November 22, 2006. Copyright 2006, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Outspoken Venezuelan leader Chavez adored and loathed in equal measure
By Jo Griffin

LONDON, November 22, Graphic News:  Hugo ChavezÕs CV already contains enough drama to last several political lifetimes -- as president, the charismatic former paratrooper has survived challenges that include a coup plot and a referendum on his regime -- but is his hold over hearts and minds still strong enough to secure another term when Venezuela goes the polls on December 3?

With characteristic bullishness, Chavez has overlooked his closest rivals, reportedly saying that in this race there are only two candidates: Òmyself and (U.S. president) George W. BushÓ. He may not find it quite so easy to dismiss anger over his land reforms or disappointment that his social revolution has not moved at the promised pace.

The red-beret wearing leader has a cult following among the majority of Venezuelans who see him as a champion of the poor, but he has inspired the opposition to equally passionate attempts to remove him, including the botched coup, general strikes and the national vote on his leadership. Then there is the matter of the White House in whose side heÕs an ever sharper thorn.

There have been many twists on his road to the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. Born in 1954 in the rural town of Sabaneta, in Barinas state, Chavez grew up in a palm-thatched house with his Catholic schoolteacher parents. At 17, he enrolled in the army and spent several years teaching at army schools, where he developed his key philosophy of ÒBolivarismÓ, based on the ideals of 19th century independence fighter Simon Bolivar.

In 1992, amid widespread discontent with the austerity measures of President Carlos Andres Perez, Colonel Chavez led five army units in a raid on the government. They failed to capture Perez, and Chavez was sent to jail. After he was pardoned in 1994, his new Movement for the Fifth Republic began mounting a political challenge to a status quo that -- he believed -- permitted a corrupt elite to monopolise power and wealth.

Following a landslide election victory in 1998, Chavez began pushing through social programmes or ÒmissionsÓ promoting literacy, the rights of indigenous groups and the redistribution of wealth. His government also reduced the countryÕs oil production to raise its prices, earning funds for his reforms and gaining a priceless bargaining chip.

But the oil policy was also a factor in strikes that spiralled into an attempted coup in 2002. His rivals went on TV to announce that Chavez had resigned only to back down after Venezuelans took to the streets chanting ÒChavismoÓ. In 2004 the opposition used a clause in the constitution to demand a referendum, in which Chavez won 58 percent of the vote. The United States, Chavez claims, has had a hand in such attempts to oust him.

The glue in their troubled relationship is, of course, oil. The combatative Chavez, an unashamed friend of CubaÕs Fidel Castro who once declared that oil barons sit in their luxury chalets, Òperforming orgies and drinking whiskyÓ, has no truck with international oil agreements that favour the U.S.. Instead, he sells oil cheaply to Latin American neighbours and others in exchange for solidarity and policy commitments.

Addressing the United Nations in September, he referred to President Bush as Òthe devilÓ, adding that Bush, who had addressed the general assembly the previous day, had come Òto share his nostrums to try to preserve the current pattern of domination, exploitation and pillage of the worldÕs people.Ó In turn, the U.S. mainstream media has tended to focus on the election chances of his rival Manuel Rosales.

To some, he is a dangerous maverick who risks destabilizing global oil agreements,and is bent on advancing his own power. To others, however, he is a hero in the mould of Don Quixote -- his government distributed free copies of the novel to promote literacy -- whose eccentric pronouncements point to his wisdom and a Christian social conscience.

Chavez is married, and has five children.
/ENDS