Hugo!: The Hugo Chavez Story from Mud Hut to Perpetual Revolution [Paperback]

I entirely empathize with the previous reviewer who stated: "I lost sleep two nights running because I just couldn't put the book down." This book reads like a great Latin American novel, and there are chapters that rank with the best freelance journalism I have ever read. Jones is not blind to Chavez's flaws and "undiplomatic" manner. But he makes clear how Chavez, alone among Venezuelan politicians of the post-independence era, has captured the imagination of the poor and made them a priority in his economic and social policies. The accounts of Chavez's original failed coup, and the coup attempt and strikes against him after he took power, are absolutely palpitating. And there were points where I had tears in my eyes reading Chavez's own comments on moments when he thought all was lost, yet emerged triumphant with the majority of Venezuelans at his side. Some may blanch at Jones's derisory comments about the role of Venezuelan elites in all this. I applaud him wholeheartedly for showing just how callow, narcissistic, and anti-democratic are most of the forces ranged against this most complex and fascinating of Latin American leaders.

Considering what the mainstream media has to say about Hugo Chavez whenever the opportunity arises (and that is very frequently, considering how quickly changes are taking place in Venezuela) this book is, indeed, a must read. No matter what your opinion of Chavez is, Bart Jones presents a fine journalist's account of the modern history of Venezuela, it's leaders, and the life of its current president.

What also makes the book very important is the fact that it's a "good read". Unfortunately, too many times, books that are historically or politicly valuable are so poorly written. In this case, in addition to having done his homework about his subject Mister Jones presents his information with the skills of a disciplined writer.

Bravo!

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is a strange icon for a democratic left to admire; He is a former soldier who has led a military coup against his country's democratically elected government, who only acknowledged the legitimacy of Venezuela's democracy once he reckoned he had a good chance of winning. He is a consummate player of hypocritical realist foreign policy that would make Henry Kissinger proud - associate yourself with the very worse of the world's leaders (Saddam Hussein, Mahmud Ahmadinejad), and than still claim the moral high ground over your enemies. He has debased the language of international relations, and his internal policies are at the very least controversial.

But Bart Jones, author of ¡Hugo!: The Hugo Chavez Story from Mud Hut to Perpetual Revolution, is a Chavez apologist, although it would be unfair to call him a Chavista (the term for Chavez's supporters). He employs numerous strategies to put Chavez in a sympathetic light. The chapter about the 2002 coup attempt against his government is titled simply "The Coup", but Chavez's own coup attempt was "The Rebellion of the Angels", Both Chavez and his opponents routinely demonize each other, and Chavez gave as good as he got, but that did not stop him from complaining about his "vilification" and Jones echoes these complaints.

The most potent weapon in Jones's armory, though, is George W. Bush. The readership of "Hugo" is likely fiercely opposed to the 43rd American President, and Jones takes advantage of the fact, positioning Chavez as a victim and an opponent of Bush, who should get the reader's sympathies by default. Jones fiercely complains about the Bush administration's funding of the Venezuelan opposition, but dedicates only a single paragraph to Chavez's own funding of like minded candidates in other Latin American countries. He reports on crazed anti Chavez suggestion by obscure members of the American religious right. Jones's claims that "Chavez was doing his best to keep his revolution peaceful in the fact of relentless US hostility" boarders on paranoia (p. 436).

One does not have to succumb to the false choice offered by Jones - Chavez is in opposition to Western values, not merely to George w. Bush. Jones attempt to blame the antagonism of the Bush administration for Chavez's cozy relationship with "the most openly anti-US regimes on the planet" (p.445). But Chavez's first visit to Saddam Hussein, schmoozing the Iraqi dictator and undermining the US's long term strategy of isolating him, took place in 2000, before Bush's election. Nor is opposition to Chavez limited to the United States: King Juan Carlos famously blasted at Chavez, saying "why won't you shut up!" Chavez's response: he alleged that the Spanish King's was complicit in the coup attempt against him.

Jones offers a sympathetic, and mostly uncritical, portrayal of Chavez's various social missions, his attempts to increase literacy and social services in Venezuela. One cannot read Jones' description and fail to be impressed. It seems that Venezuela's underclass is considerably better off because of Chavez's action. But are they genuinely effective, and can they survive the deflation of oil prices? Jones's account is not analytical enough to persuade, and there are harsh criticism of the durability of the Chavez system available (see Michael Reid's Forgotten Continent: The Battle for Latin America's Soul). Jones also claims that Chavez's efforts of shoring up OPEC are behind the increase of oil prices, but that is hard to believe. Nonetheless, even a modest and temporary increase in oil prices that might be caused by the very public actions of the cartel may make the efforts of reviving OPEC worthwhile.

Jones underplays the effect of Venezuela's limits on the press, and sees them as a counter reaction to the media's hostility to Chavez. Nixon-esque outbursts against the partiality of the press are not an appealing quality in any politician, and certainly the response of Chavez should have been to promote his own media, not to try to silence opponents. In fact, Chavez has done both.

What is Chavez's end game? Jones repeatedly asserts that Chavez is not after a Castro-like revolution in Venezuela. He claims that Chavez knows the Communist models are flawed. Yet Jones never quotes Chavez to that effect. All we get is anti-Capitalist rhetoric. Given El Presidento's admiration for Castro, his populist and Maoist instincts, and his opportunistic support of democracy, Jones' assurances are difficult to take at face value. Currently, Chavez lacks the power to shape Venezuela in his image - opposition to him is well entrenched. But the regime is growing more radical as it solidifies its power. Nationalization of land and of Industries, press crackdowns and authoritarianism has become more pronounced. A Nationalization stick can be wielded to encourage owners to sell their property "willingly", and one suspects that some of the sales Jones's laud were so induced. Chavez also continues in his quest to become President for life - after a resounding defeat in his quest to remove the limits of consecutive terms as president, Chavez simply brought forward another plebiscite, and got what he wanted.

Bart Jones has produced a mostly well written and generally informative account of the Venezuelan leader. The parts about Chavez's pre-presidential career were somewhat overlong, and the attempts of narrating the various coups as action pieces fail spectacularly, yet for the most part the book is both entertaining and enlightening. I have criticized Jones's pro Chavez bias throughout the review, and so in fairness I should point out that the Afterword to the British edition is less enthusiastic and more balanced. All in all, Jones's book is worth reading for everyone interested in the unquestionably remarkable transformation of Chavez's Venezuela.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 20 reviews  4.5 out of 5 stars