Christoph
01-12-06, 22:30
Hugo Chavez: loved and hated, Venezuelan president thrives on conflict
CARACAS, Venezuela: Few Venezuelans are undecided about Hugo Chavez.
Some see him as a national curse and an international embarrassment, squandering the country's oil wealth while trying to amass ever more power.
Others see their president as a savior of the poor who is staring down U.S. President George W. Bush at the head of a leftist movement sweeping Latin America.
The 52-year-old president, a protege of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, regularly warns that Washington is trying to oust him. He grabbed world attention in September by calling Bush "the devil" in a speech to the United Nations, which didn't help Venezuela's failed bid to win a Security Council seat.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/01/america/LA_POL_Venezuela_Chavez_Profile.php
and
Chavez backs possible vote to close private TV stations
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez backed the possibility of holding a national referendum, if he's re-elected, on whether to shut down private television stations that he has accused of subversive activities.
Chavez's comments late Thursday came amid rising tensions between the government and the country's largely opposition-aligned private media ahead of Sunday's vote.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/12/01/chavez.venezuela.election.ap/index.html
CARACAS, Venezuela: Few Venezuelans are undecided about Hugo Chavez.
Some see him as a national curse and an international embarrassment, squandering the country's oil wealth while trying to amass ever more power.
Others see their president as a savior of the poor who is staring down U.S. President George W. Bush at the head of a leftist movement sweeping Latin America.
The 52-year-old president, a protege of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, regularly warns that Washington is trying to oust him. He grabbed world attention in September by calling Bush "the devil" in a speech to the United Nations, which didn't help Venezuela's failed bid to win a Security Council seat.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/01/america/LA_POL_Venezuela_Chavez_Profile.php
and
Chavez backs possible vote to close private TV stations
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez backed the possibility of holding a national referendum, if he's re-elected, on whether to shut down private television stations that he has accused of subversive activities.
Chavez's comments late Thursday came amid rising tensions between the government and the country's largely opposition-aligned private media ahead of Sunday's vote.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/12/01/chavez.venezuela.election.ap/index.html