Hugo Chávez

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Hugo Chávez
61st President of Venezuela
In office
2 February 1999 – 5 March 2013
Vice President Isaías Rodríguez
Adina Bastidas
Diosdado Cabello
José Vicente Rangel
Jorge Rodríguez
Ramón Carrizales
Elias Jaua
Preceded by Rafael Caldera
Succeeded by Nicolás Maduro
Personal details
Born Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías
28 July 1954 (1954-07-28) (age 65)
Sabaneta, Venezuela
Died March 5, 2013
Nationality Venezuelan
Political party United Socialist Party (2008–2013)
Other political
Fifth Republic Movement (1997–2008)
Spouse(s) Nancy Colmenares (Div.)
Marisabel Rodríguez (Div.)
Relations Adán Chávez, Aníbal José Chávez Frías (brothers)
Occupation military officer (to 1992) and politician
Religion Roman Catholicism
Military service
Allegiance  Venezuela
Service/branch Army
Years of service 1971–1992
Rank Lieutenant Colonel

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías[1] July 28, 1954 to March 5, 2013[2]) was the democratically elected Democratic Socialist[3] President of Venezuela. He was elected three times between 1998 and 2006 with approximately two thirds of the vote in elections deemed free and fair by the international community.[4][5][6][7] Since taking power in 1998, he used Venezuelan oil wealth to significantly raise the standard of living for poor Venezuelans. He gave them access to universal healthcare, education, and affordable housing, something that wasn't available under previous regimes. Venezuelans also enjoyed more civil liberties under Chavez including freedom to protest the government. Chavez permited private media to exist in the country even though it called for his violent overthrow. He had a constitutional referendum and allowed the Venezuelan people to vote on a new constitution.

Chavez was an outspoken critic of neoliberal globalization and was very critical of American style capitalism.[8][9] Because of this, he was considered a threat to American corporate interests and had been branded a dictator in the Mainstream Media. Chavez was harshly criticized in the American media when he called former President Bush the devil at the UN General Assembly. He also recommend to all people in the world that they read "Hegemony or Survival" by Noam Chomsky, his favourite author.

See Also


  1. Hugo Chávez Britannica Online
  2. Profile: Hugo Chavez BBC News
  3. Venezuela's President Chavez wins hearts and minds in London
  4. Background note: Venezuela. U.S. Department of State.
  5. "Chavez wins Venezuelan election", Gulf News, 4 December 2006. Retrieved on 30 December 2006. 
  6. "Chavez wins Venezuela re-election", BBC News, 4 December 2006. Retrieved on 27 March 2011. 
  7. Venezuela: Hugo Chávez's Revolution. International Crisis Group. URL accessed on 8 April 2011.
  8. Capitalism Is Savagery. ZNet
  9. US behind Bolivia crisis - Chavez BBC News

External links

This page contains information from Liberapedia (view authors). It has been modified so that it meets Communpedia's standards. LP
da:Hugo Chavez