In this essay, I
will use the experiences of both the past and the present in explaining the
psychology of Hugo Chavez. I will
highlight how Chavez’ family history, childhood, experiences on his path to
political leadership and the overall political atmosphere he has been exposed
to, have shaped his responses, drive and decisions as leader of Venezuela.
The essay will
comprise the following sections: family background and historical overview, the
path to leadership, and Hugo Chavez as President of Venezuela. These sections
will highlight the conditions and circumstances that have formed the psychology
of a somewhat highly strung, sensitive, yet motivated leader. Within these
sections, I will demonstrate how the triumphs and failings of Hugo Chavez have
affected his psychology and his overall leadership.
The conclusion
will tie together all the factors that have influenced Chavez in his rise to
political leadership, as well as the unique position he has taken on the world
stage, among what is considered conventional modern politics and the status
quo.
Hugo Chavez Frias was born to two teachers, on the 28th of July, 1954,
in the
(Gott, 2001; 35-36).
Political
rebellion was firmly in the blood. Considering the fact that Chavez’ father was
for a time a part of the Christian Democratic Party and governor of the state
of Barinas, and also that Chavez’ brother Adan was later to become a member of the constituent
assembly of Marida, this paints a clear picture of
how Chavez’ family history had a strong influence on him at an early age.
(Gott, 2001).
With all of the
influences within his family and its history, Chavez adopted an early love and
appreciation for history; mainly of course, the history of
The
P. Danopoulos, the Punto Fijo Pact of 1958 laid the ground work for a peaceful
alternation of power between the moderate party on the left, the AD, who were
Social Democrats, and the moderates on the right, COPEI, who were the Christian
Democrats.
(Sylvia
and Danopoulos, 2003).
The rest of
At that time, the
middle classes had flourished in
By the 1980s, President
Lusinchi added further insult to injury, with the
same brand of corruption, neo liberalism and erosion of democracy that was
being witnessed in the rest of
(Ellner and Hellinger, 2003).
Also like other
Latin American countries, this cycle of corruption and lack of transparency,
further deepened the sense of dissatisfaction and resentment overall.
Hugo Chavez has
had a long path that led to his triumphant leadership; along this path were
several figures which influenced both his psyche and his course of action on
the way to the presidency.
To reiterate the
psychological make up behind Chavez’ drive and decisions, it is worth pointing
out that, on the one hand, he has always demonstrated that he is very much his
own person, yet on the other hand, Chavez was extremely sensitive to, impressed
and motivated by certain experiences and influential figures he met on the path
to leadership.
One of these
first such figures was Juan Velasco Alvarado who, according to Richard Gott, was an influential revolutionary figure in
(Gott, 2001).
While Chavez was
a young officer in the army, he demonstrated a knack for spearheading
organisation and an unmistakable drive to excel, particularly in his political
ideology. Being young and perhaps full of attitude, he formed an armed cell
with no objective or real purpose, yet as Gott points
out, this was just another product of Chavez’ enthusiasm.
(Gott, 2001: 38).
Whether as a sports
instructor or teacher of political science, Chavez’ influence within the army
seemed to gather momentum. Within the ranks, he was a distinguished officer and
later became marked as a voice of dissent.
With the
political atmosphere becoming more volatile, Chavez had more and more
collaborations with leftists outside of the army. The responses and drives that
continued to motivate Chavez and his associates were multi-faceted. For
example, the massive debt incurred by Latin American countries, due to the demands
of the IMF and World Bank, and the corruption and deepening poverty experienced
by the citizenry, were collective factors that provided the push for a
questioning mind such as Hugo Chavez to motivate, yet again…
This time he
formed the Bolivarian Revolutionary Movement (MBR 200) – the 200 was the
celebration of the bicentennial anniversary of Simon Bolivar’s death. Richard Gott explains how Chavez and two loyal associates repeated
the same pledge that Bolivar had made, which was to devote his life to
liberating
(Gott,
2001; 40).
The
MBR 200 gained momentum along with Chavez’ influence within the army. He instigated multifaceted debates and
the intellectual element in these debates sprang from the fact that Chavez and
his associates were able to use their broad based military education to their
advantage. Hence, they saw things from much more of an informed perspective
than the average Latin American.
(Ellner
and Hellinger, 2003).
As Ellner and Hellinger go on to
mention, the Caracazo (riots in
Unfortunately for
Chavez, the coup failed, which would later have a huge impact on his psyche and
sense of responsibility, as a result of his first political blunder…
Kirk Hawkins
defines populism as:
“The presence of what some scholars call a charismatic mode of
linkage between voters and politicians, and a democratic discourse and the
elite.”
(Hawkins, 2003:
1137).
It is necessary
to conceptualize here the ideology that Chavez has so stridently personified, both in the years preceding his presidency and
now in his leadership of
As Hawkin’s article points out, many populist leaders tend to
thrive on the notion of the poor and struggling masses, sharing a will with the
elite. It is pointed out that many populist leaders, in particular, use their
charisma and influential pull to win over the masses; this brand of populist
leadership has been especially present in
Leaders such as
Peron of Argentina, or Castro of Cuba, have been the most notorious in using
their charisma to form a linkage with their voters. In comparison with these
other leaders, Chavez is certainly no different. In fact, when Chavez and his army colleagues
failed in their attempted coup, his brief television appearance of that day
seemed to be his grand introduction to the public stage. The mere fact that he
apologized for the failed coup, and took personal responsibility, left an
impression in the minds of the people. Latin Americans were simply not used to
someone apologizing for their actions in the political realm.
The time Chavez
spent in prison – reprimanded for his part in leading the failed coup - must
have had a psychological effect. There was certainly a lesson to be learned
that, in his quest for the presidency, he would have to plan a more coherent
strategy.
Chavez
immediately set about putting these plans in motion upon his release from
prison. With the psychological blow of the failed coup behind him, Chavez
seemed to be, at the same time, strengthened in his determination to gain
support with a view to putting his grand plans into action.
With his drive,
ambition and high level of confidence, Chavez set up the Movement of the Fifth
Republic (MVR) which, to begin with, was purely a pre-election strategy to gain
support from more of a civilian contingency. However this offshoot from MBR 200
gained in credibility, and later became a viable political party.
(Ellner and Hellinger, 2003).
According to Ellner and Hellinger, as well as
Sylvia and Danopoulo, Chavez burst into power in
December 1998, with a 58.6% majority. He aimed extremely high in his vision to
completely change the course of
(Ellner and Hellinger, 2003).
The
new constitution was just the beginning of Chavez’ reform initiative. Agrarian reforms have
also been a distinct hallmark to Chavez’ presidency.
Hawkins points
out another major distinction of Chavez as president, which is his overwhelming
ease with the masses and his charisma; this charisma has manifested into what
is known as Chavismo.
Despite so much
enthusiasm and rhetoric, not long into his presidency Chavez has been faced
with growing opposition and dissent. It has been stressed that there was a lack
of clear planning as to how Chavez would implement the new constitution.
Hawkins draws attention to the fact that charismatic leaders, such as Chavez,
often generate a lot of rhetoric, passion and drive, yet fail to deliver much
in the way of substance.
With Chavez as
president, more power has been given to the executive, which has caused
opposition. He has introduced elements
of neo liberalism, which he so rigorously opposes and Chavez has notoriously
clamped down hard on anyone who opposes him, including former supporters.
Chavez has
suffered major setbacks, such as a failed coup attempt to overthrow him in
2002. The coup attempt was the manifestation of collective
dissent and of Chavez’ failure to listen to the voices of others. These
characteristics only highlight the enormous ego behind such a man as Hugo
Chavez.
To briefly
summarize the key ingredients that make up the psychology behind the responses,
drive and actions taken by President Hugo Chavez, I will simply recap the
following sets of circumstances.
Firstly, it could
easily be said that Chavez was born into his leadership status; taking great
pride in his family history and the history that was shaped by Simon Bolivar
for the whole of
His stable
upbringing and broad-based education could easily provide someone with such a
sense of confidence. The brief rise and fall of Venezuela’s glory, due to both
internal and external elements, could only provide the passion, will and drive
needed in Chavez’ brand of charisma.
As president,
Chavez has made adversaries and allies, inside and outside of
From a bird’s eye
point of view, despite the failings and mistakes of this leader, it is easy to
see why, in the current political atmosphere, Chavez remains a pivotal
figure. As he recently took the stage to
address the UN, citing Aristotle and Chomski to
sharpen his message, he could immediately be seen as a trusted friend. However, if you lived in
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