The legacy of Hugo Chavez: part 3

The foundation stone of Mr Chavez’s presidency was the Bolivarian Revolution: his ambitious plan to turn Venezuela into a socialist state. His sincere dedication to improve the miserable condition of the poor people, traditionally ignored and marginalised by Latin American politicians, made him a hero among a large sector of the population. As a result of his policies, the percentage of Venezuelans living under the poverty line declined from a peak of 62 per cent in 2003 to 29 per cent in 2009, according to World Bank statistics. Between 2001 and 2007, illiteracy fell from 7 per cent to 5 per cent. The poor in Venezuela became Mr Chavez’s main political weapon, and the movement behind him came to be known as ‘Chavismo’. It prioritised the redistribution of oil wealth to the marginalised and valued sovereignty as something to be protected from ‘imperialist’ powers. His concern for the poor knew no boundaries. He supplied heating oil to the poor in the north-eastern states of the US at a much discounted price through Venezuela’s national oil company Citgo. He did the same favour for the poor in Europe.