VENEZUELA: Determination and ambition paid off for Hugo Chavez, driving his rise from humble beginnings to the presidency

From a humble town in southwestern Venezuela to the Presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez hasn't always chosen the smoothest path in his quest for power. It took a childhood of rural simplicity, some hard knocks in the military, a failed coup attempt and two years in jail for the country's charismatic leader to finally take his place as Venezuela's President. The controversial leftist leader was born on July 28, 1954 into a working-class family in the sleepy rural village of Sabaneta located on the outskirts of the city of Barinas (located some 500 kilometres southwester of Caracas). Uninspired by the farming life and teeming with ambition, he pursued his secondary schooling in Barinas. Childhood friends remember Chavez fondly. Despite his position, he maintains friendships with some of his old classmates. Roger Rengil shared much of his youth with Chavez and told Reuters a little about the ambitious boy. "I've been a friend of the current president since we were small and we continue to be personal friends. We have enjoyed a very sincere friendship (of the type enjoyed by) good friends. We played baseball together all the time here and from a very young age, (Chavez) distinguished himself in being a person who liked to personify various figures, like Paez and Bolivar (South American independence heroes) in cultural events at his school. (He was) very advanced in terms of his studies, he always got about 19 or 20 (out of 20, the highest marks possible) in primary and secondary school and he was a great friend to his friends in his town," he said. Chavez's first secondary school teacher, Maria Eugenia Prieto remembers Chavez as a surprisingly quiet youngster. "I gave classes to Hugo (Chavez) in 1966, the year that I graduated. I came across him here (Sabaneta) in the school and he was studying his first year in class C. He was really a boy at that time, he was hardly 12 years old. He stood out for his serenity and for his tranquillity, (he was) a person really centred and very responsible. I would say that he was very mature for his age. He didn't stand out for being naughty or anything of the sort, but rather for his solidarity with his classmates," she said. Hard work and dedication have remained central to Chavez's personality and subsequent success. Academically he shined and later he rose through the ranks in the Venezuelan armed forces during a 17-year military career as a paratrooper, where he held operational, staffing and teaching positions. The serenity and tranquillity disappeared from Chavez's nature as he became increasingly ardent about the social injustice and corruption in his country. This, according to his students, was most clearly demonstrated through his passionate teaching style and his harsh criticism of Venezuelan government and society while teaching at the Military Academy. As he neared the end of his military career, he formed his Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement- 200 (MBR - 200) in order to transform his words into action. This party was primarily a military movement committed to overthrowing the regime of Carlos Andres Perez presiding over Venezuela at the time. On the back of an economic downturn and widespread discontent with the Venezuelan government in power in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, Chavez and his sympathisers within the MBR-200 saw their opportunity. They executed a military coup d'etat, which was some years in the making to topple Perez on February 4, 1992. It was not just a military approach, the idea too was to trigger a mass civilian uprising and "recruit" those who considered the regime to be corrupt and unrepresentative to help bring down the government. Despite significant civilian support which led Chavez's men to victory in three of Venezuela's main cities, Valencia, Maraciabo and Maracay, a series of mishaps occurred in Caracas to conspire against the coup. Sensing defeat, Chavez gave himself up to the authorities, who authorised him to appear on national television before going to jail to tell his rebel troops in other places to give up the fight. This was a fatal move by the opposition since this television statement made by Chavez heralded the beginning of "Chavism." Through his actions and his words, the rugged soldier had provided a glimmer of hope to Venezuelans unhappy with the political situation in their country. On surrendering, he gave the following orders to his troops and a more general call to the people of Venezuela. "Regrettably, for now, our stated objectives were not achieved in the capital city (Caracas). That is to say, that we in Caracas did not manage to control power. You (the battalions) did really well over there (in Maracay, Valencia and Maracaibo), but now it is time to avoid more bloodshed, now it is time to reflect and new situations will come and the country has to make a break (with the past and go) towards a better destination," he declared. Despite his sentence, Chavez clearly conveyed he had plans for Venezuela's future. Venezuela's next President, Rafael Caldera, pardoned Chavez and other coup prisoners in 1994. On release from jail, Chavez reinvigorated and changed the name of his political party to the Movement for the Fifth Republic, or MVR. Chavez devoted himself over the next four years to building up political support and ran for president in 1998 on a pro-poor ticket and one that promised to rid Venezuela of the corruption that had blighted politics there for so many years. He won support with his impassioned speaking style and promises of a fresh start for the South American country, in particular for the poor. "Now the time has arrived for the people of Venezuela (to make a change)," he roared to supporters at just one of his rallies in Caracas during that election campaign. He won the election in 1998 with 56% of the vote and took office in February 1999. He pledged to change the constitution, something he made very clear during his inauguration ceremony. "I swear in the name of God, in the name of the motherland, in the name of my people that above this moribund constitution I will complete and I will drive the democratic transformations necessary so that the new republic has a magna carta (constitution) adequate for today. I swear," he said as his inauguration oath. The new constitution changed the country's name to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, increased the presidential term of office from five to six years with the possibility of having two-terms in office. It also made a clause for a recall referendum as a means to remove presidents from office if they are ineffective before the end of the presidential term. But Chavez still hadn't faced his greatest challenge. His following years as president would prove difficult, marked by great highs and deep lows, and require him to call on the determination, ambition and passion that had launched his presidency. PROFILES BACKGROUNDERS BACKGROUND FEATURES

ITN Source | December 2, 2006

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