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Hugo Chávez
President of Venezuela
Incumbent
Assumed office February 2, 1999
Vice President	Isaías Rodríguez (2000) Adina Bastidas (2000-2002) Diosdado Cabello (2002) José Rangel (2002-2007) Jorge Rodríguez (2007-2008) Ramón Carrizales (2008-)
Preceded by	Rafael Caldera
Personal details
Born	(1954-07-28) 28 July 1954 (age 70) Sabaneta, Barinas, Venezuela
Political party	MVR (1997 – 2008) PSUV (2008 – present)
Spouse(s)	Nancy Colmenares (div.) Marisabel Rodríguez (div.)
Occupation	Military officer (Lt. col.)

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (IPA: [ˈuɰo rafaˈel ˈtʃaβ̞es ˈfɾias]) (born July 28, 1954) is the current President of Venezuela. As the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Chávez promotes a political doctrine of participatory democracy, socialism and Latin American and Caribbean cooperation. He is also a critic of neoliberalism, globalization, and United States foreign policy.

A career military officer, Chávez founded the left-wing Fifth Republic Movement after orchestrating a failed 1992 coup d'état against former President Carlos Andrés Pérez. Chávez was elected President in 1998 with a campaign centering on promises of aiding Venezuela's poor majority, and was reelected in 2000 and in 2006. Domestically, Chávez has maintained nationwide Bolivarian Missions, whose goals are to combat disease, illiteracy, malnutrition, poverty, and other social ills. Abroad, Chávez has acted against the Washington Consensus by supporting alternative models of economic development, and has advocated cooperation among the world's poor nations, especially those in Latin America.

Chávez's policies have evoked controversy in Venezuela and abroad, receiving anything from vehement criticism to enthusiastic support. The government of the United States claims that Chávez is a threat to democracy in Latin America. Many other governments sympathize with his ideology and/or welcome his bilateral trade and reciprocal aid agreements. In 2005 and 2006 he was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people.

Early life (1954–1992)

Chávez was born on July 28, 1954 in the town of Sabaneta, Barinas. The second son of two schoolteachers, Hugo de los Reyes Chávez and Elena Frías de Chávez, he is of mixed Amerindian, Afro-Venezuelan, and Spanish descent. Chávez was born in a mud hut near Sabaneta. Due to the Chávez family's impoverished conditions, Hugo Chávez was sent to Sabaneta with his older brother Adán to live with his paternal grandmother, Rosa Inés Chávez. There, he 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.

Military career

At age seventeen, Chávez enrolled at the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences. 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 political science at Caracas' Simón Bolívar University, but left without a degree.

Over the course of his college years, Chávez and fellow students developed a left-wing nationalist doctrine that they termed "Bolivarianism," inspired by the Pan-American philosophy of 19th century Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar, the influence of former Peruvian President Juan Velasco and the thought of various socialist and communist leaders including Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky. Chávez engaged in sporting events and cultural activities during these years as well. He played both baseball and softball with the Criollitos de Venezuela, progressing with them to the Venezuelan National Baseball Championships in 1969. Chávez also wrote numerous poems, stories and theatrical pieces.

Upon completing his studies, Chávez initially entered active-duty military service as a member of a counter insurgency battalion stationed in Barinas. Chávez's military career lasted 17 years, during which time he held a variety of posts including command and staff positions, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Chávez also held a series of teaching and staffing positions at the Academy of Military Sciences, where he was first acknowledged by his peers for his fiery lecturing style and radical critique of Venezuelan government and society. In 1983, Chávez established the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200). Afterwards, he rose to a number of high-level positions in Caracas and was decorated several times.

Personal life

Hugo Chávez has been married twice. He first wedded Nancy Colmenares, 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 Herma Marksman; their relationship lasted nine years. Chávez is divorced from his second wife, journalist Marisabel Rodríguez de Chávez. Through that marriage, Chávez had another daughter, Rosinés. Chávez has two grandchildren, Gabriela and Manuel.

Chávez was raised a Roman Catholic, although he has had a series of disputes with both the Venezuelan Catholic hierarchy and Protestant groups like the New Tribes Mission. Originally he 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 Jesus' personal life and ideology have had a profound impact on his left-wing and progressivist views. He often invokes God and asks for prayer in speeches, as he did when he asked Venezuelans to pray for Fidel Castro's health. He describes himself as Christian who grew up expecting to become a priest. According to him, as a result of this background his socialist policies have been borne with roots in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Political development

Coup attempt of 1992

After an extended period of popular dissatisfaction and economic decline under the administration of President Carlos Andrés Pérez and the violent repression known as El Caracazo, Chávez made extensive preparations for a military coup d'état. Initially planned for December, Chávez delayed the MBR-200 coup until the early twilight hours of February 4, 1992. On that date, five army units under Chávez's command barreled into urban Caracas 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 Military Museum. Chávez's ultimate goal was to intercept and take custody of Pérez, who was returning to Miraflores from an overseas trip.

Chávez held the loyalty of less than 10% of Venezuela's military forces. Numerous betrayals, defections, errors, and other unforeseen circumstances soon left Chávez and a small group of rebels hiding in the Military Museum, without any means of conveying orders to their network of spies and collaborators spread throughout Venezuela. 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.

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 quipped on national television that he had only failed "por ahora" (for now). Chávez was catapulted into the national spotlight, with many poor Venezuelans seeing him as a figure who had stood up against government corruption and kleptocracy. Chávez was sent to Yare prison; meanwhile, Pérez, the coup's intended target, was impeached a year later. While in prison, Chávez developed a carnosity of the eye, which spread to his iris. The clarity of his eyesight was slowly corrupted; despite treatments and operations, Chávez's eyesight was permanently damaged.

Political rise (1992–1999)

After a two-year imprisonment, Chávez was pardoned by President Rafael Caldera in 1994. Upon his release, Chávez reconstituted the MBR-200 as the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR—Movimiento Quinta República, with the V representing the Roman numeral five). Later, in 1998, Chávez began to campaign for the presidency. In working to earn 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 'legal-political embodiment of puntofijismo,' the country's traditional two-party patronage system.

Chávez utilized his flamboyant public speaking style, which was noted for its abundance of colloquialisms and ribald manner—on the campaign trail to win the trust and favour of a primarily poor and working class 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 1998 presidential election on December 6, 1998 with 56% of the votes.

Political philosophy

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Chávez's version of Bolivarianism, although drawing heavily from Simón Bolívar's ideals, was also influenced by the writings of Marxist historian Federico Brito Figueroa. Chávez was well acquainted with the various traditions of Latin American socialism espoused by Jorge Eliécer Gaitán and Salvador Allende and from a young age by the Cuban revolutionary doctrine of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. Other key influences on Chávez's political philosophy include Ezequiel Zamora and Simón Rodríguez. Other indirect influences on Chávez's political philosophy are the writings of Noam Chomsky and the teachings of Jesus 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 "chavistas".

Later in his life, Chávez would acknowledge the role that democratic socialism (a form of socialism that emphasizes grassroots democratic participation) plays in Bolivarianism. Because his Bolivarianism relies on popular support, Chávez has organized the "Bolivarian Circles", which he cites as examples of grassroots and participatory democracy. The circles are forums for a few hundred local residents who decide how to spend the government allowance for social development. They usually decide for neighborhood beautification, mass mobilization, lending support to small businesses, and providing basic social services.

Presidency (1999–present)

Following Chavez's inauguration in February 1999, a referendum for a new constitution was soon passed, and a constitutional assembly formed. The resulting 1999 Venezuelan Constitution was approved by another referendum on 15 December 1999. The new constitution included an increase in the presidential term from five to six years, a new presidential two-term limit, a new provision for presidential recall elections, renaming of the country to República Bolivariana de Venezuela, expanded presidential powers, conversion of the bicameral National Assembly into a unicameral legislature, merit-based appointments of judges, and creation of the Public Defender, an office authorized to regulate the activities of the presidency and the National Assembly. Elections for all elected government positions followed in 2000 under the new constitution, including the Venezuelan presidential election, 2000.

Chavez survived the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt which briefly removed him from power. A few months after the coup, on December 2, 2002, the Chávez presidency faced a two-month 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/lockout, led by a coalition of labor unions, industrial magnates, and oil workers, sought to halt the activities of the PDVSA. A further attempt to remove Chavez from office, the Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004, also failed.

From 2003 onwards the Chavez government has pursued a series of Bolivarian Missions aimed at providing public services to the previously underserved poor by bypassing existing public institutions.

Chávez again won the OAS and Carter Center certification of the national election on December 3, 2006 with 63% of the vote, beating his closest challenger Manuel Rosales who conceded his loss on December 4, 2006. After his victory, Chávez promised a more radical turn towards socialism.

On August 15, 2007, Chavez proposed a broad package of measures as part of a constitutional reform. Among other measures, he called for an end to presidential term limits and proposed limiting central bank autonomy, strengthening state expropriation powers and providing for public control over international reserves as part of an overhaul of Venezuela's constitution. In accordance with the 1999 constitution, Chavez proposed the changes to the constitution, which were then approved by the National Assembly. The final test was a December 2, 2007 referendum. The referendum was defeated, with 51% of the voters rejecting the amendments proposed by Chávez.

Foreign policy

Hugo Chávez has 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". 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." Chávez has 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 have 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. Additionally, Chávez worked closely with other Latin American leaders following the 1997 Summit of the Americas in many areas—especially energy integration—and championed the OAS decision to adopt the Anti-Corruption Convention. Chávez also participates in the United Nations Friends groups for Haiti, and is pursuing efforts to join and engage the Mercosur trade bloc to expand the hemisphere's trade integration prospects.

Economic policy

Since 2005, Chavez is an outspoken proponent of what he calls a socialism of the 21st century as a means to help the poor. Since 2003 his government has set price controls on many kinds of food, which, according to the BBC, has caused shortages and hoarding. Chavez has also nationalized a number of major companies, including in the telephone, electric, and cement industries, and encouraged cooperatives.

Venezuela is a major producer of oil products, which remains the keystone of the Venezuelan economy. Chávez has gained a reputation as a price hawk in OPEC, 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.

Criticism

This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (March 2009)

With respect to domestic policies, some among the American media claim corruption and crime are rampant under Chavez, that infrastructure and public hospitals are failing, 9% in 2005, that he has not fulfilled his major campaign pledges with respect to labor and land reform, the government bureaucracy is in decay and in chaos, that he has concentrated power of judicial and legislative branches in his hands, placing democracy in peril, and that contrary to widespread public perception, Chavez has failed to raise the poor economically and socially "beyond what is normal in the midst of an oil boom."

After the 2004 recall referendum, opponents insisted the Chávez government had engaged in "gigantic fraud"; however, international observers and exit polls confirmed the official result. The United States government claims that his cooperation in their war on terror is negligible or purposely indifferent with regards to the FARC and ELN, who are engaged in a conflict with the US-backed Colombian government; nonetheless, the US government says there is no evidence of a direct link between violent groups opposed to its policies and Chávez.

Several public figures have even gone so far as to call for the assassination of Chávez, most notably US Conservative Christian televangelist Pat Robertson. Other such requests have been expressed by Venezuelan actor Orlando Urdaneta and former president of Venezuela Carlos Andrés Pérez. The US Ambassador to Venezuela between 2001 and 2004, Charles Shapiro, also reported to the Chávez administration two potential assassination plots.

Chávez and the media

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. These media outlets have accused the Chávez administration of intimidating their journalists using specially dispatched gangs. 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 neoliberalism via corporate propaganda.

According to Greg Grandin, professor of Latin American history at New York University, " media is chronically obsessed with Chávez, and critical in a way that would be completely alien for most US observers." After the media-backed 2002 coup attempt, Venezuela passed 'social responsibility' legislation regulating the media but has largely declined to enforce it.

Throughout his presidency, Chávez has hosted the live talk show known as Aló Presidente ("Hello, President!"). The show broadcasts in varying formats on state owned Venezolana de Televisión (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 July 25, 2005, Chávez inaugurated TeleSUR, a proposed pan-American homologue of Al Jazeera that seeks to challenge the present domination of Latin American television news by Univision and the United States-based CNN en Español. Chávez's media policies have contributed to elevated tensions between the United States and Venezuela.

In 2006, President Chávez announced that the terrestrial broadcast license for RCTV—Venezuela's second largest TV channel—would not be renewed. The channel's terrestrial broadcasts ended on May 28, 2007 and were replaced with a state network. RCTV is accused of supporting the coup against Chávez in April 2002, and the oil strike in 2002-2003. Also, it has been accused by the government of violating the Law on the Social Responsibility of Radio and Television. The director of the station, Marcel Granier, denies taking part in the coup. RCTV is still broadcasting via cable and satellite and is widely viewable in Venezuela. This action has been condemned by a multitude of international organizations. However, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) questioned whether, in the event a television station openly supported and collaborated with coup leaders, the station in question would not be subject to even more serious consequences in the United States or any other Western nation. In a poll conducted by Datanalisis, almost 70 percent of Venezuelans polled opposed the shut-down, but most cited the loss of their favorite soap operas rather than concerns about limits on freedom of expression.

Awards

During his term, Chávez has been awarded the following honorary degrees:

• Honorary Doctorate in Political Science—Granted by Kyung Hee University (South Korea) by Rector Chungwon Choue on October 16, 1999.
• Honorary Doctorate in Jurisprudence—Granted by the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) on March 9, 2001.
• Honorary Doctoral Professorship—Granted by the University of Brazil (Brazil) by Rector Alberto Pérez on April 3, 2001.
• Honorary Doctorate—Granted by the Academy of Diplomacy of the Ministry of External Affairs (Russian Federation) on May 15, 2001.
• Honorary Doctorate in Economics—Granted by the Faculty of Economics and Commerce of Beijing University (People's Republic of China) on May 24, 2001.

In a list compiled by the magazine New Statesman in 2006, he was voted eleventh in the list of "Heroes of our time".

Notes

1. Furshong, Gabriel (4 September 2005). "What is Bolivarian Socialism? And When?". Venezuelanalisys. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
2. 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. Stable URL.
3. "Sign of hope in US-Venezuela ties". BBC News. 2006-12-15. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. "Ofensiva diplomática de Correa". Al Día. 2006-12-28. Retrieved 2006-12-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)Template:Es icon
5. "Chávez resumes cooperation agenda in South America". El Universal. 2006-12-08. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
6. Padgett, Tim (2005-04-10). "Hugo Chavez: The Radical with Deep Pockets". Time. Retrieved 2006-12-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. Padgett, Tim (2006-05-08). "Hugo Chavez: Leading the Left-Wing Charge". Retrieved 2006-07-26.
8. Beaumont, Peter (2006-05-07). "The new kid in the barrio". The Observer. Retrieved 2008-02-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
9. ^ Government of Venezuela, Gobierno En Línea (2005). "Presidente Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías", Gobierno En Línea. Accessed June 15, 2006. Template:Es icon
10. Hugo Chávez Venezuela's Redeemer Burt, Jo-Marie & Rosen, Fred: May 2000
11. Martin, Jorge (2007-01-12). ""What is the problem? I am also a Trotskyist!" - Chavez is sworn in as president of Venezuela". Retrieved 2007-11-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
12. Gott, Richard. (The Guardian, August 25, 2005). "Two fingers to America". Retrieved October 18, 2005.
13. ^ Guillermoprieto, Alma (2005). "Don't Cry for Me, Venezuela". New York Review of Books. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
14. Byrne, Jennifer. (Foreign Correspondent, June 3, 2003). "Venezuela - Bolivarian Revolution". Retrieved November 11, 2005.
15. "Actriz venezolana Ruddy Rodríguez niega romance con Hugo Chávez". IBL News. 2006-06-30. Retrieved 2007-02-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)Template:Es icon
16. Palast, Greg. (BBC Newsnight, May 2, 2002). "Venezuela President Hugo Chavez: Interview". Retrieved November 9, 2005.
17. Da Corte, María Lilibeth (2005-08-08). "Chávez "cortó" convenios con la DEA". El Universal. Retrieved 2007-07-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)Template:Es icon
18. "Hugo Chávez, el carismático político que domina Venezuela". Starmedia. 2006-12-01. Retrieved 2007-01-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)Template:Es icon
19. Alford, Deann. (Christianity Today, October 14, 2005). "Venezuela to Expel New Tribes Mission". Retrieved November 9, 2005.
20. Otaola, Javier (2006-02-12). "Chávez y sus "demonios"". La Jornada. Retrieved 2006-12-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)Template:Es icon
21. ^ Chávez, Hugo. . Latino Pastoral Action Center. Bronx, New York City. September 17, 2005. Downloadable Audio. Retrieved November 5, 2005.
22. Obiko Pearson, Natalie. Associated Press (August 10, 2006). Chavez Says Castro Fighting for Life. The Washington Post.
23. Chavez demands Pope apologize for Indian comments | International | Reuters
24. Schuyler, George W. (2001), "Health and Neoliberalism: Venezuela and Cuba", The Policy Studies Organization.
25. Inter-American Court of Human Rights Del Caracazo Case Judgment of November 11, 1999 "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"
26. Gott, Richard (2005). Hugo Chávez and the bolivarian revolution. Verso. p. 64. ISBN 1844675335.
27. Gott (2005), p.63.
28. Gott (2005), p.69.
29. 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."
30. Gott (2005), p.67.
31. O'Keefe, Derrick. (Z Communications, March 9, 2005). "Building a Democratic, Humanist Socialism: The Political Challenge of the 21st Century". Retrieved November 11, 2005.
32. 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
33. Trinkunas, Harold (1999). "Observation of the 1998 Venezuelan Elections: A Report of the Council of Freely Elected Heads of Government" (PDF). Carter Center. pp. p. 49. Retrieved 2006-12-30. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
34. Sojo, Cleto A. (Venezuela Analysis, January 31, 2005). "Venezuela’s Chávez Closes World Social Forum with Call to Transcend Capitalism". Retrieved October 20, 2005.
35. "Bolivarian Constitution of Venezuela". Embassy of Venezuela in the US. 2000. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
36. "Chavez officially re-elected with 63 pct of vote". Reuters. 2006-12-05. Retrieved 2006-12-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
37. "Chavez wins Venezuelan election". Gulf News. 2006-12-04. Retrieved 2006-12-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
38. Ireland On-Line. Chavez promises more radical turn toward socialism. (December 4, 2006). Accessed December 4, 2006.
39. Ellsworth, Brian (2007-08-16). "Venezuela's Chavez calls for end to term limits". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-08-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
40. Opposition Cheers Defeat of Chávez Plan in Venezuela, New York Times.
41. The Economist. (The Economist, July 28, 2005). "Using oil to spread revolution". Retrieved June 11, 2005.
42. Guyana Diary. (Monthly Newsletter of the Guyana Embassy, Caracas, Venezuela, February 2004). "Guyana to Try for Better Oil Rates Under Caracas Accord". Retrieved June 14, 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."
43. Blum, Justin (Washington Post, November 22, 2005). "Chavez Pushes Petro-Diplomacy". Retrieved November 29, 2005.
44. ^ Outraged Chávez puts stop to near-complete shopping mall, The Guardian, December 24, 2008
45. Venezuelan shoppers face food shortages, BBC, January 10, 2006
46. Reel, M. "Crime Brings Venezuelans Into Streets". Washington Post (May 10, 2006), p. A17. Accessed June 24, 2006.
47. The Economist (March 30, 2006), "Venezuela: The sickly stench of corruption". The Economist. Accessed June 19, 2006.
48. The Economist (February 16, 2006), Venezuela: Mission Impossible, The Economist, Retrieved June 22, 2006.
49. Imported goods are cheaper, BCV acknowledges. El Universal (August 9, 2006).
50. Fuentes, Federico. (Venezuela Analysis, September 26, 2005). "Challenges for Venezuela's Workers’ Movement". Retrieved November 5, 2005.
51. Márquez, Humberto. (Inter Press Service, April 5, 2005). "Venezuela's Indigenous Peoples Protest Coal Mining". Retrieved November 5, 2005.
52. Parma, Alessandro. (Venezuela Analysis, October 20, 2005). "Pro-Chavez Union Leaders in Venezuela Urge Chavez to Do Better". Retrieved October 15, 2005.
53. Corrales, Javier. Hugo Boss. Foreign Policy (Jan 1, 2006).
54. The Washington Times (December 6, 2005). "Venezuela's pitiful election". The Washington Times.
55. U.S. Department of State (December 1, 2005). "The State of Democracy in Venezuela". Accessed 18 June 2006.
56. An Empty Revolution, The Unfulfilled Promises of Hugo Chávez, Francisco Rodríguez, From Foreign Affairs, March/April 2008
57. BBC News. (BBC August 17, 2004). Observers endorse Venezuela vote. Retrieved July 20, 2006
58. Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. (US State Dept., April 28. 2006). "Country Reports: Western Hemisphere Overview". Retrieved June 26, 2006.
59. Kraul, Chris. (LA Times, June 25, 2006). "US Eyes Venezuela-Iran Commercial Alliance". Retrieved June 25, 2006.
60. Pat Robertson calls for assassination of Hugo Chavez USAtoday August 2005 Accessed September 19, 2007
61. ^ Márquez Humberto. (IPS March 9, 2006) "Statements Indicate Chávez May Indeed Be in Somebody's Crosshairs". Accessed June 21, 2006. Also available at globalexchange.org
62. Branford, Becky. BBC News (August 13, 2004). "Analysis: Chavez at eye of storm". BBC. Accessed June 26, 2006.
63. ^ Dinges, John. Columbia Journalism Review (July 2005). "Soul Search". Retrieved June 13, 2006.
64. Democracy Now! Thursday, September 21, 2006. Retrieved October 4, 2006.
65. Lakshmanan, Indira. The Boston Globe (27 July 2005). "Channeling His Energies: Venezuelans riveted by president's TV show". Retrieved October 15, 2005.
66. Bruce, Ian. (BBC, June 28, 2005). "Venezuela sets up 'CNN rival'". Retrieved June 13, 2006.
67. BBC NEWS. Chavez to shut down opposition TV. (December 29, 2006).
68. ^ "Venezuela replaces opposition TV with state network".
69. Declaraciones del Ministerio de Comunicación e Información
70. ^ Forero, Juan. (The Washington Post, January 18, 2007). "Pulling the Plug on Anti-Chavez TV". Retrieved January 18, 2007.
71. Station was never closed as claimed Venezuela's RCTV Reappears on Cable and Satellite Venezuelanalysis.com Accessed August 12, 2007.
72. Joel Simon, Executive Director CPJ urges Chávez to allow RCTV to stay on the air Committee to Protect Journalists Accessed May 29, 2007.
73. Venezuela (2006). Freedom House. Accessed May 29, 2007.
74. IPI condemns shutdown of RCTV television station in Venezuela International Press Institute Accessed May 29, 2007.
75. "Coup Co-Conspirators as Free-Speech Martyrs".
76. "Gobierno en Línea: Nuestros Presidentes, Biografía del Presidente Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías". Government of Venezuela. 2005. Retrieved 2006-01-21. Template:Es icon
77. New Statesman

References

• "Profile: Hugo Chávez". BBC News. BBC News. October 13, 2005. Retrieved 2007-11-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
• Boudin, Chesa (2005). Understanding the Venezuelan Revolution: Hugo Chávez Talks to Marta Harnecker. Monthly Review Press. ISBN 1-58367-127-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Chavez, Hugo (2004). Chávez: Venezuela and the New Latin America. Ocean Press. ISBN 1-92088-800-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• DiJohn, Jonathan (2004). "The Political Economy of Economic Liberalisation in Venezuela" (PDF). Crisis States Programme, Development Research Centre, LSE. DiJohn, Jonathan. Retrieved 2007-11-13. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Ellner, Steven (2004). Venezuelan Politics in the Chávez Era: Class, Polarization, and Conflict. Lynne Rienner. ISBN 1-58826-297-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Golinger, Eva (2005). El Código Chávez: Descifrando la Intervención de los Estados Unidos en Venezuela. Editorial de Ciencias Sociales. ISBN 9-59060-723-3.
• Gott, Richard (2001). In the Shadow of the Liberator: The Impact of Hugo Chávez on Venezuela and Latin America. Verso Books. ISBN 1-85984-365-4.
• Gott, Richard (2005). Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution. Verso Books. ISBN 1-84467-533-5. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
• McCoy, Jennifer L. (2004). The Unraveling of Representative Democracy in Venezuela. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-80187-960-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• O'Donoghue, Patrick J. (September 15, 2005). Historian Details Presidential Interest In Controversial Barinas Landed Estate. O'Donoghue, Patrick J. Retrieved 2007-11-13.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

External links

Multimedia

• PBS Frontline Documentary: The Hugo Chávez Show
• The Guardian: The Rise and Rule of 'Hurricane Hugo' audio slide show
• Democracy Now! Interview: Part I and Part II with Hugo Chavez, in New York City, September 16 2005
• Documentary: 'The Revolution will not be Televised
• Video: Hugo Chávez's Speech to the United Nations dubbed in English
• ABC News Video: Barbara Walters interviews Hugo Chávez
• NPR Audio Report: The Politics of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez

Articles and Interviews

• BBC News: Profile: Hugo Chávez
• Demystifying Venezuela's Hugo Chávez by Jennifer McCoy, Current History, February 2000
• The Revolutionary by Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, September 10 2001
• In Search of Hugo Chávez by Michael Shifter, Foreign Affairs, May/June 2006 issue
• Hugo Chávez Interview by Greg Palast, The Progressive, July 2006
• Hugo Chávez for Life? by Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, February 17 2009

v t e Hugo Chávez
45th President of Venezuela (1999–2013)
Early life and career	Early life Military career Coup attempt of 1992 Presidential election of 1998 Death and state funeral
Presidency	Cabinet of Hugo Chávez 1999 Constitution General election of 2000 Presidential election of 2006 United Socialist Party of Venezuela Constitutional referendum of 2007 Constitutional referendum of 2009 Presidential election of 2012
Political events	Coup attempt of 2002 Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003 Recall referendum of 2004 2005 Venezuelan parliamentary election 2007 protests RCTV Referendum 2010 Venezuelan parliamentary election
Domestic policy	Boliburguesía Bolivarianism Bolivarian Circles Bolivarian missions Bolivarian Revolution Chavismo Colectivos Economic policy Plan Bolívar 2000 Socialism of the 21st century Venezuelan communal councils
Foreign policy	Bank of the South Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Petrocaribe
Image	Aló Presidente Bolivarian propaganda Chavismo: The Plague of the 21st Century El ocaso del socialismo mágico El pueblo soy yo Hugo Chávez's cult of personality Mi amigo Hugo ¿Por qué no te callas? Public image of Hugo Chávez ¿¡Revolución!? teleSUR The Silence and the Scorpion Venezuelanalysis Venezuela Information Office
← Rafael Caldera Nicolás Maduro → Category

v t e President of Venezuela (list)
Since 1830	Páez Narvarte Vargas Carreño Vargas Narvarte Carreño Soublette Páez Soublette J. T. Monagas J. G. Monagas J. T. Monagas Gual J. Castro Gual Tovar Gual Páez Falcón Bruzual Villegas J. R. Monagas Villegas Guzmán Linares Valera Guzmán Crespo Guzmán H. López Rojas Andueza Villegas Villegas Pulido Crespo Andrade C. Castro Gómez Gil Fortoul Márquez Gómez J. Pérez Gómez López Contreras Medina Betancourt Gallegos Delgado Chalbaud Suárez Flamerich Pérez Jiménez Larrazábal Sanabria Betancourt Leoni Caldera C. Pérez Herrera Lusinchi C. Pérez Lepage Velásquez Caldera Chávez Cabello Chávez Maduro Guaidó
Acting / interim / caretaker presidents shown in italics Recognized by the National Assembly as "interim president" during the Venezuelan presidential crisis until 2023

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• Current national leaders
• Hugo Chávez
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