Rebel with a cause – Two biographies take objective looks at Venezuela’s unobjective — and outspoken — leader – Hugo Chávez

“Hugo Chávez is George W. Bush’s chief of mischief, a rowdy, vociferous critic (with ample reason) without “pelos en la lengua,” as the Spanish saying goes: with no modicum of embarrassment to control his attacks. He has aligned himself with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran in an effort to undermine American foreign policy. Not since Fidel Castro stormed the international stage in the late ’50s has a rascal-cum-visionary generated such polarizing opinions. When at the United Nations last year, after Bush had delivered a dumbfounding speech, Chávez said that standing in the same podium a day later allowed him to smell the scent of el diablo, he left no doubt about his status as the boldest, most daring, and potentially disestablishing politician in the world.

Unsurprisingly, a veritable deluge of biographies of the self-professed messiah of democratic socialism in the 21st century is taking place before our eyes. I’ve counted 12 in various languages, published or in preparation in the last couple of years. All seek to explain what Chávez means by “democratic” (surely not the Jeffersonian approach) and “socialism” (a dictatorial system for Venezuela closer to Uzbekistan’s model than to Sweden’s).”

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