Hugo Chavez speaks to people gathered at the Plaza Caracas on Feb. 4, 1998 in Caracas, Venezuela during celebrations for the anniverary of the 1992 coup. A ban on visiting the United States and the scorn of his country s wealthy elite hasn t kept former coup leader Chavez from becoming a hero to millions of Venezuelans or rising to the top of the polls in this year s presidential race. His popularity is provoking predictions of doom from investors and the Venezuelan establishment, which contends that Chavez is a dictator-in-waiting who will bring back failed socialist policies.