VARIOUS: As Fidel Castro ails, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stands poised to become new champion of the left in Latin America

"Long live Fidel Castro" has often been a rallying cry for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, but after the Cuban leader ceded power on July 31, pundits are debating Chavez's role as his heir on the world stage. With his message of socialist revolution, Chavez has carved out a place as a player willing to take on Washington by flexing his oil muscle to tame U.S. "imperialism" and offer energy deals as a sweetener for Latin American neighbors. Castro and Chavez have prospered from a recent left-wing resurgence in Latin America and there are parallels between the aging Cuban rebel and the former army officer who led a failed coup six years before his 1998 election. Like his mentor, Chavez repeats the mantra "Fatherland or death - we shall overcome." While many see Chavez as a new voice for social justice and anti-U.S. sentiment, Cuba and Latin America experts question whether he has the political weight to become an icon like Fidel. Some say he is more of a poster boy than a serious contender to Fidel's crown. "Without a doubt, Chavez's search is the search to lead countries that are a little more irreverent, especially regarding the United States. So, in that sense, one could say that Chavez is looking to be this irreverent leader, the naughty child who somehow captures the attention of those countries who want to show somehow that they're more independent or that are looking for more of a multi-polar world," said Luis Vicente Leon, a Venezuelan political analyst, in a recent interview. Chavez calls Castro the father of Latin American socialism and often meets with the Cuban leader. And the relationship has benefitted Cuba - Venezuelan petroleum has played a key part in reviving the economic fortunes of the Communist-run Caribbean island. Chavez' tough talk with Washington and alliance with Cuba have resonated in Latin America, where popular discontent with U.S. free trade deals is fervent. Venezuelan oil has helped pay for medical care and literacy for thousands in the region. "One dollar is the following. Who will last longer here, you in the White House or me in Miraflores?" said Chavez in a speech in 2005. He has often taunted those he viewed as lackeys of Washington. "My friend (former Peruvian president) Toledo reminded me of a song, the one that says: 'You are so much like (George) Bush that you can't deceive me." Hailed as a hero by indigenous movements and applauded by left-wing literati in Europe, Chavez presents his "Bolivarian revolution" -- named after South American liberation hero Simon Bolivar -- as a model for regional left-wing solidarity. Analyst Leon said Chavez was in some ways trying to embody the old Castro. "Like it or not, he's a leader who was elected by the people, constitutionally, recognized by the UN, with an active American embassy and an ambassador in Caracas. So all these elements are elements that many take advantage of and Chavez also takes advantage of them. So in this sense we could say that Chavez is looking to consolidate this irreverent leadership that, in the past, was embodied by Fidel," said Leon. Chavez is popular at home as he pumps on oil cash windfall into programs for the poor even while he fends off critics who say he has slowly eroded democracy by controlling courts, the electoral authority and threatening private property rights. Overseas his influence has grown too, but he has also demonstrated his limits, analysts say. His open backing of a Peruvian nationalist presidential candidate backfired when voters saw his support as meddling in Peru's affairs. Perhaps it is in his deteriorating relations with Washington where Chavez most parallels his Cuban ally. U.S. officials have branded Chavez a authoritarian threat to the region, accusing him of using his oil wealth to spread an anti-democratic message. U.S. officials recently slapped sanctions on Caracas for its ties to Cuba and Iran. With Fidel ailing as he reaches his 80th birthday, some analysts say Chavez will become an increasingly key figure in Latin America as Castro fades - while wielding less political influence than Castro in his hey day. "An inheritance while still alive, no? In other words, right now, Fidel Castro is nothing more than a very abstract figure. Chavez is much more concrete. He (Chavez) has money, he's completely (physically) active, he controls a strong (national) energy industry and he's become something of a -- what I would call a Mickey Mouse in reverse. In other words, many (people) want to take photographs with him to show-- especially to Bush or the United States-- that they can meet with whomever they deem convenient without necessarily being exactly like him," said Leon. Chavez' relationship with Washington is complicated by oil which entangles the two economies. Despite the harsh rhetoric, Venezuela still sells most of its petroleum to the U.S. market and U.S. companies do a thriving business in Venezuela. Still, oil has also given Chavez economic leverage that Castro never had even during his prime. An OPEC member, Venezuela is the world's No. 5 crude exporter and Chavez has made the most of the huge revenues filling his state coffers. U.S. Republican Congressman and nephew of Fidel Castro, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, insists Chavez is a puppet of Fidel. "Castro has puppets, Evo Morales and Hugo Chavez, those are puppets. In fact, they are colonies more than puppets. And it's really a pathetic kind of situation, because before the Soviet Union would help Castro and provide him with billions of dollars and also sent him orders, requests for him to do. In the case of Chavez, Chavez sends him also billions of dollars that he takes from his own people, and then he asks for orders." With petroleum prices touching record highs, Latin America struggling to combat poverty and the Bush administration finding little footing in Latin America, Chavez looks likely to remain the darling of the left for sometime to come - the question remains as to whether he will endure as long as his idol, Fidel.

ITN Source | August 13, 2006

Tags:. .thriving. .poised. .ails. .ailing. .toledo