A photo I took of President Chavez in Cochabamba, Bolivia at the closing of the Peoples World Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, April 22, 2010.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died yesterday at the age of 58.
CBC reports, “A teary-eyed Bolivian President Evo Morales, one of Chavez’s closest allies, declared that ‘Chavez is more alive than ever’. ‘Chavez will continue to be an inspiration for all peoples who fight for their liberation,’ Morales said Tuesday in a televised speech. ‘Chavez will always be present in all the regions of the world and all social sectors. Hugo Chavez will always be with us, accompanying us.’ …A wistful Rafael Correa, president of Ecuador and another of Chavez’s closest allies, predicted Chavez would have a lasting influence. ‘We have lost a revolutionary, but millions of us remain inspired.'”
The Associated Press adds, “Argentine President Cristina Fernandez declared three days of mourning nationwide. She and President Jose Mujica of neighbouring Uruguay prepared to travel to Venezuela for the funeral. In Nicaragua, Rosario Murillo, the wife and spokeswoman of President Daniel Ortega, said Chavez is ‘one of the dead who never die.’ …In a statement, France’s President Francois Hollande, who made social and economic justice a pillar of his campaign for France’s presidency last year, praised Chavez’ ‘undeniable will to fight for justice and development.'”
The Toronto-based Latin American and Caribbean Solidarity Network states, “He championed the rights of the poor and marginalized bringing a life of dignity, access to education, housing and health care. Through his leadership Chavez changed the composition of the economy and society by integrating the values of a socialist Bolivarian revolution with Communal Councils, Workers Councils and other community organizations. His government instituted social programs, through the Misiones Bolivarianas which leaves a legacy of a humanist socialism.”
Rabble.ca editor Derrick O’Keefe writes, “Today, I would rather celebrate the majority of Venezuelans — especially the poor and the marginalized. It is, after all, the people who made Chavez, and not the other way around. And it is the humble people of Venezuela who saw to it that Chavez was allowed to complete this many years as president, after all. …Whatever the shortcomings and all the very real contradictions of Chavez’s government, the poor of Venezuela and of all Latin America are better off today in real and tangible ways because the people kept it in power.” To read his commentary, go to http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2013/03/hugo-chavez-undefeated.
To reflect on the legacy of Chavez, this interview with Gonzalo Gómez by University of Ottawa professor Susan Spronk and University of London professor Jeffrey R. Webber comes well recommended, http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/682.php.
