Historical Figure
Hugo Chávez
1954–2013
President of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013
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Biography
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was a Venezuelan politician, revolutionary, and military officer who was the president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when it merged with several other parties to form the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which he led until his death.
In Their Own Words (5)
Some games teach you to kill. They once put my face on a game, 'You've got to find Chavez to kill him'.
Chávez referring to the videogame Mercenaries 2: World in Flames where the player has to kill a Venezuelan general. Quoted in Chavez Sets His Sights On Banks And Barbie , 2010
La propiedad privada es aquella que pertenece a personas naturales o jurídicas y que se reconoce sobre bienes de uso y consumo y medios de producción legítimamente adquiridos.
Private property is that which belong to natural or s and that it is recognize under legitimately acquired and and means of production. , 2007
If there was any armed aggression against Venezuela from Colombian territory or from anywhere else, promoted by the Yankee empire, we would suspend oil shipments to the United States even if we have to eat stones here. We would not send a drop more to U.S. refineries!
Chávez reacting to US support to Colombia during the diplomatic crisis with that country on July 25, 2010 , 2010
Let's save the human race, let's finish off the U.S. empire
Hugo Chávez on the Islamic Republic Medal ceremony at Tehran University in Iran. July 30th, 2006. , 2006
You should resign. It's the least you can do: Resign, along with those other spies and delinquents working in the State Department.
Chavez told Hillary Clinton in a televised speech on December 9, 2010 , 2010
Timeline
The story of Hugo Chávez, told in moments.
Leads a failed military coup against President Carlos Andres Perez. He's captured. On television, he tells his followers the revolution has failed 'por ahora' (for now). That phrase makes him a folk hero. He goes to prison for two years.
Wins the presidential election with 56% of the vote. Six years earlier he'd tried to seize power with paratroopers. Now voters hand it to him. Venezuela's two-party system collapses overnight.
A military coup removes him from power. Pedro Carmona, a business leader, takes over and dissolves the National Assembly. Forty-seven hours later, loyal troops and street crowds return Chavez to the presidential palace.
Calls George W. Bush 'the devil' at the United Nations podium. 'It still smells of sulfur,' he says, sniffing the air. Oil prices are high. He's funding social programs, hospitals, literacy campaigns. He's also consolidating power, shutting down opposition media, and rewriting the constitution.
Dies of cancer in Caracas at 58. He'd been flying to Cuba for treatment, keeping his condition secret for months. Millions pour into the streets. The country he leaves behind will spiral into economic collapse within three years.
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