Hugo Chavez presente!

Hugo Chavez presente! Hugo Chavez is dead.

Time will tell how deeply Socialism has taken in Venezuela. I think Chavez has done a good job of bringing prosperity to the poor of his country. Literacy and health has improved dramatically.

The Capitalist press screams "Dictator!" when he won 63% of the vote.

The prolonged period of dual power in Venezuela is going to wear people down.

In Venezuela and the Middle East after Chavez, Juan Cole criticises Chavez for:

The foreign policy of late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez imagined that socialism and anti-imperialism are the same thing, and that he could lead a new sort of socialist international. These considerations shaped his Middle East policy in ways that were contradictory and hypocritical.

In Chavez's defence, it could be said that Venezuela was a country under imperialist attack, and Chavez sought allies wherever he could find them.

The BBC posits Hugo Chavez: A divided and divisive legacy?.

He gave a voice and identity to the poor, not just at home but also on the international stage.

He was a determined advocate of South-South dialogue, building close relations with ideologically like-minded presidents across Latin America.

He raised the profile of Venezuela into that of an international player, forming alliances with anyone who opposed the US (Iran, North Korea, Libya under Muammar Gaddafi).

"Within his administration he gave opportunities to people who would never have had them otherwise," said political analyst Carlos Romero.