Hugo Chavez is a president of Venezuela since 1998, basedon a populist campaign, and subsequently as a leading global critic of U.S. foreign policy. Hugo Rafael Chavez was the son of school teachers. He graduated from Venezuela’s Academy of Military Sciences in 1975 and was commissioned a lieutenant in the national army. Chavez served in counterinsurgency units and as an instructor at the Academy of Military Sciences. He also became an ardent devotee of “Bolivarianism,” a blend of the liberation philosophy of Simon Bolivar (1783–1830) with contemporary Marxism. In 1983, Chavez founded the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement 200 (Movimiento Bolivariano Revolucionario 200, MBR-200), a political group whose name commemorated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bolivar. MBR-200’s goals were centered on the implementation of Bolivarianism. The group attracted followers in the Venezuelan military.

On 4 February 1992, Chavez and members of MBR-200 launched a coup attempt. They unsuccessfully tried to capture the Venezuelan president, but the majority of the military remained loyal to the government. Fourteen soldiers were killed, 50 were injured, and 80 civilians were wounded. Chavez surrendered, but gained broad appeal during his trial, when on national television he claimed that his coup was on behalf of the poor and downtrodden. In Venezuela, the president’s supports came to be known as chavistas.

Chavez served two years in prison, but was pardoned in 1994. Upon his release, he revived the MBR-200 as the Fifth Republic Movement (Movimiento V Republica, MVR). The new political grouping attacked the country’s traditional two-party system and foreign ownership of banks and industry. Chavez won the presidential elections in 1998 and initiated constitutional reforms that strengthened the power of the presidency and weakened the legislature and judiciary. In 1999, Chavez won approval for a new constitution, which lengthened the president’s terms from five to six years and replaced the one-term limit with a two-term restriction. The bicameral legislature was converted into a unicameral body and lost much of its power, including the ability to appoint judges. The constitution also called for new elections, and Chavez was reelected president. In 2000, a referendum was passed that allowed Chavez to rule by presidential decree for a year (the decrees could not be challenged by the legislature or the courts).

Chavez sought to use the military to expand his personal power and implement antipoverty programs. The centerpiece of Chavez’s effort was Plan Bolivar 2000, which used the military in an attempt to improve the quality of life for the poor. The plan called upon the military to build roads, schools, and other infrastructure projects, as well as to deliver health care to the poor. Revelations of corruption and mismanagement in 2001 led to the end of the initiative, and several senior officers and government officials were arrested or sacked.

In 2002, the military launched an abortive coup against Chavez (who subsequently accused the United States of sponsoring the coup). Chavez’s anti-American rhetoric played well among Venezuela’s lower classes, and the president increasingly blamed the United States for global problems. Chavez reversed the previously close ties between Venezuela and the United States and ended military relations between the two countries. Among other actions designed to demonstrate Venezuela’s new anti-American foreign policy, in 2000 Chavez traveled to Iraq to become the first head of state to meet with Saddam Hussein since the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Chavez ended privatization efforts and increased corporate taxes in order to fund social programs. A universal health care program was created, and education was expanded. Chavez also launched a broad land-transfer program. He tried to use price controls to lower inflation, but despite some initial success, inflation climbed above 25 percent in 2003 and 2004. Opposition to Chavez was strong among the middle and business classes, but he was able to retain his popularity among the poor by blaming economic problems on the bourgeoisie and foreign powers, mainly the United States. Chavez won a 2004 recall with 59 percent of the vote (some outside observers criticized the vote as fraudulent). New press restrictions were enacted in 2005.

Chavez limited oil production in Venezuela as a means to drive international energy prices higher, thereby increasing profits. During meetings of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Chavez consistently argued for production cuts. The spike in energy prices in 2005 and 2006 allowed for increased social spending. Chavez bolstered health care though an agreement with Fidel Castro’s government in which Cuban doctors served in Venezuela in exchange for oil transfers from Caracas. In 2004 and 2005, he led opposition to the U.S.-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and managed to prevent progress on economic discussions over the proposed economic union. Chavez proposed the creation of a new regional trade bloc that would not include the United States nor the expansion of existing Latin American trade groups to counter perceived U.S. economic hegemony in the region (and to block American trade policy). He adopted a strategy of using oil as an incentive to gain support for diplomatic initiatives. For instance, in its bid for a nonpermanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, Venezuela offered oil in exchange for support of its effort. Chavez also emerged as leader of anti-American states and reached out to states such as Cuba, Iran, and Syria in an attempt to develop a broad-based balancing group to U.S. global primacy.

Chavez’s relations with regional countries have been mixed. He offered to fund social programs in other Latin American states and agreed to create a medical center to train Cuban physicians to work in the region. He also supplied low-cost heating oil to communities in the United States in 2005. However, his consistent hostility to the United States marginalized his ability to forge bridges with regional partners. In addition, Venezuela–Mexico relations have been strained due to Chavez’s opposition to the FTAA and Mexico’s economic policies. Meanwhile, a series of political incidents with Colombia and Peru led to constant tensions between Venezuela and those countries.

Free term papers are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can use our professional writing services to buy a custom written research paper, term paper, or essay on Biographies at affordable price. CustomTermPapers is the best solution for those who seek help in writing term papers, essays, and research papers related to Biographies and other relevant topics.