Most Venezuelans are poor like Chavez was before he became president. This is the part of Chavez’s personality that the Venezuelan government promotes, and it is why s

The elderly lady sitting next to me said Venezuelan state agents had recruited her from her small family farm just hours before takeoff. She was to attend the summit as a Chavez fan, watching her leader stand side by side with Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and then-Bolivian presidential candidate Evo Morales to denounce US foreign policy in the region and promote Chavez’s region-wide call for socialism.

She and her husband referred to Chavez endearingly as “Huguito”, or “little Hugo”, and said state agents had instructed them as to when and how to cheer for “Huguito” in Argentina.

Observers have long talked about Chavez’s cult of personality, but it was the first time I had seen it first hand, and in the genuine, cheerful faces of these small-time farmers.

Chavez, who has served as Venezuela’s president for nearly a decade, faces elections in December 2006, and all indications are that he will secure another six years in power. For all intents and purposes, he is the president, the government, and all but an autocrat.

For six hours, the elderly couple talked about their beloved leader, who would one day deliver them from misery.

“Chavez represents the typical Venezuelan,” the couple explained. “He grew up in the county in a house with a dirt floor. Raised by his grandmother, Huguito was able to get into the military academy because he was an exceptional baseball player, not because he had money.”

Most Venezuelans are poor like Chavez was before he became president. This is the part of Chavez’s personality that the Venezuelan government promotes, and it is why s

The elderly lady sitting next to me said Venezuelan state agents had recruited her from her small family farm just hours before takeoff. She was to attend the summit as a Chavez fan, watching her leader stand side by side with Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and then-Bolivian presidential candidate Evo Morales to denounce US foreign policy in the region and promote Chavez’s region-wide call for socialism.

She and her husband referred to Chavez endearingly as “Huguito”, or “little Hugo”, and said state agents had instructed them as to when and how to cheer for “Huguito” in Argentina.

Observers have long talked about Chavez’s cult of personality, but it was the first time I had seen it first hand, and in the genuine, cheerful faces of these small-time farmers.

Chavez, who has served as Venezuela’s president for nearly a decade, faces elections in December 2006, and all indications are that he will secure another six years in power. For all intents and purposes, he is the president, the government, and all but an autocrat.

For six hours, the elderly couple talked about their beloved leader, who would one day deliver them from misery.

“Chavez represents the typical Venezuelan,” the couple explained. “He grew up in the county in a house with a dirt floor. Raised by his grandmother, Huguito was able to get into the military academy because he was an exceptional baseball player, not because he had money.”

Most Venezuelans are poor like Chavez was before he became president. This is the part of Chavez’s personality that the Venezuelan government promotes, and it is why s

She and her husband referred to Chavez endearingly as “Huguito”, or “little Hugo”, and said state agents had instructed them as to when and how to cheer for “Huguito” in Argentina.

Observers have long talked about Chavez’s cult of personality, but it was the first time I had seen it first hand, and in the genuine, cheerful faces of these small-time farmers.

Chavez, who has served as Venezuela’s president for nearly a decade, faces elections in December 2006, and all indications are that he will secure another six years in power. For all intents and purposes, he is the president, the government, and all but an autocrat.

For six hours, the elderly couple talked about their beloved leader, who would one day deliver them from misery.

“Chavez represents the typical Venezuelan,” the couple explained. “He grew up in the county in a house with a dirt floor. Raised by his grandmother, Huguito was able to get into the military academy because he was an exceptional baseball player, not because he had money.”

Most Venezuelans are poor like Chavez was before he became president. This is the part of Chavez’s personality that the Venezuelan government promotes, and it is why s

Chavez, who has served as Venezuela’s president for nearly a decade, faces elections in December 2006, and all indications are that he will secure another six years in power. For all intents and purposes, he is the president, the government, and all but an autocrat.

For six hours, the elderly couple talked about their beloved leader, who would one day deliver them from misery.

“Chavez represents the typical Venezuelan,” the couple explained. “He grew up in the county in a house with a dirt floor. Raised by his grandmother, Huguito was able to get into the military academy because he was an exceptional baseball player, not because he had money.”

Most Venezuelans are poor like Chavez was before he became president. This is the part of Chavez’s personality that the Venezuelan government promotes, and it is why s

Most Venezuelans are poor like Chavez was before he became president. This is the part of Chavez’s personality that the Venezuelan government promotes, and it is why so many Venezuelans love him.

Chavez has been harshly criticized by large parts of Venezuela’s middle and upper classes referred to as the “opposition”. He has been accused of electoral fraud, human rights violations, and political repression. He has survived a brief 2002 coup and a failed 2004 recall referendum. The poorer classes tend to view him as a socialist liberator, while the middle and upper classes tend to view him as an authoritarian demagogue. Regardless of the labels, Chavez is one of Latin America’s most complex and controversial figures.

From Mexico to Argentina, poor Latin Americans appreciate his rhetoric, his charisma, and talk of plans for a better future. He makes promises and keeps them. Within Venezuela, Chavez has setup medical clinics for the poor. Located in the shantytowns that surround Caracas, Cuban doctors run the clinics; service is free of charge. State-run markets, where the prices for basic food staples are controlled and very low, are popular with Chavez’s supporters. And his talk of land appropriation, a very difficult promise to keep, has moved forward, giving poor, landless Venezuelans hope that one day, they will have their own land.

Chavez is the keeper of the faith. He has spearheaded a movement in Venezuela and abroad, that, more than any other substantial outcome, has delivered hope to millions of impoverished Latinos.

At the airport outside of Caracas, one is abruptly introduced to the loud, badgering, and careening nature of Venezuelan culture. But amid the constant motion and liveliness, and despite the faith in Chavez, a growing sense of doom-and-gloom seems to have descended upon Caracas.

Having lived in