President of Venezuela. As the leader of the "Bolivarian Revolution", Chávez is known for his democratic socialist governance, his promotion of Latin American integration, and his criticism, which he terms anti-imperialism, of neoliberal globalization and United States foreign policy.[2]

A career military officer, Chávez founded the leftist Fifth Republic Movement after a failed 1992 coup d'état. Chávez was elected President in 1998[3] on promises of aiding Venezuela's poor majority, and reelected in 2000.[4] Domestically, Chávez has launched Bolivarian Missions to combat disease, illiteracy, malnutrition, poverty, and other social ills. Abroad, Chávez has acted against the Washington Consensus by supporting alternative models of economic development, and has advocated cooperation among the world's poor nations, especially those in Latin America.

Chávez has been severely criticized, mostly by Venezuela's middle and upper classes. He has been accused of electoral fraud, severe human rights violations, assaulting democracy in favor of dictatorship, and political repression,[5][6][7] and has survived both a brief 2002 coup and a failed 2004 recall referendum.[8][9][10] Whether viewed as a liberator or authoritarian demagogue, Chávez remains one of the most complex, controversial, and high-profile figures in modern Latin American politics.

Chávez is much-criticized, both in Venezuela and in international comments. His most vociferous opponents see him as a dangerous and authoritarian militarist who threatens Venezuelan democracy and global oil prices. Critics report that poverty, unemployment, and corruption figures under Chávez have not seen improvement.[75][76] They also note the 1% drop in Venezuela's per-capita GDP under Chávez.[citation needed] The opposition cites the many public hospitals that lack basic supplies, while others describe Chávez as a demagogue with a personality cult.[citation needed] They also question the payments to poor Venezuelans enrolling in Chávez's social programs, worrying that such dependency corrupts their work ethic and predispose them being pro-Chávez.


Chávez and Cuban leader Fidel Castro on the 2005-04-11 cover of the National Review. Chávez and Castro are often reported by the American media as being among the most dangerous threats facing democracy, free trade, and security in the Western Hemisphere.Chavez has also been criticized for his support of terrorism. Recent military defectors have told authorities that Chavez donated $1 million to al-Qaida shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks in 2001. In addition, Chavez supports FARC, the rebel group in Colombia, and many have alleged that Chavez has supported many other far - left terrorist groups in addition to this.[5]

Chavez has been widely criticized by proponents of free speech, for controversial moves to restrict the abilities of private media to publicly criticize Chavez and his policies, and general censorship for certain other types of 'unfavourable' content.

Chávez also stands accused of electoral fraud and political repression, including keeping anti-Chávez activists as political prisoners.[77] Others claim that Chávez is not fulfilling promises regarding labor and land reform.[78][79][80] Abroad, Chávez is reported as being a confrontational ideologue[81] , and American public figures have accused him of supporting and training terrorists.[82][20] While Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have catalogued but not confirmed human rights violations under Chávez,[5][6] scores of deaths and hundreds of injuries inflicted during both opposition and pro-Chávez demonstrations saw little official investigation. Meanwhile, Chávez faces allegations of both censorship and ill treatment or torture of his opponents. Chávez supporters counter by alleging repression of Chávez supporters and social workers by anti-Chávez mayors; using this claim, the Chávez government is attempting to place local police forces under federal control. Meanwhile, relatives of victims who were killed in the April 11, 2002 clashes filed a case against Chávez and others at the International Criminal Court (ICC), stating that Chávez committed crimes against humanity. In February 2006, Luis Moreno Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, concluded that, thus far, the requirements to continue the investigation have not been satisfied according to the Rome Statute.