Hugo, Boss! R.I.P.
7 March 2013 6:41 AM IST
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who died after battling cancer, was a tough and charismatic leader, whose idiosyncratic brand of socialism gave hope to the poorest people in the Latin American country.
His criticism of the US won him many friends among the political leaders in Latin America. But to his political opponents, he was the worst type of autocrat, intent on building a one-party state.
Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias was born 28 July, 1954 in the state of Barinas. He was one of seven children. His parents were both school teachers and the family lived in relative poverty.
He attended the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences in the capital, Caracas. He was influenced by the 19th Century South American revolutionary leader Simon Bolivar and Che Guevara. In 1992, he led a failed attempt to overthrow the government of Perez, amid growing anger at economic austerity measures that had led to widespread protests. The second coup attempt in November 1992 was crushed as well.
Chavez spent two years in prison before relaunching his party as the Movement of the Fifth Republic, making the transition from soldier to politician. He spent time canvassing and found strong support and friendship from Cuba’s revolutionary president, Fidel Castro. Chavez believed in overthrowing the government by force but was persuaded to change his mind and instead became a candidate in the 1998 presidential elections. Chavez promised ‘revolutionary’ social policies, and constantly abused the ‘predatory oligarchs’ of the establishment as corrupt servants of international capital. In 1999, he proposed setting up a new constitutional assembly, gaining overwhelming support for the idea in a public referendum.
Relations with the US reached a low when he accused it of ‘fighting terror with terror’ during the war in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attack on the US. However, Chavez congratulated US President Barack Obama on his election victory in November 2008. The 2006 presidential elections saw Chavez win again. He brought forward proposals that would allow him to stand for the presidency indefinitely. He also created economic and political ties with newly elected left-wing leaders in other South American countries. Venezuela today has the fairest income distribution in Latin America.
His criticism of the US won him many friends among the political leaders in Latin America. But to his political opponents, he was the worst type of autocrat, intent on building a one-party state.
Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias was born 28 July, 1954 in the state of Barinas. He was one of seven children. His parents were both school teachers and the family lived in relative poverty.
He attended the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences in the capital, Caracas. He was influenced by the 19th Century South American revolutionary leader Simon Bolivar and Che Guevara. In 1992, he led a failed attempt to overthrow the government of Perez, amid growing anger at economic austerity measures that had led to widespread protests. The second coup attempt in November 1992 was crushed as well.
Chavez spent two years in prison before relaunching his party as the Movement of the Fifth Republic, making the transition from soldier to politician. He spent time canvassing and found strong support and friendship from Cuba’s revolutionary president, Fidel Castro. Chavez believed in overthrowing the government by force but was persuaded to change his mind and instead became a candidate in the 1998 presidential elections. Chavez promised ‘revolutionary’ social policies, and constantly abused the ‘predatory oligarchs’ of the establishment as corrupt servants of international capital. In 1999, he proposed setting up a new constitutional assembly, gaining overwhelming support for the idea in a public referendum.
Relations with the US reached a low when he accused it of ‘fighting terror with terror’ during the war in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attack on the US. However, Chavez congratulated US President Barack Obama on his election victory in November 2008. The 2006 presidential elections saw Chavez win again. He brought forward proposals that would allow him to stand for the presidency indefinitely. He also created economic and political ties with newly elected left-wing leaders in other South American countries. Venezuela today has the fairest income distribution in Latin America.
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