'Many people thought if I became president it would mean the return of Hitler and Mussolini rolled into one . . . the imagined disaster has not taken place.' -- Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela. The spectre of Simon Bolivar hovers once again over Latin America as the aims and ambitions of the Liberator are taken up by Comandante Hugo Chavez, the charismatic and controversial President of Venezuela. Welcomed by the inhabitants of the teeming shanty towns of Caracas as their potential saviour, and greeted by Washington with considerable alarm, this former golpista-turned-democrat has already begun the most wide-ranging transformation of oil-rich Venezuela for half a century, and dramatically affected the political debate throughout Latin America. In a first-hand report from Venezuela, veteran correspondent Richard Gott places the Coman-dante in historical perspective, and examines his plans and programmes. He describes the support and opposition that these attract, and argues that this unique experiment may prove a new way forward for Latin America. [via]
