He was also a dictator who didn`t tolerate dissent at home and made friends with some of the most barbaric rulers on this planet (includinig Saddam and Kaddafi).
I disagree & it appears that you've been a victim of the typical American right-wing propaganda machine.
Chavez was democratically elected by his people. He was no dictator. Yes, he did associate with some questionable characters, but this is no different than Canada associating with Cuba or the US associating with Saudi Arabia, among many others. You say that Chavez associated with Saddam and Ghadaffi. So did the US at one point when it was advantageous to their cause. As a matter-of-fact, Saddam Hussein was an ally of the US throughout the 80's as he battled Iran. Heck, the US are the ones who supplied him with chemical weapons, which he later used on his own people.
The US were also long-time supporters of the Anwar Saddat & Hosni Mubarak regimes in Egypt, and do i need to add the Shah of Iran, who murdered & brutalized his own citizens through his secret police. They've been long-time supporters of the Hussein dictatorships in Jordan, as well as the ones in Kuwait and other arab countries. Same thing with many regimes in Central & South America. The US seems to have had the knack throughout its 20th century history of supporting the wrong side in those respective country's civil wars (Nicaragua, El Salvador, etc). It even caused some. But that's another story, another topic.
Chavez' hands are not clean. Neither is Canada's and most importantly the US, who i might add also supported one of history's most brutal dictators in Gen. Augusto Pinnochet of Chile. The list is a long one. Very long, unfortunately.
