Chávez and Venezuela

If his health allows it, President Hugo Chávez will rule Venezuela for another term, until 2019, said Venezuela's people in the last election.

Although the opposing media kept saying that it would be a risky election for Chávez, and that his defeat was a big possibility, his followers and the majority of Venezuela's population said yes to his socialist project.

The fact that more than half the people vote for Chávez, "we are the majority", as the re-elected President likes to say, <is the pillar of legitimacy that [...] protects it from critics at home and abroad who claim Venezuela is veering towards autocracy and tyranny.>, the author of the article says.

An extraordinary story surrounds Chavéz journey, from a poor boy to a vehement politic, loved by most of his people and hated by a lot, inside and outside of the country. Before Chávez, Venezuela was a "supposedly prosperous democracy", but in reality, corruption, poverty and social exclusion ravaged the country. After a coup attempt, Chávez rose as a politic, and in 1998 he won the presidential election. At the beginning, his policies were even called "conservative" by some, but through the years he has been steering his country towards socialism, amidst internal division and critics of authoritarianism and corruption.
Today, illness and internal problems are the main concerns of the newly elected president, but his victory, in contrast with the opposition's sayings, once more proved that his campaign slogan is true: <"Chávez es el pueblo". Chávez is the people.>