Hugo Chavez funeral photos: a charismatic bigot who knew his crowd

HUGO Chávez has been lying in state in an open casket in Caracas. The poor looked on and in. Many wept. Elsewhere many wondered what next for the Axis of Diesel, the bond that links Venezuela to Iran, Cuba and Syria. Chavez expressed solidarity with Robert Mugabe, Colonel Gaddafi and President Assad. If you don’t like America – and America is not keen on you – Chavez was an ally-in-waiting. And he had charisma. In 2005, officials from Venezuela signed a deal to send cheap heating oil to the poor of Massachusetts. Local congressman William Delahunt called the deal “an expression of humanitarianism at its very best”. We thought America would get the oil, spin it on the money markets and sell it on at massive profit. It didn’t. Sure, Chavez was a bigot, a racist and violent, but he knew himself and he knew his crowd…

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People line up to see the body of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez outside the military academy where he is lying in state in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturdaday, March 9, 2013. Chavez died on March 5, 2013 after a nearly two-year bout with cancer. He was 58. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Posted: 9th, March 2013 | In: Politicians Comment | TrackBack | Permalink