A GREAT LEADER
HUGO CHAVEZ
A Profile in Courage
-Sitala
Prasad Roy
Hugo Chavez was born at Sabaneta, Venezuela on 28 July 1954. His father was a poor school teacher. Chavez attended the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences, where he graduated in 1975 with a degree in military arts and science. He went on to serve as an officer in the army paratrooper unit. In 1992, Chavez, along with other disenchanted members of the military, attempted to overthrow the government of Carlos Andres Perez. The coup failed, and Chavez was sentenced for two years of rigorous imprisonment. Being undeterred, he formed ‘Fifth Republic Movement’, a revolutionary political party in 1997. Chavez contested the Presidential election in 1998, campaigning against corruption of the government, and promising economic reforms. In 2007 his party was merged with several other left parties and was renamed as the ‘United Socialist Party of Venezuela’, which he led until 2013.
Chavez took Presidential oath on 2nd February 1999. During this ceremony he deviated from the prescribed words to proclaim that "I swear before my people that upon this moribund constitution I will drive forth the necessary democratic transformations so that the new republic will have a Magna Carta befitting these new times." After assuming office in 1999, Chavez set out to change the Venezuelan constitution, amending the powers of congress and the judicial system. Within the ambit of the new constitution, the name of the country was changed to Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. As President, Chavez encountered challenges both at home and abroad. His efforts to tighten his hold on the state-run oil company in 2002 stirred up controversy and led to numerous protests, and he found himself removed from power briefly in April 2002 by military leaders. The protests continued after his return to power, leading to a referendum on whether Chavez should remain the President. The referendum vote was held in August 2004, and a majority of voters decided to let Chavez complete his term in office.
Chavez was known for being outspoken and dogmatic throughout his Presidency, refusing to hold back any of his opinions or criticisms. He was very vocal towards the highly imperialistic approach of USA, which, he believed, was responsible for the failed 2002 coup against him. Chavez was also highly critical against the war in Iraq, expressing his belief that the United States had abused its powers by initiating the military exercise. He also called President George W. Bush ‘an evil imperialist’. Because of these all, the relations between the United States and Venezuela became highly strained.
After taking office, Chavez sold oil to Cuba—a longtime adversary of the United States—and resisted U.S. plans to stop narcotics trafficking in nearby Colombia. He also helped guerrilla forces in neighboring countries. Additionally, during his Presidency, Chavez threatened to stop supplying oil to the United States if there was another attempt to remove him from power. He did, however, donate heating oil to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, which destroyed numerous fuel-processing facilities.
Regardless of the state of Venezuela's relationship with the United States, while in office, Chavez leveraged his country's oil resources to form connections with other nations, including China and Angola. In 2006, he helped create the ‘Bolivarian Alternative’ for the Latin American states, a socialist free-trade organization joined by Fidel Castro, President of Cuba, and Evo Morales, President of Bolivia. Chavez was also an active member of the Non-Aligned Movement, a group of more than 100 countries, including Cuba, Iran and several African nations.
Following a surgery to remove a pelvic abscess in June 2011, Chavez came to know that he had developed cancer. Thereafter he underwent three surgeries to remove cancerous tumors within a span of six months.
Prior to his third surgery, in February 2012, Chavez acknowledged the severity of the operation as well as the possibility of not being able to continue his service as president, and subsequently named Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro as his successor. Due to his declining health, Chavez did not take oath as President of Venezuela for a fourth term in January 2013.
Succumbed to the battle with cancer, Hugo Chavez died on 5 March 2013 at his age of 58 years in Venezuela. Two days after Chavez's death, Vice President Maduro announced that Chavez's body would be preserved and permanently displayed inside a glass tomb now under construction in a Caracas museum. The site, located not far from the palace where Chavez ruled for more than a decade, has been called el Museo Histórico Militar de Caracas.
Life of this great man was not a smooth sailing. He had to struggle hard since his boyhood. Being grown up in a country like Venezuela in Latin America, he witnessed many social evils seasoned with vices of imperialism. He stood firm and fought against every odd.
Chavez never compromised with the draconian ploys of USA and its allies. Rather he instilled a new lease of socialism in a country infested with drug-flesh trade and mafia rackets. He was the harbinger of newer spirit and valor to his countrymen. Untimely demise of such a great leader is a great loss to the people across the world as a whole.
To conclude, let us remember a quote by Chavez to ignite our spirit ~ "The left is back, and it's the only path we have to get out of the spot to which the right has sunken us. Socialism builds and capitalism destroys".
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