Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan president, has died at the age of 58, it has been announced.
His death will trigger an election within 30 days in the country which he had ruled since 1999.
Chávez was diagnosed with cancer nearly two years ago, and has not been seen in public for several months. His designated successor is his vice-president, Nicolás Maduro.
In January, the New Statesman asked two writers to consider the contested legacy of Chávez. Rory Carroll wrote that if Maduro wins the presidential election:
. . . he will struggle to keep the disparate ruling coalition united and fix the warping economy. Chávez’s political genius was the revolution’s glue. Maduro is no genius and he relies on Cuban mentors, not a good augury for healthy democracy. If the opposition stays united and wins the election it will face entrenched chavista bureaucrats, mayors and governors. Some will seek to perpetuate their movement the way the Perónists did in Argentina.
Others will saltar la talanquera, a Venezuelan tradition of jumping the fence to accommodate new rulers. If oil prices stay high the transition will have a cushion. The longer-term challenge will be the economy and rebuilding institutions – ministries, the judiciary, the armed forces, local government – which have been gutted and have become hyper-politicised. It will be messy and painful. At such times Venezuela usually clamours for a strong leader who promises short cuts. Too often, it finds one.
You can read that article here. It was accompanied by Richard Gott’s piece, in which he argued that Chavez:
. . . has not only helped to construct and project Venezuela as an interesting and important country for the first time, at ease with itself and its historical heritage, he has reimagined the continent of Latin America with a vision of what might be possible.
Long after successive presidents of the United States have disappeared into the obscurity of their presidential archives, the memory of Hugo Chávez will survive in Latin America, along with that of Simón Bolívar and Che Guevara, as an influential leader who promised much but was cut down in his prime.
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