Ten years after his death, the controversial Hugo Chávez is still leading opinion polls in Venezuela. According to a recent study by Datanálisis, it is 56%. In contrast, none of the living political leaders get 50% approval, not even the president’s successors, who are now being heavily questioned, even by former allies like Venezuela’s Communist Party.
During his last presidential campaign, the symbol that accompanied Chávez’s voters was the image of his eyes, an iconography that was reinforced after his death. The “Eyes of Chávez” were everywhere: in public buildings, on some steps in downtown Caracas, on billboards… That and the color red were the hallmarks of official propaganda.
Gradually, this iconography was erased. But not replaced by a more revolutionary kind, but by a symbolism unthinkable a few years ago: that of American superheroes fit for the tropics. This detail, which may seem banal, is perhaps evidence of various changes that have taken place in the country since the death of Chávez. But while his symbols are gradually being supplanted, the memory of the President lives on. How is it possible that it is so popular in Venezuela?
Luis Vicente León, President of the Datanálisis company, points out that support for the charismatic leader has always been great. When he died in March 2013, he was left as a photographer. “Since his death, he’s always been high (his popularity). It goes up and down, but always around half the population. You have to understand that this is not strange because they are actually evaluating a memory of a country that had better conditions than the current ones. When Chávez died, he had just won an election (October 2012) and he was frozen in a photo like Marilyn Monroe or James Dean. It doesn’t age and they only remember the good and blame Maduro for the bad,” he said.
In 2022, a poll by polling firm More Consulting found that the character of Chávez had between 45% and 47% support. “This means that almost half of the voters who are in Venezuela still have an affinity for Chavismo,” is one of the conclusions of the study by this company.
The former president’s popularity, a decade after his death, can be interpreted as a connection to the economic times the country experienced during his tenure (1999-2012); his style of populism, which was polarized and controversial, or perhaps because it really achieved a connection with the popular sectors, to such an extent that none of the current leaders, Chavistas or not, can do anything. There is not a single reason among those who admire Chávez, nor among those who question him.
Although I have never voted for Chávez or been seduced by his proposals, I think I understood his connection to the popular sectors when I watched his performance. The president’s death was followed by a massive mourning demonstration that extended his wake for ten days and was attended by hundreds of thousands of his admirers. As I waited in line to see his body, I witnessed the shock of his followers.
It is evident that Chavismo as a general idea survived the death of its leader, what is not really clear is whether the legacy it intended to leave behind remains. Today, this movement, centered around the President, has seen various purges while those who remain in power have deepened authoritarianism. General Isaias Baduel, who led the operation that restored Chávez to power in April 2002, died in prison without a trial. Another Chávez confidant, General Miguel Rodriguez Torres, was recently exiled to Spain.
Nicolas Maduro’s government has been accused of serious human rights violations since 2014. Some cases may be considered crimes against humanity, according to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor’s investigation.
At the same time, Maduro has pursued a pragmatic economic policy. The country is dollarized and inequality is the norm. While concerts are held and a baseball stadium with “hot tubs” is inaugurated, the minimum salary in the public sector does not reach the equivalent of $6 a month. There is no longer any talk of the thesis of 21st century socialism, a proposal accepted by Chávez. The actions of the Maduro government have been branded neoliberal by sectors that were once allies. Among them the Venezuelan Communist Party, which is now considered an enemy of this government.
For Maripili Hernández, a former minister and former member of the ruling party, Chávez’s legacy is in many ways undeniable. One of them is the 1999 Constitution and its initiatives to meet the needs of disadvantaged groups. Hernández, who describes himself as a Chavista but does not support the Maduro government, has asserted that if Chávez “revived” he would die again, but of anger.
What remains very much alive in Chavismo, however, is the vocation to power that distinguished its leader. Maduro and his entourage managed to stabilize authoritarianism, remain in government, commute the sanctions they faced for violating human rights, and today, in the face of an eventual presidential election, this emerges as the first option.
Chávez’s famous eyes no longer look everywhere. Now Maduro is playing with the literal image of a superhero, El Superbigote. Avoiding the color red while living with the radical sector of his party, he throws a liana at the new Chavismo that has already amassed capital that he defends amidst luxury and inequality.
When the President died, there were doubts as to whether the movement he led would survive. The years show that. The Chavismo in power, however, resembles less and less the Chavismo of Chávez.
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