Hugo Chávez

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{{Venezuelan presidents infobox

| name           = Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías
| image          = Chavez CASA cropped 1.jpg
| order          = 53rd
| affiliations   = Fifth Republic Movement
| terms          = February 2, 1999 – April 12, 2002;
April 13, 2002 – Present
| vice_president = José Vicente Rangel
| footnotes      =  

}}

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (IPA: Template:IPA; born July 28, 1954) is the 53^rd<ref name="UCAB_1999">Template:Harv.</ref> and current President of Venezuela. As the leader of the "Bolivarian Revolution", Chávez is known for his democratic socialist governance, his promotion of Latin American integration, and his criticism, which he terms anti-imperialism, of neoliberal globalization and United States foreign policy.<ref name="O'Keefe_2005">Template:Harv.</ref>

A career military officer, Chávez founded the leftist Fifth Republic Movement after a failed 1992 coup d'état. Chávez was elected President in 1998<ref name="McCoy_Trinkunas_1999_49">Template:Harv.</ref> on promises of aiding Venezuela's poor majority, and reelected in 2000.<ref name="McCoy_Neuman_2001_71-72">Template:Harv.</ref> Domestically, Chávez has launched massive Bolivarian Missions to combat disease, illiteracy, malnutrition, poverty, and other social ills. Abroad, Chávez has acted against the Washington Consensus by supporting alternative models of economic development, and has advocated cooperation among the world's poor nations, especially those in Latin America.

Chávez has been severely criticized, mostly by Venezuela's middle and upper classes. He has been accused of electoral fraud, human rights violations, and political repression,<ref name="AI_2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="HRW_2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Diehl_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> and has survived both a brief 2002 coup and a failed 2004 recall referendum.<ref name="Carter_Center_Sep2004">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Ginden_11Oct2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Whether viewed as a socialist liberator or authoritarian demagogue, Chávez remains one of the most complex, controversial, and high-profile figures in modern Latin American politics.

Early life (1954–1992)

Template:Main articles Chávez was born the second son of poor schoolteachers Hugo de los Reyes Chávez and Elena Frías de Chávez in Sabaneta, Barinas. Of mixed Amerindian, African, and Spanish descent, Chávez and his five siblings were raised in a thatched palm leaf house. Later, Chávez and his older brother moved to Sabaneta proper to live with their paternal grandmother, Rosa Inés Chávez. After elementary school, Chávez attended the Daniel Florencio O'Leary School in Barinas, graduating with a science degree.<ref name="GOV_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> At seventeen, Chávez attended the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences, graduating in 1975 as a sub-lieutenant with master's degrees in military science and engineering. Chávez then served for several months in the military, after which he did graduate-level work in political science at Caracas' Simón Bolívar University, but left without a degree.

In his student years, Chávez developed a left-nationalist ideology termed "Bolivarianism", inspired by the pan-Americanist philosophies of 19th-century Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar, Peruvian left-leaning President Gral. Juan Velasco, and various socialist and communist leaders. Chávez also played baseball and softball with the Criollitos de Venezuela, who played in the 1969 Venezuelan National Baseball Championships. He also wrote poems, stories, and dramas.<ref name="GOV_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> After college, Chávez served in a Barinas-based counter-insurgency battalion. Over the next 17 years, he held various other post, command, and staff positions, eventually becoming a decorated lieutenant colonel. Chávez also taught at the Military Academy of Venezuela, where he was known for his aggressive criticism of the Venezuelan government and socioeconomic status quo.<ref name="Gott_2005b">Template:Harv.</ref> He also founded the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200).<ref name="GOV_2005">Template:Harv.</ref>

Coup attempt (1992)

Image:Chavez 1994 AFP 1.jpg Template:Main Growing unrest and economic decline under the neoliberal administration of Carlos Andrés Pérez<ref name="Schuyler_2001_10">Template:Harv.</ref> caused Chávez to plan a coup d'état.<ref name="Guillermoprieto_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Initially planned for December, Chávez delayed the MBR-200 coup until the early twilight hours of February 4, 1992. On that date, five army units under Chávez's command barreled into urban Caracas. They planned to overrun key military and communications installations, including the Miraflores presidential palace, the defense ministry, La Carlota military airport, and the Historical Museum. Chávez's main goal was to capture Pérez, who was returning from an overseas trip.

Chávez held the loyalty of 10% of the military;<ref name="Gott_2005_64">Template:Harv.</ref> yet, numerous betrayals, errors, and other unforeseen circumstances soon left Chávez and others besieged in the Historical Museum and unable to issue orders to other rebels.<ref name="Gott_2005_63">Template:Harv.</ref> Worse, Chávez's allies neither took Caracas nor were able to air a nationwide call for a mass uprising. Meanwhile, Pérez eluded capture. As the coup unfolded, fourteen soldiers were killed while fifty soldiers and eighty civilians were injured.<ref name="Gott_2005_69">Template:Harv.</ref> Nevertheless, rebel forces elsewhere made swift advances, capturing Valencia, Maracaibo, and Maracay.<ref name="Gott_2005_66-67">Template:Harv.</ref> But having failed in Caracas, Chávez gave himself up; later, he was allowed to make a televised nationwide call for all rebel forces to stand down. In the address, he also famously quipped that he had failed only "por ahora" — "for the moment".<ref name="Gott_2005_67">Template:Harv.</ref> With this, Chávez was thrust into the national spotlight, with many poor Venezuelans seeing him as one who stood against corruption and kleptocracy.<ref name="Gott_2005_67">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="O'Keefe_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Chávez was then sent to Yare prison.

Political rise (1992–1999)

Template:Main After a two-year imprisonment, Chávez was pardoned by President Rafael Caldera in 1994. Chávez reformed the MBR-200, renaming it the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR — Movimiento Quinta República, with the "V" being the Roman numeral five). In 1998, Chávez started campaigning for the presidency and created a platform that drew heavily from Bolivarianism, particularly its anti-corruption and anti-poverty agenda. Chávez also promised to dismantle puntofijismo, the traditional two-party system of political patronage.<ref name="Guillermoprieto_2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Wilpert_2003">Template:Harv.</ref> Controversially, foreign banks — including Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and Banco Santander, each the owner of one of Venezuela's largest banks — illicitly funneled millions of dollars into Chávez's campaign.<ref name="Marcano_2005_50">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Toro_2004">Template:Harv.</ref>

Chávez used a charismatic public speaking style — noted for its aggressive manner and abundance of colloquialisms — to woo a largely poor and working class base. By May 1998, Chávez had a 30% approval rating in polls; by August he had 39%. On December 6, 1998, Chávez won the Carter Center-endorsed 1998 presidential election with 56.2% of the vote.<ref name="Guillermoprieto_2005">Template:Harv</ref><ref name="McCoy_Trinkunas_1999_49">Template:Harv.</ref>

Presidency (1999–present)

Template:Main Chávez's years as president were characterized by widespread transformation and turmoil. Sweeping moves away from support for neoliberalism and the free market were accompanied by implementation of quasi-socialist income redistribution and social welfare schemes. Chávez also made great changes to Venezuela's constitution and foreign policy. Instead of continuing Venezuela's past support for U.S. and European strategic interests, Chávez has promoted alternative development and integration paradigms for the Third World. Image:HugoChavez1823.jpeg

Chávez has also alienated many upper and middle class Venezuelans, who reported political repression and human rights violations under his rule. Two attempts have been made to unseat him: a 2002 coup d'etat that saw him briefly removed from power but quickly re-instated and a 2004 'recall' referendum. Many believe the US played an important role in both efforts. Nevertheless, Chávez remains a powerful figure in modern politics, seeing himself as a focal point for what he sees as growing opposition to the Washington Consensus and United States foreign policy.

1999–2000

Chávez was sworn in as president on February 2, 1999, at the age of 44. Among his first acts was the launching of Plan Bolivar 2000, which included road building, housing construction, and mass vaccination.<ref name="Harnecker_2003">Template:Harv.</ref> Chávez also halted planned privatizations of, among others, the national social security system, aluminum industry holdings, and the oil sector.<ref name="Ellner_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Nevertheless, Chávez also sought foreign direct investment to prevent chronic capital flight and monetary inflation. Chávez also reduced oil extraction, seeking to gain more revenues from the resulting higher oil prices and lobbying OPEC to do likewise. Chávez also attempted renegotiation of decades-old agreements with Philips Petroleum and ExxonMobil<ref name="CCR_2006">Template:Harv,</ref> seeking to gain more royalties. He also overhauled the formerly lax tax collection and auditing system — especially regarding major corporations and landholders — by increasing its fairness and efficiency.

Responding to the stalling of his legislation in the National Assembly, Chávez scheduled two fresh national elections for July 1999, including a referendum for and elections to fill a new constitutional assembly. The Constitutional Assembly was created when the referendum passed with a 71.78% "yes" vote, while the pro-Chávez Polo Patriotico ("Patriotic Pole") won 95% (120 out of the total 131) of its seats. In August 1999, the Constitutional Assembly's "Judicial Emergency Committee" declared a "legislative emergency" whereby a seven-member committee conducted the National Assembly's functions; meanwhile, the National Assembly was prohibited from holding meetings.<ref name="Mcgirk_27Dec1999">Template:Harv.</ref> The Constitutional Assembly drafted the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution, which included an increase in the presidential term from five to six years, a new presidential two-term limit, and a new provision for presidential recall elections, expanded presidential powers (including the power to dissolve the National Assembly), conversion of the bicameral National Assembly into a weakened unicameral legislature, merit-based appointments of judges, and creation of the Public Defender, an office authorized to regulate the activities of the presidency and the National Assembly. Chávez styled the new Public Defender as guardian of the government's "moral branch", tasked with defending public and moral interests. In December 1999, the new constitution was approved in a nationwide election with a 71.78% "yes" vote.

2000–2002

Template:Main Elections for the new unicameral National Assembly took place on July 30, 2000; meanwhile, Chávez himself stood for reelection. Chávez's coalition won a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, while Chávez was reelected with 60% of the votes. The Carter Center — reporting a lack of electoral transparency, CNE partiality, and pressure from Chávez to schedule the early elections — did not validate the CNE-declared results.<ref name="McCoy_Neuman_2001_71-72">Template:Harv.</ref> On December 3, 2000, a referendum (backed by Chávez but condemned by international labor organizations<ref name="McCoy_Neuman_2001_73">Template:Harv.</ref>) were held. The referendum — which passed — forced trade unions to hold state-monitored elections.

After the mid-2000 elections, Chávez backed passage of the "Enabling Act", which allowed Chávez to rule by decree for one year. In November 2001, Chávez used it to enact 49 decrees, including the "Hydrocarbons Law" (more government control over the oil sector) and the "Land Law" (land reform and redistribution). The Fedecámaras business federation, opposed to the decrees, began a general strike on December 10, 2001; this failed to influence Chávez, allowing him to continue previously existing policies ranging from a government-funded free healthcare system and education up to university level.<ref name="CCR_2006">Template:Harv.</ref> By December 2001, Chávez's capital-control policies reduced inflation from 40% to 12% and generated 4% economic growth; meanwhile, primary school enrollment increased by one million.<ref name="CCR_2006">Template:Harv.</ref>

2002–2004

Template:Main articles On April 11, 2002, some 500,000 anti-Chávez demonstrators and pro-Chávez demonstrators marched to the Miraflores palace and clashed with each other. Alarmed, Chávez commandeered the airwaves. He asked protesters to go home, played pre-recorded speeches, and attempted to stop coverage of the violence. Then, army commander-in-chief Lucas Rincón Romero reported in a nationwide broadcast that Chávez had resigned his presidency. Chávez was taken to a military base while coup leaders made Fedecámaras president Pedro Carmona interim president. Carmona immediately reversed many of Chávez's policies, including his credit controls and oil production ceilings. Carmona also dissolved the National Assembly, dismissed the Venezuelan judiciary, and reverted Venezuela's official name back to República de Venezuela. Pro-Chávez demonstrations then erupted across Caracas; later, pro-Chávez troops led a counter-coup, freeing Chávez from captivity.<ref name="Gott_2005_234-236">Template:Harv.</ref> Image:Chavezsurvivescoup.JPG

In late April 13, 2002, Chávez resumed as president. He began several investigations; their results supported Chávez's claims that the coup was U.S.-sponsored.<ref name="Vulliamy_21Apr2002">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="CCR_2006">Template:Harv.</ref> Chávez also replaced the upper echelons of the military command, boosted veterans' benefits, and began several new civilian-military development programs. In late 2002, he also moved to use PDVSA revenues to fund his social programs. Opposing this, many PDVSA managers and workers began a two-months strike starting on December 2, 2002. This resulted in shortages of oil and loss of PDVSA revenue, putting pressure on Chávez's government. In response, Chávez sacked some 19,000 PDVSA workers and managers, replacing them with Chávez loyalists. PDVSA production rebounded in subsequent months.

In 2003, Chávez created Mission Guaicaipuro (October 12, 2003), Mission Robinson (July 2003), Mission Sucre (late 2003), and Mission Ribas (November 2003). In July 2004, speaking to 50,000 formerly illiterate Mission Robinson beneficiaries, Chávez stated that "it was truly a world record: in a year, we have graduated 1,250,000 Venezuelans". Additionally, the inflation rate eased from 31% (2002) to 27% (2003). In contrast, setbacks included a putative 2004 coup attempt, whose significance stirred controversy.<ref name="EP_2004">Template:Harv.</ref> Later, in 2003 and 2004, the opposition collected millions of signatures and activated the 1999 Constitution's presidential recall provision.<ref name="BBC_12Sep2003">Template:Harv.</ref> Amidst riots and allegations of government blacklisting of petition signers and anti-Chávez employers' coercion of their workers into signing petitions, a 2,436,830-signature petition was accepted by the CNE and a recall referendum was announced on June 8, 2004. The August 15, 2004 vote saw a record turnout. With a 59.25% "no" vote, the recall measure was defeated.<ref name="BBC_2004">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Carter_Center_Sep2004">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Carter Center 2005">Template:Harv.</ref> The opposition alleged electoral fraud.

2004–present

After his referendum victory, Chávez used Venezuela's increasing oil revenues — from rises in world oil prices — to focus on expanding social programs. Economic growth also picked up markedly, reaching double-digit growth in 2004, 9.3% growth in 2005 and a projected 7% growth rate for 2006. In late March 2005, the Chávez government criminalized broadcast libel and slander directed against public officials, including prison sentences of up to 40 months for serious cases. Yet, when asked if he would ever impose such penalties, Chávez stated that "I don't care if they [the private media] call me names.... As Don Quixote said, 'If the dogs are barking, it is because we are working.'"<ref name="BBC_Talking_Point_23Oct2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Chávez also expanded social programs via new Missions: Mission Vuelta al Campo, phases II and III of Mission Barrio Adentro, and Mission Miranda. Image:Néstor Kirchner y Hugo Chávez-Venezuela-Julio 2004.jpg

Chávez's foreign policy included humanitarian aid, construction projects, and other agreements with Argentina's Nestor Kirchner, China's Hu Jintao, Cuba's Fidel Castro, and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. On March 4, 2005, Chávez publicly declared that the U.S.-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) was "dead". Chávez also stated his desire for the establishment of a Latin American analogue of NATO. At Chávez's direction, the military also began shifting armaments procurements to non-U.S. sources, including Brazil, China, Russia, and Spain. Meanwhile, Chávez ordered all active-duty U.S. soldiers to leave Venezuela. In 2005, he created the 1.5 million-strong Mission Miranda "military reserve" program.<ref name="Wagner_25Apr2005">Template:Harv.</ref> In October 2005, Chávez banished the "New Tribes Mission" from the country, accusing it of "imperialist infiltration" and collaboration with the CIA.<ref name="Alford_14Oct2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Chávez's government also gave Amazonian indigenous peoples inalienable titles to 6,800 km² of lands and launched Mission Guaicaipuro.

At a graduation ceremony at Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine on August 20, 2005, Chávez announced the joint establishment of a tuition-free medical school, including 30,000 planned slots for poor students.<ref name="Reed_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> During his speech at the 2005 UN World Summit, Chávez again denounced neoliberalism and warned of hydrocarbon depletion.<ref name="Campbell_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> At the November 7, 2005 Mar del Plata Fourth Summit of the Americas, Chávez hailed the stalling of the FTAA proposal and stated that "the taste of victory" was at hand regarding the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, started by Venezuela and Cuba on December 14, 2004.<ref name="Parma_07Nov2005">Template:Harv.</ref> On March 9, 2006 he made changes to both the coat of arms of Venezuela and the Venezuelan flag. The new flag has an eighth star, the "Bolivarian star" to honour the province of Guayana's contribution to the independence struggle in the 19th Century. The change to the coat of arms (which is also displayed on the flag) involved changing the direction of the running horse to the left rather than the right.

Political impact

Labor

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

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

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

Economy

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

Chávez has redirected the focus of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Venezuela's state-owned oil company, by bringing it more closely under the direction of the Energy Ministry. He has also attempted to repatriate more oil funds to Venezuela by raising royalty percentages on joint extraction contracts that are payable to Venezuela. Chávez has also explored the liquidation of some or all of the assets belonging to PDVSA's U.S.-based subsidiary, CITGO. The oil ministry has been successful in restructuring CITGO's profit structure,<ref name="Ramirez_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> resulting in large increases in dividends and income taxes from PDVSA. In 2005, CITGO announced the largest dividend payment to PDVSA in over a decade, $400 million. Yet despite recent massive efforts to increase production, daily oil production is still well short of the levels attained under the previous administration.

Chávez's domestic policy is embodied by the Bolivarian Missions, a series of social justice programs that have radically altered the economic and cultural landscape of Venezuela. Although recent economic activity under Chávez has been robust under these programs,<ref name="Latin Business Chronicle 2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Weisbrot_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> per-capita GDP in 2004 has dropped around 1% from 1999 levels.<ref name="CIA 2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="CIA_1999">Template:Harv.</ref> However, as of September 2005, there have also been significant drops since 1999 in unemployment<ref name="VA_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> and in the government's definition of "poverty",<ref name="Venezuela Analysis 14 Oct 2005">Template:Harv.</ref> and there have been marked improvements in national health indicators between 1998 and 2005.<ref name="CIA 1998">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="CIA 2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Template:Bolivarian Missions Infobox 1 Aims of the Bolivarian Missions have included the launching of massive government anti-poverty initiatives,<ref name="Niemeyer_2004_36">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="UNICEF_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> the construction of thousands of free medical clinics for the poor,<ref name="Kuiper 28 Jul 2005">Template:Harv.</ref> the institution of educational campaigns that have reportedly made more than one million adult Venezuelans literate,<ref name="Niemeyer_2004_14">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Burbach_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> and the enactment of food<ref name="Niemeyer_2004_15">Template:Harv.</ref> and housing subsidies.<ref name="VA_01Aug2005">Template:Harv.</ref> The Missions have overseen widespread state-supported experimentation in citizen- and worker-managed governance,<ref name="Albert_2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Ellsworth_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> as well as the granting of thousands of free land titles to formerly landless poor and indigenous communities.<ref name="Wilpert_12sep2005">Template:Harv.</ref> In contrast, several large landed estates and factories have been, or are in the process of being, expropriated.

Foreign affairs

Template:Main Chávez has refocused Venezuelan foreign policy on Latin American economic and social integration by enacting bilateral trade and reciprocal aid agreements, including his "oil diplomacy".<ref name="Economist_2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Wagner_01Feb2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Examples include PetroCaribe, Petrosur, and Telesur. Bilateral trade relationships with other Latin American countries have also played a major role in his policy, with Chávez increasing arms purchases from Brazil, forming oil-for-expertise trade arrangements with Cuba,<ref name="Macbeth_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> funding an approximately $300 million ex gratia oil pipeline built to provide discounted natural gas to Colombia,<ref name="El Tiempo_25Nov2005">Template:Harv.</ref> and initiating barter arrangements that, among other things, exchange Venezuelan petroleum for cash-strapped Argentina's meat and dairy products. Additionally, Chávez worked closely with other Latin American leaders following the 1997 Summit of the Americas in many areas — especially energy integration — and championed the OAS decision to adopt the Anti-Corruption Convention. Chávez's government also participates in the United Nations Friends groups for Haiti, and is pursuing efforts to join and engage the Mercosur trade bloc to expand the hemisphere's trade integration prospects. Abroad, Chávez denounces both neocolonialism and neoliberalism, including U.S. foreign policy regarding Iraq, Haiti, and the Free Trade Area of the Americas; meanwhile, he had severed military ties with the U.S. Chávez's has also lobbied OPEC producers to decrease production ceilings. Pursuing this goal, Chávez made a ten-day tour of OPEC countries; he thus became the first head of state to meet Saddam Hussein since the Gulf War.<ref name="CNN 10 Aug 2000">Template:Harv.</ref> Image:Kircher Chavez.jpg

In 2001, Peru voiced suspicions that Chávez's administration was protecting and hiding Vladimiro Montesinos[1][2], a former Peruvian intelligence director wanted for corruption. Montesinos was found in June of that year in Venezuela and later deported to Peru to face charges of corruption, bribery and human-rights violations. Months before, the Venezuelan press reported Montesinos presence. Chavez described the media's reports as part of an international campaign against his reputation.

In 2004 a diplomatic crisis, this time with Colombia, happened after the kidnap by individual Venezuelan officials (with the aid of Colombian agents) of Rodrigo Granda, a high ranking member of the FARC, in a case known as the Rodrigo Granda affair. At the time, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe condemned Chávez's lack of cooperation in implementing law enforcement actions against the FARC. Chávez responded by temporarily cutting diplomatic and trade ties with Colombia [3]. The issue was put to rest in a Summit of the two Presidents in February of 2005.

After Hurricane Katrina battered the U.S. in late 2005, Chávez's administration was the first government to offer aid to its "North American brothers", offering to donate tons of food, water, mobile hospital units, medical specialists, power generators, and one million barrels of petroleum. Additionally, he proposed to sell 66,000 barrels of steeply discounted heating fuel directly to affected poor communities. The Bush administration refused this aid.<ref name="Martin_02Sep2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Later, in November 2005, officials in Massachusetts signed an agreement with Venezuela to provide heating oil at a 40% discount to low income families via CITGO, a PDSVA subsidiary.<ref name="BBC_2005d">Template:Harv.</ref> Chávez has stated that such aid comprises "a strong oil card to play on the geopolitical stage" and that "[i]t is a card that we are going to play with toughness against the toughest country in the world, the United States."<ref name="blum_22Nov2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Venezuela's foreign affairs are also accompanied by Chávez's comments criticising George W. Bush (who he labelled a pendejo ("dumbass")), Condoleezza Rice (a "complete illiterate" with regards to comprehending Latin America.<ref name="Ministerio de Comunicación e Información 1999">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Diehl_2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="People's_Daily_12Jan2004">Template:Harv.</ref>), and Vicente Fox (who was "bleeding from his wounds" and was warned not to "mess" with him<ref name="BBC_14Nov2005">Template:Harv.</ref>). The latter comments resulted in the severing of diplomatic ties between Mexico and Venezuela.

During his weekly address Aló Presidente of March 18, 2006, Chavez responded to a US White House report which characterized him as a "demagogue who uses Venezuela's oil wealth to destabilize democracy in the region". During the address Chavez rhetorically called George W. Bush "a donkey." He repeated it several times adding "eres un cobarde" (you are an coward), "eres un asesino, un genocida" (you are an assassin, a mass-murderer), and "eres un borracho" (you are a drunk). [4]

Media treatment

Template:Main Even before the April 2002 coup, most major media openly opposed Chávez's policies. Template:Fact They also reported that Chávez used gangs to intimidate their journalists. Template:Fact In turn, Chávez alleges that such media serve U.S. interests via corporate "propaganda". He often voices such views on his live talk — Aló, Presidente! ("Hello, President!"), which airs Sundays at 11:00 AM on Venezolana de Televisión and features hours-long tours and speeches by Chávez.<ref name="Lakshmanan_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Chávez also launched Telesur on July 25, 2005 which, as a pan-American homologue of Al-Jazeera, seeks to challenge the dominant U.S.-based CNN en Español and Univision networks.<ref name="Wilpert_2005b">Template:Harv.</ref>

Bolivarianism

Image:ChavezPeace.jpg

Chávez's main influences are Simón Bolívar, Ezequiel Zamora, Simón Rodríguez, Marxist historian Federico Brito Figueroa, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and Salvador Allende. Later, Chávez stated that democratic socialism (socialism emphasizing grassroots democracy) was key to his policies, working through such organizations as the Bolivarian Circles.<ref name="Sanchez_2003">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="burke_30Jul2003">Template:Harv.</ref> He reiterated this at the 2005 World Social Forum and the 4th Summit on the Social Debt, stating that humanity must embrace "a new type of socialism, a humanist one, which puts humans, and not machines or the state, ahead of everything."<ref name="Sojo_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> The central points of Chávez's Bolivarianism are:<ref name="Wilpert_27Aug2003">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Wilpert_2003">Template:Harv.</ref>

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

Criticism

Image:Anti-chavez march.jpg Template:Main Chávez is much-criticized, both in Venezuela and in international comments. His most vociferous opponents see him as a dangerous and authoritarian militarist who threatens Venezuelan democracy and global oil prices. Critics report that poverty, unemployment, and corruption figures under Chávez have not seen improvement.<ref name="Jorquera_2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Parma_2005b">Template:Harv.</ref> They also note the 1% drop in Venezuela's per-capita GDP under Chávez.Template:Fact The opposition cites the many public hospitals that lack basic supplies, while others describe Chávez as a demagogue with a personality cult.Template:Fact They also question the payments to poor Venezuelans enrolling in Chávez's social programs, worrying that such dependency corrupts their work ethic and predispose them being pro-Chávez. Image:National Review 11 Apr 2005 Chavez Castro.jpg

Chávez also stands accused of electoral fraud (even though he won elections three times and was put back into power by the poor after the attempted coup in 2002) and political repression, including keeping anti-Chávez activists as political prisoners.<ref name="Boyd_04Jul2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Others claim that Chávez is not fulfilling promises regarding labor and land reform.<ref name="Fuentes_26Sep2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="marquez_05Apr2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Parma_20Oct2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Abroad, Chávez is reported as being a confrontational ideologue<ref name="Sanchez 25 Aug 2005">Template:Harv.</ref> , and American public figures have accused him of supporting and training terrorists.<ref name="Robinson_2003">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Wilpert_2003">Template:Harv.</ref> Furthermore, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented human rights violations under Chávez.<ref name="AI_2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="HRW_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> Scores of deaths and hundreds of injuries inflicted during both opposition and pro-Chávez demonstrations saw little official investigation. Meanwhile, Chávez faces allegations of both censorship and ill treatment or torture of his opponents. Chávez supporters counter by alleging repression of Chávez supporters and social workers by anti-Chávez mayors; using this claim, the Chávez government is attempting to place local police forces under federal control. Meanwhile, relatives of victims who were killed in the April 11, 2002 clashes filed a case against Chávez and others at the International Criminal Court (ICC), stating that Chávez committed crimes against humanity. In February 2006, Luis Moreno Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, concluded that, thus far, the requirements to continue the investigation have not been satisfied according to the Rome Statute. [5].

Finally, Chávez is criticized for his controversial statements, including his January 2006 statement that “[t]he world is for all of us, then, but it so happens that a minority, the descendants of the same ones that crucified Christ, the descendants of the same ones that kicked Bolívar out of here and also crucified him in their own way over there in Santa Marta, in Colombia. A minority has taken possession all of the wealth of the world...”<ref name="Wiesenthal_2006">Template:Harv.</ref> The Simon Wiesenthal Center omitted the reference to Bolívar without ellipsis, stated that Chávez was referring to Jews, and denounced the remarks as antisemitic by way of his allusions to wealth. Meanwhile, the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress, and the Confederation of Jewish Associations of Venezuela defended Chávez, stating that he was speaking not of Jews, but of South America's white oligarchy.<ref name="Perelman_2006">Template:Harv.</ref> Furthermore, it remains a matter of record that Christ was crucified by the Romans.

Personal life

Image:Chavezninas.jpg Template:Main Hugo Chávez has been married twice. He first married 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, but have remained good friends since then.<ref name="La Semana 2000">Template:Harv.</ref> During his first marriage, Chávez also had an affair with young historian Herma Marksman; they had a relationship which lasted nine years.<ref name="Guillermoprieto_2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Byrne_2005">Template:Harv.</ref> At present, Chávez is separated from his second wife, journalist Marisabel Rodríguez de Chávez. Chávez had another daughter, Rosa Inés, through that marriage, in addition to a son-in-law, Raúl "Raúlito" Alfonzo. Chávez also has one granddaughter, Gabriela.<ref name="Palast_2005">Template:Harv.</ref>

Chávez is of Roman Catholic extraction, and is currently a practicing Christian. Nevertheless, he has had a series of bitter disputes with both the Venezuelan Catholic clergy and Protestant church hierarchies.<ref name="Kozloff_2005">Template:Harv.</ref><ref name="Morsbach_2006">Template:Harv.</ref> Although he has traditionally kept his own faith a private matter, Chávez has over the course of his presidency become increasingly open to discussing his religious views, stating that both his faith and his interpretation of Jesus' personal life and ideology have had a profound impact on his leftist views (for comparison see also liberation theology, christian socialism):

"He [Jesus] accompanied me in difficult times, in crucial moments. So Jesus Christ is no doubt a historical figure — he was someone who rebelled, an anti-imperialist guy. He confronted the Roman Empire.... Because who might think that Jesus was a capitalist? No. Judas was the capitalist, for taking the coins! Christ was a revolutionary. He confronted the religious hierarchies. He confronted the economic power of the time. He preferred death in the defense of his humanistic ideals, who fostered change.... He is our Jesus Christ."<ref name="Chávez 2005b">Template:Harv.</ref>

Template:Life of Hugo Chávez

See also

Template:Topics related to Hugo Chávez

Notes

References

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2

| Surname1    = Albert
| Given1      = M
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Venezuela's Path
| Journal     = Z Communications
| URL         = http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=45&ItemID=9067
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Surname1    = Alford
| Given1      = D
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Venezuela to Expel New Tribes Mission
| Journal     = Christianity Today
| URL         = http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/141/53.0.html
| Access-date = February 15, 2006

| Surname1    = Alvarez
| Given1      = I
| Year        = 2004
| Title       = Venezuela's Hugo Chavez investigated by the International Criminal Court
| Journal     = El Universal
| URL         = http://www.vcrisis.com/index.php?content=letters/200401310730
| Access-date = February 2, 2006

| Author      = Amnesty International 
| Surname1    = Amnesty International
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = AI Summary Report 2005: Venezuela
| Journal     = AI
| URL         = http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/ven-summary-eng
| Access-date = January 26, 2006

| Author      = BBC News 
| Surname1    = BBC
| Year        = 2003
| Title       = Chavez poll petition rejected
| Journal     = BBC
| URL         = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3105186.stm
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Author      = BBC News 
| Surname1    = BBC
| Year        = 2004
| Title       = Venezuelan Audit Confirms Victory
| Journal     = BBC
| URL         = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3587184.stm
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Author      = BBC News 
| Surname1    = BBC
| Year        = 2005a
| Title       = Profile: Hugo Chávez
| Journal     = BBC News
| URL         = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3517106.stm
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Author      = BBC News
| Surname1    = BBC News
| Year        = 2005b
| Title       = Hugo Chavez describe on why he thinks the US plans to invade
| Journal     = BBC
| URL         = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4359386.stm#
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Author      = BBC News 
| Surname1    = BBC News
| Year        = 2005c
| Title       = Chavez and Fox recall ambassadors
| Journal     = BBC News
| URL         = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4437024.stm
| Access-date = February 2, 2006

| Author      = BBC News 
| Surname1    = BBC News
| Year        = 2005d
| Title       = Venezuela gives US cheap oil deal
| Journal     = BBC News
| URL         = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4461946.stm
| Access-date = February 1, 2006

| Author      = BBC Talking Point
| Surname1    = BBC Talking Point
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Transcript of BBC's Robin Lustig interview to Hugo Chavez
| Journal     = BBC
| URL         = http://www.vcrisis.com/index.php?content=letters/200510251056
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Surname1    = Blum
| Given1      = J
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Chavez Pushes Petro-Diplomacy
| Journal     = The Washington Post
| URL         = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101800.html
| Access-date = January 30, 2006

| Surname1    = Boudin
| Given1      = C
| Surname2    = Chávez
| Given2      = H
| Surname3    = Harnecker
| Given3      = Marta
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Understanding the Venezuelan Revolution: Hugo Chávez Talks to Marta Harnecker
| Publisher   = Monthly Review Press
| ID          = ISBN 1-58367-127-7

| Surname1    = Boyd
| Given1      = A
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = List of missing persons and political prisoners in Venezuela
| Journal     = VCrisis
| URL         = http://www.vcrisis.com/index.php?content=letters/200403020624
| Access-date = February 15, 2006

| Surname1    = Burbach
| Given1      = R
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Bush Versus Chavez
| Journal     = CounterPunch
| URL         = http://www.counterpunch.org/burbach11082005.html
| Access-date = January 26, 2006

| Surname1    = Burke
| Given1      = T
| Surname2    = Chaves
| Given2      = R
| Year        = 2003
| Title       = The Bolivarian Circles
| Journal     = Z Communications
| URL         = http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=45&ItemID=3971
| Access-date = February 2, 2006

| Surname1    = Byrne
| Given1      = J
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Venezuela — Bolivarian Revolution
| Journal     = Foreign Correspondent
| URL         = http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/stories/s882059.htm
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Surname1    = Campbell
| Given1      = CJ
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Newsletter No. 59: President Chavez Recognises Peak Oil
| Journal     = Association of the Study of Peak Oil and Gas
| URL         = http://www.peakoil.ie/newsletters/672
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Author      = Carter Center
| Surname1    = Carter Center
| Year        = 2004
| Title       = Report on an Analysis of the Representativeness of the Second Audit Sample, and the Correlation between Petition Signers and the Yes Vote in the August 15, 2004 Presidential Recall Referendum in Venezuela
| Journal     = Carter Center
| URL         = http://www.cartercenter.org/documents/1834.pdf
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Author      = Carter Center
| Surname1    = Carter Center
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Observing the Venezuela Presidential Recall Referendum: Comprehensive Report
| Journal     = Carter Center
| URL         = http://www.cartercenter.org/documents/2020.pdf
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Author      = Center for Cooperative Research
| Surname1    = Center for Cooperative Research
| Year        = 2006
| Title       = Profile: Hugo Chavez Frias
| Journal     = CCR
| URL         = http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?entity=hugo_chavez_frias
| Access-date = January 26, 2006

| Surname1    = Chávez
| Given1      = H
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Transcript: Hugo Chávez Interview
| Journal     = ABC News / Nightline
| URL         = http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/International/story?id=1134098&page=1
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Surname1    = Chávez
| Given1      = H
| Year        = 2005b
| Title       = Untitled Speech delivered at the Latino Pastoral Action Center in Bronx, New York City 
| Journal     = Democracy Now!
| URL         = http://www.archive.org/download/Chávez-nyc-speech/Chávez-english_64kb.mp3
| Access-date = January 21, 2006

| Surname1    = Chávez
| Given1      = H
| Surname2    = Deutschmann
| Given2      = D
| Surname3    = Salado
| Given3      = J
| Year        = 2004
| Title       = Chávez: Venezuela and the New Latin America
| Publisher   = Ocean Press
| ID          = ISBN 1-92088-800-4

| Surname1    = Chomsky
| Given1      = N
| Year        = 1998
| Title       = Profit Over People
| Publisher   = Seven Stories Press
| ID          = ISBN 1-88836-382-7
| URL         = http://www.sevenstories.com/Book/index.cfm?GCOI=58322100100330
| Access-date = January 21, 2006

| Author      = Central Intelligence Agency
| Surname1    = Central Intelligence Agency
| Year        = 1998
| Title       = Venezuela
| Journal     = The World Factbook
| URL         = http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact98/259.htm
| Access-date = February 2, 2006

| Author      = Central Intelligence Agency
| Surname1    = Central Intelligence Agency
| Year        = 1999
| Title       = Venezuela: Economy
| Journal     = The World Factbook
| URL         = http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps35389/1999/306.htm#econ
| Access-date = February 2, 2006

| Author      = Central Intelligence Agency
| Surname1    = Central Intelligence Agency
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Venezuela: Economy
| Journal     = The World Factbook
| URL         = http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ve.html#Econ
| Access-date = February 2, 2006

| Author      = CNN
| Surname1    = CNN
| Year        = 2000
| Title       = Chávez's tour of OPEC nations arrives in Baghdad
| Journal     = CNN
| URL         = http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/meast/08/10/iraq.chavez.02/
| Access-date = February 2, 2006

| Author      = CNN
| Surname1    = CNN
| Year        = 2003
| Title       = Venezuelan president names two generals to key posts
| Journal     = CNN
| URL         = http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/meast/08/10/iraq.chavez.02/
| Access-date = February 2, 2006

| Author      = Country Watch 
| Surname1    = CW
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Country Fact Sheet: Venezuela
| Journal     = International Finance Center (Yahoo! Finance)
| URL         = http://biz.yahoo.com/ifc/ve.html
| Access-date = January 21, 2006

| Surname1    = Diehl
| Given1      = J
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Chavez's Censorship: Where 'Disrespect' Can Land You in Jail
| Journal     = The Washington Post
| URL         = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5755-2005Mar27.html
| Access-date = January 26, 2006

| Surname1    = DiJohn
| Given1      = J
| Year        = 2004
| Title       = The Political Economy of Economic Liberalisation in Venezuela
| Journal     = Crisis States Programme, Development Research Centre, LSE
| URL         = http://www.crisisstates.com/download/wp/wp46.pdf
| Access-date = January 21, 2006

| Author      = The Economist
| Surname1    = Economist
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Using Oil to Spread Revolution
| Journal     = The Economist
| URL         = http://www.economist.com/world/la/displaystory.cfm?story_id=4232330
| Access-date = January 21, 2006

| Surname1    = Ellner
| Given1      = S
| Surname2    = Hellinger
| Given2      = D
| Year        = 2004
| Title       = Venezuelan Politics in the Chávez Era: Class, Polarization, and Conflict
| Publisher   = Lynne Rienner
| ID          = ISBN 1-58826-297-9

| Surname1    = Ellner
| Given1      = S
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Venezuela’s “Demonstration Effect”: Defying Globalization’s Logic
| Journal     = North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
| URL         = http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1579
| Access-date = January 26, 2006

| Surname1    = Ellsworth
| Given1      = B
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Venezuela tries the worker-managed route
| Journal     = The New York Times
| URL         = http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/02/business/worker.php#
| Access-date = January 26, 2006

| Author      = El Pais 
| Surname1    = El Pais 
| Year        = 2004
| Title       = Condenan a tres militares y 27 colombianos
| Journal     = El Pais
| URL         = http://elpais-cali.terra.com.co/paisonline/notas/Octubre252005/paras_ven.html
| Access-date = January 26, 2006

| Author      = El Tiempo
| Surname1    = El Tiempo
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, Ofreció Petróleo a Colombia, por Trueque
| Journal     = El Tiempo
| URL         = http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/economia/2005-11-25/ARTICULO-WEB-_NOTA_INTERIOR-2626010.html
| Access-date = February 15, 2006

| Author      = Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting 
| Surname1    = Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Parade Magazine's Chavez Smear: Venezuelan president a terrorist funder?
| Journal     = FAIR
| URL         = http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2697
| Access-date = January 26, 2006

| Surname1    = Fuentes
| Given1      = F
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Challenges for Venezuela's Workers’ Movement
| Journal     = Venezuela Analysis
| URL         = http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1564
| Access-date = February 15, 2006

| Surname1    = Gindin
| Given1      = J
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Venezuela and the 'New Democracy
| Journal     = Canadian Dimension
| URL         = http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1575
| Access-date = January 26, 2006

| Surname1    = Golinger
| Given1      = E
| 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

| Authorlink  = Richard Gott
| Surname1    = Gott
| Given1      = R
| Year        = 2001
| Title       = In the Shadow of the Liberator: The Impact of Hugo Chávez on Venezuela and Latin America
| Publisher   = Verso Books
| ID          = ISBN 1-85984-365-4

| Authorlink  = Richard Gott
| Surname1    = Gott
| Given1      = R
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution
| Publisher   = Verso Books
| ID          = ISBN 1-84467-533-5
| URL         = http://www.versobooks.com/books/ghij/g-titles/gott_hugo_chavez.shtml
| Access-date = January 21, 2006

| Authorlink  = Richard Gott
| Surname1    = Gott
| Given1      = R
| Year        = 2005b
| Title       = Two fingers to America
| Journal     = The Guardian
| URL         = http://www.guardian.co.uk/venezuela/story/0,12716,1555809,00.html
| Access-date = January 21, 2006

| Author      = Government of Venezuela
| Surname1    = Government of Venezuela
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Presidente Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías
| Journal     = Gobierno En Línea
| URL         = http://www.gobiernoenlinea.ve/venezuela/ejecutivo.html
| Access-date = January 21, 2006

| Surname1    = Guillermoprieto
| Given1      = Alma
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Don't Cry for Me, Venezuela
| Journal     = New York Review of Books
| URL         = http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18302
| Access-date = January 21, 2006

| Surname1    = Harnecker
| Given1      = M
| Year        = 2003
| Title       = The Military and the Revolution: Harnecker interviews Chávez
| Journal     = Z Communications
| URL         = http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=45&ItemID=2841
| Access-date = January 26, 2006

| Author      = Human Rights Watch
| Surname1    = Human Rights Watch
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Venezuela: Curbs on Free Expression Tightened
| Journal     = HRW
| URL         = http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/03/24/venezu10368.htm
| Access-date = January 26, 2006

| Surname1    = Martin
| Given1      = J
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = While Bush prevaricates, Venezuela offers help to US poor
| Journal     = In Defense of Marxism
| URL         = http://www.marxist.com/venezuela-hurricane-bush020905.htm
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Surname1    = Jorquera
| Given1      = R
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Notes on the Bolivarian Revolution
| Journal     = Venezuela Analysis
| URL         = http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1479
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Surname1    = Kozloff
| Given1      = N
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Venezuela’s War of Religion
| Journal     = Venezuela Analysis
| URL         = http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1584
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

Template:Col-2

| Surname1    = Kuiper
| Given1      = J
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Barrio Adentro II: Victim of its Own Success
| Journal     = Venezuela Analysis
| URL         = http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1510
| Access-date = January 30, 2006

| Surname1    = Lakshmanan
| Given1      = I
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Channelling His Energies: Venezuelans riveted by president's TV show
| Journal     = The Boston Globe
| URL         = http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2005/07/27/channeling_his_energies/?page=1
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Author      = Latin Business Chronicle
| Surname1    = Latin Business Chronicle
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = GDP Growth: Venezuela Best
| Journal     = Latin Business Chronicle
| URL         = http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/reports/reports/1005/gdp.htm
| Access-date = February 2, 2006

| Surname1    = Macbeth
| Given1      = H
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = The Not So Odd Couple: Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez and Cuba’s Fidel Castro
| Journal     = Council on Hemispheric Affairs
| URL         = http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1485
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Surname1    = Marcano
| Given1      = C
| Surname2    = Barrera Tyszka
| Given2      = A
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Hugo Chávez Sin Uniforme: Una Historia Personal
| Publisher   = Random House Mondadori
| ID          = ISBN 9-80293-284-1

| Surname1    = Márquez
| Given1      = H
| Year        = 2005
| Title       = Venezuela's Indigenous Peoples Protest Coal Mining
| Journal     = Inter Press Service
| URL         = http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1414
| Access-date = February 2, 2006

| Surname1    = Marshall 
| Given1      = R
| Year        = 2004
| Title       = New Coup Plot Uncovered
| Journal     = Green Left Weekly
| URL         = http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2004/583/583p18b.htm
| Access-date = February 15, 2006

| Surname1    = McCoy
| Given1      = JL
| Surname2    = Myers
| Given2      = DJ
| Year        = 2004
| Title       = The Unraveling of Representative Democracy in Venezuela
| Publisher   = Johns Hopkins University Press
| ID          = ISBN 0-80187-960-4

| Surname1    = McCoy
| Given1      = J
| Surname2    = Neuman
| Given2      = L
| Year        = 2001
| Title       = Observed Political Change In Venezuela: The Bolivarian Constitution and 2000 Elections: Final Report
| Journal     = Carter Center
| URL         = http://www.cartercenter.org/documents/297.pdf
| Access-date = January 21, 2006

| Surname1    = McCoy
| Given1      = J
| Surname2    = Trinkunas
| Given2      = H
| Year        = 1999
| Title       = Observation of the 1998 Venezuelan Elections: A Report of the Council of Freely Elected Heads of Government
| Journal     = Carter Center
| URL         = http://www.cartercenter.org/documents/1151.pdf
| Access-date = January 21, 2006

| Surname1    = McGirk
| Given1      = T
| Year        = 1999
| Title       = Hugo Chávez Frías
| Journal     = Time
| URL         = http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/1999/1227/chavez.html
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Author      = Ministerio de Comunicación e Información
| Surname1    = Ministerio de Comunicación e Información
| Year        = 1999
| Title       = Marcha Defensa de la Soberanía
| Journal     = Government of Venezuela
| URL         = http://www.minci.gov.ve/imagnot/23-ENE-2005%20-%20MARCHA%20-%20CORREGIDO.DEFINITIVO..doc
| Access-date = February 15, 2006

| Surname1    = Morsbach
| Given1      = G
| Year        = 2006
| Title       = Venezuela head angry at cardinal
| Journal     = BBC News
| URL         = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4615776.stm
| Access-date = January 25, 2006

| Surname1    = Niemeyer
| Given1      = RT
| Year        = 2004
| Title       = Under Attack: Morning Dawn in Venezuela
| Publisher   = iUniverse
| ID          = ISBN 0-59566-208-0
}}.

| Surname1    = O'Donogh