| WSJ Online has about the most even summary of the death of Oogo. |
With Mr. Chavéz just months into his fourth term, his death plunged Venezuela into political uncertainty. Vice President Nicolas Maduro will succeed Mr. Chavez as interim president, but must hold a new election within 30 days, according to the constitution. It seems likely Mr. Maduro will face off against opposition governor Henrique Capriles, who lost to Mr. Chavez in October's presidential election, but retained his governor's seat during an election in December.
Mr. Chavez's death is a blow to populist governments in the region, including those of Bolivia and Ecuador, which he led in a perennial campaign against American hegemony. His death could have major economic and political repercussions for Cuba, which receives billions in virtually free oil from Venezuela.
Domestically, Mr. Chavez leaves behind a deeply divided country with an economy in disarray, barely kept afloat by high oil prices.
For almost half his countrymen, Mr. Chavez was anathema, an authoritarian who fueled class hatred as he pursued what he called his Bolivarian Revolution. But for a majority of Venezuelans, Mr. Chavez was a messiah.
He was voted into power in 1998 on a tide of citizen disgust with the corruption of democratically elected politicians who had ruled Venezuela for three decades. He went on to dominate the country, which boasts the world's largest oil reserves, for the past 14 years, spending billions to create what he called "21st-century socialism."
A silver-tongued preacher-in-uniform, Mr. Chavez was the latest in a long line of military caudillos, or strongmen, who have left their mark in Latin America since the region gained independence from Spain and Portugal in the 19th century.
After failing to reach power through a military coup in 1992, Mr. Chavez proclaimed himself a democrat. But once in power, he proved difficult to remove. He changed the constitution twice to allow continuous re-election. He also used rhetoric to sharpen class divisions, pitting millions of poor Venezuelans against a prosperous middle and upper class, which he scornfully called "the squalid ones."
Mr. Chavez expropriated thousands of farms and businesses, and transformed the state oil company into a behemoth that did everything from build houses to distribute food. He saddled Venezuela with high inflation, some $80 billion in foreign debt despite high oil prices, and made it even more dependent on oil.
Mr. Chavez's biggest achievement, one even his detractors will admit, was to end the social and political exclusion of a large number of Venezuela's poor. He spent billions of dollars on his "Missions"--well-publicized educational, health and welfare programs aimed at the millions who live in cement-block slums on the hillsides surrounding Caracas and other cities.
Some studies have indicated that the programs have had little effect on reducing poverty or eliminating its structural factors. Crime in the barrios has risen and public schools remain far behind countries with comparable per-capita income.
| Much, much more; worth the read if you don't quite remember all the stunts Oogo pulled. WaPo summary here, skews moderately left. Daily Mail (UK) summary here; lots of 'people in the street' photos as is their style. Me? I'm pleased he's cavorting with Himmler right now. I pray for the people of Venezuela; they're in for a rough time. |