“Chavez is a leader that had the support of the people. A defiant man that was allowed to be so because the people wanted him to be. A defiant people against an empire. The next few days will be crucial in Venezuela. Will there be a potential coup? Who will line be next? What will the people do? How will the U.S. respond to Chavez death? And while we await, we continue to build another world, where perhaps there will be chavez(s) in every corner in every community. In my final words, I hope the pueblo of Venezuela, stand and say, “TODOS SOMOS CHAVEZ!” — Olmeca (hip hop artist/activist)
The following is a timeline of Hugo Chavez’s life. Chavez led Venezuela from 1999 to 2013. On 05th March 2013, President Hugo Chavez died at Caracas military hospital, 3.55pm New York time at the age of 58.
July 28, 1954: Born in Sabaneta in the Venezuelan state of Barinas, one of six children born to Hugo de los Reyes Chavez and Elena Frias.
1975: Graduated from Venezuela’s Military Academy as a sub- lieutenant and with a degree in Military Science and Arts, specialising in Communications.
1982: Forms subversive group Bolivarian Army 200 (EB-200) with other military officers while serving in the national army.
1989: Then-President Carlos Andres Perez’s austerity measures trigger riots during which the army kills hundreds of protesters. The riots become known as the “Caracazo,” a rallying point for Chavez’s political movement.
1989: EB-200 becomes MBR-200, a military-civilian group that would lead a failed February1992 coup.
1990: Earns rank of lieutenant colonel. Earns a master’s degree in political science from the Simon Bolivar University.
February 1992: Leads military coup against then-President Carlos Andres Perez, which fails and lands him in prison for two years.
November 1992: Another military coup attempt where Chavez played a role fails while he is in jail.
1994: After two years in prison, President Rafael Caldera orders Chavez’s release.
December 6, 1998: Wins election for president over a former Miss Universe with 56 percent of the vote.
December 15, 1999: Venezuelans approve a new constitution proposed by Chavez’s movement.
July 30, 2000: Wins second presidential election with 60 percent of the vote.
April 11–13, 2002: Ousted from power by a military coup for two days, returns to office after international condemnation and supporters demand his return. Apologises for mistakes and offers to open a dialog with the opposition. Blames the US for supporting the coup.
December 2002 Opposition begins a two-month general strike to demand Chavez step down, paralysing much of the country’s oil production. Eventually fires more than 18,000 state oil workers.
2003: Installs currency controls and price controls on basic goods.
August 2004: Wins recall referendum sought by opposition.
2004: Starts Alba, a political alliance of Latin American countries, with Venezuela and Cuba as first members.
2006: Speaks at United Nations General Assembly, calling then- U.S. President George W. Bush “the devil.”
December 3, 2006: Wins his third presidential election and second six-year term with 63 percent of the vote
2007: Nationalises CA Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela, the country’s largest phone company, and CA Electricidad de Caracas, then the country’s largest publicly traded power company.
January 10, 2007: Sworn in as president again, declaring in parliament that he will lead Venezuela toward 21st-century socialism and uttering the phrase, “Homeland, Socialism or death!”
May 2007: Revokes opposition television network RCTV’s broadcasting license, provoking opposition street protests.
December 2, 2007: Loses referendum on constitutional amendments that would have eliminated term limits.
February 17, 2009: Wins referendum to amend constitution, eliminating term limits for all public officials.
May 2011: Knee injury sidelines him from a regional tour.
June 2011: Reveals from Cuba that he is being treated for cancer after doctors discovered a malignant tumour in his pelvic region earlier that month.
July 2011: Begins first rounds of chemotherapy to treat cancer.
February 2012: Undergoes third operation for cancer after a second tumour is found.
March, 2012: Announces that doctors removed another cancerous tumour from his pelvic region, adding that the disease hasn’t spread.
March 2012: First radiation therapy sessions.
July 2012: Says he is “totally free” of cancer as presidential campaign kicks off.
October 7, 2012: Wins third six-year term with 55 percent of the vote over former Governor Henrique Capriles Radonski.
October 11, 2012: Names Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro vice president.
December 8, 2012: Returns from a trip to Cuba to say cancer has returned. In a national address flanked by Mr Maduro and national assembly head Diosdado Cabello, Chavez anoints Mr Maduro as his successor if early elections are called.
December 10, 2012: Chavez flies back to Cuba for more treatment. It is the last time he is seen in public.
December 11, 2012: Chavez undergoes a six-hour operation that Mr Maduro says was “complex” and “carried out as planned and with success.”
December 29, 2012: Mr Maduro flies to Cuba to visit Chavez. The following day he says the president has suffered “new complications” as a result of a respiratory infection, without giving more details.
January 10, 2013: Chavez is unable to return to Caracas for a swearing-in ceremony to start his third six-year term. One day earlier, the Supreme Court said the event was a formality and that Chavez remained head of state.
February 15, 2013: The Venezuelan government publishes photos of Chavez propped up in his Havana hospital bed with his daughters, reading the Cuban newspaper Granma. The president was breathing through a tracheal tube, the government said.
February 18, 2013: Chavez returns to Caracas after more than two months in Cuba, travelling immediately to a military hospital. His arrival isn’t broadcast.
March 5, 2013: Chavez dies at 4.25pm local time.
“Patria, Unidad, Revolution!” — Hugo Chavez (homeland, unity, revolution)
HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE COMANDANTE CHAVEZ!
[youtube]http://youtu.be/g66gFM0wpRQ[/youtube]
Pictures: Reuters
Azad Kamall
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