On Tuesday 5 March, at the age of 58, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez lost his almost two-year battle with cancer and passed away. Within seconds of the news being announced, the wheels of the global media bandwagon went into overdrive, with largely unsurprising results, in both the US and British media.
Hugo Chavez
When Hugo Chávez triumphed in the 1998 presidential elections, the neoliberal capitalist model was already floundering.
The choice then was whether to re-establish the neoliberal capitalist model -- clearly with some changes including greater concern for social issues, but still motivated by the same logic of profit seeking -- or to go ahead and try to build another model.
I believe that Chávez's chief legacy is having chosen the latter alternative. To name that alternative, he also chose to reclaim the word socialism, despite the negative baggage that the word had acquired.
When Venezuelans return to the polls in new presidential elections on April 14, analysts are predicting a decisive win for Nicolas Maduro, the candidate of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
In December, the late president Hugo Chavez urged his supporters to back Maduro as PSUV candidate should Chavez’s worsening health prevent him from fulfilling his presidential term.
Under the Venezuelan constitution, new elections must be held within 30 days of the resignation or death of the president.
The huge, genuine and spontaneous outpouring of grief that has enveloped Venezuela in the days since Hugo Chavez passed away on March 5 show that the late Venezuelan president was no ordinary politician.
Hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets to accompany Chavez's coffin on its way from the hospital where he died to the military academy where his body is currently lying in state, clad in the red that symbolises the Bolivarian revolution and chanting “the people united will never be defeated”.
The Nepal Venezuela Solidarity Network organised a condolence ceremony at Maitighar Mandala, Kathmandu, on March 6 to mark the death of the Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez. Fifty-eight candles were lit and 58 seconds of silent mourning was observed.
We have known for some time that the death of Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez was probably coming soon. But that did not make it any easier for many of us when it came.
Cynics, and worse, have started to pour scorn on the mass grief in Venezuela and around the world.
Chavez wasn't just a leader of a revolution in a faraway Latin American country. He was a hero and champion of people all around the world precisely because he broke so radically from the ugly mould of most 21st century politicians.
Venezuela Analysis journalist Tamara Pearson's passionate and insightful report on the feeling among the Venezuelan people after the passing of President Hugo Chavez, the response of the opposition, the people's determination to continue their revolution, and the importance of international solidarity. Film by Green Left TV.
Work Like Chavez
Rebel Diaz and Agent Of Change
Released March 9, 2013
www.rebeldiaz.bandcamp.com
For revolutionary rappers Rebel Diaz, the death of Hugo Chavez on March 5 came as a double blow.
The Venezuelan leader had helped the Chilean hip-hop duo set up their community arts and resistance centre in New York's South Bronx after he visited the area eight years ago.
Green Left TV captured the heartfelt messages of sorrow and solidarity in the wake of the tragic death of Venezuelan President Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias at a rally in Sydney on March 6.
Dozens of people gathered in Sydney on March 6 to remember the life of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and express solidarity with the people of Venezuela.
People used the opportunity to speak about the progress the Venezuelan revolution has made in providing healthcare, education and employment for millions of people in that country, as well as using the country's natural resources to raise the living standards of people internationally.
In a raw emotional outpouring, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans walk along side the coffin of President Hugo Chavez. Leaders and people across Latin America have joined the mourning.
Hugo Chavez has died — undefeated. Yes, undefeated. Chavez, no matter how many times the corporate media and the cheerleaders of the status quo call him a dictator, was elected repeatedly with overwhelming majorities. No matter how many times this slur is moronically or mendaciously repeated, people know the truth. No less than Jimmy Carter certified Venezuela's elections as amongst the most fair and transparent his organization has ever observed. And the voter turnouts that elected Chavez were usually far, far higher than those in the U.S.
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