http://www.zmag.org/zmag/articles/chavez.htmChávez is a product of popular outrage and effervescence. Fifty years of relatively stable oil prices had provided the nation with a stable democracy, which contrasted with the military-run governments in the rest of the continent in the 1960s and 1970s. The sharp downturn in prices in the 1980s interrupted Venezuela's prosperity. Then on February 27, 1989 mass riots of slum dwellers broke out throughout the nation, leaving an estimated 2000 dead. Venezuela would never be the same.
Santiago Martínez, who heads a major community organization in Caracas, told me: "After February 27, we tried to reconstruct what I call the "social fabric" by easing social tensions, but to no avail. Poor people consider the affluent communities enemy grounds. Any businessman who is successful is assumed to be corrupt, and that goes for politicians as well. The distrust is mutual. The middle class fears that the poor are about to invade their communities."
This class cleavage manifests itself in attitudes toward Chávez. Middle class members are increasingly alienated by the radical language of the President, who on several occasions has questioned the sanctity of private property. They view Chávez as indiscreet, long-winded and uncouth. In contrast, the nation's have-nots are even more solidly behind him than at the time of his election and are especially taken by the President's frequent references to the plight of the poor.
Chávez´s charisma is not hard to grasp. He represents different things to different people. He frequently speaks to the nation informally in TV appearances which go on for hours, in the style of FDR´s fireside chats. He also has a weekly call-up radio program named ¨Hello President.¨ The President sometimes shows up unexpectedly and virtually unaccompanied at hospitals and elsewhere in order to get a close-up view of the nation´s pressing problems. Chávez comes off as an ordinary Venezuelan whose childhood dream was to play baseball in the majors. Indeed, as president he has pitched in several televised games; on an official trip to New York in June, he did not resist the temptation of throwing the opening pitch of a game at Shea Stadium. He is a Southpaw who occasionally throws a wicked curve, and even argues with the umpire on calls he considers unfair.
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