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The life and times of Hugo Chavez

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  • Description

    Trace Gallagher on the Venezuelan leader's rise to power

  • Duration 2:14
  • Date

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Once you -- what hurts me most is poverty and that has is what has led me to become a rebel.

The words of Hugo -- through 2007 interview with the Associated Press before taking office as Venezuelan president.

Chavez led a life of military service and had even a stint as a history teacher.

Shalit was more on his life now Trace.

In fact Jeb Bush job as was the son of two school teachers and like Fidel Castro he dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player and like Fidel Castro.

He became a Latin American revolutionary.

As you said Hugo Chavez joined the military.

Where he rose to the rank of colonel.

In 1992 he tried -- failed coup and was sentenced to thirty years in prison but he was pardoned by the next president.

And quickly released six years later it was Chavez who was then elected president.

He changed the presidential term from five to six years even change the Venezuelan name of the country and the time zone.

He continued to re write the laws.

And the constitution giving himself more power and trampling on the rights of others imprisoning people without trials.

And controlling businesses that he disapproved up.

He was on television and radio year after year hour after hour becoming an over the top cult of personality.

Critics say -- turn Venezuela into a propaganda -- shutting down media outlets that disagreed with them.

But he was a champion of the four promising to spread.

The well from the nation's oil reserves to the people and millions of -- venezuelans who loved Tim and will mourn him but there are others that just -- quickly protest to the end even attempting a failed coup against him.

That he of course blamed on the US he's the same man who called a sitting US president the -- who question whether we truly ever said a man to the moon.

And question whether it was the United States that might be behind the earthquake in Haiti.

As years went on his behavior was often called clown like but he hung on to power until the end.

Which for Hugo Chavez came after a two year battle with cancer today.

Shut Trace Gallagher raping our coverage of the death of Hugo Chavez but.

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