VENEZUELA: Venezuelan President has spent the past six years taking his Bolivarian vision beyond Venezuela and shows no signs of stopping if he wins reelection

Fourteen years ago, Hugo Chavez exploded onto the world stage leading a doomed coup attempt against Venezuela's President Carlos Andres Perez. As the young paratrooper languished in jail for the next two years with little more than a vision, many thought they'd seen the last of him. They couldn't have been more wrong. Today, Chavez is one of the world's most famous leaders and goes into the upcoming presidential election with overwhelming support. He has allied himself with Fidel Castro, positioned himself as the new face of the Latin American left and reveled in his role as a thorn in the side of the U.S. government. He travels the world regularly, trying to take his Bolivarian vision beyond Venezuela's borders. Chavez's Bolivarian dream is named for the Venezuelan revolutionary Simon Bolivar, who is credited with leading the fights for independence in Venezuela and other Latin American countries. Chavez himself defines his revolution as "socialism for the 21st century". It is marked by his implementation of social programmes to help the poor, fierce anti-capitalist rhetoric and criticism of imperialism. He has also put significant effort into forging regional ties to make Latin America a strong force that can stand up to the U.S. "Let's unite the republics that were once (part of the Spanish and Portuguese empires) in a block, a pact for a republic, for the equilibrium of the universe (i.e. to create a multi-polar world). We have been (fighting) this battle for more than 200 years and we will win!" he once said, showing his passion for regional integration. Chavez rose to power on a pro-poor ticket and a desire to do away with the elitist two-party system that he claimed governed for the wealthy in his native Venezuela. He has won popular appeal domestically with high spending on the long-disenfranchised poor. Buoyed by high oil prices, Chavez has invested in social programmes, bringing some benefits, like free healthcare and education, to the majority poor for the first time and subsidizing food and medicines so that life for this group is affordable. He is currently in the midst of an infrastructure spending spree, having recently opened various train and metro projects, a bridge linking Venezuela to Brazil and a reservoir. This redistribution of Venezuela's wealth to benefit the poor and the anti-U.S. stance is applauded elsewhere in Latin America. But Chavez has also gained popularity with other Latin American leaders by letting his neighbours have a share of his oil wealth and investing in infrastructure projects. This has been met by harsh criticism at home from those who argue that this money should first be spent on battling poverty in Venezuela, not to buy political influence in the region. Chavez's handouts know no borders and he has even established a project to provide poor U.S. neighborhoods with affordable heating oil. Residents of a New York City apartment complex received discounted heating oil last year as the U.S. refining and retailing arm of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA Citgo Petroleum launched a programme to assist low-income U.S. citizens. This year, Chavez announced he would increase the programme to include several additional states, supplying oil at 40 percent off the retail price. Chavez has also invested in Uruguay by buying the country's Bandes bank. Uruguay also boasts a newly refurbished hospital paid for by the Venezuelan government, and the state oil company, ANCAP, has Venezuela as its largest shareholder. Uruguay is by no means alone as Chavez offers his cash in exchange for support for his plans for regional economic and political integration. His fellow leftist president in Bolivia, Evo Morales has received much support from the Chavez government especially through investments in the energy sector. A regional analyst, Elsa Cardozo, talked to Reuters about this trend. "Without a doubt there has been a very important strengthening of ties between the Venezuelan government and those countries (Latin American states) and the countries of the Caribbean. This has manifested itself in a (large) quantity of agreements and business, aid initiatives and energy cooperation which are important factors (in order to secure) support from those countries for Venezuela," she said. But Chavez's attempts to gain support have shown signs of weakness lately. For example, during campaigning for Peru's recent presidential election, Chavez openly supported leftist candidate Ollanta Humala to no avail. Humala lost in the second round on June 4 and Chavez received some harsh criticism from the eventual victor, Alan Garcia. "We are going to oppose him. Here Chavez and his model and his money don't enter. We Peruvians are going to answer this despot in a resounding way on June 4 because Peru has the right to sovereignty," Garcia said before the vote. Chavez also drew much criticism worldwide after a fiery speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September. "I think that the first people to read this book should be our brothers and sisters in the United States because the threat is in their own house. The devil is in the house. The devil is in the house. Yesterday, the devil was here. The devil was here yesterday - in this exact spot. It still smells of sulfur," he told the crowd. Although his words received some applause, they also were scorned by many of the world's leading nations. Michael Shifter of the Washington-based Inter-American dialogue said that Chavez may have to watch his words more carefully in the future. "His style, his rhetoric went too far, and this has always been one of the major issues, major questions raised about Chavez. Did he overreach? He clearly is feeling his oats because of the money that he has and because of his support in Venezuela with a very weak opposition and because he's been making deals all over the world, globetrotting. He's feeling very confident," Shifter said. Venezuela also suffered defeat in November when it failed to win a rotating non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in a race against Guatemala. Voting went on in round after round, with neither country garnering the necessary number of votes. Eventually, they settled on the compromise candidate of Panama. Still, Chavez's following remains strong in rich and poor nations. He has taken his message to countries throughout the world, including Libya, Iran, Russia, Algeria, India and Syria. He has received a warm welcome from many leaders and citizens. In a tour to the U.K. in which he snubbed Tony Blair for his close ties to the U.S., Chavez was greeted with rapturous applause from the U.K. public, no doubt pleased to see someone speaking out against the U.S. and trying to do his bit for the poor. He visited the London Mayor, Ken Livingstone with an offer to supply the poor in Britain with cheap heating oil in the winter and to fuel London buses, mirroring the controversial programme in the U.S. Chavez has also visited China numerous times. In his most recent trip he met with President Hu Jintao to secure investments in oil production and shipping. Chavez's role on the world stage shows no signs of abating if he wins reelection. His words continue to reflect his interest in winning allies - politically and economically - to help spread his Bolivarian dream beyond Venezuela.

ITN Source | December 6, 2006

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