CHAVES FRIAS, HUGO RAPHAEL (Chavez Frias, Hugo Rafael) (1954-2013), Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela.
Hugo Chavez was born in Sabaneta on July 28, 1954. His parents were school teachers. From 1971 to 1975 he studied at the Military Academy of Venezuela. He graduated with the rank of junior lieutenant.
He served in the airborne units. He was fond of reading the literature of leftist theorists: K. Marx, V. Lenin and Mao Zedong.
In the 1980s, he organized an underground organization called COMACATE, and later, on the basis of this organization, the underground Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement (MBR-Movimiento Bolivariano Revolucionario) was also created.
There has been some economic recovery since 1990, partly as a result of feverish privatization; in 1991 economic growth reached 10%, and in 1992 - 9%. However, by the end of 1992, growth had slowed down and inflation remained at 30%.
The crisis in the country continued to deepen. There was an outflow of capital, a number of banks declared their insolvency. Criminality rose sharply, in overcrowded prisons every now and then there were prison riots. Ex-President Jaime Lusinci, accused of corruption in 1993, was acquitted, but former President Perez was placed under house arrest, and in 1996 the Supreme Court found him guilty of misappropriating public funds.
Chavez spent two years in prison after his failed coup attempt, was released and set about building his own electorate, appealing for support mainly from the poor. His supporters united in the so-called "Fifth Republic Movement" (DPR). Chavez's candidacy in the December 1998 presidential elections was supported, in addition to the DPR, by the IAU and a coalition of small left-wing groups.
In the parliamentary elections in November 1998, the Patriotic Pole coalition, which supported Chávez, as part of his Fifth Republic Movement (DPR), the Movement to Socialism (MAS), the Motherland for All and Other Groups party, won about 34% of the vote and won 76 of 189 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 17 of 48 Senate seats. DD remained the largest of the individual parties (55 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 19 in the Senate). KOPEI received only 27 deputy and 7 senate seats. In the elections for governors of the states and the metropolitan area, the Patriotic Pole and DD each won 8 posts, KOPEY - 5.
The presidential elections that followed in December 1998 turned out to be a real political earthquake. They showed the decline of the influence of DD and KOPEI, which dominated the country for almost 40 years. Their rule resulted in corruption, increased poverty and a sharp deterioration in basic public services, including health and education. Despite Venezuela's oil wealth, more than 80% of the population lived in poverty, 40% even below the subsistence level. The economic recession, which began as a result of falling oil prices, mistakes in financial policy and political instability, led to a drop in the gross domestic product in 1998 by 0.7% (in 1999 the crisis continued, despite the fact that oil prices rose again).
In the wake of general discontent, the victory in the presidential election was won by Hugo Chavez (56.2% of the vote), who far surpassed his rivals - banker and former governor Enrique Salas Roemer (39.9%) and "Miss Universe 1981" Irene Saez (2.8% ). The traditional parties DD and KOPEI refused to nominate their own candidates and expressed support for Salas.
After taking office on February 2, 1999, Hugo Chávez refused to swear an oath on the 1961 constitution, declaring it "dead." He announced his intention to achieve the adoption of a new constitution, which was supposed to provide for a deep reform of the entire political, legal and economic system, on the fight against poverty and corruption. Chavez announced the start of a "peaceful revolution" and threatened to dissolve the Congress and the Supreme Court if they resisted the planned reforms.
Chavez's socio-economic policy did not provide for a fundamental rejection of market mechanisms, the "austerity" regime and economic orientation towards the United States, did not imply the nationalization of the main industries and finance. At the same time, the new authorities sought to increase government interference in the economic and social sphere. Chavez put into effect the Bolivar Plan 2000, according to which 70,000 military personnel and 80,000 civil servants were sent to projects for infrastructure development, health care, agricultural education and road construction. At the same time, the government continued the course of further cuts in government spending, including for social needs, limited the increase in wages in the public sector, so that it lagged significantly behind the growth of inflation, introduced a tax on banking operations, etc.
The coming to power of Chavez led to a sharp polarization of political forces. A bitter struggle broke out between his authoritarian regime and the old party, legal, business and trade union elites. The President immediately launched an offensive against the legislative and judicial authorities of Venezuela. On February 17, 1999, he demanded the adoption of a law granting him emergency powers. At the end of March, Congress was forced to recognize the president's right to legislative measures to improve the budget for a period of 180 days, and on April 15 - after Chavez's threats to declare a state of emergency - additional emergency powers in the field of the economy.
In April 1999, Chavez held a referendum, during which 90% of the participants (only 47% of voters voted) spoke in favor of convening a Constituent Assembly to develop a new constitution for the country. Congregational elections were held in July; 120 of the 128 seats (three more seats were reserved for Indian communities) were won by the president's supporters, and he was re-confirmed in office. The Supreme Court tried to limit the powers of the Constituent Assembly by ruling that it had no right to dissolve democratically elected bodies. However, on August 12, the meeting, ignoring the opinion of the courts, announced that it had assumed emergency powers to reform state bodies, and on August 19, it introduced a "state of emergency" in the field of justice. It also decided to investigate the activities of all judicial instances of the country, including the Supreme Court, and to purge them of those involved in corruption. After that, the resistance of the Supreme Court was broken, and its chairman Cecilia Sosa Gomez resigned. The authorities have opened cases against 75 judges at various levels on charges of abuse of office and corruption.
Now the main blow of the Chavez government was directed at the oppositional National Congress. On August 25, 1999, the Constituent Assembly decided to strip Congress of legislative powers; its sessions were banned and a commission was appointed to investigate the activities of deputies and senators. The acuteness of the conflict was mitigated by the mediation of the Catholic Church (Hugo Chavez himself is a deeply religious Catholic). According to the compromise reached, the Congress was able to resume its sessions on October 1, 1999, but was essentially forced to accept its own powerless position. The Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit of the parliamentarians, who sought the repeal of the emergency laws passed by the Constituent Assembly. Finally, both the assembly and Congress approved the text of the new constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and on December 15 it was approved by a popular referendum. The provisions contained in the text, providing for the expansion of state intervention in the economy, caused discontent among business organizations.
Following the entry into force of the constitution in January 2000, the Constituent Assembly was dissolved and replaced by an interim congressional committee until a new election.
The next conflict arose between the Chávez government and the press. The authorities ordered the closure of an opposition television magazine, sparking violent protests from journalists who accused the regime of violating press freedom. Venezuela's private television channels have openly opposed the president.
The presidential election on July 30, 2000, was won by a large margin by Hugo Chávez, who received more than 59% of the votes and began his new term on August 19. The president's main rival this time was his former comrade-in-arms in the 1992 military uprising, Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Arias Cardenas, who has now gone over to opposition against Chavez. Having united around himself opponents of the incumbent president, Arias Cardenas collected more than 37% of the vote. 3% went to another opposition candidate, Claudio Fermina. The Patriotic Pole also won parliamentary and gubernatorial elections, winning 99 seats in the National Assembly and 13 governorships.
The economic situation in the country was aggravated by rising unemployment, falling living standards and capital flight abroad. Civil servants and trade unions responded with massive protests and threats of strikes.
In the field of foreign policy, Chavez strove to expand contacts with oil-producing countries and establish cooperation with Cuba, but at the same time he did not want to deteriorate relations with the United States, the main consumer of Venezuelan oil.
Throughout 2001, the confrontation between President Chávez and his opponents from among the old elites grew, and the following year turned into open confrontation. The dissatisfaction of some of the highest military circles increased, some of which publicly called on Chavez to resign. In April 2002, the government replaced the entire leadership of the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, in response to opposition leaders of the Venezuelan Confederation of Workers calling for an indefinite general strike. The speech of the oil workers and trade unions was supported by the unions of entrepreneurs. After clashes broke out in Caracas between hundreds of thousands of supporters and opponents of the president, during which there were dozens of killed and wounded, the commanders of the military branches staged a military coup on April 11; Chavez was forced to resign and was arrested. The rebel generals appointed the president of the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Associations (the largest association of entrepreneurs), Pedro Carmona, at the head of the transitional government. However, most of the army remained loyal to the president, in addition, many hundreds of thousands of his supporters took to the streets, mobilized by the Bolivarian Committees, mainly in the poor quarters of the cities. As a result of the counter-coup, Chavez returned to power; his leading opponents were arrested.
The failure of the April coup did not end the political crisis in Venezuela. During the year, the opposition, taking advantage of rising economic difficulties and inflation, organized four general strikes against the government of President Chávez. The largest of them began in early December 2002 and lasted more than 2 months. The protests were organized by the leaders of the trade union Confederation of Workers of Venezuela and the political bloc Democratic Coordination. They demanded the resignation of Chavez and a referendum on his presidency. But this strike (like the previous one, in October 2003) ended in failure.
In 2004, a referendum was held, in which the main issue was the question of confidence in the president of the country. Over 59% of the population supported Chavez that he should remain in office.
Chavez has strengthened cooperation with Cuba, as an understanding arose that it was necessary to unite against the imperialist encirclement. In 2006, Chavez coined the term "Axis of Good" and he tried to consolidate countries such as Cuba and Bolivia. Later, Iran, Nicaragua, and Belarus joined the axis of good as potential allies.
December 4, 2006 means Hugo Chavez in the next presidential election again won a convincing victory over the candidate from the Venezuelan opposition, the governor of the state. Zulia M. Rosales.
In early January 2007, Hugo Chávez announced the nationalization of Venezuela's largest telecommunications and electricity companies, Compania Nacional de Telefonos de Venezuela (CANTV) and EdC, controlled by American firms.
On January 18, 2007, the country's parliament adopted a law granting Hugo Chavez extraordinary legislative powers for the next year and a half.
The next presidential elections were held on October 7, 2012. 6 candidates took part in the presidential race. The largest number of votes were received by Hugo Chavez (55.26%) and Enrique Capriles Radonski, the single opposition candidate (approx. 45%). Chavez was re-elected president of the country for the fourth time.
After re-election, Chavez changed the composition of the government. He appointed Nicolas Maduro, a former foreign minister, as vice president.
Several months before the elections, Hugo Chavez underwent several operations. he was diagnosed with cancer. After his re-election, he underwent treatment in Cuba and, in fact, the country was led by a vice president. Chavez realized the seriousness of his situation, therefore, in one of his speeches, he announced N. Maduro's successor, in case early elections were necessary.
Chavez died on March 5, 2013 in Venezuela after prolonged treatment, including in Cuba, from cancer.
]. In 1982 (according to other sources - while studying at the academy), Chavez founded the underground organization COMACATE (an abbreviation made up of the first and second letters in the names of middle and junior officers) with his colleagues. COMACATE was later transformed into the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement (Movimiento Bolivariano Revolucionario), named after the hero of the Latin American War of Independence, Simon Bolivar,.
In February 1992, Lt. Col. Chavez led a military coup against Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez, unpopular due to high levels of corruption and government spending cuts. The uprising, which killed 18 people and injured 60, was suppressed by the government. Chavez surrendered to the authorities and was placed in a military prison. In November 1992, Chavez's associates undertook a new, again unsuccessful, coup attempt. Chavez spent two years in prison, in 1994 he was released under an amnesty,,,. He reorganized his supporters into the Fifth Republic Movement (Movimiento V Republica) and moved from armed struggle to legal political activity.
In 1998, Chavez ran for president under the slogan of fighting corruption. At that time, he refrained from radical political rhetoric, and the reform program he proposed was not revolutionary. In the elections on December 6, 1998, Chavez won, gaining 56.5 percent of the vote,,,. The Chávez government's policy included a number of large-scale social programs, including the creation of universal education and health systems. The government established tight control over the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, whose profits were directed to the needs of society: the construction of hospitals and schools, the fight against illiteracy, the implementation of agrarian reform and others. Having thus won the support of the poor majority of the population, Chavez began to nationalize enterprises in various industries.
In 1999, Venezuela's new constitution was adopted, which increased the presidential term from five to six years. In the ensuing presidential elections on July 30, 2000, Chávez won 60 percent of the vote. In the subsequent period, the political course of Chavez, called "the Bolivarian movement towards socialism", shifted to the left. The President made harsh statements against the "predatory oligarchs" - the leaders of the oil industry, as well as the hierarchs of the Catholic Church and opposition journalists. In foreign policy, Chavez took an anti-American position. In 2001, he condemned the US military operation in Afghanistan. According to the Venezuelan president, the Americans themselves used terrorist methods to fight terrorism. It is quite natural that in the attempt to overthrow Chavez in 2002, many, including the Venezuelan leader himself, blamed the United States,.
On April 11, 2002, as a result of a coup d'état, Chavez was deprived of power, but already on April 14 he returned to the presidency with the support of loyal army units and numerous supporters. Until April 14, the state was headed by Pedro Carmona Estanga. He dissolved parliament, suspended the work of the Attorney General and State Comptroller, and repealed legislation passed during the Chavez presidency that redistributed part of the national wealth in favor of the poor. The United States readily welcomed the coup "beneficial to Venezuelan democracy." When Chavez returned to power, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice advised the Venezuelan president to learn from recent events. After 2002, the opposition tried to fight Chavez with constitutional methods. In 2004, opponents of the president secured a referendum on confidence in the country's leadership. The majority of Venezuelans (more than 59 percent) then supported the president, and his power only strengthened.
Anti-Americanism and anti-globalism have become Chavez's trademarks. Under his leadership, Venezuela began to claim leadership in the US opposition in the Western Hemisphere. According to press reports, the Venezuelan government provided assistance to Colombian guerrillas, spent considerable sums on aid to other Latin American states, opposed the creation of a Free Trade Area of \u200b\u200bthe Americas (FTAA). Moreover, Chavez tried to win sympathy within the United States itself. His American opponents argued that Venezuela was allocating funds to lobby for its interests in Congress. Groups of supporters of the Venezuelan president have emerged in the United States. Chavez has agreed to supply at a reduced price fuel oil for low-income areas in the north of the United States.
Chavez's attacks on the United States won sympathy around the world. The Americans could not help but outraged the list of foreign friends of Chavez, the alliance with which he called the "axis of good": Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Bolivian President Evo Morales, Cuban President Fidel Castro,. Venezuela has developed particularly friendly relations with Cuba. Chavez sold energy resources to the island state at low prices and provided it with economic assistance. Castro responded by sending numerous Cuban specialists to Venezuela, in particular doctors, who played an important role in the implementation of the social programs of the Chavez government.
On August 22, 2005, there was a scandalous incident associated with the name of Chavez. On this day, the American "televangelist" Pat Robertson publicly called on the US authorities to assassinate Chavez, which could turn Venezuela into a "springboard for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism" on the American continent. Although Chavez himself expressed indifference to the incident, other Venezuelan officials demanded that the US authorities hold Robertson to account. A spokesman for the US State Department said that Robertson, as an individual, has the right to any kind of speech, stressing that the official position of the United States does not correspond to the opinion of the preacher.
In July 2006, Chavez paid a visit to Russia, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two countries have entered into important agreements. First, an agreement was reached on the supply of Russian weapons and military aircraft to Venezuela. Secondly, a partnership was planned in the energy field: in particular, it was planned to develop new oil fields in Venezuela with the participation of the Russian company Lukoil.
Chavez's speech at a meeting of the UN General Assembly in September 2006 was widely known: the Venezuelan leader called US President George W. Bush a devil and predicted the collapse of the "American empire". During the 2006 election campaign, which Chavez led under the slogan "in the name of love" (por amor), he promised his "main rival" Bush - "Mr. Devil" that "candidates from imperialism will be ground to dust."
Before the 2006 elections, Venezuelan society was divided. Chávez's supporters, who are in the majority among Venezuelans and who mostly come from the poor, saw him as a pro-poor leader. The president's opponents accused him of populism, inclination to autocracy and attempts to imitate the communist regime of Cuba,,,,. Although Chavez's opponent, the governor of the oil-producing state of Zulia, Manuel Rosales, managed to rally the disparate opposition forces into a single whole, in the elections on December 3, 2006, Chavez prevailed,,,,.
Even before the official announcement of the results of the vote, Rosales admitted defeat, and Chavez began to celebrate the victory, which he dedicated to his friend Castro, and proclaimed the beginning of a new era of the socialist revolution,,,,,,. Before the elections, Chavez announced plans to amend the Venezuelan constitution, allowing the president to be re-elected an unlimited number of times,,,. Taking the presidential oath of office on January 10, 2007, Chavez pledged to carry out intensive socialist transformations in Venezuela, including the nationalization of the largest energy and telecommunications companies.
Later in January 2007, Parliament granted Chavez expanded powers for a year and a half. The President got the opportunity to govern the country with the help of decrees, bypassing the legislative branch. The promised nationalization of corporations in key industries began in February. Venezuela bought the assets of the largest energy company Electricidad de Caracas (EDC) from the American AES Corporation. An agreement was signed to purchase shares of the telecommunications giant CANTV, owned by the American Verizon Communications.
On May 1, 2007, Chavez announced the suspension of Venezuela's cooperation with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The president called the reason for this step a desire to distance himself from international institutions controlled by the United States. At the end of June, the Venezuelan leader visited Russia again. As in the previous time, the main topics of the visit were purchases of Russian arms by Venezuela and cooperation between the two countries in the oil and gas industry.
In July 2007, Chavez announced his intention to submit to parliament a bill that would allow Venezuela's president to be re-elected an unlimited number of times. Chavez explained that citizens should not be deprived of the right to choose the leader they like as many times as they want.
On December 2, 2007, the citizens of Venezuela did not support the constitutional amendments proposed by Chavez. In total, 69 amendments were submitted to the referendum: in addition to abolishing the limitation on the number of presidential terms of office, it was supposed, for example, to increase the term of office of the head of state from six to seven years, abolish the autonomy of the Central Bank of Venezuela, grant voting rights to sixteen-year-old citizens and introduce a six-hour working day. At the same time, Chavez initiated only 33 amendments, united in the "A" block, while the other 36 amendments, united in the "B" block, were proposed by the parliament. As a result of the referendum, the first block of reforms was supported by only 49.3 percent of voters, and the second - by 48.9 percent; respectively, 50.7 and 51.1 percent of voters voted against.
Despite the defeat in the referendum, Chavez continued to consolidate power. Back in 2006, he announced the creation of a new party, which, together with the Chavez-led Movement of the Fifth Republic, were to include other parties supporting the "Bolivarian movement towards socialism." The first congress of the new party, called the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, PSUV), was held in January-March 2008. The new political organization was headed by Chavez himself, calling it "the party of social struggle and defense of the fatherland",.
In February 2008, after the declaration of independence of Kosovo, Chavez announced that he would not recognize the sovereignty of this republic, adding that such steps are aimed at weakening Russia, destabilizing the region and creating a number of dangerous precedents. According to Chavez, the United States also provoked unrest in Tibet in order to spoil the PRC's image on the eve of the Olympic Games.
In June 2008, following an operation by the Colombian military against the guerrilla organization Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Chavez invited the FARC leaders to release the hostages and lay down their arms.
Chavez was on the side of Russia during the conflict in South Ossetia in August 2008 (later in the media this conflict was referred to as the "five-day war"). Chavez said that he supports Russia's recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, approved on August 26 by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, but did not say whether Venezuela is going to recognize the independence of the republics. Chavez also accused the United States of escalating the conflict.
In January 2009, in response to Israel's armed operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Venezuela expelled the Israeli ambassador from the country, while Chavez called the Israeli actions aggression and announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Israel. Bolivia has also taken similar steps. In response, Israel expelled the Venezuelan embassy from the country.
In early 2009, Chávez announced that he intended to run an author's column, Chavez's Lines, in a number of Venezuelan newspapers, the first of which was dedicated to Chavez's favorite sport, baseball. According to experts, Chavez decided to take up journalism, imitating Fidel Castro.
In January 2009, it became known that a referendum was scheduled for February 15 of the same year to abolish the limitation on the number of terms of office for the President of Venezuela and other elective offices. A similar proposal failed in a referendum in 2007, but this time the proposal to change the constitution was supported by 55 percent of voters, thereby giving Chavez the right to run for a third six-year term in the next presidential elections in 2012. It is noteworthy that representatives of the US Department of State said that the referendum in Venezuela met all democratic norms,,,.
On September 10, 2009, during an official visit to Russia, Chavez announced that Venezuela would recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. In response, Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili said that Chavez was a marginalized person and his statement would have no consequences. On September 15, 2009, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry handed over a government note on the official recognition of Abkhazia's sovereignty.
In 2009, an El Niño triggered a drought in Venezuela, which led to a critical drop in the water level in the reservoirs of hydroelectric power plants, which generate about 75 percent of the country's electricity. Because of this, power outages increased in Venezuelan cities, and the metro in Caracas worked intermittently. In retaliation, Chavez demanded that residents of the country save electricity: in particular, he suggested not playing football at night, washing with cold water in a shower for no more than three minutes and not using air conditioning. However, according to critics, the reason for the power outages was the nationalization of the country's energy complex, since the Chavez government did not take measures to modernize it. In February 2010, due to power outages, Chavez announced an "electrical crisis" and called on the population and businesses to reduce their electricity consumption under the threat of sanctions and tariff increases. In January 2011, Chavez announced that the crisis had been overcome, however, even after that, the media wrote about problems with the supply of electricity in the country.
In June 2011, Chavez underwent surgery in one of the Cuban clinics. On June 30, the president admitted that during the operation he had a cancerous tumor removed. In mid-July of the same year, Chavez again went to Cuba to undergo chemotherapy. Before treatment, he transferred some of his powers to the country's vice-president Elias Jaua and the finance minister Jorge Giordani.
After the end of the treatment course, in August 2011, Chavez announced the nationalization of the gold mining industry in Venezuela: until his decree, the largest company operating in this sector in the country was a Canadian firm with Russian capital Rusoro Mining. In December 2011, her representatives reported that the Venezuelan government had not approached her with proposals for a joint venture or compensation, and promised to file a complaint with international arbitration. In addition, in August 2011, Chavez announced the return to the country of the gold reserve, which was kept in banks in Europe and the United States (the bulk of which is in the UK). In total, it was reported that the Central Bank of Venezuela intended to repatriate from 160 to 218 tons of gold, and place part of its gold and foreign exchange reserves in banks in China, Russia and Brazil.
Meanwhile, the course of treatment that Chávez underwent in the summer of 2011 turned out to be insufficient: in February 2012, doctors in Cuba performed another operation on him to remove a tumor.
On June 11, 2012, Chavez registered as a candidate for the upcoming October 7, 2012 presidential elections in Venezuela, his main rival was the single opposition candidate, former Governor of Miranda State Henrique Capriles. On the eve, Chavez announced his complete recovery. "Over the past few days here in Venezuela, I underwent computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and all the results are absolutely normal after the operation and courses of radiation therapy," RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
In the October 7, 2012 presidential elections in Venezuela, Chavez was re-elected for a new six-year term, gaining 54.4 percent of the vote. Capriles was supported by 44.9 percent of the voters.
Chavez has been married twice. With his first wife, Nancy Colmenares, he divorced in 1992, after which he began to live with his mistress - Herma Marksman. His second wife was journalist Marisabel Rodríguez Oropeza. Marisabelle helped Chávez create the 1999 constitution, but filed for divorce in 2002 and denounced her ex-husband's reforms in 2007. Chavez has three children from his first marriage: Rosa Virginia, Maria Gabriela and Hugo Rafael and one daughter from the second - Rosines.
Used materials
Ewan Robertson... Chavez Wins Venezuelan Presidential Election with 54% of the Vote. - Venezuelanalysis.com, 07.10.2012
Hugo Chavez registers for Venezuela "s election. - BBC News, 11.06.2012
Dmitry Znamensky... Chavez announced his recovery a year after the first operation. - RIA News, 10.06.2012
Andrew Cawthorne... Ignore rumors, Venezuela says in Chavez cancer saga. - Reuters, 29.02.2012
Daniel Cancel... Rusoro May Turn to Arbitration to Resolve Venezuela Gold Mining Dispute. - Bloomberg, 17.12.2011
Venezuela Begins Return of Gold Reserves from Abroad to Central Bank. - Venezuelanalysis.com, 02.12.2011
Chavez repatriates Venezuela's foreign gold reserves. - BBC News, 26.11.2011
Roman Asankin, Seda Yegikyan... Hugo Chávez nationalizes everything that glitters. - Kommersant, 19.08.2011. - № 153 (4694)
Chávez to nationalise Venezuelan gold industry. - Reuters, 18.08.2011
Comandante Chavez delega al vicepresidente Elias Jaua para ejecutar un conjunto de funciones. - Venezolana de Television, 16.07.2011
Hugo Chavez delegates duties ahead of new therapy. - San francisco chronicle, 16.07.2011
Fernando garcia... Chavez tiene cancer. - La vanguardia, 01.07.2011
There is a category of people who argue that in order to achieve high-quality results, special conditions / skills / equipment are needed (we are not talking about those threatening to turn the Earth over if there is an appropriate fulcrum). But there is another category of people who, in spite of everything, to smithereens to smithereens the convictions of the former with their examples. The biography of one Venezuelan statesman and politician is a vivid example of this.
Childhood and youth
The future speaker and leader of Venezuela, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frias, was born in Sabaneta, a small village located in the state of Barinas. This event happened on July 28, 1954. The boy became the second of seven children of Hugo de los Reyes Chavez and his wife Helene Friaz de Chavez.
Hugo spent his early childhood in the village of Los Rastrojos, which he and his older brother Adan left after finishing primary school. The parents sent the boys to their grandmother in Sabanet, so that, while living with her, Hugo and Adan studied at the General Daniel O'Leary Lyceum.
Chavez, recalling his childhood, often said that he turned out to be poor, but happy. Then he dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player when he grew up (in part, this dream came true in his student years). After graduating from the Lyceum, Hugo entered the military academy. In parallel with his studies, the guy played baseball and softball - this led him to participate in the national championships in these sports.
Hugo Chavez in childhood and adolescence Also, as a student at the military academy, Chavez was interested in the life and statements of the national hero - the general. Later he fell into the hands of the book "Diary", and Hugo caught fire with the ideas of the Latin American revolutionary. At the same time, Chavez drew attention to the poverty of the working class of Venezuela and decided in the future to correct this social injustice.
In 1974, the leadership of the academy sent its students to celebrate the one and a half century anniversary of the Battle of Ayacucho, which occurred during the Peruvian War of Independence. The head of state Juan Velasco Alvarado made a speech at the event. The president's speech about the need for military action in the interests of the working class because of the corruption of the ruling class made a strong impression on twenty-year-old Hugo Chavez.
Young Hugo Chavez at the Military Academy Another landmark event that happened to Chavez during his studies at the academy was his acquaintance with the son of the Supreme Commander of the National Guard of Panama, Omar Torrijos, and a visit to Panama. Velasco and Torrijos became the ideological inspirers of Hugo - on their examples the ideas formed by Chavez and the displacement of the civilian power by the military leadership were based. In 1975, Hugo graduated with honors from a military university and joined the army.
Politics
While serving in an anti-partisan unit in Barinas, after another raid, the guy found a cache of communist literature (including works and). Hugo kept several books for himself and got acquainted with them in his free time. What he read made Chávez take root in his leftist views.
Two years later, in the state of Anzoategui, Hugo's detachment fought against the Red Flag Party. After communicating with the captive members of the group, Hugo began to understand that not only the civilian authorities, but also the top of the military leadership, were thoroughly corrupted. How else to explain the fact that oil revenues are not going to help the country's poor.
This revelation leads to the fact that in 1982, Chavez founded the "Bolivarian Revolutionary Party 200" (later became the "Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement 200"). The initial idea of \u200b\u200bthe organization positioned the study of the military history of the state in order to create a new personal system of warfare.
Later, political scientist Barry Cannon argued that the "Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200" was in fact the formation of a new ideology that absorbed all the best from the previous ideological models. In 1981, Hugo received the title of captain and for a semester he teaches at his former university, sharing his ideas with students and recruiting colleagues among them.
After that, Chavez was sent by the leadership to the city of Elors. Hugo began to suspect that this was a link, as the military leadership began to worry about his actions. Chavez was not taken aback - instead he made acquaintance with the Jaruro and Quiba tribes - the indigenous inhabitants of the lands that at that time belonged to the Venezuelan state of Apure.
Having made friends with the Yaruro and Quiba, Chavez realized that it was necessary to end the oppression of the indigenous population by the citizens of the country and revise the laws on the protection of the rights of indigenous people (which he would later implement). In 1986, Hugo Chavez was promoted to major.
Two years later, Carlos Andres Perez took the presidency. He managed to win the race during the election thanks to promises announced in the election campaign. In particular, the promise to stop following the monetary policy of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In fact, Perez launched an even worse mechanism - a neoliberal model more beneficial for the United States of America and the IMF. The citizens of Venezuela absolutely did not like it. People went to the rallies, but by presidential decree, all mass protests were brutally suppressed with the help of the military. Chavez was in the hospital at that time, so when the news reached him, he realized that a military coup was needed.
According to the plan developed by Hugo and his team, it was necessary to seize key military facilities and the media, eliminate Perez, replacing him with a proven candidate - Rafael Caldera (one of the former presidents of the country). Everything was ready for this.
But, nevertheless, the attempted coup d'état made in 1992 was not crowned with success. Due to the small number of supporters, numerous betrayals, unverified data and other unforeseen circumstances, Chavez's plan failed. On February 5 of the same year, Hugo personally surrendered to the authorities and appeared on television with a request for his supporters to surrender, saying that so far he had lost.
This event was thoroughly reviewed by the media around the world (articles with photos of Hugo were in all major publications of the world) and brought fame to the imprisoned in the military prison of San Carlos Chavez. Also, these events did not pass by Carlos Andres Perez - for malfeasance and embezzlement of the state budget for personal and criminal purposes in 1993, the president was convicted and removed from office. He was replaced by Caldera.
Rafael Caldera freed Hugo and his supporters, dropping all charges, but banning him from serving in the country's armed forces. After that, Chavez immediately went to promote his ideas among his fellow citizens, as well as seek support abroad (then he met Fidel Castro).
During a tour of Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Cuba and Argentina, Chavez learned from his associates that the actions of the current President Caldera are not much different from those of Perez. Suspecting something was wrong, Hugo returned to his homeland.
Chavez understood that one could only come to power by force, since the oligarchs would not let him win Caldera in the upcoming elections. However, Hugo decided to try to avoid armed conflict by founding in 1997 the Movement for the Fifth Republic (later to become the United Socialist Party of Venezuela), a left-wing socialist party.
In the 1998 presidential race, Hugo Chavez managed to bypass Rafael Caldera, Irene Sáez and Enrique Riemers, taking over as President of Venezuela in 1999.
Chavez's first presidential term lasted until 2001 and was marked by repairs to roads and hospitals, free medical treatment and vaccinations, provision of social assistance, revision of laws to protect the indigenous population, and the launch of the weekly program "Hello, President", in which anyone who called through could talk with Chavez pressing question or asking for help.
The first presidential term was followed by a second, third and even a short fourth. The oligarchy was never able to overthrow the popular favorite, President Hugo Chavez, despite the 2002 putsch and the 2004 referendum.
Chavez's fourth presidential term began in January 2013 and ended in March of the same year due to the death of Hugo. In fact, the role of head of state was played by the next president of Venezuela. And Hugo Chavez passed away at the age of 58.
Personal life
He was married twice. The first wife was Nancy Calmenares, from whom Chavez had daughters Rosa Virginia (1978) and Maria Gabriela (1980) and a son Ugo Rafael (1983). After the birth of his son, Ugo parted with Calmenares, continuing to take care of his children.
From 1984 to 1993, he was in an unregistered relationship with Erma Marksman, his colleague. In 1997, he married again and became a dad for the fourth time - his second wife, Marisabel Rodriguez, gave birth to a daughter, Rosines. In 2004, the couple broke up.
Death
In 2011, Chavez found out that he had cancer. Then, by personal invitation, he arrived in Cuba to undergo a course of operations. Hugo had his malignant tumor removed and he began to feel better. However, at the end of 2012, the pain again made itself felt.
On March 5, 2013, Hugo Chavez passed away. For a long time, the details were not disclosed, but later it was announced that the cause of death was a massive heart attack. It was rumored that in fact Chavez was poisoned by the Americans or his former ally-turned-defector Francisco Arias Cardenas.
Initially, they wanted to embalm Hugo Chávez, but for some reason they did not. Instead, the body of Chavez from the Military Academy, where he studied and taught, was carried to the Museum of the Revolution, where the farewell ceremony and funeral took place. Heads of delegations from different countries, including the United States, made speeches (despite the fact that at the UN General Assembly session, Chavez spoke unflatteringly about the inhabitants of the White House).
Memory
On March 7, 2016 in Sabaneta, the village where Hugo Chavez was born, a monument was erected to him - a gift from friends from Russia (including).
Quotes
“Some remnants of steam that used to be water was recently discovered on Mars. It can be assumed that once upon a time there was a civilization on Mars. Mars is very similar to Earth. It even has the speed of rotation around the Sun and around its axis similar to that of the Earth. So, recently I was examining a photograph of a dead planet with a magnifying glass, which was sent by an American apparatus from Mars. And it seemed to me that on one of the Martian rocks I made out three letters: IMF. "
“Yesterday the devil spoke on this platform. And it still smells of sulfur here. "
"I swear, tirelessly, day and night, to build Venezuelan socialism, a new political system, a new social system, a new economic system, all my life."
In the town of Sabaneta in the state of Barinas in the southeast of Venezuela in a large family of a school teacher.
His maternal ancestor was an active participant in the Civil War of 1859-1863. Great-grandfather became famous for the fact that in 1914 he raised an anti-dictatorial uprising. The stories and legends about these heroic events in the family were passed down from generation to generation and had a strong influence on the formation of the future leader of the "Bolivarian Revolution".
Immediately after school, Hugo Chavez entered the Venezuelan Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1975 with the rank of junior lieutenant. He served in the airborne units; the paratrooper's red beret later became an integral part of his image.
In 1982 (according to other sources - while studying at the academy), Chavez, together with his colleagues, created the organization KOMAKATE (COMACATE, an abbreviation of the first two letters of military ranks - commander, major, captain, tenente, which means lieutenant). Chavez immediately became the undisputed leader of the organization. Over time, COMAKATE transformed into the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement, named after the hero of the Latin American War of Independence, Simon Bolivar.
In February 1992, Lt. Col. Hugo Chávez led a coup against Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez, unpopular due to high levels of corruption and a policy of cutting public spending. Chavez planned to create a civil-military junta from among people untainted by corruption, as well as to convene a Constituent Assembly to draft a new Constitution. However, the government managed to stop the attempted rebellion.
Chavez surrendered to the authorities and was placed in a military prison. He spent two years in prison, in 1994 he was released under an amnesty. He organized his supporters into the Fifth Republic Movement and moved from armed struggle to legal political activity.
In the 1998 presidential campaign, Hugo Chávez participated under the slogan of fighting corruption. On December 6, 1998, at the general elections held in Venezuela, he won a landslide victory, gaining 56.5% of the vote. Three months later, on July 25, elections were held for a unicameral assembly. They ended with the triumph of Chávez's supporters.
The government imposed tight control over the state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, whose profits were channeled into community needs: building hospitals and schools, fighting illiteracy, implementing agrarian reform and other social programs. All this contributed to the massive popularity of the new leader among the poor majority. Relying on his support, Chávez began to nationalize enterprises in various industries.
In 1999, Venezuela adopted a new constitution, and on July 30, 2000, a new general election was held, in which Hugo Chávez won with 60% of the vote.
In the subsequent period, the political course of Chavez, called the "Bolivarian movement towards socialism," shifted to the left.
Taking advantage of the favorable conjuncture on the world energy market, as well as a certain dependence of the United States on the supply of Venezuelan oil, Chavez changed his foreign policy course. In a matter of years, Venezuela has developed into an authoritative regional leader and, in fact, led the movement against neoliberalism in the Western Hemisphere. Sharp criticism of the policies of the United States, the IMF and the WTO, attempts to rally other Latin American countries around themselves on the basis of anti-Americanism led to an acute confrontation between Venezuela and the United States.
The opposition, frightened by the statements, and most importantly, by the actions of Chavez, tried by all means to get rid of him. On April 12, 2002, Chávez was overthrown as a result of a coup d'état, but two days later, on April 14, thanks to the help of his supporters and loyal army units, he returned to power.
Chavez suffered from cancer, which required him to receive long-term treatment in Cuba and Venezuela itself. He underwent several operations and underwent chemotherapy. After another operation, performed on him in Cuba in early December 2012, Chavez's condition was complicated by a lung infection.
For medical reasons, the inauguration of the President-elect of Venezuela.
In February, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned to his homeland from Cuba, as reported in his microblog on Twitter. Since then, he was in the military hospital of Caracas, but he never appeared on television after returning home.
On March 6, 2013, Agence France-Presse, citing Vice President Nicolas Maduro, reported that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Hugo Chavez had an organizational talent, ebullient energy, enormous capacity for work, eloquence, the ability to convince people that he was right. He quoted from memory the Bible, the works of Bolivar, was fond of Zen Buddhism. He wrote poems and stories, was fond of painting.
In late 2007, Chavez published a songbook, which included popular Venezuelan and Mexican songs sung personally by the President on a special TV and radio show; in 2008 he recorded a composition for the musical collection of revolutionary songs "Musica Para la Batalla" ("Music for the fight").
As a child, Chavez dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player and kept his hobby for baseball for life.
Chavez has been married twice. With his first wife, Nancy Colmenares, he divorced in 1992. His second wife was journalist Marisabel Rodriguez. Marisabel helped Chávez create the 1999 constitution, but in 2002 she filed for divorce and denounced her ex-husband's reforms.
Chavez has four children from his first marriage: Rosa Virginia, Maria Gabriela, Hugo Rafael and Raul Alfonso, and one daughter from the second - Rosines.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Hugo Rafael Chaves Frias (1954 - 2013) - President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela from to years, paratrooper, reserve lieutenant colonel, head, Trotskyist, participant in the events of February 1992.
Biography
9) the wages of workers and employees were increased by 30 percent. Despite the fact that in the era of capitalist rule, the increase in the wages of Venezuelans did not exceed two percent.
10) the metallurgical industry was nationalized.
11) In Venezuela, several MAZ assembly plants began to operate.
Colombia incident
2007, Chavez arrived in Colombia on a visit. Official figures describe Colombia as a prosperous and wealthy state, but there is one caveat. There are revolutionary armed organizations in Colombia that have been fighting the authorities for 40 years. Isn't it strange. The total number of armed oppositionists is over 20 thousand people. The ideology of these movements is leftist. They fight the authorities with all sorts of methods, including illegal ones. Because of the presence of such an ideology, they are persecuted, declared "terrorist", and imposed all sorts of bans and sanctions. But they don't give up. So, in August 2008, Chavez offered his help for negotiations on the release of hostages captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), demanding the release of his associates from prisons. The situation is clearly ambiguous. On the one hand, of course, it is wrong, after all, people. On the other hand, where to go if they are being pressed like that. The government has declared an information war on the rebels. Chavez offered his help in negotiations. But Colombian President Alvaro Uribe turned down Chavez's services. Well, how is it? Accept help from a socialist? Never! People don't care. He explained his refusal by saying that Chavez was interested in the fact that the rebels won. Nevertheless, the revolutionaries released some of the hostages, in honor of Chavez's policies. They appointed a collection point, but set conditions that the hostages would be transported by representatives of Venezuela. And so it was, however, Uribe hardly agreed to it. Operation was successfully completed. The rebels publicly thanked the Venezuelan leader. Uribe also thanked him, despite his personal dislike. After all this, Chavez publicly called on the public to exclude FARC from the list of terrorist organizations. This is how it happened, Chavez gave people freedom and life, guided by purely humanistic values. And again - not a drop of blood on his hands.
Personal life
Chavez has been married twice. Has five children.
Until recently, Chavez suffered from cancer, but now his swollen organ was removed and his life is not in danger, despite the endless ducks in the media. There is nothing surprising in the fact that Chavez suffered from such a disease. After all, one of the medical causes of cancer is nervous or mental overload. And no wonder. Throughout his life, Hugo Chavez has been fighting the enemies of the world and his homeland. In the summer he announced his complete cure. And this is thanks to the best Cuban medicine in the world.
disadvantages
Obviously, Chavez has disadvantages. First, he adheres to the Totskisi beliefs and professes Roman Catholicism. In addition, in December 2011, Chavez announced that the rally in Moscow was the work of the United States. There are clear features of Putinism in this. Nevertheless, all this pales before all those merits not only to their Motherland, but to the whole world.
Awards
Lieutenant Colonel (in reserve) (since 1990)
Order of the Star of Carabobo.
Cross of the Ground Forces.
Order of Francisco Miranda.
Order of Raphael Urdaneta.
Order of the Liberator Class V.
Laureate of the International Jose Marti Prize (2005, UNESCO)
Order of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1st degree (2006, Iran)
Order of Friendship of Peoples (2008, Belarus).
Order of Sandino (2007, Nicaragua)
Order "Uatsamonga" (July 7, 2010, South Ossetia) - in recognition of special merits in affirming justice and equality of rights of all nations and peoples in international relations, as well as for supporting the state independence of the Republic of South Ossetia and shown courage.
National Order of Jose Marti (Cuba).
Order of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes (Cuba, 2004).
Umayyad Order I degree (Syria)
