Hugo Chávez

I

Introduction

Hugo Chávez, born in 1954, president of Venezuela since 1999. A former soldier, Chávez is a self-styled socialist who has won the allegiance of Venezuela’s poor and working class while alienating the upper class and some sections of the middle class. In foreign affairs he has cultivated close relations with the leftist governments of Bolivia, Cuba, and Nicaragua, rejected efforts to establish free trade zones in Latin America, and defied the United States on many foreign policy issues, including developing closer ties with the anti-U.S. government of Iran.

Born in Sabaneta, he attended the Military Academy of Venezuela, graduating in 1975 as a second lieutenant. In 1982 he founded the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement (MBR), a secret nationalist movement committed to restoring Venezuela to its former prominence. He progressed through the ranks of the army, and in 1991 he became colonel of a paratrooper regiment.

II

Coup Leader

In February 1992 Chávez led a coup against President Carlos Andrés Pérez, who was accused of presiding over a corrupt regime that was squandering Venezuela’s vast oil wealth. After the coup failed, Chávez was imprisoned. However, his actions made him a popular hero among those who had become frustrated by government corruption. In 1994 President Rafael Caldera Rodríguez released Chávez under a general amnesty.

In July 1997 Chávez launched a political party, the Fifth Republican Movement (MVR). The MVR, as part of a coalition called the Patriotic Pole, nominated Chávez as its presidential candidate for the elections held in December 1998. He won 56 percent of the vote, proving especially popular among the poor, who were attracted by his radical proposals of constitutional reform and redistribution of oil wealth.

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III

President

Chávez was sworn in as president in February 1999. He advocated changing Venezuela’s constitution to deal with the country’s economic crisis and collapsing oil prices. In a constitutional referendum held in April, voters approved the election of a constituent assembly to write a new constitution. The constituent assembly was elected in July, with candidates from Chávez’s Patriotic Pole coalition winning most of the seats.

More than 70 percent of voters backed the new constitution in a referendum that December. The new constitution increased the powers of the president, and the presidential term was lengthened from five to six years. In July 2000 presidential and congressional elections were held under the new constitution. Chávez won the presidential election with 59 percent of the vote.

Almost immediately after his election, Chávez visited the heads of state of members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In the process he alienated the administration of United States president George W. Bush by making a state visit to Iraq in defiance of the U.S.-led sanctions against that country. As part of his policy to encourage closer integration among countries in Latin America, Chávez signed an agreement to supply cheap oil to Central American and Caribbean countries, as well as an economic accord with Fidel Castro, the president of Cuba. Domestically he became increasingly unpopular with the upper and middle classes due to his economic reforms and disputes with business leaders.

IV

Target of a Coup Attempt

In April 2002 military leaders forced Chávez from power in a coup d'état after at least 17 people were killed in a protest against his policies. The next day tens of thousands of people marched throughout the country to protest Chávez’s ouster. In response to the protests, the military returned Chávez to power less than three days after it had removed him. Chávez accused the Bush administration, which had extended recognition to the interim government, of supporting the coup.

Increasing social and political polarization in Venezuela followed Chávez’s return to power. A general strike that began in December 2002, with strong support from engineers and other white-collar workers at the state-owned oil monopoly, paralyzed the nation’s economy for nearly three months. When the devastating strike was finally lifted in February 2003, neither Chávez nor his political opponents could claim victory.

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