Chávez Myth Will Outlive His Achievements
Chávez Myth Will Outlive His Achievements
AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini writes for CNN-GPS that "[President Hugo] Chávez’s legacy in Venezuela and in the region will be one of institutional debasement and polarization."
It’s difficult to remember a time when Hugo Chávez didn’t the dominate headlines, just as it is difficult to believe that, with his death, there will come a time when he no longer does. Elected as Venezuelan president in 1998 and sworn in in 1999, Chávez became the voice of a new group of leaders across South America that came to power with the collapse of traditional, elite-dominated party systems. He was the bête noir of the United States, a hero to the anti-globalization left and to the poor in his own country, a savior to the Castro regime in Cuba, and the clown prince of the regional summit circuit. For all this, though, Chávez’s legacy in Venezuela and in the region will be one of institutional debasement and polarization...
