 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100801081141/http://www.movies.ie/movies/South_of_the_Border |archive-date=1 August 2010}}</ref> | |||
* In 2011, he appeared in a game '']''.], 2006]]On 5 March 2014, Oliver Stone and ] released the documentary film '']'' (''My Friend Hugo''), a documentary about his political life, one year after his death. | |||
* Hugo Chávez and most of the other Latin American presidents are parodied in the animated web page '']''.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/04/la-isla-presidencial-keep_n_2806971.html|title= 'La Isla Presidencial' Keeps Venezuelans Laughing, Despite Contentious Politics |date= 3 April 2013|work=HuffPost|access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref> | |||
*The 2016 documentary '']'' explores the effects of Chávez's ] and his victory in the ], as well as his mistakes.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2 December 2017|title=El ocaso del socialismo mágico – PLAY TV|url=https://www.abc.es/play/television/programas/el-ocaso-del-socialismo-magico-42237/|access-date=11 September 2021|website=]|language=es|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326042320/https://www.abc.es/play/television/programas/el-ocaso-del-socialismo-magico-42237/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=14 November 2016|title=Proyección: El ocaso del socialismo mágico|url=https://elucabista.com/2016/11/14/proyeccion-ocaso-del-socialismo-magico/|access-date=11 September 2021|website=El Ucabista|language=es}}</ref> | |||
* ] produces a TV series called ] about the life of Hugo Chávez with 102 episodes. | |||
*The 2018 documentary '']'' ({{Langx|es|]: la peste del siglo XXI}}), analysis of the causes, social, political and economic that caused the rise of Chávez as president of Venezuela; "his abuse of power and the response of civil society, including the student movement; his political fall and as the secrecy that surrounded his illness and the succession of Nicolás Maduro".<ref>{{cite news|title='Chavismo: la peste del siglo XXI' es premiado como mejor documental en Nueva York|language=Spanish|agency=El Nuevo País|url=https://elnuevopais.net/2018/11/01/chavismo-la-peste-del-siglo-xxi-es-premiado-como-mejor-documental-en-nueva-york/|access-date=11 December 2018|archive-date=2 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102191132/https://elnuevopais.net/2018/11/01/chavismo-la-peste-del-siglo-xxi-es-premiado-como-mejor-documental-en-nueva-york/|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
*The documentary film released in 2018 '']'' (English: ''I am the people''), directed by Venezuelan filmmaker {{ill|Carlos Oteyza|es}} and produced by Mexican historian ], explores the populism of Chávez.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sánchez Amaya|first1=Humberto|title=El pueblo soy yo, un documental para evitar la indiferencia|language=Spanish|agency=El Nacional|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/entretenimiento/pueblo-soy-documental-para-evitar-indiferencia_263316|access-date=7 February 2019}}</ref> | |||
{{Portal|Venezuela|Biography}} | |||
{{Clear}} | |||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
{{notelist}} | |||
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;"> | |||
<references /></div> | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
=== Citations === | |||
<div style="font-size: 85%"> | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
* Amnesty International. Accessed 20 June 2006. | |||
* {{Harvard reference | |||
| Author=BBC News | |||
| Last=BBC | |||
| Year=2005 | |||
| Title=Profile: Hugo Chávez | |||
| Periodical=BBC News | |||
| Date=], ] | |||
| URL=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3517106.stm | |||
}}. | |||
* {{Harvard reference | |||
| Surname1=Boudin | |||
| Given1=Chesa | |||
| Surname2=Chavez | |||
| Given2=Hugo | |||
| Surname3=Harnecker | |||
| Given3=Marta | |||
| Title=Understanding the Venezuelan Revolution: Hugo Chávez Talks to Marta Harnecker | |||
| Publisher=Monthly Review Press | |||
| Year=2005 | |||
| ID=ISBN 1-58367-127-7 | |||
}}. | |||
* {{Harvard reference | |||
| Surname1=Chavez | |||
| Given1=Hugo | |||
| Surname2=Deutschmann | |||
| Given2=David | |||
| Surname3=Salado | |||
| Given3=Javier | |||
| Title=Chávez: Venezuela and the New Latin America | |||
| Publisher=Ocean Press | |||
| Year=2004 | |||
| ID=ISBN 1-92088-800-4 | |||
}}. | |||
* {{Harvard reference | |||
| Author=DiJohn, Jonathan | |||
| Last=DiJohn | |||
| First=Jonathan | |||
| Year=2004 | |||
| Title=The Political Economy of Economic Liberalisation in Venezuela | |||
| Periodical=Crisis States Programme, Development Research Centre, LSE | |||
| Date=June 2004 | |||
| URL=http://www.crisisstates.com/download/wp/wp46.pdf | |||
}}. | |||
* {{Harvard reference | |||
| Surname1=Ellner | |||
| Given1=Steven | |||
| Surname2=Hellinger | |||
| Given2=Daniel | |||
| Title=Venezuelan Politics in the Chávez Era: Class, Polarization, and Conflict | |||
| Publisher=Lynne Rienner | |||
| Year=2004 | |||
| ID=ISBN 1-58826-297-9 | |||
}}. | |||
* {{Harvard reference | |||
| Author=Golinger, Eva | |||
| Last=Golinger | |||
| First=Eva | |||
| Title=El Código Chávez: Descifrando la Intervención de los Estados Unidos en Venezuela | |||
| Publisher=Editorial de Ciencias Sociales | |||
| Year=2005 | |||
| ID=ISBN 9-59060-723-3 | |||
}}. | |||
* {{Harvard reference | |||
| Author=Gott, Richard | |||
| Last=Gott | |||
| First=Richard | |||
| Authorlink=Richard Gott | |||
| Title=In the Shadow of the Liberator: The Impact of Hugo Chávez on Venezuela and Latin America | |||
| Publisher=Verso Books | |||
| Year=2001 | |||
| ID=ISBN 1-85984-365-4 | |||
}}. | |||
* {{Harvard reference | |||
| Author=Gott, Richard | |||
| Last=Gott | |||
| First=Richard | |||
| Authorlink=Richard Gott | |||
| Title=Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution | |||
| Publisher=Verso Books | |||
| Year=2005 | |||
| ID=ISBN 1-84467-533-5 | |||
| URL=http://www.versobooks.com/books/ghij/g-titles/gott_hugo_chavez.shtml | |||
}}. | |||
* Human Rights Watch. Accessed 20 June 2006. | |||
* {{Harvard reference | |||
| Surname1=McCoy | |||
| Given1=Jennifer L. | |||
| Surname2=Myers | |||
| Given2=David J. | |||
| Title=The Unraveling of Representative Democracy in Venezuela | |||
| Publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press | |||
| Year=2004 | |||
| ID=ISBN 0-80187-960-4 | |||
}}. | |||
* {{Harvard reference | |||
| Author=O'Donoghue, Patrick J. | |||
| Last=O'Donoghue | |||
| First=Patrick J. | |||
| Year=2005 | |||
| Title=Historian Details Presidential Interest In Controversial Barinas Landed Estate | |||
| Date=], ] | |||
| URL=http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=45975 | |||
}}. | |||
</div> | |||
== |
=== Sources === | ||
==== Books ==== | |||
{{commons|Hugo Chávez}} | |||
{{refbegin}} | |||
{{wikiquote|Hugo Chávez}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Arráiz Lucca |first=Rafael |title=Venezuela: 1830 a nuestros días |publisher=Titivillus |year=2007 |isbn=9789803542351 |edition=1st |pages=201 |language=es |author-link=Rafael Arráiz Lucca}} | |||
===Interviews and speeches=== | |||
* {{cite book |title= Dismantling Democracy in Venezuela: The Chávez Authoritarian Experiment |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2m9-gYOs9K4C |last= Brewer-Carías |first=Allan |year= 2010 |publisher= Cambridge University Press |location= Cambridge and New York |isbn=978-0-521-19587-4 |ref=Bre10 }} | |||
* transcript, first plenary session of the Special Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico. ], ]. | |||
* {{cite book |author-link=Rory Carroll |last=Carroll |first=Rory |isbn=978-1-59420-457-9 |year=2013 |location=New York |publisher=The Penguin Press |title = Commandante: myth and reality in Hugo Chávez's Venezuela |ref=Car13 |url = https://archive.org/details/comandantemythre0000carr }} | |||
* transcript, opening of XII G-15 Summit. ], ]. | |||
* {{cite book |title = Dragon in the Tropics: Hugo Chávez and the Political Economy of Revolution in Venezuela |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pxgkx1rRkJQC&pg=PA163 |last= Corrales |first=Javier and Penfold, Michael |year= 2011 |publisher= Brookings Institution Press |location=Washington D.C. |isbn=978-0-8157-0497-3 |ref=Cor11 }} | |||
* audio, UN’s ]. | |||
* {{cite book |title= Venezuela's Chavismo and Populism in Comparative Perspective |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ujAydQj-x_4C |last= Hawkins |first=Kirk A. |year= 2010 |publisher= Cambridge University Press |location= New York |isbn=978-0-521-76503-9 |ref=Haw10 }} | |||
* , includes untitled speech English and Spanish, ] ], ] ] | |||
* {{cite book |title = Hugo Chávez: The Definitive Biography of Venezuela's Controversial President |url=https://archive.org/details/hugochvezthedefi0000marc |last1=Marcano |first1=Christina |last2=Tyszka |first2=Alberto Barrera |year=2007 |publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=978-0-679-45666-7 |ref=Mar07 |url-access=registration }} | |||
* The speech in which Chávez referred to Bush as "The Devil." | |||
* {{Cite book|title=Historieta de Venezuela: De Macuro a Maduro|last1=Márquez|first1=Laureano|last2=Sanabria|first2=Eduardo|publisher=Gráficas Pedrazas|year=2018|isbn=978-1-7328777-1-9|edition=1st|author-link=Laureano Márquez}} | |||
* transcript, ]. ], ]. | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Neuman |first=William |title=]|publisher=] |year=2022 |isbn=978-1250266163|edition=1st |language=en}} | |||
* audio, Latino Pastoral Action Center, ], ], ], ]. ( {{es_icon}}) | |||
* {{cite book |title= The History of Venezuela |url = https://archive.org/details/historyofvenezue0000tarv |url-access= registration |last= Tarver |first=H. Michael and Frederick, Julia C. |year= 2005 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |location=Westport, Connecticut |isbn=978-0-313-33525-9 |ref=Tar05 }} | |||
* ] and of a Chávez interview in New York City. ], ]. | |||
* {{cite book |title= Crafting Civilian Control of the Military in Venezuela: A Comparative Perspective |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rIRJSwlxxuEC |last= Trinkunas |first=Harold A. |year= 2005 |publisher= University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina |isbn=978-0-8078-5650-5 |ref=Tri05}} | |||
* ] '']/].'' ], ]. | |||
* {{cite book |title = The Venezuelan Revolution: A Marxist Perspective ''(Third Edition)'' |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3VdvqMtpLzAC |author-link=Alan Woods (political theorist) |last=Woods |first=Alan |year= 2006 |publisher= Well Red Books |location= London |isbn=978-1-900007-21-4 |ref=Woo06 }} | |||
* ] ]. | |||
{{refend}} | |||
* ] ], ]. | |||
* Hosted by the UN webcast website (q.v. http://www.un.org/webcast). Requires Real Media Player. | |||
=== |
====Academic articles==== | ||
{{Refbegin|30em}} | |||
*Diaz, Miguel. Center for Strategic International Studies, Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs. June 24, 2004. | |||
* {{cite journal |last1=Gibbs, Terry |year=2006 |title=Business as Usual: what the Chávez era tells us about democracy under globalisation |journal=] |volume=27 |pages=265–79 |ref=Gib06 |jstor=4017674 |first1=T. |issue=2 |doi=10.1080/01436590500492931|s2cid=154147337 }} | |||
* Pilger, John. ''],'' May 13, 2006. | |||
* {{cite book |last=Holland |first=Alisha |title=A decade under Chávez: political intolerance and lost opportunities for advancing human rights in Venezuela |publisher=Human Rights Watch |location=New York |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-56432-371-2}} | |||
*—From the ] | |||
* {{cite book |last=López Maya, Margarita |year=2003 |chapter=Hugo Chávez Frías: His Movement and His Presidency |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uYd4Q1vQluAC&pg=PA73 |title=Venezuelan Politics in the Chávez Era: Class, Polarization and Conflict |editor1-first=Steve |editor1-last=Ellner |editor2-first=Daniel |editor2-last=Hellinger |publisher=Lynne Riener |location=Boulder |pages=73–92 |isbn=978-1-58826-297-4 |ref=Lop03}} | |||
*Waller, J. Michael. The Center for Security Policy. May 2005. | |||
* {{cite journal |last1=Ramírez, Cristóbal Valencia |year=2005 |title=Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution: Who Are the Chavistas?|journal=Latin American Perspectives |volume=32 |pages=79–97|ref=Ram05 |jstor=30040243 |first1=C. b. V. |issue=3 |doi=10.1177/0094582X05275532|s2cid=145020614 }} | |||
* {{es_icon}} — Web portal detailing Chávez's trade agenda and proposals. | |||
* {{cite journal |last1=Sylvia, Ronald D. and Danopoulos, Constantine P. |year=2003 |title=The Chávez Phenomenon: Political Change in Venezuela |journal=] |volume=24 |pages=63–76 |ref=Syl03 |jstor=3993630 |first1=R. D. |last2=Danopoulos |first2=C. P. |issue=1 |doi=10.1080/713701367|s2cid=154551869 }} | |||
* {{es_icon}} — Biography of Chávez from Venezuelan government. | |||
* {{cite journal |last1=Zúquete, José Pedro |date=Spring 2008 |title=The Missionary Politics of Hugo Chávez|journal=Latin American Politics and Society |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=91–121 |ref=Zuq08 |jstor=30130840 |doi=10.1111/j.1548-2456.2008.00005.x |first1=José Pedro|citeseerx=10.1.1.463.8436 |s2cid=144481618 }} | |||
* Two independent filmmakers were inside the presidential palace on April 11, 2002, when he was forcibly removed from office. They were also present 48 hours later when, remarkably, he returned to power amid cheering aides. Their film records what was probably history's shortest-lived coup d'état. "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" | |||
{{refend}} | |||
*Conway, Christopher. Afterword to ''The Cult of Bolívar in Latin American Literature'' (University Press Florida, 2003). Analyzes use of Bolívar in speeches of Chávez. | |||
*McCoy, Jennifer. | |||
* | |||
*Martin, Jeremy. June, 2006 | |||
* A Latin NewsWire Expose, Is Hugo Chavez the new leader of Latin America? | |||
* | |||
* | |||
<!-- Categories:alphabetical --> | |||
====News articles, reports and essays==== | |||
{{Persondata | |||
{{Refbegin}} | |||
|NAME=Chávez, Hugo Rafael | |||
* {{cite magazine |last=Anderson |first=Jon Lee |date=28 January 2013 |title=Slumlord : what has Hugo Chávez wrought in Venezuela? |department=Letter from Caracas |magazine=] |volume=88 |issue=45 |pages=40–51 |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/01/28/slumlord |access-date=8 April 2015 }} | |||
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Chávez Frías, Hugo Rafael | |||
* {{cite news |title=The new kid in the barrio |last=Beaumont, Peter |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2006/may/07/featuresreview.review |newspaper=] |publisher=Guardian Media Group |location=London |date=7 May 2006 |access-date=25 March 2011 |ref=Bea06 }} | |||
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=]n President | |||
* {{cite news |title=New Venezuela hands Chávez wide powers |last=Bellos, Alex |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/dec/17/alexbellos?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487 |newspaper=] |location=London |date=17 December 1999 |access-date=25 March 2011 |ref=Bel99 }} | |||
|DATE OF BIRTH=], ] | |||
* {{cite news |title=Nicaragua's Ortega Signs Trade Pact |last=Carl, Traci |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011101856.html |newspaper=] |location=Washington D.C. |date=11 January 2007 |access-date=12 May 2011 |ref=Car07 }} | |||
|PLACE OF BIRTH=], ], ] | |||
* {{cite news |title=Hugo Chávez wins referendum allowing indefinite re-election |last=Carroll |first=Rory |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/feb/16/hugo-chavez-indefinite-rule |newspaper=] |location=London |date=16 February 2009 |access-date=27 March 2011 }} | |||
|DATE OF DEATH= | |||
* {{cite news |title=Hugo Chávez: The Radical with Deep Pockets |last=Padgett, Tim |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1972656_1972691_1973045,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618210252/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1972656_1972691_1973045,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 June 2010 |newspaper=] |publisher=Time Inc. |location=New York City |date=18 April 2005 |access-date=25 March 2011 |ref=Pad05 }} | |||
|PLACE OF DEATH= | |||
* {{cite news |title=Hugo Chávez: Leading the Left Wing Charge |last=Padgett, Tim |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187165,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614222700/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187165,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 June 2006 |newspaper=] |publisher=Time Inc. |location=New York City |date=30 April 2006 |access-date=25 March 2011 |ref=Pad06 }} | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite news |title=War Drums in Latin America |last=Padgett, Tim |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1719158,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305194851/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1719158,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 March 2008 |newspaper=] |publisher=Time Inc. |location=New York City |date=3 March 2008 |access-date=25 March 2011 |ref=Pad08 }} | |||
* {{cite news |title=Venezuela exhumes unnamed dead in riot investigation |last=Pretel, Enrique Andres |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN21321293 |work=Reuters |location=London |date=21 September 2009 |access-date=30 March 2011 |ref=Pre09 |archive-date=13 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213171636/http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/09/22/idUSN21321293 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite news |title=Purging Loyalists, Chávez Tightens His Inner Circle |last=Romero, Simon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/world/americas/17venez.html?scp=2&sq=hugo+chavez&st=nyt |newspaper=] |location=New York City |date=16 February 2010 |access-date=10 April 2011 |ref=Rom10 }} | |||
* {{cite journal |title=In Search of Hugo Chávez |last1=Shifter, Michael |volume=85 |date=May–June 2006 |pages=45–59 |ref=Shi06 |jstor=20031966 |first1=M. |issue=3 |journal=] |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/61703/michael-shifter/in-search-of-hugo-ch%C3%83%C2%A1vez |doi=10.2307/20031966 }} | |||
* {{cite news |title=Chávez offers oil to Europe's poor |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/may/14/oil.venezuela?INTCMP=SRCH |newspaper=] |publisher=Guardian Media Group |location=London |date=14 May 2006 |access-date=27 March 2011 |ref=Obs06 }} | |||
* {{cite news |title=Chávez wins Venezuela re-election |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6205128.stm |work=BBC News |location=London |date=4 December 2006 |access-date=27 March 2011 |ref=BBC06 }} | |||
{{refend}} | |||
====Interviews==== | |||
] | |||
{{refbegin}} | |||
] | |||
* {{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00stbv6/HARDtalk_Hugo_Chavez_President_of_Venezuela/?t=2m50s |title=Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela |last1=Sackur |first1=Stephen |last2=Chávez |first2=Hugo |date=15 June 2010 |work=HARDtalk |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |location=London |access-date=25 March 2011 |ref=SacCha10}} | |||
] | |||
{{refend}} | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
====Websites and e-publications==== | |||
{{link FA|de}} | |||
{{ |
{{Refbegin|30em}} | ||
* {{cite web |url=http://www.cartercenter.org/documents/1151.pdf |title=Observation of the 1998 Venezuelan Elections: A Report of the Council of Freely Elected Heads of Government |author1=Trinkunas, Harold |author2=McCoy, Jennifer |publisher=The Carter Centre |location=Atlanta, Georgia |date=February 1999 |access-date=21 March 2011 |ref=Tri99}} | |||
* {{cite web |url=http://www.worldlii.org/int/cases/IACHR/1999/12.html |title=Del Caracazo Case |publisher=Inter-American Court of Human Rights |date=11 November 2011 |access-date=21 March 2011 |ref=Int99}} | |||
* {{cite web|url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/venezuela/19_venezuela___hugo_chavezs_revolution.ashx |title=Venezuela: Hugo Chávez's Revolution |publisher=International Crisis Group |date=22 February 2007 |access-date=8 April 2011 |ref=Int07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208091338/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/venezuela/19_venezuela___hugo_chavezs_revolution.ashx |archive-date=8 February 2011 }} | |||
{{refend}} | |||
==External links== | |||
{{sister project links|c=Category:Hugo Chávez|q=yes|d=yes|s=yes|n=yes|wikt=no|v=no|b=no|voy=no}} | |||
{{Library resources box}} | |||
{{Refbegin|colwidth=33em}} | |||
* {{in lang|es}} | |||
===Multimedia=== | |||
* PBS ''Frontline'' documentary: | |||
* ''The Guardian:'' audio slide show | |||
* Democracy Now! 16 September 2005 Interview: {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113194108/http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/19/1336214 |date=13 November 2007 }} and {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051104184826/http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05%2F09%2F20%2F1330218 |date=4 November 2005 }} with Hugo Chávez, in New York City | |||
* ABC News video, 27 April 2007: | |||
* Interview with {{YouTube|ZddqUX4aAc4|Hugo Chávez about the American threat}} October 2009 | |||
* NPR audio report, 18 February 2008: | |||
* {{C-SPAN|81051}} | |||
===Articles and interviews=== | |||
* BBC News: | |||
* ]. . ''Foreign Affairs'', May/June 2006 issue | |||
* ]. . ''The Progressive'', July 2006 | |||
* {{Aljazeeratopic|person/hugo-chavez}} | |||
* {{Guardian topic}} | |||
* {{NYTtopic|people/c/hugo_chavez}} | |||
* {{cite web |url=http://www.nobledrugstore.com/blog/news/hugo-chavez-death-teaches-cancer-lesson |title=Controversial Venezuelan Leader Hugo Chavez's Death Teaches Vital Lesson About Cancer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327154118/http://www.nobledrugstore.com/blog/news/hugo-chavez-death-teaches-cancer-lesson |archive-date=27 March 2013 }} | |||
===Miscellaneous=== | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607145959/https://www.cidob.org/biografias_lideres_politicos/america_del_sur/venezuela/hugo_chavez_frias |date=7 June 2020 }} (in Spanish) | |||
* {{IMDb name|1382342}} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
{{s-start}} | |||
{{s-ppo}} | |||
{{s-new|rows=2|office}} | |||
{{s-ttl|title=Leader of the ]|years=1997–2007}} | |||
{{s-non|reason=Position abolished}} | |||
|- | |||
{{s-ttl|title=Leader of the ]|years=2007–2013}} | |||
{{s-aft|after=Nicolás Maduro}} | |||
|- | |||
{{s-off}} | |||
{{s-bef|before=]}} | |||
{{s-ttl|title=]|years=1999–2013}} | |||
{{s-aft|after=]}} | |||
{{s-end}} | |||
{{Hugo Chávez}} | |||
{{VEpresidents}} | |||
<!--{{Link FA|zh}}--> | |||
{{Authority control}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chavez, Hugo}} | |||
] | |||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | ] | ||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 23:24, 22 December 2024
President of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013 For other people named Hugo Chávez, see Hugo Chávez (disambiguation).
ComandanteHugo Chávez | |
---|---|
Chávez in 2011 | |
52nd President of Venezuela | |
In office 14 April 2002 – 5 March 2013 | |
Vice President |
See list
|
Preceded by | Diosdado Cabello (Acting) |
Succeeded by | Nicolás Maduro |
In office 2 February 1999 – 11 April 2002 | |
Vice President |
See list
|
Preceded by | Rafael Caldera |
Succeeded by | Pedro Carmona (Acting) |
President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela | |
In office 24 March 2007 – 5 March 2013 | |
Deputy | Diosdado Cabello |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Nicolás Maduro |
Personal details | |
Born | Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (1954-07-28)28 July 1954 Sabaneta, Venezuela |
Died | 5 March 2013(2013-03-05) (aged 58) Caracas, Venezuela |
Resting place | Cuartel de la Montaña, Caracas |
Political party | PSUV (since 2007) |
Other political affiliations |
|
Spouses |
|
Children |
|
Parents |
|
Alma mater | Military Academy of Venezuela |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Venezuela |
Branch/service | Venezuelan Army |
Years of service |
|
Rank | |
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (/ˈtʃɑːvɛz/; Spanish: [ˈuɣo rafaˈel ˈtʃaβes ˈfɾi.as] ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician and military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period of forty-seven hours in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when it merged with several other parties to form the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which he led until 2012.
Born into a middle-class family in Sabaneta, Barinas, Chávez became a career military officer. After becoming dissatisfied with the Venezuelan political system based on the Puntofijo Pact, he founded the clandestine Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200) in the early 1980s. Chávez led the MBR-200 in its unsuccessful coup d'état against the Democratic Action government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez in 1992, for which he was imprisoned. Pardoned from prison two years later, he founded the Fifth Republic Movement political party, and then receiving 56.2% of the vote, was elected president of Venezuela in 1998. He was reelected in the 2000 Venezuelan general election with 59.8% of the vote and again in the 2006 Venezuelan presidential election, with 62.8% of the vote. After winning his fourth term as president in the 2012 Venezuelan presidential election with 55.1% of the vote, he was to be sworn in on 10 January 2013. However, the inauguration was cancelled due to his cancer treatment, and on 5 March at age 58, he died in Caracas.
Following the adoption of the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution, Chávez focused on enacting social reforms as part of the Bolivarian Revolution. Using record-high oil revenues of the 2000s, his government nationalized key industries, created participatory democratic Communal Councils and implemented social programs known as the Bolivarian missions to expand access to food, housing, healthcare and education. While these initiatives led to temporary improvements in poverty reduction and social welfare during periods of high oil revenue, their reliance on state control and centralized planning exposed significant structural weaknesses as oil prices declined. The high oil profits coinciding with the start of Chavez's presidency resulted in temporary improvements in areas such as poverty, literacy, income equality and quality of life between primarily 2003 and 2007, though extensive changes in structural inequalities did not occur. On 2 June 2010, Chávez declared an "economic war" on Venezuela's upper classes due to shortages, arguably beginning the crisis in Venezuela. By the end of Chávez's presidency in the early 2010s, economic actions performed by his government during the preceding decade, such as deficit spending and price controls, proved to be unsustainable, with Venezuela's economy faltering. At the same time, poverty, inflation and shortages increased.
Under Chávez, Venezuela experienced democratic backsliding, as he suppressed the press, manipulated electoral laws, and arrested and exiled government critics. His use of enabling acts and his government's use of propaganda were controversial. Chávez's presidency saw significant increases in the country's murder rate and continued corruption within the police force and the government.
Across the political spectrum, Chávez is regarded as one of the most influential and controversial politicians in the modern history of Venezuela and Latin America. His 14-year presidency marked the start of the socialist "pink tide" sweeping Latin America—he supported Latin American and Caribbean cooperation and was instrumental in setting up the pan-regional Union of South American Nations, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, the Bank of the South and the regional television network TeleSUR. Internationally, Chávez aligned himself with the Marxist–Leninist governments of Fidel and then Raúl Castro in Cuba, as well as the socialist governments of Evo Morales in Bolivia, Rafael Correa in Ecuador and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. Chávez's ideas, programs, and style form the basis of "Chavismo", a political ideology closely associated with Bolivarianism and socialism of the 21st century. Chávez described his policies as anti-imperialist, being a prominent adversary of the United States's foreign policy as well as a vocal opponent of neoliberalism and laissez-faire capitalism. He described himself as a Marxist.
Early life
Main article: Early life of Hugo ChávezChávez was born on 28 July 1954 in his paternal grandmother Rosa Inéz Chávez's home, a modest three-room house located in the rural village Sabaneta, Barinas State. The Chávez family were of Amerindian, Afro-Venezuelan, Spanish and Italian descent. His parents, Hugo de los Reyes Chávez – described as a proud COPEI member– and Elena Frías de Chávez, were schoolteachers who lived in the small village of Los Rastrojos.
Hugo was born the second of seven children. Chávez's childhood of supposed poverty has been disputed as he possibly changed the story of his background for political reasons. Attending the Julián Pino Elementary School, Chávez was particularly interested in the 19th-century federalist general Ezequiel Zamora, in whose army his own great-great-grandfather had served. With no high school in their area, Hugo's parents sent Hugo and his older brother Adán to live with their grandmother Rosa, who lived in a lower middle class subsidized home provided by the government, where they attended Daniel O'Leary High School in the mid-1960s. His father, despite having the salary of a teacher, helped pay for college for Chávez and his siblings.
Military career
Military academy
Aged 17, Chávez studied at the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences in Caracas, following a curriculum known as the Andrés Bello Plan, instituted by a group of progressive, nationalistic military officers. This new curriculum encouraged students to learn not only military routines and tactics but also a wide variety of other topics, and to do so civilian professors were brought in from other universities to give lectures to the military cadets.
Living in Caracas, he began to get involved in activities outside of the military school, playing baseball and softball with the Criollitos de Venezuela team, progressing with them to the Venezuelan National Baseball Championships. He also wrote poetry, fiction, and drama, and painted. He also became interested in the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara (1928–1967) after reading his memoir The Diary of Che Guevara. In 1974, he was selected to be a representative in the commemorations for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Ayacucho in Peru, the conflict in which Simon Bolívar's lieutenant, Antonio José de Sucre, defeated royalist forces during the Peruvian War of Independence. In Peru, Chávez heard the leftist president, General Juan Velasco Alvarado (1910–1977), speak, and was inspired by Velasco's ideas that the military should act in the interests of the working classes when the ruling classes were perceived as corrupt.
Befriending the son of Maximum Leader Omar Torrijos, the leftist dictator of Panama, Chávez visited Panama, where he met with Torrijos, and was impressed with his land reform program that was designed to benefit the peasants. Influenced by Torrijos and Velasco he saw the potential for military generals to seize control of a government when the civilian authorities were perceived as serving the interests of only the wealthy elites. Chávez later said, "With Torrijos, I became a Torrijist. With Velasco I became a Velasquist. And with Pinochet, I became an anti-Pinochetist". In 1975, Chávez graduated from the military academy as one of the top graduates of the year.
Early military career
Further information: Military career of Hugo ChávezFollowing his graduation, Chávez was stationed as a communications officer at a counterinsurgency unit in Barinas.
In 1977, Chávez's unit was transferred to Anzoátegui, where they were involved in battling the Red Flag Party, a Marxist–Hoxhaist insurgency group. After intervening to prevent the beating of an alleged insurgent by other soldiers, Chávez began to have his doubts about the army.
In 1977, he founded a revolutionary movement within the armed forces, in the hope that he could one day introduce a leftist government to Venezuela: the Venezuelan People's Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación del Pueblo de Venezuela, or ELPV), consisted of him and a handful of his fellow soldiers who had no immediate plans for direct action, though they knew they wanted a middle way between the right-wing policies of the government and the far-left position of the Red Flag. Nevertheless, hoping to gain an alliance with civilian leftist groups in Venezuela, Chávez set up clandestine meetings with various prominent Marxists, including Alfredo Maneiro (the founder of the Radical Cause) and Douglas Bravo.
Bolivarian Revolutionary Army-200
Five years after his creation of the ELPV, Chávez went on to form a new secretive cell within the military, the Bolivarian Revolutionary Army-200 (EBR-200), later redesignated the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200). He was inspired by Simón Bolívar, Simón Rodríguez and Ezequiel Zamora, who became known as the "three roots of the tree" of the MBR-200.
In 1984 he met Herma Marksman, a recently divorced history teacher with whom he had an affair that lasted several years. During this time Francisco Arias Cárdenas, a soldier interested in liberation theology, also joined MBR-200. After some time, some senior military officers became suspicious of Chávez and reassigned him so that he would not be able to gain any more fresh new recruits from the academy. He was sent to take command of the remote barracks at Elorza in Apure State.
1992 coup attempt
Main article: February 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attemptIn 1989, Carlos Andrés Pérez was elected president, and though he had promised to oppose the International Monetary Fund's policies, once he got into office he enacted economic policies supported by the IMF, angering the public. In an attempt to stop widespread lootings and protests that followed his spending cuts, known as El Caracazo, Pérez initiated Plan Ávila, a military contingency plan by the Venezuelan Army to maintain public order, and an outbreak of violent repression unfolded. Though members of Chávez's MBR-200 movement allegedly participated in the crackdown, Chávez did not, since he was then hospitalized with chicken pox. He later condemned the event as "genocide".
Chávez began preparing for a military coup d'état known as Operation Zamora. The plan involved members of the military overwhelming military locations and communication installations and then establishing Rafael Caldera in power once Pérez was captured and assassinated. Chávez delayed the MBR-200 coup, initially planned for December, until the early twilight hours of 4 February 1992.
On that date five army units under Chávez's command moved into urban Caracas. Despite years of planning, the coup quickly encountered trouble since Chávez commanded the loyalty of less than 10% of Venezuela's military. After numerous betrayals, defections, errors, and other unforeseen circumstances, Chávez and a small group of rebels found themselves hiding in the Military Museum, unable to communicate with other members of their team. Pérez managed to escape Miraflores Palace. Officially, thirty-two civilians, police officers and soldiers were killed, and fifty soldiers and some eighty civilians injured during the ensuing violence.
Chávez gave himself up to the government and appeared on television, in uniform, to call on the remaining coup members to lay down their arms. Chávez remarked in his speech that they had failed only "por ahora" (for now). Venezuelans, particularly poor ones, began seeing him as someone who stood up against government corruption and kleptocracy. The coup "flopped militarily—and dozens died—but made him a media star", noted Rory Carroll of The Guardian.
Chávez was arrested and imprisoned at the San Carlos military stockade, wracked with guilt and feeling responsible for the failure of the coup. Pro-Chávez demonstrations outside San Carlos led to his transfer to Yare Prison. Another unsuccessful coup against the government occurred in November, with the fighting during the coups resulting in the deaths of at least 143 people and perhaps as many as several hundred. Pérez was impeached a year later, charged with malfeasance and misappropriating funds.
Political rise
While Chávez and the other senior members of the MBR-200 were in prison, his relationship with Herma Marksman broke up in July 1993. In 1994, Rafael Caldera (1916–2009) of the centrist National Convergence Party who allegedly had knowledge of the coup was elected president and soon afterward he freed Chávez and the other imprisoned MBR-200 members, though Caldera banned them from returning to the military. After his release, on 14 December 1994, Chávez visited Cuba during the Special Period, where he was received by Fidel Castro with head of state honors. During his visit, Chávez gave a speech at the Aula Magna of the University of Havana before Fidel and the Cuban high hierarchy where, among other things, he said "We have a long term strategic project, in which the Cubans have and would have much to contribute" and "it is a project of a twenty to forty year horizon, a sovereign economic model".
Travelling around Latin America in search of foreign support for his Bolivarian movement, he visited Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, and Cuba, where he met Castro and became friends with him. According to journalist Patricia Poleo, during his stay in Colombia, he spent six months receiving guerrilla training and establishing contacts with the FARC and ELN terrorist groups, and even adopted a nom de guerre Comandante Centeno.
By now Chávez was a supporter of taking military action, believing that the oligarchy would never allow him and his supporters to win an election. Chávez and his supporters later founded a political party, the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR – Movimiento Quinta República) in July 1997 in order to support Chávez's candidacy in the 1998 presidential election. Chávez went on a tour around the country. On his tours, he met Marisabel Rodríguez, who would give birth to their daughter shortly before becoming his second wife in 1997.
1998 election
Main article: 1998 Venezuelan presidential electionAt the start of the election run-up, front runner Irene Sáez was backed by one of Venezuela's two primary political parties, Copei. Chávez's revolutionary rhetoric gained him support from Patria Para Todos (Homeland for All), the Partido Comunista Venezolano (Venezeuelan Communist Party) and the Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement for Socialism). Chávez received support from different sectors: the lower class felt identified with Chávez, that he cared about their needs and would offer a solution to their problems; part of the middle class also supported, feeling frustrated with corruption and wishing for a strong-handed government; Chávez also received support from members of the old left, as well as the members of the militarist right wing, some of them nostalgic for the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez. By May 1998, Chávez's support had risen to 30% in polls, and by August he was registering 39%. Voter turnout was 63%, and Chávez won the election with 56.2% of the vote.
Presidency (1999–2013)
Further information: History of Venezuela (1999–present)First presidential term: 2 February 1999 – 10 January 2001
Chávez's presidential inauguration took place 2 February 1999. He deviated from the usual words of the presidential oath when he took it, proclaiming: "I swear before God and my people that upon this moribund constitution I will drive forth the necessary democratic transformations so that the new republic will have a Magna Carta befitting these new times". Freedom in Venezuela suffered following "the decision of President Hugo Chávez, ratified in a national referendum, to abolish congress and the judiciary, and by his creation of a parallel government of military cronies". Soon after being established into office, Chávez spent much of his time attempting to abolish existing checks and balances in Venezuela. He appointed new figures to government posts, adding leftist allies to key positions and "army colleagues were given a far bigger say in the day-to-day running of the country". For instance, he put Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 founder Jesús Urdaneta [es] in charge of the National Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services and made Hernán Grüber Ódreman [es], one of the 1992 coup leaders, governor of the Federal District of Caracas. His critics referred to these government officials as the "Boliburguesía" or "Bolivarian bourgeoisie", and highlighted that it "included few people with experience in public administration". The number of his immediate family members in Venezuelan politics also led to accusations of nepotism. Chávez appointed businessman Roberto Mandini president of the state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela.
Although Chávez did not believe, as he put it in 1998, "in this paradigm of the Western capitalist, bourgeois democratic world," he initially believed that capitalism was still a valid economic model for Venezuela, but only Rhenish capitalism, not neoliberalism. Low oil prices made Chavez's government reliant on international free markets during his first months in office, when he showed pragmatism and political moderation, and continued to encourage foreign investment in Venezuela. During a visit to the United States in 1999, he rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. His administration held formal talks with the International Monetary Fund until oil prices rose enough to let the government rule out the need for any financial assistance.
Beginning 27 February 1999, the tenth anniversary of the Caracazo, Chávez set into motion a social welfare program called Plan Bolívar 2000. He said he had allotted $20.8 million for the plan. The plan involved 70,000 soldiers, sailors and members of the air force repairing roads and hospitals, removing stagnant water that offered breeding areas for disease-carrying mosquitoes, offering free medical care and vaccinations, and selling food at low prices. Several scandals later affected the program as allegations of corruption were formulated against generals involved in the plan and that significant amounts of money had been diverted.
Constitutional reform
Chávez called a public referendum, which he hoped would support his plans to form a constituent assembly of representatives from across Venezuela and from indigenous tribal groups to rewrite the Venezuelan constitution. Chávez said he had to run again; "Venezuela's socialist revolution was like an unfinished painting and he was the artist", he said, while someone else "could have another vision, start to alter the contours of the painting".
There was a low turnout of 37.65% and an abstention of 62.35%, 88% of the voters supported his proposal.
Chávez called an election on 25 July to elect the members of the constituent assembly. Over 900 of the 1,171 candidates standing for election were Chávez opponents. To elect the members of the assembly, Chávez used a formula designed by mathematical experts and politicians, known at the time as the kino (lottery) or the "keys of Chávez". Chávez obtained 51% of the votes, but his supporters took 95% of the seats, 125 in total, including all of the seats assigned to indigenous groups, while the opposition won six seats.
On 12 August 1999, the new constituent assembly voted to give themselves the power to abolish government institutions and to dismiss officials who were perceived as corrupt or as operating only in their own interests. Opponents of the Chávez regime argued that it was dictatorial. Most jurists believed that the new constituent assembly had become the country's "supreme authority" and that all other institutions were subordinate to it. The assembly also declared a "judicial emergency" and granted itself the power to overhaul the judicial system. The Supreme Court ruled that the assembly did indeed have this authority, and was replaced in the 1999 Constitution with the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. The constituent assembly put together a new constitution, which was voted on at a referendum in December 1999. Seventy-two percent of those who voted approved of the new constitution. There was a low turnout and an abstention vote of over 50%. The new constitution provided protections for the environment and indigenous people, socioeconomic guarantees and state benefits, while giving greater powers to the president. The presidential term was extended to six years, and a president was allowed to serve for two consecutive terms. Previously, a sitting president could not run for reelection for 10 years after leaving office. It also replaced the bicameral Congress with a unicameral Legislative Assembly and gave the president the power to legislate on citizen rights, to promote military officers and to oversee economic and financial matters. The assembly also gave the military a mandated role in the government by empowering it to ensure public order and aid national development, which the previous constitution had expressly forbidden.
In the new constitution, the country, until then officially known as the Republic of Venezuela, was renamed the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (República Bolivariana de Venezuela) at Chávez's request. Chávez's actions following the ratification the 1999 Venezuelan constitution government weakened many of Venezuela's checks and balances, allowing the government to control every branch of the Venezuelan government for over 15 years after it passed until the Venezuelan parliamentary election in 2015.
In May 2000 he launched his own Sunday morning radio show, Aló Presidente (Hello, President), on the state radio network. This followed an earlier Thursday night television show, De Frente con el Presidente (Face to Face with the President). He founded two newspapers, El Correo del Presidente (The President's Post), founded in July, for which he acted as editor-in-chief, and Vea (See), another newspaper, as well as Question magazine and Vive TV. El Correo was later shut down among accusations of corruption and mismanagement. In his television and radio shows, he answered calls from citizens, discussed his latest policies, sang songs and told jokes.
In June 2000 he separated from his wife Marisabel, and their divorce was finalised in January 2004.
Second presidential term: 10 January 2001 – 10 January 2007
Under the new constitution, it was legally required that new elections be held in order to re-legitimize the government and president. This presidential election in July 2000 would be a part of a greater "megaelection", the first time in the country's history that the president, governors, national and regional congressmen, mayors and councilmen would be voted for on the same day. Going into the elections, Chávez had control of all three branches of government. For the position of president, Chávez's closest challenger proved to be his former friend and co-conspirator in the 1992 coup, Francisco Arias Cárdenas, who since becoming a governor of Zulia state had turned towards the political centre and begun to denounce Chávez as autocratic. Some of his supporters feared that he had alienated those in the middle class and the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy who had formerly supported him. Chávez was re-elected with 60% of the vote, a larger majority than his 1998 electoral victory.
That year, Chávez improved ideological ties with the Cuban government of Fidel Castro by signing an agreement under which Venezuela would supply Cuba with 53,000 barrels of oil per day at preferential rates, in return receiving 20,000 trained Cuban medics and educators. In the ensuing decade, this would be increased to 90,000 barrels a day (in exchange for 40,000 Cuban medics and teachers), dramatically aiding the Caribbean island's economy and standard of living after its "Special Period" of the 1990s. However, Venezuela's growing alliance with Cuba came at the same time as a deteriorating relationship with the United States. Chávez opposed of the 2001 American-led invasion of Afghanistan in response to the 11 September attacks against the U.S. by Islamist militants. In late 2001, Chávez showed pictures on his television show of children said to be killed in a bombing attack. He commented that "They are not to blame for the terrorism of Osama bin Laden or anyone else", called on the American government to end "the massacre of the innocents", and describing the war as "fighting terrorism with terrorism." The U.S. government responded negatively to the comments, which were picked up by the media worldwide and recalled its ambassador for consultations.
Meanwhile, the 2000 elections had led to Chávez's supporters gaining 101 out of 165 seats in the Venezuelan National Assembly, and so in November 2001 they voted to allow him to pass 49 social and economic decrees. This move antagonized the opposition movement particularly strongly. At the start of the 21st century, Venezuela was the world's fifth largest exporter of crude oil, with oil accounting for 85% of the country's exports, therefore dominating the country's economy. Before the election of Chávez, the state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) ran autonomously, making oil decisions based on internal guidance to increase profits. Once he came to power, Chávez started directing PDVSA and effectively turned it into a direct government arm whose profits would be injected into social spending. The result of this was the creation of "Bolivarian Missions", oil funded social programs targeting poverty, literacy, hunger, and more. In 2001, the government introduced a new Hydrocarbons Law through which it sought to gain greater state control over the oil industry. The law increased the transnational companies taxation in oil extraction activities to 30% and set the minimum state participation in "mixed companies" at 51%, whereby the state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), could have joint control with private companies over industry. By 2006, all of the 32 operating agreements signed with private companies during the 1990s had been converted from being primarily or privately-run to being at least 51% controlled by PDVSA. Chávez had also removed many of the managers and executives of PdVSA and replaced them with political allies, stripping the state-owned company expertise.
Opposition and the Coordinadora Democrática
Much of Chávez's opposition originated from the response to the "cubanization" of Venezuela. Chávez's popularity dropped due to his relationship with Fidel Castro and Cuba, with Chávez attempting to make Venezuela in Cuba's image. Chávez, following Castro's example, consolidated the country's bicameral legislature into a single National Assembly that gave him more power and created community groups of loyal supporters allegedly trained as paramilitaries. Such actions created great fear among Venezuelans who felt like they were tricked and that Chávez had dictatorial goals.
The first organized protest against the Bolivarian government occurred in January 2001, when the Chávez administration tried to implement educational reforms through the proposed Resolution 259 and Decree 1.011, which would have seen the publication of textbooks with a heavy Bolivarian bias. Parents noticed that such textbooks were really Cuban books filled with revolutionary propaganda outfitted with different covers. The protest movement, which was primarily by middle-class parents whose children went to privately run schools, marched to central Caracas shouting out the slogan Con mis hijos no te metas ("Don't mess with my children"). Although the protesters were denounced by Chávez, who called them "selfish and individualistic", the protest was successful enough for the government to retract the proposed education reforms and instead enter into a consensus-based educational program with the opposition.
Later into 2001, an organization known as the Coordinadora Democrática de Acción Cívica (Democratic Coordinator, CD) was founded, under which the Venezuelan opposition political parties, corporate powers, most of the country's media, the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce, the Institutional Military Front and the Central Workers Union all united to oppose Chávez's regime. The prominent businessman Pedro Carmona (1941–) was chosen as the CD's leader.
The Coordinadora Democrática and other opponents of Chávez's Bolivarian government accused it of trying to turn Venezuela from a democracy into a dictatorship by centralising power amongst its supporters in the Constituent Assembly and granting Chávez increasingly autocratic powers. Many of them pointed to Chávez's personal friendship with Cuba's Fidel Castro and the one-party socialist government in Cuba as a sign of where the Bolivarian government was taking Venezuela.
Coup, strikes and the recall referendum
Main articles: 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt; Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003; and Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004Chávez sought to make PDVSA his main source of funds for political projects and replaced oil experts with political allies in order to support him with this initiative. In early-2002, he placed a leftist professor as the president of PDVSA. In April 2002, Chávez appointed his allies to head the PDVSA and replaced the company's board of directors with loyalists who had "little or no experience in the oil industry", mocking the PDVSA executives on television as he fired them. Anger with Chávez's decisions led to civil unrest in Venezuela, which culminated in an attempted coup. On 11 April 2002, during a march headed to the presidential palace, nineteen people were killed, and over 110 were wounded.
Chávez believed that the best way to stay in power was to implement Plan Ávila. Military officers, including General Raúl Baduel, a founder of Chávez's MBR-200, then decided that they had to pull support from Chávez to deter a massacre and shortly after at 8:00 pm, Vásquez Velasco, together with other ranking army officers, declared that Chávez had lost his support. Chávez agreed to be detained and was transferred by army escort to La Orchila; business leader Pedro Carmona declared himself president of an interim government. Carmona abolished the 1999 constitution and appointed a governing committee. Protests in support of Chávez along with insufficient support for Carmona's government quickly led to Carmona's resignation, and Chávez was returned to power on 14 April.
Chávez's response was to moderate his approach, implementing a new economic team that appeared to be more centrist and reinstated the old board of directors and managers of the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), whose replacement had been one of the reasons for the coup. At the same time, the Bolivarian government began to increase the country's military capacity, purchasing 100,000 AK-47 assault rifles and several helicopters from Russia, as well as a number of Super Tucano light attack and training planes from Brazil. Troop numbers were also increased.
Chávez faced a two-month management strike at the PDVSA. The Chávez government's response was to fire about 19,000 striking employees for abandoning their posts and then employing retired workers, foreign contractors, and the military to do their jobs instead. The total firing of tens of thousands of employees by Chávez would forever damage Venezuela's oil industry due to the tremendous loss of expertise. By 2005, the members of Venezuela's energy ministries stated it would take more than 15 years for PDVSA to recover from Chávez's actions.
The 1999 constitution had introduced the concept of a recall referendum into Venezuelan politics, so the opposition called for such a referendum to take place. The resulting 2004 referendum to recall Chávez was unsuccessful. 70% of the eligible Venezuelan population turned out to vote, with 59% of voters deciding to keep the president in power.
"Socialism of the 21st century"
In January 2005, Chávez began openly proclaiming the ideology of "socialism of the 21st century", something that was distinct from his earlier forms of Bolivarianism, which had been social democratic in nature, merging elements of capitalism and socialism. He used this new term to contrast the democratic socialism, which he wanted to promote in Latin America, from the Marxist–Leninist socialism that had been spread by socialist states like the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China during the 20th century, arguing that the latter had not been truly democratic, suffering from a lack of participatory democracy and an excessively authoritarian governmental structure.
In May 2006, Chávez visited Europe in a private capacity, where he announced plans to supply cheap Venezuelan oil to poor working class communities in the continent. The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone welcomed him, describing him as "the best news out of Latin America in many years."
Third presidential term: 10 January 2007 – 10 January 2013
In the presidential election of December 2006, which saw a 77% voter turnout, Chávez was once more elected, this time with 63% of the vote, beating his closest challenger Manuel Rosales. The Organization of American States (OAS) and the Carter Center concluded that the election results were free and legitimate. After this victory, Chávez promised an "expansion of the revolution".
United Socialist Party of Venezuela and domestic policy
On 15 December 2006, Chávez publicly announced that those leftist political parties who had continually supported him in the Patriotic Pole would unite into one single, much larger party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, PSUV). In the speech which he gave announcing the PSUV's creation, Chávez declared that the old parties must "forget their own structures, party colours and slogans, because they are not the most important thing for the fatherland".
Chávez had initially proclaimed that those leftist parties which chose to not dissolve into the PSUV would have to leave the government. Party membership rose to 5.7 million people by 2007, The United Nations' International Labour Organization expressed concern over some voters' being pressured to join the party.
On 28 December 2006, President Chávez announced that the government would not renew RCTV's broadcast license which expired on 27 May 2007, thereby forcing the channel to cease operations on that day. On 17 May 2007, the government rejected a plea made by RCTV to stop the TV station's forced shutdown. Thousands of protesters marching both against and in support of the government's decision remained on the streets in Caracas. Other marches took place in Maracaibo and Valencia. On 21 May 2007, hundreds of journalists and students marched in Caracas carrying a banner reading "S.O.S. Freedom of Expression". A few days later, on 25 May 2007, university students from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, the Universidad Simón Bolívar and the Universidad Central de Venezuela protested against the government's intentions. On 26 May, tens of thousands of protesters marched in support of RCTV to their headquarters. Since the week prior to the shutdown of RCTV, many individuals, international organizations and NGOs—including the OAS's Secretary General José Miguel Insulza and its Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, the Inter American Press Association, Human Rights Watch, and the Committee to Protect Journalists,—have expressed concerns for freedom of the press following the shutdown. However, Secretary Insulza also stated that it was up to the Venezuelan courts to solve this dispute and that he believed that this was an administrative decision.
In 2007, the Bolivarian government set up a constitutional commission in order to review the 1999 constitution and suggest potential amendments to be made to it. Led by the prominent pro-Chávez intellectual Luis Britto García, it suggested measures that would have increased many of the president's powers, for instance increasing the presidential term limit to seven years, allowing the president to run for election indefinitely and centralizing powers in the executive. The government put the suggested changes to a public referendum in December 2007. Abstention rate was high however, with 44% of registered voters not turning out, and in the end the proposed changes were rejected by 51% of votes. This would prove to the first electoral loss that Chávez had faced in the thirteen electoral contests held since he took power, due to the top-down nature of the changes, as well as general public dissatisfaction with "the absence of internal debate on its content, as well as dissatisfaction with the running of the social programmes, increasing street crime, and with corruption within the government".
In mid 2010, tons of rotten food supplies imported during Chávez's government through subsidies of state-owned enterprise PDVAL were found. Due to the scandal, PDVAL started being administrated by the vice president of Venezuela and afterwards by the Alimentation Ministry. Three former managers were detained, but were released afterwards and two of them had their positions restored. In July 2010, official estimates stated that 130,000 tons of food supplies were affected, while the political opposition informed of 170,000 tons. As of 2012, any advances in the investigations by the National Assembly were unknown. The most accepted explanation of the loss of food supplies is the organization of PDVAL, because the food network allegedly imported supplies faster than what it could distribute them. The opposition considers the affair as a corrupt case and spokespeople have assured that the public officials deliberately imported more food that could be distributed to embezzle funds through the import of subsidized supplies.
In order to ensure that his Bolivarian Revolution became socially ingrained in Venezuela, Chávez discussed his wish to stand for re-election when his term ran out in 2013, and spoke of ruling beyond 2030. Under the 1999 constitution, he could not legally stand for re-election again, and so brought about a referendum on 15 February 2009 to abolish the two-term limit for all public offices, including the presidency. Approximately 70% of the Venezuelan electorate voted, and they approved this alteration to the constitution with over 54% in favor, allowing any elected official the chance to try to run indefinitely.
Fourth presidential term: 10 January 2013 – 5 March 2013
Further information: Immediate Mobilization NetworksOn 7 October 2012, Chávez won election as president for a fourth time, his third six-year term. He defeated Henrique Capriles with 54% of the votes versus 45% for Capriles, which was a lower victory margin than in his previous presidential wins, in the 2012 Venezuelan presidential election. Turnout in the election was 80%, with a hotly contested election between the two candidates. There was significant support for Chávez amongst the Venezuelan lower class. Chávez's opposition blamed him for unfairly using state funds to spread largesse before the election to bolster Chavez's support among his primary electoral base, the lower class.
The inauguration of Chávez's new term was scheduled for 10 January 2013, but as he was undergoing medical treatment at the time in Cuba, he was not able to return to Venezuela for that date. The National Assembly president Diosdado Cabello proposed to postpone the inauguration and the Supreme Court decided that, being just another term of the sitting president and not the inauguration of a new one, the formality could be bypassed. The Venezuelan Bishops Conference opposed the verdict, stating that the constitution must be respected, and the Venezuelan government had not been transparent regarding details about Chávez's health.
Acting executive officials produced orders of government signed by Chávez, which were suspected of forgery by some opposition politicians, who claimed that Chávez was too sick to be in control of his faculties. Guillermo Cochez, recently dismissed from the office of Panamanian ambassador to the Organization of American States, even claimed that Chávez had been brain-dead since 31 December 2012.
Due to the death of Chávez, Vice President Nicolás Maduro took over the presidential powers and duties for the remainder of Chávez's abbreviated term until presidential elections were held. Venezuela's constitution specifies that the speaker of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, should assume the interim presidency if a president cannot be sworn in. Maduro remains in power as president as of 2024.
Political ideology
See also: Socialism of the 21st centuryChávez was described as a leftist, with one journal stating that he was "billed as the hemisphere’s second leftist leader after Cuba’s Fidel Castro." In a 1996 interview, Chávez stated “I am not Marxist, but I am not anti-Marxist. I am not communist, but I am not anti-communist.” In 1999, Chávez told the New York Times that “If you are attempting to determine whether Chavez is of the left, right, or center, if he is socialist, Communist, or capitalist, well, I am none of those, but I have a bit of all of those.” In a 1998 interview, Chávez stated that "I am not a socialist. I believe that today's world, Latin America and the world to come require a leap forward. We are going beyond socialism and even savage capitalism."
Opposition to capitalism and neoliberalism
—Hugo Chávez, June 2010Democracy is impossible in a capitalist system. Capitalism is the realm of injustice and a tyranny of the richest against the poorest. Rousseau said, 'Between the powerful and the weak all freedom is oppressed. Only the rule of law sets you free.' That's why the only way to save the world is through socialism, a democratic socialism ... , it's much more than that, it's a way of life, it's giving power to the people ... it is not the government of the rich over the people, which is what's happening in almost all the so-called democratic Western capitalist countries.
Both before and during his presidency, Chávez spoke out against "savage capitalism," neoliberal capitalism and simply capitalism in various speeches. During his first electoral campaign, as noted by one observer, Chávez made clear his rejection of what he called "savage capitalism," using the words of Pope John Paul II. Chávez wanted greater state intervention in the economy, but “built bridges to the private sector to promote the development of national industry.” According to Eduardo Semtei, a political scientist considered close to the ideas of Chavez, "From the beginning he had the idea that the classic capitalist model is a model contrary to the development of society."
In 1999, Chávez argued that a new constitution drafted by an assembly packed with his allies would distance Venezuela from "savage capitalism." He reiterated this position on 28 September 2001, when Chavez spoke negatively of neoliberal capitalism and the economic measures of the Carlos Andrés Pérez, El Gran Viraje [es], one of the causes of the Caracazo riots.
In various interviews conducted in 2002, Chávez shared his views on capitalism, saying that the Bolivarian Revolution was an alternative to neoliberalism, saying that capitalism was "sown ... in the marrow" of Venezuela and the rest of the world, stating that his revolution and its missions were more humane. Ultimately, Chávez said that the Bolivarian Revolution was "an alternative economy to dehumanized capitalism."
In 2003, Chávez argued that the Soviet Union disappeared when it failed in its efforts to dismantle "the devastating logic of capital," stating that it is the "alternative model" that he promoted was the one now confronting "neoliberalism and savage capitalism." While at the World Social Forum on 26 January 2003, Chávez criticized the idea that capitalism and neoliberalism "won" following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, saying that some individuals raised "the thesis of single thinking, there are no more alternatives, ... socialism is over, and communism is over and long live neoliberal capitalism and all this fairy tale."
Chávez noted in a 2005 interview that "At one time I came to think about the Third Way. I was having trouble interpreting the world. I was confused ... I spoke and wrote a lot about 'human capitalism'. Today I am convinced that it is impossible ... I became convinced that socialism is the way."
Chávez arguably did not fully talk openly about the socialism of the 21st century until 3 December 2006, during a speech after his reelection in the 2006 presidential elections.
Marxism and socialism
Chávez's connection to Marxism was a complex one, though he had described himself as a Marxist on some occasions. In May 1996, he gave an interview with Agustín Blanco Muñoz [es] in which he remarked, "I am not a Marxist, but I am not anti-Marxist. I am not communist, but I am not anti-communist." In a 2009 speech to the national assembly, he said: "I am a Marxist to the same degree as the followers of the ideas of Jesus Christ and the liberator of America, Simón Bolívar". He was well versed in many Marxist texts, having read the works of many Marxist theoreticians, and often publicly quoted them. Various international Marxists supported his government, believing it to be a sign of proletariat revolution as predicted in Marxist theory. In 2010, Hugo Chávez proclaimed support for the ideas of Marxist Leon Trotsky, saying "When I called him (former Minister of Labour, José Ramón Rivero)" Chávez explained, "he said to me: 'President I want to tell you something before someone else tells you ... I am a Trotskyist', and I said, 'well, what is the problem? I am also a Trotskyist! I follow Trotsky's line, that of permanent revolution", and then cited Marx and Lenin.
Chávez also noted his identification with socialism, noting that "The Constitution speaks that the socioeconomic regime of Venezuela must have a strong cooperative and associative content and that gives it a charge that breaks with individualism and neoliberalism, which gives a strong socialist content to the project. In that direction we have to go all out. To cooperate is to socialize the economy, to give it a social content. I am sure that in Puerto Cruz, agricultural cooperatives will emerge." Later in his presidency Chávez promoted the socialism of the 21st century. His approach was more heavily influenced by the theories of István Mészáros, Michael Lebowitz and Marta Harnecker, who was Chávez's adviser between 2004 and 2011, rather than by those of Heinz Dieterich.
Bolivarianism
Main articles: Bolivarianism and Bolivarian CirclesHugo Chávez defined his political position as Bolivarianism, an ideology he developed from that of Simón Bolívar (1783–1830) and others. Bolívar was a 19th-century general who led the fight against the colonialist Spanish authorities and who is widely revered across Latin America today. Along with Bolívar, the other two primary influences upon Bolivarianism are Simón Rodríguez (1769–1854), a philosopher who was Bolívar's tutor and mentor, and Ezequiel Zamora, (1817–1860), the Venezuelan Federalist general. The fact that Chávez's ideology originated from Bolívar has also received some criticism because Chávez had occasionally described himself as being influenced by Karl Marx, a critic of Bolívar. Beddow and Thibodeaux noted the complications between Bolívar and Marx, stating that "escribing Bolivar as a socialist warrior in the class struggle, when he was actually member of the aristocratic 'criollos', is peculiar when considering Karl Marx's own writings on Bolivar, whom he dismissed as a false liberator who merely sought to preserve the power of the old Creole nobility which he belonged".
Other influences
Chávez's early heroes were nationalist military dictators that included former Peruvian president Juan Velasco Alvarado and former Panamanian "Maximum Leader" Omar Torrijos. One dictator Chávez admired was Marcos Pérez Jiménez, a former president of Venezuela that he praised for the public works he performed. Chávez praised Pérez Jiménez in order to vilify preceding democratic governments, stating that "General Pérez Jiménez was the best president Venezuela had in a long time ... He was much better than Rómulo Betancourt, much better than all of those others. They hated him because he was a soldier."
Chávez was also well acquainted with the various traditions of Latin American socialism, espoused by such figures as Colombian politician Jorge Eliécer Gaitán and former Chilean president Salvador Allende. Early in his presidency, Chávez was advised and influenced by the Argentine Peronist Norberto Ceresole. Cuban Communist revolutionaries Che Guevara and Fidel Castro also influenced Chávez, especially with Castro's government assistance with the Bolivarian Missions.
Chávez also spoke admiringly of Mahatma Gandhi, stating in a 2005 speech, stating "we must remember that thought of Gandhi that reflects a deep respect for himself, for his own country, for a healthy nationalism" and expressed support for what he said was Gandhi's espousal of being anti-capitalist, anti-colonialist and anti-imperialist. During the same speech, Chávez also expressed influence from Jawaharlal Nehru, noting he was a main figure of the Non-Aligned Movement, with Chávez citing his leadership as an inspiration "of the need, of brotherhood and solidarity among the peoples of the Third World. The need to unite to defend the interests of our people, of poor people against the abuse of rich people."
Other indirect influences on Chávez's political philosophy are the Gospel teachings of Jesus Christ. Other inspirations of Chávez's political view are Giuseppe Garibaldi, Antonio Gramsci and Antonio Negri.
Promotion of conspiracy theories
In September 2006, Chávez said 9/11 conspiracy theories were "not absurd" and that "a building never collapses like that, unless it's with an implosion". Chávez also told Christopher Hitchens that he did not believe that the footage of the Apollo 11 Moon landings was genuine.
Policy overview
Economic and social policy
See also: Economic policy of the Hugo Chávez administration and Economy of VenezuelaFrom his election in 1998 until his death in March 2013, Chávez's administration proposed and enacted populist economic policies. The social programs were designed to be short-term, though after seeing political success as their result, Chávez made the efforts central to his administration and often overspent outside of Venezuela's budget.
Due to increasing oil prices in the early 2000s which raised funds not seen in Venezuela since the 1980s, Chávez created the Bolivarian Missions, aimed at providing public services to improve economic, cultural, and social conditions, using these populist policies in order to maintain political power. According to Corrales and Penfold, "aid was disbursed to some of the poor, and more gravely, in a way that ended up helping the president and his allies and cronies more than anyone else". The Missions, which were directly overseen by Chávez and often linked to his political campaigns, entailed the construction of thousands of free medical clinics for the poor and the enactment of food and housing subsidies. The quality of life of Venezuelans had also improved temporarily according to a UN Index. Teresa A. Meade wrote that Chávez's popularity strongly depended "on the lower classes who have benefited from these health initiatives and similar policies". Following elections, social programs saw less attention from the government and their overall effectiveness decreased.
The Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, dropped from .495 in 1998 to .39 in 2011, putting Venezuela behind only Canada in the Western Hemisphere. 95% of Venezuelans aged 15 and older could also read and write, though some scholars have disputed the claim that literacy improvements during Chavez's presidency resulted from his administration's policies. The poverty rate fell from 48.6% in 1999 to 32.1% in 2013, according to the Venezuelan government's National Statistics Institute (INE). The drop of Venezuela's poverty rate compared to poverty in other South American countries was slightly behind that of Peru, Brazil and Panama with the poverty rate becoming higher than the Latin American average in 2013 according to the UN. In the two years following Chávez's death, the poverty rate returned to where it had been before his presidency, with a 2017 NACLA analysis stating that "reductions in poverty and inequality during the Chávez years were real, but somewhat superficial ... structural poverty and inequality, such as the quality of housing, neighborhoods, education, and employment, remained largely unchanged".
Chávez's populist policies eventually led to a severe socioeconomic crisis in Venezuela. The social works initiated by Chávez's government relied on oil products, the keystone of the Venezuelan economy, with Chávez's administration suffering from Dutch disease as a result. In 2012, the World Bank also explained that Venezuela's economy was "extremely vulnerable" to changes in oil prices since in 2012 "96% of the country's exports and nearly half of its fiscal revenue" relied on oil production, while by 2008, according to Foreign Policy, exports of everything but oil "collapsed". The Chávez administration then spent governmental proceeds from the high oil prices on his populist policies to gain the approval of voters.
Economists say that the Venezuelan government's overspending on social programs and strict business policies caused to imbalances in the country's economy, contributing to rising inflation, poverty, low healthcare spending and shortages in Venezuela going into the final years of his presidency. Such occurrences, especially the risk of default and the unfriendliness toward private businesses, led to a lack of foreign investment and stronger foreign currencies, though the Venezuelan government argued that the private sector had remained relatively unchanged during Chavez's presidency despite several nationalizations. In January 2013 near the end of Chávez's presidency, The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal gave Venezuela's economic freedom a score of 36.1, down from 56.1 in 1999, ranking its freedom very low at 174th of 177 countries, with freedom on a downward trend. According to some analysts, the economic problems Venezuela has suffered under President Nicolás Maduro would likely have emerged even if Chávez had remained president.
Food and products
In the 1980s and 1990s, health and nutrition indexes in Venezuela were generally low, and social inequality in access to nutrition was high. Chávez made it his stated goal to lower inequality in access to basic nutrition, and to achieve food sovereignty for Venezuela. The main strategy for making food available to all economic classes was the controversial policy of creating fixed price ceilings for basic staple foods, which was implemented in 2003. Between 1998 and 2006, malnutrition related deaths fell by 50%. Chávez also expropriated and redistributed 5 million acres of farmland from large landowners.
Price controls initiated by Chávez created product shortages since merchants could no longer afford to import necessary goods. Chávez blamed "speculators and hoarders" for these scarcities and strictly enforced his price control policy, denouncing anyone who sold food products for higher prices. In 2011, food prices in Caracas were nine times higher than when the price controls were put in place and resulted in shortages of cooking oil, chicken, powdered milk, cheese, sugar and meat. The price controls increased the demand for basic foods while making it difficult for Venezuela to import goods causing increased reliance on domestic production. Economists believe this policy increased shortages. Shortages of food then occurred throughout the rest of Chávez's presidency with food shortage rates between 10% and 20% from 2010 to 2013. One possible reason for shortages is the relationship between inflation and subsidies, where a lack profitability due to price regulations affects operations. In turn, the lack of dollars made it difficult to purchase more food imports. Chávez's strategy in response to food shortages consisted of attempting to increase domestic production through nationalizing large parts of the food industry, though such nationalizations allegedly did the opposite and caused decreased production instead.
As part of his strategy of food security Chávez started a national chain of supermarkets, the Mercal network, which had 16,600 outlets and 85,000 employees that distributed food at highly discounted prices, and ran 6,000 soup kitchens throughout the country. Simultaneously Chávez expropriated many private supermarkets. The Mercal network was criticized by some commentators as being a part of Chávez's strategy to brand himself as a provider of cheap food, and the shops feature his picture prominently. The Mercal network was also subject to frequent shortages of basic staples such as meat, milk and sugar—and when scarce products arrived, shoppers had to wait in lines.
Communes
After his election in 1998, more than 100,000 state-owned cooperatives—which claimed to represent some 1.5 million people—were formed with the assistance of government start-up credit and technical training.
The Venezuelan government often failed to construct the number of homes they had proposed. According to Venezuela's El Universal, one of the Chávez administration's outstanding failures was the inability to meet its goals of constructing housing.
Currency controls
Further information: Economy of Venezuela § Currency Black MarketIn the first few years of Chavez's office, his newly created social programs required large payments in order to make the desired changes. On 5 February 2003, the government created CADIVI, a currency control board charged with handling foreign exchange procedures. Its creation was to control capital flight by placing limits on individuals and only offering them so much of a foreign currency. This limit to foreign currency led to a creation of a currency black market economy since Venezuelan merchants rely on foreign goods that require payments with reliable foreign currencies. As Venezuela printed more money for their social programs, the bolívar continued to devalue for Venezuelan citizens and merchants since the government held the majority of the more reliable currencies.
The implied value or "black market value" is what Venezuelans believe the hard bolívar is worth compared to the United States dollar. The high rates in the black market make it difficult for businesses to purchase necessary goods since the government often forces these businesses to make price cuts. This leads to businesses selling their goods and making a low profit. Since businesses make low profits, this leads to shortages since they are unable to import the goods that Venezuela is reliant on. Chavez used exchange rate subsidies to underwrite imports; this policy was not welfare-maximizing, but rather benefited special interests.
Crime and punishment
Further information: Crime in VenezuelaDuring the 1980s and 1990s there was a steady increase in crime in Latin America. The countries of Colombia, El Salvador, Venezuela, and Brazil all had homicide rates above the regional average. During Chávez's terms as president, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans were murdered due to violent crimes occurring in the country. Gareth A. Jones and Dennis Rodgers stated in their book Youth violence in Latin America: Gangs and Juvenile Justice in Perspective that, "With the change of political regime in 1999 and the initiation of the Bolivarian Revolution, a period of transformation and political conflict began, marked by a further increase in the number and rate of violent deaths" showing that in four years, the murder rate had increased to 44 per 100,000 people. Kidnappings also rose tremendously during Chávez's tenure, with the number of kidnappings over 20 times higher in 2011 than when Chavez was elected. Documentary filmmaker James Brabazon, stated "kidnapping crimes had skyrocketed ... after late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez freed thousands of violent prisoners as part of controversial criminal justice system reforms" while kidnappings and murders also increased due to Colombian organized crime activity as well. He further explained that common criminals felt that the Venezuelan government did not care for the problems of the higher and middle classes, which in turn gave them a sense of impunity that created a large business of kidnapping-for-ransom.
Under Chávez's administration, crimes were so prevalent that by 2007 the government no longer produced crime data. Homicide rates in Venezuela more than tripled, with one NGO finding the rate to have nearly quadrupled. The majority of the deaths occur in crowded slums in Caracas. The NGO found that the number of homicides in the country increased from 6,000 in 1999 to 24,763 in 2013. In 2010 Caracas had the highest murder rate in the world, having more deaths than Baghdad during the Iraq War. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in 2012 there were 13,080 murders in Venezuela.
In leaked government INE data for kidnappings in the year 2009, the number of kidnappings were at an estimated 16,917, contrasting the CICPCs number of only 673, before the Venezuelan government blocked the data. According to the leaked INE report, only 1,332 investigations for kidnappings were opened or about 7% of the total kidnapping cases, with 90% of the kidnappings happening away from rural areas, 80% of all being express kidnappings and the most common victim being lower-middle or middle class Venezuelans and middle-aged men. Also in 2009, it was reported that Venezuelan authorities would assign judicial police to Caracas area morgues to speak with families. At that time, they would advise families not to report the murder of their family member to the media in exchange for expediting the process of releasing the victim's body.
In September 2010, responding to escalating crime rates in the country, Chávez stated that Venezuela was no more violent than it was when he first took office. An International Crisis Group report that same year stated that when Chávez took office, there were some factors beyond his control that led to the crime epidemic throughout Venezuela, but that Chávez ignored it as well as corruption in the country; especially among fellow state officials. The report also stated that international organised crime filters between Colombia and Venezuela with assistance from "the highest spheres of government" in Venezuela, leading to higher rates of kidnapping, drug trafficking, and homicides. Chávez supporters stated that the Bolivarian National Police had reduced crime and also said that the states with the highest murder rates were controlled by the opposition.
Prisons
During Chávez's presidency, there were reports of prisoners having easy access to firearms, drugs, and alcohol. Carlos Nieto, head of Window to Freedom, alleged that heads of gangs acquire military weapons from the state, saying: "They have the types of weapons that can only be obtained by the country's armed forces. ... No one else has these." Use of internet and mobile phones were also commonplace, allowing criminals to take part in street crime while in prison. One prisoner explained how, "if the guards mess with us, we shoot them" and that he had "seen a man have his head cut off and people play football with it".
Edgardo Lander, a sociologist and professor at the Central University of Venezuela with a PhD in sociology from Harvard University, explained that Venezuelan prisons were "practically a school for criminals" since young inmates come out "trained and hardened" compared to before their incarceration. He also explained that prisons are controlled by gangs and that "very little has been done" to restrain their activities.
Elections under Chávez
The electoral processes surrounding Venezuela's democracy under Chávez were often observed controversially. According to Bloomberg, he changed Venezuela from a democracy to "a largely authoritarian system".
However, there were limits to his authoritarianism, and he thought of the electoral system as a key way to make himself more effective as a leader.
As New York University historian Greg Grandin has pointed out, Chávez “submitted himself and his agenda to 14 national votes, winning 13 of them by large margins, in polling deemed by Jimmy Carter to be ‘best in the world.’”
Francisco Toro, editor of Caracas Chronicles, an opposition-friendly news and analysis site, said “Chávez was always careful to maintain electoral legitimacy” . Toro says that Chávez had big advantages with friendly media and his tendency to use state money on his campaigns, but that he didn’t “steal or cancel elections blatantly.” Chávez even allowed his opposition to run a recall referendum against him in 2004 just two years after surviving a coup attempt. He won the referendum by a huge margin.
Since 1998, elections in Venezuela have been automated using touch-screen DRE voting machines, which provide a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail and administered by the National Electoral Council.
In Venezuela, voters touch a computer screen to cast their vote and then receive a paper receipt, which they verify and deposit in a ballot box. Most of the paper ballots are compared with the electronic tally. This system makes vote-rigging nearly impossible: to steal the vote would require hacking the computers and then stuffing the ballot boxes to match the rigged vote.
Beginning in 2012, Venezuela’s elections used biometric authentication to activate the voting machine.
Corruption
Further information: Corruption in VenezuelaIn December 1998, Hugo Chávez declared three goals for the new government; "convening a constituent assembly to write a new constitution, eliminating government corruption, and fighting against social exclusion and poverty". However, according to the libertarian Cato Institute, during Hugo Chávez's time in power, corruption has become widespread throughout the government due to impunity towards members of the government, bribes and the lack of transparency. In 2004, Hugo Chávez and his allies took over the Supreme Court, filling it with supporters of Chávez and made new measures so the government could dismiss justices from the court. According to the Cato Institute, the National Electoral Council of Venezuela was under control of Chávez where he tried to "push a constitutional reform that would have allowed him unlimited opportunities for reelection". The Corruption Perceptions Index, produced annually by the Berlin-based NGO Transparency International (TNI), reported that in the later years of Chávez's tenure, corruption worsened; it was 158th out of 180 countries in 2008, and 165th out of 176 (tied with Burundi, Chad, and Haiti). Most Venezuelans believed the government's effort against corruption was ineffective; that corruption had increased; and that government institutions such as the judicial system, parliament, legislature, and police were the most corrupt.
In Gallup Poll's 2006 Corruption Index, Venezuela ranked 31st out of 101 countries according to how widespread the population perceive corruption as being in the government and in business. The index listed Venezuela as the second least corrupt nation in Latin America, behind Chile. Some criticism came from Chávez's supporters, as well. Chávez's own political party, Fifth Republic Movement (MVR), had been criticized as being riddled with the same cronyism, political patronage, and corruption that Chávez alleged were characteristic of the old "Fourth Republic" political parties. Venezuela's trade unionists and indigenous communities participated in peaceful demonstrations intended to impel the government to facilitate labor and land reforms. These communities, while largely expressing their sympathy and support for Chávez, criticized what they saw as Chávez's slow progress in protecting their interests against managers and mining concerns, respectively.
Aiding FARC
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), "Chavez's government funded FARC's office in Caracas and gave it access to Venezuela's intelligence services" and said that during the 2002 coup attempt that "FARC also responded to requests from to provide training in urban terrorism involving targeted killings and the use of explosives". The IISS continued saying that "the archive offers tantalizing but ultimately unproven suggestions that FARC may have undertaken assassinations of Chavez's political opponents on behalf of the Venezuelan state". Venezuelan diplomats denounced the IISS' findings saying that they had "basic inaccuracies".
In 2007, authorities in Colombia declared that through laptops they had seized on a raid against Raúl Reyes, they found in documents that Hugo Chávez offered payments of as much as $300 million to the FARC "among other financial and political ties that date back years" along with other documents showing "high-level meetings have been held between rebels and Ecuadorean officials" and some documents arguing that FARC had "bought and sold uranium".
In 2015, Chávez's former bodyguard Leamsy Salazar stated in the book Bumerán Chávez that Chávez met with the high command of FARC in 2007 somewhere in rural Venezuela. Chávez created a system in which the FARC would provide the Venezuelan government with drugs that would be transported in live cattle and the FARC would receive money and weaponry from the Venezuelan government. According to Salazar, this was done in order to weaken Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, an enemy of Chávez.
In 2019, federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York further provided documents outlining that in 2005 Chávez ordered top lieutenants to discuss plans to ship cocaine to the United States with the help of the FARC and "flood" the country with the drug, as part of his policy objectives to combat the United States.
Human rights
Further information: Human rights in VenezuelaCriticisms
Shortly after Hugo Chávez's election, ratings for freedom in Venezuela dropped according to political and human rights group Freedom House and Venezuela was rated "partly free". In 2004, Amnesty International criticized Chavez's administration of not handling the 2002 coup in a proper manner, saying that violent incidents "have not been investigated effectively and have gone unpunished" and that "impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators encourages further human rights violations in a particularly volatile political climate". Amnesty International also criticized the Venezuelan National Guard and the Direccion de Inteligencia Seguridad y Prevención (DISIP) stating that they "allegedly used excessive force to control the situation on a number of occasions" during protests involving the 2004 Venezuela recall. It was also noted that many of the protesters detained seemed to not be "brought before a judge within the legal time limit".
In 2008, Human Rights Watch released a report reviewing Chávez's human rights record over his first decade in power. The report praises Chávez's 1999 amendments to the constitution which significantly expanded human rights guarantees, as well as mentioning improvements in women's rights and indigenous rights, but noted a "wide range of government policies that have undercut the human rights protections established" by the revised constitution. In particular, the report accused Chávez and his administration of engaging in discrimination on political grounds, eroding the independence of the judiciary, and of engaging in "policies that have undercut journalists' freedom of expression, workers' freedom of association, and civil society's ability to promote human rights in Venezuela". The Venezuelan government retaliated for the report by expelling members of Human Rights Watch from the country. Subsequently, over a hundred Latin American scholars signed a joint letter with the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, a leftist NGO that would defend Chávez and his movement, with the individuals criticizing the Human Rights Watch report for its alleged factual inaccuracy, exaggeration, lack of context, illogical arguments, and heavy reliance on opposition newspapers as sources, amongst other things.
The International Labour Organization of the United Nations had also expressed concern over voters being pressured to join the party.
In 2009, Judge María Lourdes Afiuni was arrested on charges of corruption after ordering the conditional release on bail of businessman Eligio Cedeño, who then fled the country. She was moved to house arrest in Caracas in February 2011, but she is still barred from practicing law, leaving the country, or using her bank account or social networks. Human rights groups accused Chávez of creating a climate of fear that threatened the independence of the judiciary. Reuters said Afiuni is "considered by opponents and jurists as one of the most emblematic political prisoners" in Venezuela, because Chávez called for her to be imprisoned.
In 2009, the Attorney General announced the creation of an investigative team to examine 6,000 reports of extrajudicial killings between 2000 and 2007.
In 2010, Amnesty International criticized the Chávez administration for targeting critics following several politically motivated arrests. Freedom House listed Venezuela as being "partly free" in its 2011 Freedom in the World annual report, noting a recent decline in civil liberties. A 2010 Organization of American States report found concerns with freedom of expression, human rights abuses, authoritarianism, press freedom, threats to democracy, as well as erosion of separation of powers, the economic infrastructure and ability of the president to appoint judges to federal courts. OAS observers were denied access to Venezuela; Chávez rejected the OAS report, pointing out that its authors did not go to Venezuela. Venezuelan ombudswoman Gabriela Ramírez said the report distorted and took statistics out of context, and said that "human rights violations in Venezuela have decreased".
In November 2014, Venezuela appeared before the United Nations Committee Against Torture over cases between 2002 and 2014. Human rights expert of the UN committee, Felice D. Gaer, noted that in "only 12 public officials have been convicted of human rights violations in the last decade when in the same period have been more than 5,000 complaints". The United Nations stated that there were 31,096 complaints of human rights violations received between the years 2011 and 2014. Of the 31,096 complaints, 3% of the cases resulted in only in an indictment by the Venezuelan Public Ministry.
Allegations of antisemitism
See also: Accusations of Chávez antisemitismChavez's opposition to Zionism and close relations with Iran led to accusations of antisemitism. Such claims were made by the Venezuelan Jewish community at a World Jewish Congress Plenary Assembly in Jerusalem, after Venezuela's oldest synagogue was vandalized by armed men. Claims of antisemitism were prompted by various remarks Chávez made, including in a 2006 Christmas speech where he complained that "a minority, the descendants of the same ones that crucified Christ", now had "taken possession of all of the wealth of the world". In 2009, attacks on a synagogue in Caracas were alleged to be influenced by "vocal denunciations of Israel" by the Venezuelan state media and Hugo Chávez, even though Chavez promptly condemned the attacks, blaming an "oligarchy". A weeklong investigation by the Venezuelan CICPC stated the synagogue attack to be an 'inside job', the motive apparently being robbery rather than antisemitism.
Media and the press
Under Chávez, press freedom declined while censorship in Venezuela increased. He used state-run bodies to silence the media and to disseminate Bolivarian propaganda. Other actions included pressuring media organizations to sell to those related to his government or to face closure.
Human Rights Watch criticized Chávez for engaging in "often discriminatory policies that have undercut journalists' freedom of expression". Reporters Without Borders criticized the Chávez administration for "steadily silencing its critics".
In 2004, Chávez used the National Commission of Telecommunications and the Social Responsibility in Radio, Television and Electronic Media law to officially censor media organizations.
Chávez inaugurated TeleSUR in July 2005, a Pan-American news channel similar to Al Jazeera, which sought to challenge Latin American television news by Univision and the United States–based CNN en Español. In 2006, Chávez inaugurated a state-funded movie studio called Villa del Cine (English: Cinema City).
In the group's 2009 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders noted that "Venezuela is now among the region's worst press freedom offenders." Freedom House listed Venezuela's press as being "Not Free" in its 2011 Map of Press Freedom, noting that "he gradual erosion of press freedom in Venezuela continued in 2010."
Chávez also had a Twitter account with more than 3,200,000 followers as of August 2012. A team of 200 people sorted through suggestions and comments sent via Twitter. Chávez said Twitter was "another mechanism for contact with the public, to evaluate many things and to help many people", and that he saw Twitter as "a weapon that also needs to be used by the revolution".
Foreign policy
Further information: Foreign policy of the Hugo Chávez governmentThough Chávez inspired other movements in Latin America to follow his model of chavismo in an attempt to reshape South America, it was later seen as being erratic and his influence internationally became exaggerated. Domestic mishandling of the country under Chávez prevented Venezuela from strengthening its position in the world.
According to communications studies academic Stuart Davis, Chávez's foreign policy aimed to promote South–South cooperation. He refocused Venezuelan foreign policy on Latin American economic and social integration by enacting bilateral trade and reciprocal aid agreements, including his so-called "oil diplomacy" making Venezuela more dependent on using oil, its main commodity, and increasing its longterm vulnerability. Chávez also focused on a variety of multinational institutions to promote his vision of Latin American integration, including Petrocaribe, Petrosur, and TeleSUR. Bilateral trade relationships with other Latin American countries also played a major role in his policy, with Chávez increasing arms purchases from Brazil, forming oil-for-expertise trade arrangements with Cuba, and creating unique barter arrangements that exchange Venezuelan petroleum for cash-strapped Argentina's meat and dairy products.
Chávez also aligned himself with authoritarian nations and radical movements that were seen as being anti-Western, with relations with Cuba and Iran becoming a particular importance. He also befriended pariah states such as Belarus and Iran.
In particular, relations between Venezuela and the United States deteriorated markedly as Chávez became highly critical of the foreign policy of the United States, opposing the U.S. led 2003 invasion of Iraq and condemning the NATO-led 2011 military intervention in Libya. Relations thawed somewhat under President Barack Obama in June 2009, only to steadily deteriorate once again shortly afterwards.
Personal life
Chávez married twice. He first wed Nancy Colmenares (d. 2022), a woman from a poor family in Chávez's hometown of Sabaneta. Chávez and Colmenares remained married for 18 years, during which time they had three children: Rosa Virginia, María Gabriela, and Hugo Rafael, the last of whom suffers from behavioural problems. The couple separated soon after Chávez's 1992 coup attempt. During his first marriage, Chávez had an affair with historian Herma Marksman; their relationship lasted nine years. Chávez's second wife was journalist Marisabel Rodríguez de Chávez, from whom he separated in 2002 and divorced in 2004. Through that marriage, Chávez had another daughter, Rosinés. Both María and Rosa had children. When Chávez was released from prison, he initiated affairs with women that had been his followers. Allegations were also made that Chávez was a womanizer throughout both his marriages, having encounters with actresses, journalists, ministers, and ministers' daughters. The allegations remained unproven and are contradicted by statements provided by other figures close to him, though one retired aide shared that while Chávez was married to Marisabel and afterward, he participated in liaisons with women and gave them gifts, with some rumors among his aides stating that some of the women bore children from Chávez.
Those who were very close to Chávez felt that he had bipolar disorder. Salvador Navarrete, a physician that treated Chávez during his first years in the presidency believed that Chávez was bipolar. In 2010, Alberto Müller Rojas, then vice president of Chávez's party, PSUV, stated that Chávez had "a tendency toward cyclothymia—mood swings that range from moments of extreme euphoria to moments of despondence". A different explanation was that such behavior was a tactic used by Chávez in order to attack opponents and polarize.
Chávez was a Catholic. He intended at one time to become a priest. He saw his socialist policies as having roots in the teachings of Jesus Christ (liberation theology), and he publicly used the slogan of "Christ is with the Revolution!" Although he traditionally kept his own faith a private matter, Chávez over the course of his presidency became increasingly open to discussing his religious views, stating that he interpreted Jesus as a Communist. He was, in general, a liberal Catholic, some of whose declarations were disturbing to the religious community of his country. In 2008, he said that an afterlife does not exist. He also believed in Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, stating that "it is a lie that God created man from the ground". He cursed the state of Israel, and he had some disputes with both the Venezuelan Catholic clergy and Protestant groups like the New Tribes Mission, whose evangelical leader he "condemned to hell". In addition, he showed syncretistic practices such as the worship of the Venezuelan goddess María Lionza. In his last years, after he discovered he had cancer, Chávez became more attached to the Catholic Church.
Illness
On June 30, 2011, Chávez revealed in a televised address from Havana, Cuba, that he was recovering from 2 operations in Cuba, including an operation to remove an abscessed tumor with cancerous cells in the pelvic region. During the speech, he was noticeably thinner and paler and had a serious and at times sad expression, and stated that he regretted his lack of medical checkups. Analysts theorized that he was suffering from colorectal cancer. He returned to Venezuela from Cuba on 4 July, but on 17 July 2011, he returned to Cuba for further cancer treatments. At that time, some powers were delegated to cabinet ministers but he resisted requests by the opposition to give up all powers during his absence.
Chávez gave a public appearance on 28 July 2011, his 57th birthday, in which he stated that his health troubles had led him to radically reorient his life towards a "more diverse, more reflective and multi-faceted" outlook, and he went on to call on the middle classes and the private sector to get more involved in his Bolivarian Revolution, something he saw as "vital" to its success. In August, Chávez announced that his government would nationalize Venezuela's gold industry, taking it over from Russian-controlled company Rusoro, while at the same time also moving the country's gold stocks, which were largely stored in western banks, to banks in allied countries such as Russia, China and Brazil.
On 9 July 2012, Chávez declared himself fully recovered from cancer just three months before the 2012 Venezuelan presidential election, which he won, securing a fourth term as president. In November 2012, Chávez announced plans to travel to Cuba for more medical treatment for cancer.
On 8 December 2012, Chávez announced he would undergo another operation after doctors in Cuba detected malignant cells; the operation took place on 11 December 2012. Chávez suffered complications from the surgery including a respiratory tract infection as well as unexpected bleeding. It was announced on 3 January 2013, that Chávez had a severe lung infection that had caused respiratory failures following a strict treatment regimen for respiratory insufficiency; he was then breathing through a tracheal tube but was giving orders to ministers by writing them down. However, he was reported to have overcome the infection by 26 January and was then undergoing further treatment. On 18 February 2013, Chávez returned to Venezuela after two months of cancer treatment in Cuba. On 1 March 2013, after opposition leader Henrique Capriles accused the government of lying about Chávez's condition, Vice President Nicolás Maduro said that Chávez had been receiving chemotherapy in Venezuela following his surgery in Cuba and "continues his battle for life". A mass, broadcast on live television, was held in the hospital in which Chávez was staying. On 4 March, it was announced that Chávez's breathing problems had worsened and he was suffering a new, severe respiratory tract infection.
Death
Main article: Death of Hugo Chávez—Corales and Penfold, Dragon in the Tropics: The Legacy of Hugo ChávezVenezuela's hybrid regime, after Chávez's death, became more selectively accommodating on the inside and more explicitly repressive on the outside. This allowed the regime to survive, but not to thrive. Regime survival was purchased at the cost of policy immobilism. And policy immobilism has left Venezuela with the deepest economic crisis in Venezuela's history.
On 5 March 2013, Vice President Nicolás Maduro announced on state television that Chávez had died in a military hospital in Caracas at 16:25 VET (20:55 UTC). Maduro said Chávez died "after battling a tough illness for nearly two years". According to the head of Venezuela's presidential guard, Chávez died from a massive heart attack, and his cancer of the pelvic region was very advanced when he died. José Ornella said that near the end of his life Chávez "couldn't speak but he said it with his lips ... 'No quiero morir, por favor no me dejen morir' ('I don't want to die. Please don't let me die'), because he loved his country, he sacrificed himself for his country". Chávez is survived by four children and four grandchildren.
Chávez was entombed in a marble sarcophagus at the Mountain Barracks in Caracas.
After defecting from Venezuela, former bodyguard for Chávez, Leamsy Salazar, stated that he died in December 2012, months before his death was officially announced. In July 2018, former Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz also said that Chávez had actually died in December 2012 and the announcement of his death was delayed for political reasons. In an interview cited by Venezuelan daily El Nacional, the former Chávez supporter said that the Venezuelan president died on 28 December, but his closest allies decided to delay the announcement and never submitted the death certificate to the Office of the Attorney General. The supposed delay in announcing Chávez's death raised concerns that laws signed in his name during that period were forged for political purposes.
His death triggered a constitutional requirement that a presidential election be called within 30 days. Maduro, Chavez's vice president, was elected president on 14 April 2013.
Honors and awards
Award or decoration | Country | Date | Place | Note | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Order of José Martí | Cuba | 17 November 1999 | Havana | Cuban highest order of merit. | |
Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry | Portugal | 8 November 2001 | Lisbon | For exceptional and outstanding merit to Portugal and its culture | |
Order of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes | Cuba | 14 December 2004 | Havana | ||
First Class of the Order of the Islamic Republic of Iran | Iran | 29 July 2006 | Tehran | Highest national medal of Iran. | |
Order of the Friendship of Peoples | Belarus | 23 July 2008 | Minsk | Highest Belarusian award for foreigners. | |
Order of the Umayyads | Syria | 27 June 2010 | Caracas | Syrian highest order of merit. | |
Uatsamonga Order | South Ossetia | 23 July 2010 | Caracas | South Ossetian highest order of merit. | |
Order of the Republic of Serbia | Serbia | 6 March 2013 | Belgrade | Serbian highest order of merit. Awarded posthumously. | |
Order of Francisco Morazán | Honduras | 27 January 2014 | Tegucigalpa | Honduran highest order of merit. Awarded posthumously. | |
Star of Palestine | Palestine | 16 May 2014 | Caracas | Palestinian highest order of merit. Awarded posthumously. |
Recognition
The United States–based Time magazine included Chávez among their list of the world's 100 most influential people in 2005 and 2006, noting the spreading of his anti-globalization efforts and anti-US sentiment throughout Latin America. In a 2006 list compiled by the left-wing British magazine New Statesman, he was voted 11th in the list of "Heroes of our time". In 2010 the magazine included Chávez in its annual The World's 50 Most Influential Figures. His biographers Marcano and Tyszka believed that within only a few years of his presidency, he "had already earned his place in history as the president most loved and most despised by the Venezuelan people, the president who inspired the greatest zeal and the deepest revulsion at the same time".
In the Belarus's capital Minsk a park was named after Chávez on 18 October 2014. In addition in Al-Bireh and in Moscow, streets were also named after Chávez.
Honorary degrees
Chávez was awarded the following honorary degrees:
- Kyung Hee University, South Korea; Honorary Doctorate in Political Science – Granted by Rector Chungwon Choue on 16 October 1999.
- Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Honorary Doctorate in Jurisprudence, 9 March 2001.
- University of Brasília, Brazil; Honorary Doctorate – Granted by Rector Alberto Pérez on 3 April 2001.
- Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Nicaragua; Honorary Doctorate in Engineering – Granted by Rector Aldo Urbina in May 2001.
- Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia; Honorary Doctorate, 15 May 2001.
- Beijing University, China; Honorary Doctorate in Economics, 24 May 2001.
- Higher University of San Andrés, Bolivia; Honorary Doctorate, 24 January 2006.
- UARCIS, Chile; Honorary Doctorate – Granted by Rector Carlos Margotta Trincado on 7 March 2006.
- University of Damascus, Syria; Honorary Doctorate – Granted by Rector Wael Moualla on 30 August 2006.
- University of Tripoli, Libya; Honorary Doctorate in Economy and Human Sciences, 23 October 2010.
In popular culture
- Syndicated cartoonists from around the world created cartoons, illustrations, and videos of Hugo Chávez's controversial political career and the reactions to his death.
- Chávez was indirectly/subliminally portrayed in two Venezuelan telenovelas from the 2000s, which were critical of his government: A Calzón Quitado from 2001 (with the character of Pedro Elías Ferrer), produced by RCTV, and Cosita Rica from 2003 (with the character of Olegario Pérez), produced by Venevisión. In both telenovelas Chávez was "played" by the actor Carlos Cruz, with whom he shares a similar physical appearance. His ex wife (current wife at that moment), Marisabel Rodríguez, was also portrayed in the first production, by Alba Roversi(with the character of Clara Inés Ramírez).
- Oliver Stone directed the 2009 documentary South of the Border, where he "sets out on a road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media's misperception of South America, while interviewing seven of its elected presidents". Chávez appears in one segment being interviewed by Stone.
- In 2011, he appeared in a game Postal III.On 5 March 2014, Oliver Stone and teleSUR released the documentary film Mi amigo Hugo (My Friend Hugo), a documentary about his political life, one year after his death.
- Hugo Chávez and most of the other Latin American presidents are parodied in the animated web page Isla Presidencial.
- The 2016 documentary El ocaso del socialismo mágico explores the effects of Chávez's populism and his victory in the 1998 presidential elections, as well as his mistakes.
- Sony Pictures Television produces a TV series called El Comandante about the life of Hugo Chávez with 102 episodes.
- The 2018 documentary Chavismo: The Plague of the 21st Century (Spanish: Chavismo: la peste del siglo XXI), analysis of the causes, social, political and economic that caused the rise of Chávez as president of Venezuela; "his abuse of power and the response of civil society, including the student movement; his political fall and as the secrecy that surrounded his illness and the succession of Nicolás Maduro".
- The documentary film released in 2018 El pueblo soy yo (English: I am the people), directed by Venezuelan filmmaker Carlos Oteyza [es] and produced by Mexican historian Enrique Krauze, explores the populism of Chávez.
Notes
- Eternal President since 26 July 2014
- In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Chávez and the second or maternal family name is Frías.
References
Citations
- ^ McCoy, Jennifer L; Myers, David J. (2006). The Unraveling of Representative Democracy in Venezuela. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 310. ISBN 9780801884283.
- ^ Cawthorne, Andrew (8 October 2012). "Venezuela's Chávez re-elected to extend socialist rule". Reuters. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012.
- ^ Ellsworth, Brian; Ore, Diego (8 January 2013). "Venezuela postpones inauguration for cancer-stricken Chavez". Reuters.
- Castillo, Mariano (5 March 2013). "Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez dies". CNN.
- ^ Cawthorne, Andrew (5 March 2013). "Venezuela's Hugo Chávez dies from cancer: VP". Reuters. Archived from the original on 6 March 2013.
- James, Ian (4 October 2012). "Venezuela vote puts 'Chavismo' to critical test". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- Social Panorama of Latin America 2014 (PDF). ECLAC. March 2014. pp. 91–92. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- Montilla K., Andrea (23 April 2014). "Hoy se inicia consulta nacional para el currículo educativo". El Nacional. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- Márquez, Humberto (28 October 2005). "Venezuela se declara libre de analfabetismo" (in Spanish). Inter Press Service. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
- "Propaganda, not policy". The Economist. 28 February 2008. Archived from the original on 25 August 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- Weisbrot, Mark; Rosnick, David (May 2008). "'Illiteracy' Revisited: What Ortega and Rodríguez Read in the Household Survey" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- "Hugo Chavez Leaves Venezuela Rich in Oil, But Ailing". National Geographic. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- Rapier, Robert. "Charting The Decline Of Venezuela's Oil Industry". Forbes. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ Cristóbal Nagel, Juan (4 June 2014). "Poverty Shoots Up in Venezuela". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ Charlie Devereux & Raymond Colitt. 7 March 2013. "Venezuelans' Quality of Life Improved in UN Index Under Chavez". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Alonso, Juan Francisco (24 February 2010). "IACHR requests the Venezuelan government to guarantee all human rights". El Universal. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ Smilde, David (14 September 2017). "Crime and Revolution in Venezuela". NACLA Report on the Americas. 49 (3): 303–08. doi:10.1080/10714839.2017.1373956. ISSN 1071-4839. S2CID 158528940.
Finally, it is important to realize that the reductions in poverty and inequality during the Chávez years were real, but somewhat superficial. While indicators of income and consumption showed clear progress, the harder-to-change characteristics of structural poverty and inequality, such as the quality of housing, neighborhoods, education, and employment, remained largely unchanged.
- "Chávez declara "guerra económica" a burguesía en Venezuela". El Universo (in Spanish). 2 June 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- ^ Scharfenberg, Ewald (1 February 2015). "Volver a ser pobre en Venezuela". El Pais. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ Corrales, Javier (7 March 2013). "The House That Chavez Built". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- Corrales, Javier (7 May 2015). "Don't Blame It on the Oil". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ "Venezuela's economy: Medieval policies". The Economist. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- "¿Por qué faltan dólares en Venezuela?". El Nacional. 8 October 2013. Archived from the original on 22 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- "2014 Panorama Social de América Latina" (PDF). United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. United Nations. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
- "Venezuela's economy: Medieval policies". The Economist. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- Svolik, Milan W. (2012). The Politics of Authoritarian Rule by Milan W. Svolik. Cambridge University Press. p. 24. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139176040. ISBN 9781107024793.
- Levitsky, Steven; Way, Lucan A. (2010). Competitive Authoritarianism by Steven Levitsky. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511781353. ISBN 9780511781353. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- Rhodes-Purdy, Matthew; Madrid, Raúl L. (27 November 2019). "The perils of personalism". Democratization. 27 (2): 321–339. doi:10.1080/13510347.2019.1696310. ISSN 1351-0347. S2CID 212974380.
- "Enabling laws in The Economist". The Economist. 28 December 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- Moloney, Anastasia (29 January 2007). "Photo Feature: Chavez's Propaganda". World Politics Review. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
- Grant, Will (23 November 2010). "Venezuela bans unauthorised use of Hugo Chavez's image". BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- Romero, Simon (4 February 2011). "In Venezuela, an American Has the President's Ear". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- Lakshmanan, Indira (27 July 2005). "Channeling his energies Venezuelans riveted by president's TV show". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
- ^ "Venezuela murder-rate quadrupled under Chávez: NGO". Reuters. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
- ^ Holland 2008.
- Wills, Santiago (10 July 2013). "The World Is Getting More Corrupt, and These Are the 5 Worst Offenders". Fusion. Archived from the original on 25 August 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- "Venezuela: Police corruption blamed for kidnapping epidemic". The Scotsman. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Valery, Yolanda (1 January 1970). "BBC Mundo – América Latina – El marxismo según Chávez". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ Campos, Zurimar. "Chávez afirma que es "marxista" pero reconoce que todavía no ha leído "El Capital" en". Noticias24.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ Vinogradoff, Ludmila (3 June 2010). "Chavez se declara marxista – Internacional_Iberoamerica – Internacional". ABC.es. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ "Chávez se declara marxista en un mensaje ante el Congreso". Edant.clarin.com. 16 January 2010. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- Beaumont 2006.
- ^ Rory, Carroll (2014). Comandante : Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. Penguin Books: New York. pp. 193–94. ISBN 978-0143124887.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 7–8, 247.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 11.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 7, 24–26.
- Rory, Carroll (2014). Comandante: Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. Penguin Books: New York. pp. 86–90. ISBN 978-0143124887.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 8–9.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 30.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 35.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 29–30.
- ^ Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 36.
- Chávez quoted in Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 36–37.
- "Hugo Chávez Frías / Venezuela / América del Sur / Biografías Líderes Políticos / Documentation / CIDOB home page". Cidob.org. 23 March 2012. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 37.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 38.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 39.
- ^ Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 41.
- Chávez, quoted in Jones 2007. p. 59.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 48–49, 56.
- "Leyendo a Hugo Chávez en el segundo aniversario de su muerte". La Marea (in Spanish). 5 March 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 51–53.
- Gott, Richard (2000). In the shadow of the liberator: Hugo Chávez and the transformation of Venezuela. London; New York: Verso. p. 41. ISBN 9781859847756. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 50.
- Gibbs 2006. p. 270.
- Inter-American Court of Human Rights 1999.
- Pretel 2005.
- Nelson, Brian A. (2009). The silence and the scorpion: the coup against Chávez and the making of modern Venezuela ( ed.). New York: Nation Books. p. 24. ISBN 978-1568584188.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 55.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 64.
- ^ Maria Delgado, Antonio (16 February 2015). "Libro devela sangriento objetivo de la intentona golpista de Hugo Chávez" [ook reveals bloody putsch goal of Hugo Chávez]. El Nuevo Herald. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- Márquez & Sanabria 2018, p. 138
- ^ Sylvia and Danopolous 2003. p. 66.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 75.
- International Crisis Group 2007. p. 04.
- O'Keefe 2005.
- ^ Rory Carroll (22 June 2016). "Insult, provoke, repeat: how Donald Trump became America's Hugo Chávez". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 75–77.
- International Crisis Group 2007. pp. 4–5.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 91–92.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 95.
- "Venezuela". Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia. Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University. Archived from the original on 15 January 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
- Tarver and Frederick 2005. p. 167.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 104–05.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 107–08.
- Herrera, Carlos (21 September 2017). El Legado: Frases y Pensamientos de Hugo Chávez. Softandnet. ISBN 978-980-12-7509-1. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- Márquez & Sanabria 2018, p. 147.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 214–215, 220.
- Perdue, Jon B. (2012). The War of All the People : The Nexus of Latin American Radicalism and Middle Eastern Terrorism (1st ed.). Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books. p. 100. ISBN 978-1597977043.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 116.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 119.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 235–36.
- ^ Márquez & Sanabria 2018, p. 152
- ^ Arráiz Lucca 2007, p. 199
- "Venezuela's 1998: Presidential, Legislative, and Gubernatorial Elections: Election Observation Report" (PDF). Election Observation Report. International Republican Institute. 12 February 1999. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
Voter turnout rose significantly in the 1998 elections, reversing a two-decade trend toward lower participation.
- "Elecciones Presidenciales Cuadro Comparativo 1958–2000" (PDF). Consejo Nacional Electoral. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 127.
- ^ "Venezuela Country report Freedom in the World 1999". Freedom House. 28 July 2016. Archived from the original on 28 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. xx.
- Romero 2010.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 250–55.
- "PDVSA Names Mandini To Head State Oil Firm". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones Newswires. 2 February 1999. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- Biardeau R. Javier . Del Árbol de las Tres Raíces al "Socialismo Bolivariano del siglo XXI" ¿Una nueva narrativa ideológica de emancipación?. Revista Venezolana de Economía y Ciencias Sociales . 2009, 15(1), 57-113. ISSN: 1315-6411. Disponible en: https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=17721678005
- ^ Sackur and Chávez 2010.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 148–49.
- ^ Millard, Peter; Hoffman, Cindy; Gertz, Marisa; Lin, Jeremy C. F. "A Timeline of Venezuela's Economic Rise and Fall". Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
- "Venezuelan Soldiers Leave Their Barracks ... To Implement Chavez's Civil-Military Public Works Program" (PDF). United States Department of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 138.
- Opinión y análisis – ¿Sabe el Ejército de Corrupción? Archived 6 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 130.
- ^ Rory, Carroll (2014). Comandante : Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. Penguin Books: New York. p. 41. ISBN 978-0143124887.
- ^ International Crisis Group 2007. p. 05.
- Belos 1999.
- Gott, Richard (2005). Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian revolution (New ed.). London : Verso. p. 147. ISBN 978-1844675333.
- ^ Nelson, Brian A. (2009). The silence and the scorpion : the coup against Chávez and the making of modern Venezuela. New York: Nation Books. pp. 1–8. ISBN 978-1568584188.
- Rohter, Larry (31 August 1999). "Venezuelan Congress Stripped of Its Last Remaining Powers". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ International Crisis Group 2007. p. 06.
- Ma, Alexandra (19 December 2015). "Will A Venezuelan Opposition Party's Election Victory Bring Real Change?". HuffPost. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- ^
Jeff Colgan (31 January 2013). Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War. Cambridge University Press. p. 209. ISBN 978-1107029675. Retrieved 27 June 2016 – via Google Books.
For Chávez the show accomplishes a number of political objectives. First, it sustains and builds popular support for his leadership. By spending hours each week in front of a camera Chávez reinforces the message that he is the leader of his political movement and the government of Venezuela, its living symbol. Second, the television show is oriented to, and popular among, the lower classes of Venezuela who have traditionally remained outside of the political process.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 193–95.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 243.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 140.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 141.
- ^ Ramírez 2005. p. 79.
- "Conozca los acuerdos petroleros que dejó Hugo Chávez". 22 August 2014. p. Finanzas Digital. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 208–09.
- Rohter, Larry (3 November 2001). "U.S., Irritated by Criticism, Calls Envoy Home From Venezuela". The New York Times.
- ^ International Crisis Group 2007. p. 7.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 143.
- ^ Wiseman, Colin and Daniel Béland. “The Politics of Institutional Change in Venezuela: Oil Policy During the Presidency of Hugo Chávez.” Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Vol 35, No. 70 (2010), pp. 141–164. JSTOR. Accessed 3 November 2018.
- "Ley Orgánica de Hidrocarburos aprobada en 2001" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 August 2006. Retrieved 27 July 2006.
- ^ Johnson, Keith (16 July 2018). "How Hugo Chávez Blew Up Venezuela's Oil Patch". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
The fuse for the bomb that is now blowing up Venezuela's oil industry – and the country along with it – was deliberately lit and fanned by ... the strongman Hugo Chávez ...
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 143–45.
- Ramírez 2005. p. 80.
- Kahn, Jeremy (3 February 2003). "Pumping Trouble: A strike in Venezuela has raised temperatures in Caracas and oil prices around the world". CNN. Archived from the original on 22 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 171–72.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 168.
- ^ Nelson, Brian A. (2009). The silence and the scorpion : the coup against Chávez and the making of modern Venezuela (online ed.). New York: Nation Books. pp. 121–134. ISBN 978-1568584188.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 175–84.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 181–85.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 185.
- Ceaser, Mike (5 April 2002). "Venezuelans hit by oil crisis". BBC. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- The Observer 2006.
- International Crisis Group 2007. p. 1.
- BBC News 2006.
- "Chávez wins Venezuelan election". Gulf News. 4 December 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
- Ireland On-Line. Chávez promises more-radical turn toward socialism. (4 December 2006). Retrieved 4 December 2006.
- "Students stage anti-Chavez rally". BBC News. 30 November 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
- Morsbach, Greg (19 December 2006). "Venezuela head seeks party merger". BBC News. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- Walter, Mathew. "Venezuela May Lower Voting Age, Add Gay Rights in Constitution" Archived 16 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Bloomberg. 11 October 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- ^ "En Pdvsa y Sidor se concentra criminalización de las protestas – Economía". El Universal (in Spanish). 16 June 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- "Chavez to shut down opposition TV". BBC. 29 December 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
- ^ "Marches and Counter-Marches Over TV Station's End". Inter Press Service News Agency. 21 May 2007. Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
- "Estudiantes de la UCAB y la USB protestan en apoyo a RCTV". El Universal (in Spanish). 25 May 2007. Archived from the original on 27 May 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
- "Ucevistas protestaron en la autopista Francisco Fajardo cierre de RCTV". El Universal (in Spanish). 25 May 2007. Archived from the original on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
- Ellsworth, Brian (26 May 2007). "Venezuelans march against closure of TV station". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- "Secretary General expresses concern over decision not to renew broadcasting license of Venezuelan television station" (Press release). Organization of American States. 5 January 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
- "Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression expresses concern over the situation of RCTV in Venezuela". Organization of American States. 31 December 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
- "IAPA assails Venezuela's Chávez over non-renewal of TV station license" (Press release). Inter American Press Association. 29 December 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
- "Venezuela: TV Shutdown Harms Free Expression". Human Rights Watch. 22 May 2007. Archived from the original on 14 November 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
- "'Lack of transparency' in Venezuelan broadcast case" (Press release). Committee to Protect Journalists. 12 January 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
- "Non-renewal of RCTV license a threat to media pluralism, will cost 2,000 their jobs, says IFJ" (Press release). International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX). 24 April 2007. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
- "Insulza: RCTV case will be solved by Venezuelan courts". El Universal. 18 May 2007. Archived from the original on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
- "Insulza hopes Venezuela "to continue to be democratic"". El Universal. 11 June 2007. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
- Ellsworth, Brian (16 August 2007). "Venezuela's Chávez calls for end to term limits". Reuters. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
- Romero, Simon (4 December 2007). "Venezuela Vote Sets Roadblocks on Chávez Path". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
- "Chávez: "Fue una victoria de mierda y la nuestra una derrota de coraje"". Libertad Digital. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- ^ "Unos 170 millones de kilos de alimentos importados por Venezuela se han vencido, afirma la oposición". Google (in Spanish). Agencia EFE. 31 July 2010. Archived from the original on 4 August 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
- Agencia Venezolana de Noticias (1 August 2010). "Audiencia preliminar por caso PDVAL será el 10 de agosto". El Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- García Mora, Ileana (6 November 2011). "Los tres acusados por el caso PDVAL serán enjuiciados en libertad condicional". El Mundo (Venezuela). Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- "Imputados de PDVAL volvieron a sus cargos en Pdvsa". Últimas Noticias. 14 May 2012. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- Ackerman, Sasha (15 May 2012). "Rechazan incluir en orden del día caso de alimentos descompuestos de PDVAL". Globovisión. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- Valery, Yolanda (8 June 2010). "Venezuela: escándalo por alimentos vencidos". BBC (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- "Chávez dice que seguirá en el poder hasta 2030". El Economista (in Spanish). October 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
- Carroll 2009.
- Forero, Juan (16 February 2009). "Chávez Wins Removal of Term Limits". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez wins another 6-year term, electoral council says". Fox News Channel. 8 October 2012. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- Neuman, William (7 October 2012). "Chávez Wins a Third Term in Venezuela Amid Historically High Turnout". NYT. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- "Church warns Venezuela govt on constitution". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 7 January 2013. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- "Nuevos rumores de muerte para Hugo Chávez" (in Spanish). Univision Communications Inc. 27 February 2013. Archived from the original on 28 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- "Former envoy claims Venezuela's Chávez is dead". PanArmenian.Net. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- "Even after death, Hugo Chavez gets his choice of successor". National Post. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- Chavez to make economy priority Tuesday, August 1, 2000
- Hugo! The Hugo Chávez Story from Mud Hut to Perpetual Revolution By Bart Jones, 2009
- ^ El marxismo según Chávez Yolanda Valery BBC Mundo, Venezuela
- La revolución del discurso de Chávez Carlos Chirinos Martes, 27 de enero de 2009
- New Charter Shuns ‘Savage Capitalism’ L.A. TIMES ARCHIVES NOV. 20, 1999
- Alocución del Ciudadano Presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez Frías en Sesión Especial de la Asamblea Nacional con Motivo de la Presentación del Plan de Desarrollo Económico y Social de la Nación
- ^ ENTREVISTA DE MARTA HARNECKER HUGO CHÁVEZ FRÍAS UN HOMBRE, UN PUEBLO Publicado en España por Editorial: Tercera Prensa, San Sebastián, noviembre 2002, P.69-70
- Nueva medición de fuerzas en Venezuela Jueves, 01 de mayo de 2003 Escribe desde Venezuela, Aldo Rodríguez Villouta, para BBC Mundo.
- Intervención del Comandante Presidente Hugo Chávez, en el encuentro Solidaridad con la Revolución Bolivariana con Venezuela en el marco l Foro Social Mundial 26/01/2003
- Torres, Ana Teresa (2009). La Herencia de la Tribu (PDF) (in Spanish). Alfa. pp. 146–147. ISBN 978-9803542849.
Con diferentes matices estas ambigüedades del discurso se mantuvieron hasta el triunfo en la reelección presidencial de 2006, siendo su contrincante Manuel Rosales, gobernador del estado Zulia. En el discurso del 3 de diciembre, desde el llamado «Balcón del Pueblo» del Palacio de Miraflores, el socialismo apareció expuesto con toda claridad.
- ^ "Hugo Chavez admits to being Marxist, just like Christ | World | RIA Novosti". En.ria.ru. 16 January 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- Marcano, Cristina; Tyszka, Alberto Barrera (14 August 2007). Hugo Chavez. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-58836-650-4.
- See for instance Woods 2006 and Ali 2006.
- Malinarich, Nathalie (10 January 2007). "Chávez accelerates on path to socialism". BBC News.
- Martin, Jorge (12 January 2007). ""What is the problem? I am also a Trotskyist!" – Chavez is sworn in as president of Venezuela". In Defense of Marxism.
- ENTREVISTA DE MARTA HARNECKER HUGO CHÁVEZ FRÍAS UN HOMBRE, UN PUEBLO Publicado en España por Editorial: Tercera Prensa, San Sebastián, noviembre 2002, P.105
- Cameron, Maxwell (2001). "Venezuela's Hugo Chávez: Savior or Threat to Democracy?". Latin American Research Review. 36 (3): 263. doi:10.1017/S0023879100019270. ISSN 0023-8791. S2CID 252749214.. Online at
- Marx, Karl (1858). "Bolivar y Ponte". marxists.org. Retrieved 18 August 2010. First published in the New American Cyclopedia, Vol. III, 1858.
- ^ Beddow, D. Méndez; Thibodeaux, Sam J. (2010). Gangrillas : the unspoken pros and cons of legalizing drugs. : Trafford on Demand Pub. p. 29. ISBN 978-1426948466.
- ^ "Venezuela after Chávez Now for the reckoning". The Economist. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ^ Lendman, Stephen. "Wall Street Journal Claims Chávez Oil Policy "Aims to Weaken US"". COA News. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009.
- ^ 04/03/2005 Intervención del Comandante Presidente Hugo Chávez durante cátedra impartida ante estudiantes e intelectuales, en la Universidad Jawajarlāl Nehru de la República de la India
- Hugo Chávez: Charming provocateur, Robin Lustig, BBC News, Paris
- "Chávez promises a socialist Venezuela as he starts new 6-year term", 10 January 2007, USA Today.
- (in Italian) Garibaldi, the hero of Chávez
- (in Italian) Venezuela, no wins at "photo finish"
- Redazione Il Fatto Quotidiano (18 March 2011). "North Africa, french fightings, anti-Berlusconi. 300 at Toni Negri's lesson" (in Italian). Il Fatto Quotidiano.
- Understanding the Venezuelan Revolution: Hugo Chavez Talks to Marta Harnecker, New York: Monthly Review, 2005
- Rocco, Cotroneo (17 August 2007). "Chávez insists for socialism" (in Italian). Corriere della Sera.it. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
- "Chavez says U.S. may have orchestrated 9/11". msnbc.com. 12 September 2006.
- Hitchens, Christopher (2 August 2010). "Hugo Boss". Slate.
- ^ López Maya, Margarita (2016). El ocaso del chavismo: Venezuela 2005–2015. Editorial Alfa. pp. 354–355. ISBN 9788417014254.
- ^ "Estrategia de Cooperación de OPS/OMS con Venezuela 2006–2008" (PDF) (in Spanish). Pan American Health Organization. June 2006. pp. p. 54. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2006.
- ^ "Banco de la Vivienda transfirió 66 millardos para subsidios". El Universal (in Spanish). 10 November 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
- ^ Barreiro C., Raquel (4 March 2006). "Mercal es 34% más barato". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2006.
- ^ Heritage, Andrew (December 2002). Financial Times World Desk Reference. Dorling Kindersley. pp. 618–21. ISBN 9780789488053.
- ^ 남민우, 기 (2 May 2018). 화폐경제 무너졌는데…최저임금 인상에 목매는 베네수엘라. 朝鮮日報 (in Korean). Retrieved 22 May 2018.
Venezuela's fall is considered to be mainly caused by the populist policy ... Venezuela, for decades, has increased the number of public sector employees and has promoted populist support to maintain the regime
- ^ "Venezuela's Expensive Friendships". Stratfor. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- Corrales, Javier; Penfold, Michael (2 April 2015). Dragon in the Tropics: The Legacy of Hugo Chávez. Brookings Institution Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0815725930.
- Meade, Teresa. A History of Modern Latin America: 1800 to the Present (Oxford 2010), p. 313.
- Voigt, Kevin (6 March 2013). "Chavez leaves Venezuelan economy more equal, less stable". CNN. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- UNESCO, Education in Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Archived 11 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- "Propaganda, not policy". The Economist. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- "Hogares pobres por ingreso, 1er semestre 1997-1er semestre 2015" [Poor households by income, 1997-1er semester 1st semester 2015]. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (in Spanish). Archived from the original (xls) on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- Keppel, Stephen (17 January 2014). "5 Ways Hugo Chavez Has Destroyed the Venezuelan Economy". Fusion. Archived from the original on 19 September 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- ^ Gallagher, J. J. (25 March 2015). "Venezuela: Does an increase in poverty signal threat to government?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- Corrales, Javier; Romero, Carlos (2013). U.S.–Venezuela relations since the 1990s : coping with mid-level security threats. New York: Routledge. pp. 79–81. ISBN 978-0415895248.
- "Venezuela Overview". World Bank. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- "Health expenditure, total (% of GDP)". World Bank. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- James, Ian (19 July 2010). "Despite Chávez, Venezuela economy not socialist". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
- "2013 Index of Economic Freedom" (PDF). Heritage Foundation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
- "Post-Chavez, Venezuela Enters a Downward Spiral". Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- George W. Schuyler. 2002. Globalization and Health: Venezuela and Cuba Canadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue canadienne d'études du développement Vol. 23, Iss. 4,
- Parker, Dick. 2005. Chávez and the Search for an Alternative to Neoliberalism. Latin American Perspectives 32:39 p. 36
- ^ Devereux, Charlie (22 November 2011). "Chávez Activates Price Law to End Capitalist Speculation". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- Derham, Michael. 2010 Politics in Venezuela: Explaining Hugo Chávez. Peter Lang. p. 296.
- In Venezuela, Land 'Rescue' Hopes Unmet, Washington Post, 20 June 2009
- "Venezuelan food shortages bode ill for Chavez's re-election". USA Today. 13 August 2012. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- Neuman, William (20 April 2012). "With Venezuelan Food Shortages, Some Blame Price Controls". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- ^ Romo, Rafael (13 December 2011). "Food shortages worry Venezuelans". CNN. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
- Neuman, William (20 April 2012). "With Venezuelan Food Shortages, Some Blame Price Controls". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
- "El ascenso de la escasez". El Universal. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- "Las principales causas de la escasez en Venezuela". Banca & Negocios. 27 March 2014. Archived from the original on 22 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- Minaya, Ezequiel; Schaefer Muñoz, Sara (9 February 2015). "Venezuela Confronts Retail Sector". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- "Empty shelves and rhetoric". The Economist. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ^ A Food Fight for Hugo Chávez, Business Week, 11 March 2010
- Bowman, Betsy; Stone, Bob (July–August 2006). "Venezuela's Cooperative Revolution". Dollars and Sense. 15 (266).
- ^ Chávez' Government has built 24 percent of scheduled houses. El Universal (31 July 2006). Archived 11 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- "Misión Vivienda incumplió 70% de su objetivo de 2014". La Patilla. 30 December 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- CADIVI, CADIVI, una medidia necesaria Archived 5 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- Hanke, Steve. "The World's Troubled Currencies". The Market Oracle. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- "Venezuela's black market rate for US dollars just jumped by almost 40%". Quartz. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- Pons, Corina (14 January 2014). "McDonald's Agrees to Cut the Price of a Venezuelan Big Mac Combo". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- Goodman, Joshua (22 January 2014). "Venezuela overhauls foreign exchange system". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- Gulotty, Robert; Kronick, Dorothy (2021). "The Arbitrage Lobby: Theory and Evidence on Dual Exchange Rates". International Organization. 76: 105–125. doi:10.1017/S002081832100031X. ISSN 0020-8183.
- "Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia". Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- Rueda, Manuel (8 January 2014). "How Did Venezuela Become So Violent?n". Fusion TV. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ "Global Study On Homicide 2011" (PDF). UNODC. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ "Global Study On Homicide 2014" (PDF). UNODC. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- "Global homicide rates drop, but nearly 500,000 murdered in 2012". Agence France-Presse. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ "Seguridad Pública y Privada: Venezuela y Bolivia" (PDF). oas.org. Organization of American States. August 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Venezuela: Gravísima Crisis de Seguridad Pública by Lexys Rendon". ISSUU. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Según el Cicpc el 2011 cerró con 1.150 secuestros en todo el país – Sucesos". El Universal. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- Reid, Michael.Forgotten continent: the battle for Latin America's soul, p. 248. Yale, CT: Yale University Press, 2007. ISBN 0-300-11616-0
- Rueda, Manuel. "How Did Venezuela Become So Violent?". Fusion. Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- Jones, Gareth A.; Rodgers, Dennis (2008). Youth violence in Latin America: gangs and juvenile justice in perspective (1st ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 84–85. doi:10.1057/9780230101333. ISBN 9780230600560.
- ^ "Welcome to Venezuela, the kidnap capital of the world". news.com.au. News.com.au. 13 November 2013. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ^ Brabazon, James (10 October 2013). "Taking no prisoners in the kidnap capital of the world: On the streets of Caracas with an elite police squad". London. The Independent. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- Gallegos, Raul (10 January 2014). "Miss Venezuela's Murder Is the Price of Politics". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- Pretel, Enrique Andres (2 September 2010). "Chavez defends his record on crime in Venezuela". Reuters. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
- "Chavez criticizes US take on crime in Venezuela". The Boston Globe. 27 March 2012. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
- "Venezuela's Homicide Rate Quadruples in Fifteen Years, NGO Reports". HuffPost. 26 December 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- Ramírez Miranda, Deivis (25 August 2010). "Caracas has become the deadliest city in the world". El Universal. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010.
- James, Ian (28 August 2010). "Venezuelans protest rampant violence, some liken bloodshed to 'undeclared war'". startribune.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 18 November 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
- Bowman, Michael (24 August 2010). "Venezuelans Despair Over Rampant, Deadly Violence". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 27 August 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- Romero, Simon (22 August 2010). "Venezuela, More Deadly Than Iraq, Wonders Why". The New York Times.
- "Los muertos que esconde Chávez". La Razón (in Spanish). 22 August 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- "United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – Murder rates (most recent year) – spreadsheet". Archived from the original on 9 March 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
- "En el 2009 se cometieron más de 16.000 secuestros en Venezuela, según el gobierno local LOCAL". ABC Color. Noticias24. 22 August 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- ^ "Hubo 16,917 secuestros en 2009 en Venezuela". La Prensa. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- ^ "Venezuela favorece a los familiares de fallecidos que no informan a la prensa". El Mundo. 22 August 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- Pretel, Enrique Andres (2 September 2010). "Chávez defends his record on crime in Venezuela". Reuters. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
- "Violence in Venezuela". The Stream. Al Jazeera English. 6 August 2011. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
- "The Stream – Violence in Venezuela". YouTube. Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- Gupta, Girish (14 May 2012). "In Venezuela's prisons, inmates are the wardens". Global Post. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
- Jay, Paul (19 April 2014). "The Modern History of Venezuela, Why Still So Much Crime? – Edgardo Lander on Reality Asserts Itself (7/9)". The Real News. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
- "Venezuela's Collapse". Bloomberg. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ Aleem, Zeeshan (19 September 2017). "How Venezuela went from a rich democracy to a dictatorship on the brink of collapse". Vox. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ^ Weisbrot, Mark (3 October 2012). "Why the US demonises Venezuela's democracy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- Norris, Michele (16 August 2004). "Chavez Wins Recall as Venezuelan President". NPR. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- "Venezuela: World's first national e-Voting with paper trail election (2004-2017)". smartmatic. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- Coronel, Gustavo. "Corruption, Mismanagement, and Abuse of Power in Hugo Chávez's Venezuela". Cato Institute.
- World Report 2012: Venezuela. Human Rights Watch. 22 January 2012.
- Coronel, Gustavo. "The Corruption of Democracy in Venezuela". Cato Institute. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- Cutler, David (5 December 2012). "Factbox: Transparency International's global corruption index". Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- "Global Corruption Barometer 2010/11". Transparency International. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- Crabtree, Steve; Naurath, Nicole. "Gallup Launches Worldwide Corruption Index". Gallup Poll News Service. Archived from the original on 24 November 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2006.
- Fuentes, F. (2005), "Challenges for Venezuela's Workers’ Movement". Green Left Weekly. Accessed 15 February 2006.
- Márquez, H. (2005), "ENVIRONMENT-VENEZUELA: Indigenous Peoples Protest Coal Mining". Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2014. Inter Press Service. Accessed 2 February 2006.
- Martinez, Michael (10 May 2011). "Study: Colombian rebels were willing to kill for Venezuela's Chavez". CNN. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- Padgett, Tim (3 September 2008). "Chávez and the Cash-Filled Suitcase". TIME. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- "Colombia: Chavez funding FARC rebels". USA Today. 4 March 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- Cristóbal Nagel, Juan (28 April 2015). "Something Is Rotten in the State of Venezuela". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- Forero, Juan; de Córdoba, José (15 September 2019). "Venezuela's Hugo Chávez Worked to Flood U.S. With Cocaine, U.S. Prosecutors Say". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- "Country ratings and status, FIW 1973–2014". Freedom House. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ "Venezuela: Protestors in civil disturbances". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 22 March 2004. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ^ Holland 2008, p. 1.
- ^ Holland 2008, p. 2.
- BBC NEWS. Venezuela expels rights activists. (19 September 2008).
- Seliktar, Ofira (2000). Failing the crystal ball test : the Carter administration and the fundamentalist revolution in Iran ( ed.). Westport, Conn : Praeger. p. 44. ISBN 978-0275968724.
- "Taking Human Rights Watch to Task on the Question of Venezuela's Purported Abuse of Human Rights" (Press release). Council on Hemispheric Affairs. 18 December 2008.
- "Scholars Respond to HRW's Kenneth Roth's Riposte on Venezuelan Human Rights" (Press release). Council on Hemispheric Affairs. 12 January 2009.
- Moynihan, Michael (24 February 2014). "Venezuela's Useful Idiots". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- Alonso, Juan Francisco (24 March 2010). "Human rights groups denounce in OAS flaws in Venezuela's justice system". El Universal. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
- "Jueza Afiuni se impuso de su libertad condicional en el Tribunal". El Universal. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- William Neuman; María Eugenia Díaz (14 June 2013). "Court in Venezuela Orders Release of a Judge Once Scorned and Jailed by Chávez". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- "Lawyer: Judge Afiuni has been professionally disabled". 13 December 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
- "Tribunal en Venezuela condena a 5 años de prisión a jueza inculpada por pedido de expresidente Chávez". Reuters (in Spanish). 22 March 2019. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- Amnesty International, 2009 Annual Report: Venezuela Archived 2 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- "Venezuelan government deliberately targeting opponents". Amnesty International. 1 April 2010. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- "Freedom in the World – Venezuela (2009)." Archived 28 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine Freedom House. 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
- ^ Forero, Juan (24 February 2010). "Venezuela, President Chávez criticized in OAS report". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
- ^ "Venezuela violates human rights, OAS commission reports". CNN. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
- "Press release N° 20/10, IACHR publishes report on Venezuela". Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Press release). Organization of American States. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
- Schimizzi, Carrie (24 February 2010). "Venezuela government violating basic human rights: report". Jurist: Legal news and research. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ Prado, Paulo (24 February 2010). "OAS Report Chastises Venezuela". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
- "Chávez Rejects Report Citing Rights Violations". The New York Times. Associated Press. 25 February 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- "Venezuelan official disputes report on human rights abuses". CNN. 25 February 2010. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
- "Venezuela ante la ONU: "Puede haber individuos armados dentro de los colectivos"". Infobae. 8 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- "Venezuela tuvo que responder por más de 3.000 casos de tortura ante Naciones Unidas". Infobae. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "Como "una tragedia" cataloga la ONU situación de las cárceles en el país". El Nacional. 28 November 2014. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- "La situación de las cárceles venezolanas es una tragedia, dice la ONU". La Patilla. 29 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- "Lauder urges Venezuela to fight anti-Semitism, resume ties with Israel". World Jewish Congress. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
- "Hugo Chavez And Anti-Semitism". Forbes. 15 February 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- ^ "Venezuela's oldest synagogue vandalized by armed men". World Jewish Congress. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
- "Venezuela's Jews Defend Leftist President in Flap Over Remarks". The Jewish Daily Forward. 13 January 2006. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
- "Playing the 'Anti-Semitism' Card Against Venezuela". North American Congress on Latin America. September 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
- "Chávez responsabiliza a "oligarquía" por ataque a la sinagoga". El Universal. 1 February 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- "Presentó los resultados de la investigación de los ataques a la Sinagoga". Noticias24.com. 9 February 2009. Archived from the original on 31 August 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- "Trasladan a los Tribunales a implicados en ataque a la sinagoga". Noticias24.com. 10 February 2009. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^ "As it slides toward authoritarianism, Venezuela targets one of its last independent newspapers". The Washington Post. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ "World Press Freedom Index 2009: Obama effect in US, while Europe continues to recede Israel in free fall, Iran at gates of infernal trio". Reporters Without Borders. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015.
- Forero, Juan (16 May 2005). "And Now, the News in Latin America's View". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
- Bruce, Ian (28 June 2005). "Venezuela sets up 'CNN rival'". BBC News.
- "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's Movie Studio". Newsweek. 23 October 2009.
- "Map of Press Freedom 2011". Archived 23 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine Freedom House.org. 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
- "Hugo Chávez Frías (@chavezcandanga) op Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
- Carroll, Rory (28 April 2010). "Hugo Chávez embraces Twitter to fight online 'conspiracy'". The Guardian.
- Carroll, Rory (10 August 2010). "Hugo Chávez's Twitter habit proves a popular success". The Guardian. London.
- Duboff, Josh (9 May 2010). "Hugo Chavez Has a Team of 200 Helping Him Tweet". New York.
- ^ Marthoz, Jean-Paul. "Venezuela's foreign policy: a mirage based on a curse" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- Davis, Stuart (2023). Sanctions as War: Anti-Imperialist Perspectives on American Geo-Economic Strategy. Haymarket Books. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-64259-812-4. OCLC 1345216431.
- "Using oil to spread revolution". The Economist. 28 July 2005.
- "Guyana to Try for Better Oil Rates Under Caracas Accord". Stabroek News. 20 January 2004.
- ^ Mander, Benedict (16 September 2012). "Venezuela: Up in smoke". Financial Times.
- "Chavez tells UN Bush is 'devil'". BBC News. 10 September 2006.
- "Venezuela expels 3 American Diplomats over Violence Conspiracy". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 254–255.
- Byrne, Jennifer. "Venezuela – Bolivarian Revolution" Archived 26 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine.Foreign Correspondent. 3 June 2003. Retrieved 11 November 2005.
- Frankel, Rebecca (17 November 2008). "Ex-wife's mayoral campaign embarrasses Chavez". Foreign Policy.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 254.
- Guevara, Aleida, and Hugo Chávez. Chávez, Venezuela and the new Latin America. New York: Ocean Press. 2005. p 95.
- ^ Rory, Carroll (25 February 2014). Comandante: Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. New York: Penguin Books. pp. 49–52. ISBN 978-0143124887.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. pp. 230–232.
- ^ Rory, Carroll (25 February 2014). Comandante : Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. New York: Penguin Books. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-0143124887.
- "Chávez demands Pope apologize for Indian comments". Reuters. 19 May 2007.
- Chávez quoted in Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 140.
- "With Marx, Lenin and Jesus Christ". The Economist. 11 January 2007.
- Jairo Vargas (2013). "Ni el poder ni el dinero... Archived 17 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine". Latino News
- "Bocaranda: La nueva religiosidad de Chávez revela la gravedad de su cáncer" [Bocaranda: Chávez's new religiosity reveals the seriousness of his cancer]. NotiActual (in Spanish). 9 April 2012.
- "Chávez condena ataque "genocida" del "maldito" Estado de Israel" [Chávez condemns "genocidal" attack by the "damned" State of Israel]. La Nación (in Spanish). Caracas. 2 June 2010.
- Alford 2005.
- Otaola, Javier (12 February 2006). "Chávez y sus demonios" [Chávez and his demons]. La Jornada (in Spanish).
- "Chávez condenó al "infierno" a un líder evangélico" [Chávez condemned an evangelical leader to "hell"]. El Mercurio (in Spanish). 23 November 2007. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014.
- Ceaser, Mike (21 June 2004). "The goddess and the president". BBC News. Caracas.
- "Chavez summons ancient spirits in cancer bout". CBS News. Associated Press. 5 August 2011.
- "Chávez, después del cancer, recurre a la religión" [Chávez, after cancer, turns to religion] (in Spanish). 7 May 2012. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014.
- "Hugo Chávez murió "en el seno de la Iglesia"" [Hugo Chávez died "in the bosom of the Church"]. ACI Prensa (in Spanish). 6 March 2013.
- Romero, Simon (1 July 2011). "Chávez Says a Cancerous Tumor Was Removed". The New York Times.
- JAMES, IAN (30 June 2011). "Chavez reveals he is fighting cancer after surgery". Today.
- "Venezuela's Chavez back in Cuba for cancer treatment". BBC News. 17 July 2011.
- Devereaux, Charlie (17 July 2011). "Chavez Delegates Some Powers, Says He Will Rule From Cuba". Bloomberg News.
- BBC News 2011b.
- The Guardian 2011.
- Naranjo, Mario; Cawthorne, Andrew (9 July 2012). "Venezuela's Chavez says "totally free" of cancer, again". Reuters.
- "Hugo Chávez heading to Cuba for more treatment". CBS News. Associated Press. 27 November 2012. Archived from the original on 28 November 2012.
- Oppmann, Patrick (10 December 2012). "Chávez to undergo new cancer surgery". CNN.
- "Chávez Suffers Respiratory Infection After Surgery". San Diego Union Tribune. Associated Press. 18 December 2012.
- JAMES, IAN (30 December 2012). "Venezuela VP: Chávez Suffers 'New Complications'". NBC News. Associated Press.
- Gray, Melissa; Brochetto, Marilia (5 January 2013). "Chávez battling 'severe' lung infection, respiratory failure". CNN.
- Cambero, Fabian; Ellsworth, Brian (26 January 2013). "Venezuela's Chavez overcomes infection, still having treatment". Reuters.
- "Venezuela's Chávez 'overcomes infection'". Aljazeera.com. 27 January 2013.
- "Hugo Chávez 'back in Venezuela' after Cuba cancer care". BBC News. 18 February 2013.
- "Venezuela Says Chávez Receiving Chemotherapy". Associated Press. 2 March 2013.
- Gupta, Girish (2 March 2013). "Venezuela says Chávez receiving chemotherapy". USA Today.
- "Venezuela Chavez having chemotherapy, says VP Maduro". BBC News. 2 March 2013.
- "Chavez's breathing problems worsen, has severe new infection". NBC News. 5 March 2013.
- "Venezuela says Chávez's breathing problems have worsened". Chicago Tribune. Reuters. 5 March 2013.
- Corrales, Javier; Penfold, Michael (2 April 2015). Dragon in the Tropics: The Legacy of Hugo Chávez. Brookings Institution Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0815725930.
- ^ Kraul, Chris; Mogollon, Mery (5 March 2013). "President Hugo Chavez dies at 58; hero to Venezuela's poor". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "General: Heart attack killed a suffering Chavez". Associated Press. 7 March 2013.
- "Thousands make pilgrimage to Chávez's tomb". The Times. 17 March 2013.
- Cawthorne, Andrew (5 April 2013). "Chavez shrine draws crowds of pilgrims a month after his death". Reuters.
- ^ "El jefe de Seguridad de Chávez declaró que el caudillo murió dos meses antes de la fecha oficial". Infobae. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- Web, El Nacional (12 July 2018). "Diosdado Cabello a Luisa Ortega Díaz: "vente que Chávez se murió"". El Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- Condecoro Fidel a Hugo Chavez con Orden Jose Marti Londres2012.ain.cu (in Spanish)
- Cidadãos estrangeiros agraciados com ordens portuguesas Ordens.presidencia.pt (in Portuguese)
- "Discurso pronunciado por el Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz en el acto de condecoración con la Orden "Carlos Manuel de Céspedes" al Presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, en el X Aniversario de su primera visita a Cuba. Teatro "Carlos Marx", 14 de diciembre de 2004" (in Spanish). Fidel: Soldado de las Ideas. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- "Highest Badge of Honor Granted to Chavez". Fars News Agency. 30 July 2006. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- "Syrian President Awarded Iran's Medal of Honor". People's Daily. 31 July 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- Imposición de Orden Amistad de Pueblos al Presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez Archived 20 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela – Washington D.C., US (in Spanish)
- "Chávez y El Asad crean el "eje de los valientes" frente al imperialismo". El País (in Spanish). 27 June 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- "Venezuela estrecha relación con Abjasia y Osetia del Sur" (in Spanish). El Universo. 23 July 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- "Председник Николић постхумно одликовао Уга Чавеса, председника Венецуеле". Predsednik.rs. 6 March 2013. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- "Presidente Lobo reconoce labor de Hugo Chávez a favor de Honduras" (in Spanish). 26 January 2014 – via 20minutos.com.mx.
- "Maduro recibió al palestino Abbas y desafió a Occidente prometiéndole apoyo internacional". Infobae (in Spanish). 16 May 2014.
- Padgett 2005.
- Padgett 2006.
- Cowley 2006.
- New Statesman 2010.
- Marcano and Tyszka 2007. p. 148.
- "News – Minsk city executive committee". minsk.gov.by. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- "El-Bireh Municipality dedicates a street to Hugo Chavez – Palestinian Daily News". Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- "Moscow Street Named After Late Venezuelan Leader Chavez". The Moscow Times. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- "Gobierno en Línea: Biografía del Presidente Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías" (in Spanish). Government of Venezuela. 2005. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- "UNI otorgará "Honoris Causa" a Chávez". El Nuevo Diario (in Spanish). 5 January 2007. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- UMSA entrega título de Honoris Causa a Chávez Archived 20 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Eldiario.net, 24 January 2006 (in Spanish)
- "Universidad de Arte y Ciencias Sociales de Chile entrega Doctorado Honoris Causa al presidente Chávez" (in Spanish). Venezuelan Ministry of Communications and Information. 10 November 2007. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- "Universidad de Damasco otorgó Doctorado Honoris Causa al presidente Chávez" (in Spanish). Venezuelan Ministry of Communications and Information. 30 August 2006. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- "Chávez fue investido doctor "honoris causa" por la Universidad de Trípoli". El Espectador (in Spanish). 23 October 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- "Chávez fue investido doctor "honoris causa" por la Universidad de Trípoli" (in Spanish). América Economía. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- Brodner, Steve (8 March 2013). "Hugo Chavez Cartoons and Comics". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
- "Cartoonists Say Goodbye to Hugo Chavez". The Contributor. 6 March 2013. Archived from the original on 15 March 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
- "Hugo Chavez Cartoons and Comics". News Cartoons, Cartoonstock. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
- "Hugo Chavez Cartoons and Comics". The Mercury News. 7 March 2013. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
- "South of the Border". Movies.is. 30 December 2010. Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
- "'La Isla Presidencial' Keeps Venezuelans Laughing, Despite Contentious Politics". HuffPost. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
- "El ocaso del socialismo mágico – PLAY TV". ABC (in Spanish). 2 December 2017. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- "Proyección: El ocaso del socialismo mágico". El Ucabista (in Spanish). 14 November 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- "'Chavismo: la peste del siglo XXI' es premiado como mejor documental en Nueva York" (in Spanish). El Nuevo País. Archived from the original on 2 November 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- Sánchez Amaya, Humberto. "El pueblo soy yo, un documental para evitar la indiferencia" (in Spanish). El Nacional. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
Sources
Books
- Arráiz Lucca, Rafael (2007). Venezuela: 1830 a nuestros días (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Titivillus. p. 201. ISBN 9789803542351.
- Brewer-Carías, Allan (2010). Dismantling Democracy in Venezuela: The Chávez Authoritarian Experiment. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-19587-4.
- Carroll, Rory (2013). Commandante: myth and reality in Hugo Chávez's Venezuela. New York: The Penguin Press. ISBN 978-1-59420-457-9.
- Corrales, Javier and Penfold, Michael (2011). Dragon in the Tropics: Hugo Chávez and the Political Economy of Revolution in Venezuela. Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 978-0-8157-0497-3.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Hawkins, Kirk A. (2010). Venezuela's Chavismo and Populism in Comparative Perspective. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-76503-9.
- Marcano, Christina; Tyszka, Alberto Barrera (2007). Hugo Chávez: The Definitive Biography of Venezuela's Controversial President. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-45666-7.
- Márquez, Laureano; Sanabria, Eduardo (2018). Historieta de Venezuela: De Macuro a Maduro (1st ed.). Gráficas Pedrazas. ISBN 978-1-7328777-1-9.
- Neuman, William (2022). Things Are Never So Bad That They Can't Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela (1st ed.). St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1250266163.
- Tarver, H. Michael and Frederick, Julia C. (2005). The History of Venezuela. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33525-9.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Trinkunas, Harold A. (2005). Crafting Civilian Control of the Military in Venezuela: A Comparative Perspective. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-5650-5.
- Woods, Alan (2006). The Venezuelan Revolution: A Marxist Perspective (Third Edition). London: Well Red Books. ISBN 978-1-900007-21-4.
Academic articles
- Gibbs, Terry, T. (2006). "Business as Usual: what the Chávez era tells us about democracy under globalisation". Third World Quarterly. 27 (2): 265–79. doi:10.1080/01436590500492931. JSTOR 4017674. S2CID 154147337.
- Holland, Alisha (2008). A decade under Chávez: political intolerance and lost opportunities for advancing human rights in Venezuela. New York: Human Rights Watch. ISBN 978-1-56432-371-2.
- López Maya, Margarita (2003). "Hugo Chávez Frías: His Movement and His Presidency". In Ellner, Steve; Hellinger, Daniel (eds.). Venezuelan Politics in the Chávez Era: Class, Polarization and Conflict. Boulder: Lynne Riener. pp. 73–92. ISBN 978-1-58826-297-4.
- Ramírez, Cristóbal Valencia, C. b. V. (2005). "Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution: Who Are the Chavistas?". Latin American Perspectives. 32 (3): 79–97. doi:10.1177/0094582X05275532. JSTOR 30040243. S2CID 145020614.
- Sylvia, Ronald D. and Danopoulos, Constantine P., R. D.; Danopoulos, C. P. (2003). "The Chávez Phenomenon: Political Change in Venezuela". Third World Quarterly. 24 (1): 63–76. doi:10.1080/713701367. JSTOR 3993630. S2CID 154551869.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Zúquete, José Pedro, José Pedro (Spring 2008). "The Missionary Politics of Hugo Chávez". Latin American Politics and Society. 50 (1): 91–121. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.463.8436. doi:10.1111/j.1548-2456.2008.00005.x. JSTOR 30130840. S2CID 144481618.
News articles, reports and essays
- Anderson, Jon Lee (28 January 2013). "Slumlord : what has Hugo Chávez wrought in Venezuela?". Letter from Caracas. The New Yorker. Vol. 88, no. 45. pp. 40–51. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- Beaumont, Peter (7 May 2006). "The new kid in the barrio". The Observer. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
- Bellos, Alex (17 December 1999). "New Venezuela hands Chávez wide powers". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
- Carl, Traci (11 January 2007). "Nicaragua's Ortega Signs Trade Pact". The Washington Post. Washington D.C. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- Carroll, Rory (16 February 2009). "Hugo Chávez wins referendum allowing indefinite re-election". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- Padgett, Tim (18 April 2005). "Hugo Chávez: The Radical with Deep Pockets". Time. New York City: Time Inc. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
- Padgett, Tim (30 April 2006). "Hugo Chávez: Leading the Left Wing Charge". Time. New York City: Time Inc. Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
- Padgett, Tim (3 March 2008). "War Drums in Latin America". Time. New York City: Time Inc. Archived from the original on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
- Pretel, Enrique Andres (21 September 2009). "Venezuela exhumes unnamed dead in riot investigation". Reuters. London. Archived from the original on 13 February 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- Romero, Simon (16 February 2010). "Purging Loyalists, Chávez Tightens His Inner Circle". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
- Shifter, Michael, M. (May–June 2006). "In Search of Hugo Chávez". Foreign Affairs. 85 (3): 45–59. doi:10.2307/20031966. JSTOR 20031966.
- "Chávez offers oil to Europe's poor". The Observer. London: Guardian Media Group. 14 May 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- "Chávez wins Venezuela re-election". BBC News. London. 4 December 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
Interviews
- Sackur, Stephen; Chávez, Hugo (15 June 2010). "Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela". HARDtalk. London: British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
Websites and e-publications
- Trinkunas, Harold; McCoy, Jennifer (February 1999). "Observation of the 1998 Venezuelan Elections: A Report of the Council of Freely Elected Heads of Government" (PDF). Atlanta, Georgia: The Carter Centre. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
- "Del Caracazo Case". Inter-American Court of Human Rights. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
- "Venezuela: Hugo Chávez's Revolution". International Crisis Group. 22 February 2007. Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
External links
Library resources aboutHugo Chávez
- Official personal blog (in Spanish)
Multimedia
- PBS Frontline documentary: The Hugo Chávez Show
- The Guardian: "The Rise and Rule of 'Hurricane Hugo'" audio slide show
- Democracy Now! 16 September 2005 Interview: Part I Archived 13 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine and Part II Archived 4 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine with Hugo Chávez, in New York City
- ABC News video, 27 April 2007: Barbara Walters interviews Hugo Chávez
- Interview with Hugo Chávez about the American threat on YouTube October 2009
- NPR audio report, 18 February 2008: "The Politics of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez"
- Appearances on C-SPAN
Articles and interviews
- BBC News: "Profile: Hugo Chávez"
- Shifter, Michael. "In Search of Hugo Chávez". Foreign Affairs, May/June 2006 issue
- Palast, Greg. "Hugo Chávez Interview". The Progressive, July 2006
- Hugo Chávez collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
- Hugo Chávez collected news and commentary at The Guardian
- Hugo Chávez collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- "Controversial Venezuelan Leader Hugo Chavez's Death Teaches Vital Lesson About Cancer". Archived from the original on 27 March 2013.
Miscellaneous
- Extended biography by CIDOB Archived 7 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
- Hugo Chávez at IMDb
Party political offices | ||
---|---|---|
New office | Leader of the Fifth Republic Movement 1997–2007 |
Position abolished |
Leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela 2007–2013 |
Succeeded byNicolás Maduro | |
Political offices | ||
Preceded byRafael Caldera | President of Venezuela 1999–2013 |
Succeeded byNicolás Maduro |
President of Venezuela (list) | ||
---|---|---|
Since 1830 |
| |
Acting / interim / caretaker presidents shown in italics Recognized by the National Assembly as "interim president" during the Venezuelan presidential crisis until 2023 |
- Hugo Chávez
- 1954 births
- 2013 deaths
- 21st-century Venezuelan politicians
- Anti-Americanism
- Anti-imperialism in South America
- Anti-imperialists
- Anti-Zionism in South America
- Catholic socialists
- Chávez family
- Deaths from colorectal cancer in Venezuela
- Far-left politics in Venezuela
- Fifth Republic Movement politicians
- Heads of government who were later imprisoned
- Left-wing nationalism
- Left-wing populism in South America
- Left-wing populists
- People from Barinas (state)
- People of the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts
- People of the Crisis in Venezuela
- Presidents of Venezuela
- Recipients of Venezuelan presidential pardons
- Socialism of the 21st century
- South American democratic socialists
- United Socialist Party of Venezuela politicians
- Venezuelan anti-capitalists
- Venezuelan Christian socialists
- Venezuelan nationalists
- Venezuelan people of Italian descent
- Venezuelan people of Spanish descent
- Venezuelan politicians convicted of crimes
- Venezuelan rebels
- Venezuelan Roman Catholics
- Venezuelan socialists
- Venezuelan soldiers