On the 7th December 1998 Lt Col Hugo Chavez had a resounding victory in the Venezuelan presidential elections, He won almost 57% of the vote against a right-wing independent candidate who’d suddenly got the support of the tw

He is backed by Polo Patriotico, an alliance of five left-wing parties and the Movement of the Fifth Republic.

Chavez first came to the public eye when he lead a coup against the then President Andres Perez in 1992 as an expression of discontent with the prevailing economic order. After being imprisoned for two years he was amnestied by Pres. Caldera.

He has taken his inspiration from populist military dictators such as Torrijos of Panama and particularly the Peruvian generals of the 1970s, Velasco Alvarado and Morales Bermudez, whom he served under. Historically he harks back to the ideals of Simon Bolivar.

The victory of lt. Col. Hugo Chavez has been greeted as a sign of hope amongst opposition forces in Mexico and Colombia

In 1991-1992, when Chavez and his Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement first rose to prominence, Venezuela seemed to be in very good conditions economically. In 1991, GDP increased by 9.2 %, inflation was under control,there was a significant rise in investments and the external debt had been renegotiated. The privatisation of the telephone company, the national airline and three banks gave the government nearly 2,000 million dollars while the oil continued to be an essential source of income and taxes for the economy, in spite of the reduction in production agreed with OPEC.But the common people gained nothing from this as at the same time, as in all other countries subjected to the rigours of structural adjustment by the IMF, subsidies for basic foodstuffs were removed and education, transport and health services were greatly cut, allowing for a brutal concentration of wealth while 80% of the people lived in poverty.....

...in a later agreement with the IMF and the world Bank reached by the then President Caldera(who had been elected for taking an anti-neoliberal stance) meant that petrol prices rose by 850% and electricity by 10% monthly, VAT rose from 12% to 18% and the 'Bolivar' was devalued by 70%. By the end of 1996 inflation had passed 100% and the following year was 30% with an economic recession that obviously affected consumption. Meanwhile unemployment and the informal sector increased, as did the concentration of wealth and the concomitant poverty.

By 1997, the traditional political parties, the social democrat Democratic Action and the christian democrat Copei (Independent Electoral Committee of Political Organisation) were in crisis to the point that opinion polls favoured a former Miss Universe, Irene Saez, who had no previous political experience.....

....Hugo Chavez may turn out to be a heavy handed populist, in the style of the Peruvian generals of the 70s (Velasco Alvarado and Morales Bermudez) for whom he has expressed open admiration, but it is undeniable that the people of Venezuela have voted overwhelmingly against the neoliberalist agenda imposed by the IMF.