Hugo Rafael CHAVEZ

Hugo Rafael Chц?vez was born on July 28, 1954 in the town of Sabaneta. In 1975, Hugo was a paratrooper in the Army of Venezuela. By 1990, Chavez rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. February 4, 1992 he led a failed uprising. Despite the mobilization of large numbers of troops and the capture of key strategic points in several cities, the revolt was extinguished after 12 hours.

. Known among his subordinates as "El Comandante", he was completely unknown to the public when he appeared, dressed in military uniforms, and took full responsibility for the uprising itself
. However, his mysterious phrase, . that the battle is lost only in the moment ", . never left the minds of Venezuelans and provided him with almost cult popularity at that time, . when he was pardoned by President Rafael Caldera in March 1994 after two years in prison.,

. A few months after the release of Chavez was invited to Havana, the Cuban leader Fidel Castro as a revolutionary comrade
. The United States banned him from entering the country because of his coup attempt in 1992. Together with allies in the army, he founded the Movement of the Fifth Republic, as successor to the election of the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement, a revolt in 1992.

. In April 1997, Chavez said he would run for president of Venezuela
. His campaign was built on a populist platform, based on promises to raise the living standards of the population and to tackle corruption in public administration. Toured the country, he promised to change the democratic constitution of 1961, making it more or less consistent with the goals of his presidency.

. In the 1998 elections, Chavez won a crushing victory, and a year later, voters strongly endorsed its new constitution, which gave him broad powers and the right to change the political and social fabric of the country.