On Monday the controversial President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez won a referendum that struck down term limits for the presidency, meaning he can run for a third term as president in 2012. His right wing opponents claim that this is a sign Chavez is becoming a dictator like his ally Fidel Castro in Cuba. His supporters, most of whom come from the working class and the poor in Venezuela point out that perhaps no other politician in the world has received more democratic validation. Chavez has won three presidential elections (1998 with 56% of vote, 2000 with 60% of the vote, 2006 with 62% of the vote) an attempted recall vote in 2004, a constitutional referendum in 1999, and his party has won multiple parliamentary elections.
Chavez has won much admiration among the poor across Latin America for his use of Venezuela’s oil wealth to improve the lives of the poor through education, health and other social programs. He has also become the most reviled leader in Latin America amongst the Latin American elite and the government of the United States. They reject his attempts to build a “socialist” society in Venezuela and his opposition to U.S. foreign policy.
Chavez calls his program for Venezuela’s transformation the “Bolivarian Revolution”.
Respond to the following…
1. What do you think? Has Chavez been good for Venezuela or not?
2. Is Chavez a dictator or the most democratically elected president in the hemisphere if not the world?
3. Why does he call his efforts the “Bolivarian Revolution”?
Here are some links to help you…
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/world/americas/17venez.html?ref=world
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-cooper/chavez-wins-socialism-or_b_167281.html
http://www.alternet.org/audits/77286/venezuela%3A_why_the_barrios_still_love_hugo/
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2009/febrero/lun16/08si-i.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Ch%C3%A1vez
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1925236.stm
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187165,00.html
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