Hugo Chávez

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Hugo Chávez
President of Venezuela
Incumbent
Assumed office  February 2, 1999
Vice President	Isaías Rodríguez (2000) Adina Bastidas (2000-2002) Diosdado Cabello (2002) José Rangel (2002-2007) Jorge Rodríguez (2007-2008) Ramón Carrizales (2008-)
Preceded by	Rafael Caldera
Born	28 July 1954 (1954-07-28) (age 54) Sabaneta, Barinas, Venezuela
Political party	MVR (1997 – 2008) PSUV (2008 – present)
Spouse	Nancy Colmenares (div.) Marisabel Rodríguez (div.)
Occupation	Military officer (Lt. col.)
Religion	Roman Catholic

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (pronounced [ˈuɰo rafaˈel ˈtʃaβ̞es ˈfɾias]) (born July 28, 1954) is the current President of Venezuela. As the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Chávez promotes a political doctrine of participatory democracy, socialism and Latin American and Caribbean cooperation.^[1] He is also a critic of neoliberalism, globalization, and United States foreign policy.^[2]

A career military officer, Chávez founded the left-wing Fifth Republic Movement after orchestrating a failed 1992 coup d'état against former President Carlos Andrés Pérez. Chávez was elected President in 1998 with a campaign centering on promises of aiding Venezuela's poor majority, and was reelected in 2000 and in 2006. Domestically, Chávez has maintained nationwide Bolivarian Missions, whose goals are 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's policies have evoked controversy in Venezuela and abroad, receiving anything from vehement criticism to enthusiastic support. The government of the United States claims that Chávez is a threat to democracy in Latin America.^[3] Many other governments sympathize with his ideology^[4] and/or welcome his bilateral trade and reciprocal aid agreements.^[5] In 2005 and 2006 he was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people.^[6][7]

Contents 1 Early life (1954–1992) 1.1 Military career 1.2 Personal life 2 Political development 2.1 Coup attempt of 1992 2.2 Political rise (1992–1999) 2.3 Political philosophy 3 Presidency (1999–present) 3.1 Foreign policy 3.2 Economic policy 3.3 Criticism 4 Chávez and the media 5 Awards 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

Early life (1954–1992)

Chávez was born on July 28, 1954 in the town of Sabaneta, Barinas. The second son of two schoolteachers, Hugo de los Reyes Chávez and Elena Frías de Chávez, he is of mixed Amerindian, Afro-Venezuelan, and Spanish descent.^[8] Chávez was born in a mud hut near Sabaneta. Due to the Chávez family's impoverished conditions, Hugo Chávez was sent to Sabaneta with his older brother Adán to live with his paternal grandmother, Rosa Inés Chávez. There, he pursued hobbies such as painting, singing, and baseball, while also attending elementary school at the Julián Pino School. He was later forced to relocate to the town of Barinas to attend high school at the Daniel Florencio O'Leary School.^[9]

Military career

At age seventeen, Chávez enrolled at the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences. After graduating in 1975 as a sub-lieutenant with a degree in Military Arts and Science, Chávez entered military service for several months. He was then allowed to pursue graduate studies in political science at Caracas' Simón Bolívar University, but left without a degree.^[9]

Over the course of his college years, Chávez and fellow students developed a left-wing nationalist doctrine that they termed "Bolivarianism," inspired by the Pan-American philosophy of 19th century Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar, the influence of former Peruvian President Juan Velasco and the thought of various socialist and communist leaders including Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky.^[10][11] Chávez engaged in sporting events and cultural activities during these years as well. He played both baseball and softball with the Criollitos de Venezuela, progressing with them to the Venezuelan National Baseball Championships in 1969. Chávez also wrote numerous poems, stories and theatrical pieces.^[9]

Upon completing his studies, Chávez initially entered active-duty military service as a member of a counter insurgency battalion stationed in Barinas. Chávez's military career lasted 17 years, during which time he held a variety of posts including command and staff positions, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Chávez also held a series of teaching and staffing positions at the Academy of Military Sciences, where he was first acknowledged by his peers for his fiery lecturing style and radical critique of Venezuelan government and society.^[12] In 1983, Chávez established the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200). Afterwards, he rose to a number of high-level positions in Caracas and was decorated several times.^[9]

Personal life

Hugo Chávez has been married twice. He first wedded Nancy Colmenares, a woman from a poor family originating in Chávez's own hometown of Sabaneta. Chávez and Colmenares remained married for eighteen years, during which time they had three children: Rosa Virginia, María Gabriela, and Hugo Rafael. They separated soon after Chávez's 1992 coup attempt. During his first marriage, Chávez also had an affair with young historian Herma Marksman; their relationship lasted nine years.^[13][14] Chávez is divorced from his second wife, journalist Marisabel Rodríguez de Chávez.^[15] Through that marriage, Chávez had another daughter, Rosinés. Chávez has two grandchildren, Gabriela^[16] and Manuel.^[17]

Chávez was raised a Roman Catholic,^[18] although he has had a series of disputes with both the Venezuelan Catholic hierarchy and Protestant groups like the New Tribes Mission.^[19][20] Originally he kept his own faith a private matter, but over the course of his presidency, Chávez has become increasingly open to discussing his religious views, stating that both his faith and his interpretation of Jesus' personal life and ideology have had a profound impact on his left-wing and progressivist views.^[21] He often invokes God and asks for prayer in speeches, as he did when he asked Venezuelans to pray for Fidel Castro's health.^[22] He describes himself as Christian who grew up expecting to become a priest. According to him, as a result of this background his socialist policies have been borne with roots in the teachings of Jesus Christ.^[23]

Political development

Coup attempt of 1992

After an extended period of popular dissatisfaction and economic decline^[24] under the administration of President Carlos Andrés Pérez and the violent repression known as El Caracazo,^[25] Chávez made extensive preparations for a military coup d'état.^[13] Initially planned for December, Chávez delayed the MBR-200 coup until the early twilight hours of February 4, 1992. On that date, five army units under Chávez's command barreled into urban Caracas with the mission of assaulting and overwhelming key military and communications installations throughout the city, including the Miraflores presidential palace, the defense ministry, La Carlota military airport, and the Military Museum. Chávez's ultimate goal was to intercept and take custody of Pérez, who was returning to Miraflores from an overseas trip.

Chávez held the loyalty of less than 10% of Venezuela's military forces.^[26] Numerous betrayals, defections, errors, and other unforeseen circumstances soon left Chávez and a small group of rebels hiding in the Military Museum, without any means of conveying orders to their network of spies and collaborators spread throughout Venezuela.^[27] Further, Chávez's allies were unable to broadcast their prerecorded tapes on the national airwaves in which Chávez planned to issue a general call for a mass civilian uprising against Pérez. As the coup unfolded, the coup plotters were unable to capture Pérez: fourteen soldiers were killed, and 50 soldiers and some 80 civilians injured in the ensuing violence.^[28]

Chávez, alarmed, soon gave himself up to the government. He was then allowed to appear on national television to call for all remaining rebel detachments in Venezuela to cease hostilities. When he did so, Chávez quipped on national television that he had only failed "por ahora" (for now).^[29] Chávez was catapulted into the national spotlight, with many poor Venezuelans seeing him as a figure who had stood up against government corruption and kleptocracy.^[30][31] Chávez was sent to Yare prison; meanwhile, Pérez, the coup's intended target, was impeached a year later. While in prison, Chávez developed a carnosity of the eye, which spread to his iris. The clarity of his eyesight was slowly corrupted; despite treatments and operations, Chávez's eyesight was permanently damaged.^[21]

Political rise (1992–1999)

After a two-year imprisonment, Chávez was pardoned by President Rafael Caldera in 1994. Upon his release, Chávez reconstituted the MBR-200 as the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR—Movimiento Quinta República, with the V representing the Roman numeral five). Later, in 1998, Chávez began to campaign for the presidency. In working to earn the trust of voters, Chávez drafted an agenda that drew heavily on his ideology of Bolivarianism. Chávez and his followers described their aim as "laying the foundations of a new republic" to replace the existing one, which they cast as "party-dominated"; the current constitution, they argued, was no more than the 'legal-political embodiment of puntofijismo,' the country's traditional two-party patronage system.^[32]

Chávez utilized his flamboyant public speaking style, which was noted for its abundance of colloquialisms and ribald manner—on the campaign trail to win the trust and favour of a primarily poor and working class following. By May 1998, Chávez's support had risen to 30% in polls, and by August he was registering 39%. Chávez went on to win the 1998 presidential election on December 6, 1998 with 56% of the votes.^[13][33]

Political philosophy

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Chávez's version of Bolivarianism, although drawing heavily from Simón Bolívar's ideals, was also influenced by the writings of Marxist historian Federico Brito Figueroa. Chávez was well acquainted with the various traditions of Latin American socialism espoused by Jorge Eliécer Gaitán and Salvador Allende and from a young age by the Cuban revolutionary doctrine of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. Other key influences on Chávez's political philosophy include Ezequiel Zamora and Simón Rodríguez. Other indirect influences on Chávez's political philosophy are the writings of Noam Chomsky and the teachings of Jesus as recorded in the Bible (Chávez describes Jesus as the world's first socialist). Although Chávez himself refers to his ideology as Bolivarianismo ("Bolivarianism"), Chávez's supporters and opponents in Venezuela refer to themselves as being either for or against "chavismo". Thus, Chávez supporters refer to themselves not as "Bolivarians" or "Bolivarianists", but rather as "chavistas".

Later in his life, Chávez would acknowledge the role that democratic socialism (a form of socialism that emphasizes grassroots democratic participation) plays in Bolivarianism.^[34] Because his Bolivarianism relies on popular support, Chávez has organized the "Bolivarian Circles", which he cites as examples of grassroots and participatory democracy. The circles are forums for a few hundred local residents who decide how to spend the government allowance for social development. They usually decide for neighborhood beautification, mass mobilization, lending support to small businesses, and providing basic social services.

Presidency (1999–present)

Following Chavez's inauguration in February 1999, a referendum for a new constitution was soon passed, and a constitutional assembly formed. The resulting 1999 Venezuelan Constitution was approved by another referendum on 15 December 1999. The new constitution included an increase in the presidential term from five to six years, a new presidential two-term limit, a new provision for presidential recall elections, renaming of the country to República Bolivariana de Venezuela, expanded presidential powers, conversion of the bicameral National Assembly into a unicameral legislature, merit-based appointments of judges, and creation of the Public Defender, an office authorized to regulate the activities of the presidency and the National Assembly.^[35] Elections for all elected government positions followed in 2000 under the new constitution, including the Venezuelan presidential election, 2000.

Chavez survived the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt which briefly removed him from power. A few months after the coup, on December 2, 2002, the Chávez presidency faced a two-month strike organized by the resistant PDVSA management who sought to force Chávez out of office by completely removing his access to the all-important government oil revenue. The strike/lockout, led by a coalition of labor unions, industrial magnates, and oil workers, sought to halt the activities of the PDVSA. A further attempt to remove Chavez from office, the Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004, also failed.

From 2003 onwards the Chavez government has pursued a series of Bolivarian Missions aimed at providing public services to the previously underserved poor by bypassing existing public institutions.

Chávez again won the OAS and Carter Center certification of the national election on December 3, 2006 with 63% of the vote,^[36] beating his closest challenger Manuel Rosales who conceded his loss on December 4, 2006.^[37] After his victory, Chávez promised a more radical turn towards socialism.^[38]

On August 15, 2007, Chavez proposed a broad package of measures as part of a constitutional reform. Among other measures, he called for an end to presidential term limits and proposed limiting central bank autonomy, strengthening state expropriation powers and providing for public control over international reserves as part of an overhaul of Venezuela's constitution. In accordance with the 1999 constitution, Chavez proposed the changes to the constitution, which were then approved by the National Assembly. The final test was a December 2, 2007 referendum.^[39] The referendum was defeated, with 51% of the voters rejecting the amendments proposed by Chávez.^[40]

Foreign policy

Hugo Chávez has refocused Venezuelan foreign policy on Latin American economic and social integration by enacting bilateral trade and reciprocal aid agreements, including his so-called "oil diplomacy".^[41][42] Chávez stated that Venezuela has "a strong oil card to play on the geopolitical stage..." He said, "It is a card that we are going to play with toughness against the toughest country in the world, the United States."^[43] Chávez has focused on a variety of multinational institutions to promote his vision of Latin American integration, including Petrocaribe, Petrosur, and TeleSUR. Bilateral trade relationships with other Latin American countries have also played a major role in his policy, with Chávez increasing arms purchases from Brazil, forming oil-for-expertise trade arrangements with Cuba, and creating unique barter arrangements that exchange Venezuelan petroleum for cash-strapped Argentina's meat and dairy products. Additionally, Chávez worked closely with other Latin American leaders following the 1997 Summit of the Americas in many areas—especially energy integration—and championed the OAS decision to adopt the Anti-Corruption Convention. Chávez also participates in the United Nations Friends groups for Haiti, and is pursuing efforts to join and engage the Mercosur trade bloc to expand the hemisphere's trade integration prospects.

Economic policy

Since 2005, Chávez is an outspoken proponent of what he calls a socialism of the 21st century as a means to help the poor. Since 2003, the Venezuelan government has set price controls on around 400 basic foods, possibly as a response to "sporadic food shortages"^[44] and hoarding. Chavez has also nationalized a number of major companies, including in the telephone, electric, steel, and cement industries, and encouraged cooperatives.

Venezuela is a major producer of oil products, which remains the keystone of the Venezuelan economy. Chávez has gained a reputation as a price hawk in OPEC, pushing for stringent enforcement of production quotas and higher target oil prices. At a June 2006 meeting, Venezuela was the only OPEC country calling for lowered production to drive oil prices higher.

Criticism

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With respect to domestic policies, some among the American media claim corruption and crime are rampant under Chavez,^[45][46] that infrastructure and public hospitals are failing,^[47] 9% in 2005,^[48] that he has not fulfilled his major campaign pledges with respect to labor and land reform, ^{[49] [50] [51]} the government bureaucracy is in decay and in chaos,^[52] that he has concentrated power of judicial and legislative branches in his hands,^[53] placing democracy in peril,^[54] and that contrary to widespread public perception, Chavez has failed to raise the poor economically and socially "beyond what is normal in the midst of an oil boom." ^[55]

After the 2004 recall referendum, opponents insisted the Chávez government had engaged in "gigantic fraud"; however, international observers and exit polls confirmed the official result.^[56] The United States government claims that his cooperation in their war on terror is negligible or purposely indifferent with regards to the FARC and ELN,^[57] who are engaged in a conflict with the US-backed Colombian government; nonetheless, the US government says there is no evidence of a direct link between violent groups opposed to its policies and Chávez.^[58]

Several public figures have even gone so far as to call for the assassination of Chávez, most notably US Conservative Christian televangelist Pat Robertson.^[59] Other such requests have been expressed by Venezuelan actor Orlando Urdaneta^[60] and former president of Venezuela Carlos Andrés Pérez.^[61] The US Ambassador to Venezuela between 2001 and 2004, Charles Shapiro, also reported to the Chávez administration two potential assassination plots.^[60]

Chávez and the media

Even before the April 2002 coup, many owners, managers, and commentators working for the five major private mainstream television networks and largest mainstream newspapers had stated their opposition to Chávez's policies.^[62] These media outlets have accused the Chávez administration of intimidating their journalists using specially dispatched gangs.^[62] Chávez in turn alleges that the owners of these networks have primary allegiance not to Venezuela but to the United States, and that they seek the advancement of neoliberalism via corporate propaganda.

According to Greg Grandin, professor of Latin American history at New York University, "[The Venezuelan] media is chronically obsessed with Chávez, and critical in a way that would be completely alien for most US observers." After the media-backed 2002 coup attempt, Venezuela passed 'social responsibility' legislation regulating the media but has largely declined to enforce it.^[63]

Throughout his presidency, Chávez has hosted the live talk show known as Aló Presidente ("Hello, President!").^[64] The show broadcasts in varying formats on state owned Venezolana de Televisión (VTV—Venezuelan State Television) each Sunday at 11:00 AM. The show features Chávez addressing topics of the day, taking phone calls and live questions from both the studio and broadcast audience, and touring locations where government social welfare programs are active. Additionally, on July 25, 2005, Chávez inaugurated TeleSUR, a proposed pan-American homologue of Al Jazeera that seeks to challenge the present domination of Latin American television news by Univision and the United States-based CNN en Español. Chávez's media policies have contributed to elevated tensions between the United States and Venezuela.^[65]

In 2006, President Chávez announced that the terrestrial broadcast license for RCTV—Venezuela's second largest TV channel—would not be renewed.^[66] The channel's terrestrial broadcasts ended on May 28, 2007 and were replaced with a state network.^[67] RCTV is accused of supporting the coup against Chávez in April 2002, and the oil strike in 2002-2003. Also, it has been accused by the government of violating the Law on the Social Responsibility of Radio and Television.^[68] The director of the station, Marcel Granier, denies taking part in the coup.^[69] RCTV is still broadcasting via cable and satellite and is widely viewable in Venezuela.^[70] This action has been condemned by a multitude of international organizations.^{[69][71][72][73]} However, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) questioned whether, in the event a television station openly supported and collaborated with coup leaders, the station in question would not be subject to even more serious consequences in the United States or any other Western nation.^[74] In a poll conducted by Datanalisis, almost 70 percent of Venezuelans polled opposed the shut-down, but most cited the loss of their favorite soap operas rather than concerns about limits on freedom of expression.^[67]

Awards

During his term, Chávez has been awarded the following honorary degrees:^[75]

• Honorary Doctorate in Political Science—Granted by Kyung Hee University (South Korea) by Rector Chungwon Choue on October 16, 1999.
• Honorary Doctorate in Jurisprudence—Granted by the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) on March 9, 2001.
• Honorary Doctoral Professorship—Granted by the University of Brazil (Brazil) by Rector Alberto Pérez on April 3, 2001.
• Honorary Doctorate—Granted by the Academy of Diplomacy of the Ministry of External Affairs (Russian Federation) on May 15, 2001.
• Honorary Doctorate in Economics—Granted by the Faculty of Economics and Commerce of Beijing University (People's Republic of China) on May 24, 2001.

In a list compiled by the magazine New Statesman in 2006, he was voted eleventh in the list of "Heroes of our time".^[76]

Notes

References

• "Profile: Hugo Chávez". BBC News. BBC News. October 13, 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3517106.stm. Retrieved on 2007-11-13. 
• Boudin, Chesa; Chavez, Hugo; Harnecker, Marta (2005). Understanding the Venezuelan Revolution: Hugo Chávez Talks to Marta Harnecker. Monthly Review Press. ISBN 1-58367-127-7. 
• Chavez, Hugo; Deutschmann, David; Salado, Javier (2004). Chávez: Venezuela and the New Latin America. Ocean Press. ISBN 1-92088-800-4. 
• DiJohn, Jonathan (June 2004). "The Political Economy of Economic Liberalisation in Venezuela" (PDF). Crisis States Programme, Development Research Centre, LSE. DiJohn, Jonathan. http://www.crisisstates.com/download/wp/wp46.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-11-13. 
• Ellner, Steven; Hellinger, Daniel (2004). Venezuelan Politics in the Chávez Era: Class, Polarization, and Conflict. Lynne Rienner. ISBN 1-58826-297-9. 
• Golinger, Eva (2005). El Código Chávez: Descifrando la Intervención de los Estados Unidos en Venezuela. Editorial de Ciencias Sociales. ISBN 9-59060-723-3. 
• Gott, Richard (2001). In the Shadow of the Liberator: The Impact of Hugo Chávez on Venezuela and Latin America. Verso Books. ISBN 1-85984-365-4. 
• Gott, Richard (2005). Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution. Verso Books. ISBN 1-84467-533-5. http://www.versobooks.com/books/ghij/g-titles/gott_hugo_chavez.shtml. Retrieved on 2007-11-13. 
• McCoy, Jennifer L.; Myers, David J. (2004). The Unraveling of Representative Democracy in Venezuela. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-80187-960-4. 
• O'Donoghue, Patrick J. (September 15, 2005). Historian Details Presidential Interest In Controversial Barinas Landed Estate. O'Donoghue, Patrick J.. http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=45975. Retrieved on 2007-11-13. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hugo Chávez

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Hugo Chávez

Multimedia

• PBS Frontline Documentary: The Hugo Chávez Show
• The Guardian: The Rise and Rule of 'Hurricane Hugo' audio slide show
• Democracy Now! Interview: Part I and Part II with Hugo Chavez, in New York City, September 16 2005
• Documentary: 'The Revolution will not be Televised
• Video: Hugo Chávez's Speech to the United Nations dubbed in English
• ABC News Video: Barbara Walters interviews Hugo Chávez
• NPR Audio Report: The Politics of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez

Articles and Interviews

• BBC News: Profile: Hugo Chávez
• Demystifying Venezuela's Hugo Chávez by Jennifer McCoy, Current History, February 2000
• The Revolutionary by Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, September 10 2001
• In Search of Hugo Chávez by Michael Shifter, Foreign Affairs, May/June 2006 issue
• Hugo Chávez Interview by Greg Palast, The Progressive, July 2006
• Hugo Chávez for Life? by Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, February 17 2009

v • d • e Hugo Chávez Biography Early life · Military career · Presidency Political events Coup attempt of 1992 · Coup attempt of 2002 · Recall referendum of 2004 · Putative coup attempt of 2004 · Constitutional referendum of 2007 · Constitutional referendum of 2009 Elections Presidential election of 1998 · Presidential election of 2000 · Presidential election of 2006 Governance Bank of the South · Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas · Petrocaribe · Bolivarian Circles · Bolivarian Revolution · Bolivarianism · Cabinet · Chavismo & Boliburguesía  · Constitution · Foreign policy Bolivarian Missions Barrio Adentro · Guaicaipuro · Hábitat · Identidad · Mercal · Miranda · Piar · Plan Bolivar 2000 · Ribas · Robinson · Sucre · Vuelta al Campo · Vuelvan Caras · Zamora Reactions Criticism · Media representation · ¿¡Revolución!? · The Revolution Will Not Be Televised · Súmate

v • d • e Current heads of state of the South American countries Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (Argentina)  · Evo Morales (Bolivia)  · Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil)  · Michelle Bachelet (Chile)  · Álvaro Uribe (Colombia)  · Rafael Correa (Ecuador)  · Bharrat Jagdeo (Guyana)  · Martín Torrijos (Panama)  · Fernando Lugo (Paraguay)  · Alan García (Peru)  · Ronald Venetiaan (Suriname)  · George Maxwell Richards (Trinidad and Tobago)  · Tabaré Vázquez (Uruguay)  · Hugo Chávez (Venezuela)

v • d • e Presidents of Venezuela Mendoza · Bolívar · Páez · Vargas · Mariño · Carreño · Narvarte · Carreño · Soublette · Páez · Soublette · J.T. Monagas · J.G. Monagas · J.T. Monagas · Gual · J. Castro · Gual · Tovar · Gual · Páez · Falcón · Bruzual · Villegas · J.R. Monagas · Villegas · Guzmán · Linares · Valera · Guzmán · Crespo · Guzmán · H. López · Rojas · Andueza · Villegas · Crespo · Andrade · C. Castro · Gómez · Gil Fortoul · Márquez · Gómez · J. Pérez · Gómez · E. López · Medina · Betancourt · Gallegos · Delgado Chalbaud · Suárez Flamerich · Pérez Jiménez · Larrazábal · Sanabria · Betancourt · Leoni · Caldera · C. Pérez · Herrera · Lusinchi · C. Pérez · Lepage · Velásquez · Caldera · Chávez

Political offices
Preceded by Rafael Caldera	President of Venezuela 1999–present	Incumbent

Persondata
NAME	Chávez, Hugo Rafael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Chávez Frías, Hugo Rafael
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Venezuelan President
DATE OF BIRTH	July 28, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH	Sabaneta, Barinas, Venezuela
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH