This Tuesday, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez died at the age of 58 after a long battle against cancer. Thousands of supporters gathered in Caracas Wednesday to say their final goodbyes at the funeral procession, demonstrating the great fervor and fascination Chávez was able to create during his leadership. Part of Chávez’s ability to gain such enthusiastic support among his countrymen was his movement to change Venezuelans’ opinion of themselves, supporting the poor and making them feel as though they were a part of a democratic system. He also added thousands of homes in areas with significant shortages and founded a hospital with free services. Chávez claimed to be a socialist, but often changed policies to benefit himself, regardless of the affects to the poor and the economy. Thus, this excitement over his leadership was quite divisive. Many have fought against his rule, claiming that even the programs he created to help the poor have been ineffective or slow-paced, preventing the benefits they were meant to produce. [1]
Before his death, Chávez pronounced his support for his vice president, Nicolás Maduro, as the next presidential candidate; Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader, was elected interim president until elections are held in April for the position to finish out the remaining years of Chávez’ six-year term. [3] Maduro’s opposition is Henrique Capriles Radonski, who lost to Chávez in the recent October election by only eleven percentage points. Maduro is expected to win, especially through the use of government resources to attract voters and spread awareness of his campaign. [2]
In William Neuman’s article for “The New York Times,” on Chávez’s transformative politics, he quotes a woman whose town experienced extreme devastation after a series of mudslides in 1999. Even though the town has received little help in the past 13 years and once-beautiful neighborhoods have been vacated, she still remained loyal to Chávez. His ability to make the poor feel that they had a place in the democracy of their nation defined a new Venezuela. Even though there may not be agreement over his success or lack of success, his belief in giving the poor a voice is clearly being celebrated as his death marks the start of a new and continually divided Venezuela. [1]
[1] William Neuman for “The New York Times” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/world/americas/for-good-or-ill-chavez-altered-how-venezuela-views-itself.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=world
[2] William Neuman for “The New York Times”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/world/americas/venezuela-election-set-for-april.html?ref=americas
[3] Kejal Vyas and Ezequiel Minaya for “The Wall Street Journal”