Firebrand, despot, demagogue, Marxist, champion of the poor, anti-imperialist, autocrat, dictator, populist, Bolívarian disciple, buffoon, revolutionary, socialist, democrat, Latin American uniter, soldier, social reformer, human rights abuser, catholic, icon, hero.
That such a wide array of words have been used to describe the late Hugo Chavez speaks volumes; he remains one of the most divisive and controversial figures of recent history. In the hundreds of pieces written about him – and no doubt, the influx of obituaries over the next few days – there will severely contrasting accounts.
Adored – even worshipped – by some, Chavez was the anti-imperialist, US-vilifier and embodiment of the last socialist hope in the age of global capitalism and American hegemonic governance. To others, he was nothing more than an elected despot, who – slowly, but surely – tightened his grip over Venezuela, essentially destroying any real opposition in his wake.
Yet, the accusations of a ‘dictatorship’ are wrong in so many ways. In a continent with a rich history of despots – from Pinochet to Duvalier to Leopoldo Galtieri (+Argentinean Juntas) to Noriega – Hugo Chavez is not one of them. He has consistently sought and won power in elections; all of which were declared relatively free and legitimate and with a far higher winning percentage majorities than many Western nations leaders gain. Ex-US President Jimmy Carter even went so far as to call Venezuela’s election process as the “best in the world” – hyperbolic for sure, but turnout in Venezuela still ranks in the high 70s. In his tenure, Chavez also survived an US-backed coup d’état attempt in 2002 as well as a public referendum on his leadership in 2004. This is a man who led through a public mandate, nothing else.
Indeed, even many of Chavez’s opponents would find it difficult to argue against this, with democracy flourish in the South American nation. There were no camps; no gulags; no mass arrests of political adversaries; no banning of the opposition; no night time raids on outspoken critics: essentially, no terror. To thus compare him to leaders who rule primarily through such methods is foolish at best; blind-sighted as worst. Moreover, this ‘despot’ has willingly accepted decisions that have been detrimental to his power – including stepping down during the 2002 coup as well as a narrow loss in a 2007 referendum on constitutional reform. Hardly the stuff of a dictator then.
Undoubtedly though, there is a case to be made that Chavez has become an elected autocrat; or, to use a phrase of political science, a proponent of competitive authoritarianism. The general traits of such a system do seem to ring true for Venezuela. Dominated by strong leader? Check. Limited democratic freedoms and liberalness outside of elections? Check. Constitutional and judicial changes to augment personal power? Check.
Indeed, only two years into power, a public referendum on whether the country needed a constitutional assembly received overwhelming support. The body was soon voted in and – despite 900 opposition candidates – 95% of those voted in were Chavez-supporter, concentrating all power with the President. Reform soon followed with the formation of a unicameral house and greater Presidential powers such a longer term and the ability to legislate on citizen issues.
It was after 2002 -after the coup – when Chavez really began concentrating and levelling power in the hands of himself and key allies; government and its institutions becoming firmly centralised around him. In 2004, the Judiciary and Supreme Court lost their independence, essentially becoming appendages of the executive and losing their function as a check on the President’s power. Instead, they became tools of the government, used for political purposes beyond any other role.
The story of Maria Lourdes Afiuni is a case of point in his ever-expanding intolerance to those who dissented against him. Afiuni was a judge who was released a high-profile banker who was accused of fraud (he also happened to be a prominent government critic); Chavez, furious at the decision, accused her of being bribed and detained her without trial. She spent more than a year in prison in deplorable conditions – and was allegedly raped – with several threats to her life from criminals she herself had imprisoned. Noam Chomsky, the famous Linguistics professor and US foreign policy critic, denounced his ‘old friend’ over the incident – but in his later years, Chavez used similar bullying to shut down any such opposition.
[quote align="left" name="Human Rights Watch" role=""]By his second full term in office, the concentration of power and erosion of human rights protections had given the government free rein to intimidate, censor, and prosecute Venezuelans who criticized the president or thwarted his political agenda.[/quote]
In regards to media, Chavez accused many television networks of orchestrating the 2002 coup against him, thus soon established media hegemony. Anti-government radio and television channels were either closed, blocked or censored; Venezuela ranking 124th in the world on press freedom in 2009, according to Reporters Without Borders. Furthermore, state-media were often saturated with coverage of the president during election periods, especially as all channels were obliged by law to show 10 minutes of state broadcasts a day. Elections were free from balloting stuffing and intimidation, but there was some tilting of the pitch to say the least.
Human rights scrutiny has also been rejected – many NGOs, international organisations and human rights defenders have been either blocked or discredited and thus unable to monitor the government’s actions. In September last year, Venezuela also withdrew from the American Convention on Human Rights. Anything seen to question the government deemed seemingly unacceptable; there were notable mass firings of public employees who had signed recall petitions for the 2004 referendum.
The steady of erosion of democratic freedoms is thus plain to see and casts a shadow over Chavez’s time in office; his restrictions of the free press, wavering commitment to human rights standards and subversion of the judiciary only serving to cement his power. It is not by sheer luck that he was both the -somewhat paradoxical - most elected leader in the modern era as well as the longest-serving head of state in the Americas.
Indeed, Chavez’s lust for power has never seemed more desperate than in the last few months of his life. After winning a fourth term of office in December last year, Chavez quickly withdrew from public life by announcing that he was still in the throes of his cancer battle. He was never seen by the Venezuelan people again, failing to even attend his own inauguration in January. Instead, he choose to rule from his hospital bed, rather than cede power to his Vice-President Nicolas Maduro, ignoring a constitutional requirement in the process. Such an action only revealed how he was determined to retain power at all costs – even when he was simultaneously losing power over his own body. It casts a gloomy ending to his legacy with Venezuela now plunged into a dangerous vacuum and political turmoil; one in which the result remains very much unknown.
Yet, the stark reality is that despite his flaws, Chavez has presided over a government that has remained democratic and liberal at its core. There have been little signs of any serious nor extensive human rights violations; private media remains at the forefront of Venezuelan politics; and during the election last year, Henrique Capriles’ face was plastered over thousands of billboards across the country.
[quote align="left" name="" role=""]It is not by sheer luck that he was both the most elected leader in the modern era as well as the longest-serving head of state in the Americas.[/quote]
Moreover, many of post-2002 actions can be justified somewhat; an illegal coup, against the public mandate is more illegitimate than the actions of Chavez afterwards. Indeed, despite the fact that both Capriles and private media sources were heavily involved in the attempted overthrow, most perpetrators were treated leniently - the worst incident being the refusal to renew a licence to one of the involved broadcasters.
Why then has Chavez always received such negative press? His many accomplishments often cast aside, replaced with idle and ignorant labels. In a contient where military leaders have gone on to imprison, torture and murder opponents, Chavez has only been a progressive force and a breath of fresh air in Latin American politics.
He may wear the red beret and camouflage fatigues, fit the caricature of a South American despot and be a anti-US socialist; the truth though is that there is no tyrant in there.
