Reading the articles about his legacy is another interesting, and in some ways more enlightening, lens on Hugo Chávez' story. Two recent articles one in the New York Times, hardly a bastion of left-wing ideologues, and the other at Global Research show that though his character and politics can be spun by the empire's propaganda machine, the facts on the ground of what he has accomplished can't.
The facts are that Hugo Chávez and his party recently won 13 of 14 local elections mainly because they greatly improved the living standards of the majority of voters in Venezuela. Since 2004 poverty has been cut by half and extreme poverty by more than 70 percent. Venezuelans get free education to the highest levels and quality health care, subsidized food and housing, land reform, respect for indigenous rights, job training, micro credit, affordable electricity and cooking gas and gasoline at 7 cents a gallon. Eligibility for public pensions tripled, most of the poverty reduction coming from increased employment, not 'government handouts', and during most of Chávez’ tenure the private sector has grown faster than the public sector. If you haven’t heard any of this, it’s because the news media in the US and the rest of the 'free' world is giving you the equivalent of a “tea party” view of Chávez' accomplishments.
Beyond his domestic accomplishments Hugo Chávez is a hero to anti-imperialists around the globe because he has used Venezuela's oil revenue to help his neighbors, not enrich himself and his cronies. The empire hates and fears Chávez because of the example he sets out for others to follow. And follow they do, all over Latin America and far beyond. We all have to die sooner or later, whenever it's Hugo's turn his legacy will live on in the hearts and memories of 'the people' both living and those yet unborn.
