Venezuela, April 13 2010, members of Chavez's National Revolutionary Militia, celebrate the 9th anniversary of the failed 2002 coup. Picture by: Ariana Cubillos / AP/Press Association Images
On December 17th, 1982, a young Lieutenant stood in front of his colleagues at a military base and gave a speech to commemorate Simón Bolívar’s death. Hoping to revive the dreams of one of the Latin American independence movement’s greatest heroes, he told his audience: “Bolivar is in the heavens of America, vigilant and frowning… because what he didn’t do, still has to be done today”. Less than 20 years later, Hugo Chávez would come to be recognised as one of the 21st century’s most charismatic leaders and a symbol of the region’s wave of populist-progressive movements.
Chávez led with a style of anti-imperialist rhetoric that few can pull off, as he implemented what for Venezuela was a radical programme of social reform. Constantly battling domestic opposition, and its alliance with what he saw as international imperial interests, the Chávez era represented both positive reform in search of social justice, but also political volatility – manifesting itself most clearly during the attempted military coup in 2001.
