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Line 21: − + − Chávez assumed power as President in 1999 and pledged to aid Venezuela's poor majority. + − Fraudulent elections were held in 2000 and in 2006, allowing Chavez to retain his [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] power. As such it would be accurate to describe him as a [[dictator]].+ + + + + + + + + +
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'''Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías''' (b. July 28, 1954) is the repressive [[leftist]] [[tyrant]] of the Bolivarian Republic of [[Venezuela]].
'''Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías''' (b. July 28, 1954) is the repressive [[leftist]] [[tyrant]] of the Bolivarian Republic of [[Venezuela]].
A self-proclaimed [[socialist]] and [[collectivist]], his disastrous economic policies have led to food shortages, quotas, and rationing in his oil-rich country, causing thousands to flee.<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/venezuela/4938993/Venezuelas-Hugo-Chavez-tightens-state-control-of-food-amid-rocketing-inflation-and-food-shortages.html</ref>
A self-proclaimed [[socialist]] and [[collectivist]], his successful economic policies have led to decrease social inequalities as well as relative economic prosperation.
<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/venezuela/4938993/Venezuelas-Hugo-Chavez-tightens-state-control-of-food-amid-rocketing-inflation-and-food-shortages.html</ref>
Chavez was elected as President in 1999 and pledged to aid Venezuela's poor majority.
Elections were held in 2000 and in 2006, allowing Chavez to stay in Presidency. As such it would be accurate to describe him as a democratically elected [[President]].
*{{Venezuela blunder}}
*{{Venezuela blunder}}
==2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt==
The Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002 was a failed coup d'état on 11 April 2002 that saw President Hugo Chávez ousted from office for 47 hours, being restored by a combination of military force and mass demonstration of popular support. Chávez was detained by the military, and Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce (Fedecámaras) president Pedro Carmona was installed as interim president. Carmona's brief rule saw the National Assembly and the Supreme Court dissolved, and the country's 1999 Constitution declared void. In Caracas, the coup led to a pro-Chávez uprising that the Metropolitan Police attempted to suppress. Key sectors of the military and parts of the anti-Chávez movement refused to back Carmona. The pro-Chávez Presidential Guard eventually retook the Miraflores presidential palace without firing a shot, leading to the collapse of the Carmona government and the re-installation of Chávez as president. The coup was publicly condemned by Latin American nations (the Rio Group presidents were gathered together in San José, Costa Rica, at the time, and were able to issue a joint communiqué) and international organizations. The United States and Spain quickly acknowledged the de facto pro-US Carmona government, but ended up condemning the coup after it had been defeated.
The coup had been planned for six to nine months, and came after Chávez had passed a number of controversial laws in November 2001, and attempted to strengthen government control over the state oil company, PDVSA. A general strike took place in December 2001, and early 2002 saw public calls for Chávez' resignation come from a number of leading military figures. By early April the power struggle between the government and PDVSA saw an escalating strike at PDVSA, which became a general strike from 9 April, with the support of the country's leading trade union federation (Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela, CTV) and business group (Fedecámaras). The strike was extended for several days, and on 11 April an opposition march was rerouted to the presidential palace. Government efforts to keep the march away from the palace, where a Chavista rally was already taking place, were thwarted by coup supporters, and as the sides neared each other, shots began to be fired; by the end of the afternoon, nineteen people were dead, and many wounded. The opposition blamed the deaths on a number of Chavistas filmed firing pistols from a bridge, a narrative which was at first largely accepted by the international media and provided justification for the coup. Chavez supporters and others claimed that unknown snipers were responsible for most if not all of the deaths, in a manner consistent with longstanding plans to justify a coup, but the issue remains controversial.
The mainstream Venezuelan private media played a key role in the coup, providing continuous coverage of the general strike which led up to it, and supporting the rerouting to Miraflores of the 11 April march. Venevisión, owned by Gustavo Cisneros, played a particular role, with opposition leaders meeting there after the 11 April march and appealing to the military to intervene; and it was Venevisión which filmed the Chavistas firing from the bridge, and edited the footage to make the case for a planned ambush. The private media refused to interview government officials after the march, and after protests broke out following Chávez' detention, declined to cover them. Attempts by Chávez supporters to disclose that Chávez had not resigned, and was being held prisoner, were ignored or cut off. A key military division's attempt to publicise its rejection of the coup was ignored, and reported only by CNN. After Chávez supporters retook Miraflores, the major networks stopped providing news reports, and two of the three major newspapers cancelled their Sunday editions, claiming safety concerns.
In 2009 former [[USA|U.S.]] President [[Jimmy Carter]] told Colombian newspaper El Tiempo that he believed that Washington knew about the abortive coup, and may have been involved. <ref>[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2009/09/200992116049879437.html]</ref>
==Election fraud==
==Election fraud==