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Chavez was born in a shack constructed from palm leaves in a small town on the outskirts of Sabaneta in Venezuela. For this reason he has an affinity and empathy for the impoverished of the world. He also has a revolutionist background: After grade school, he entered Venezuela’s equivalent of the United States’ West Point Military Academy. He began his political career as a member of the Venezuelan military, and took a brief hiatus to enroll in graduate school: while he didn’t obtain a degree, he did form the foundation of Bolivarianism (based on the platform of Simón Bolivar) with his colleagues. From this point, he continued to advance in military ranks before breaking away from the mainstream militia as a revolutionary. He went on to attempt an unsuccessful coup, but eventually was elected president in 1998.

George W. Bush was born in New Hampshire in 1946 to family of American politician – his father, George Bush Sr., preceded him as president, and his brother is the current governor of Florida. He grew up in west Texas around the towns of Midland and Odessa. He attended Yale University earning a Bachelor’s degree in history and then Harvard where in 1975 he earned a Masters of Business Administration. Bush also enlisted in the Untied States’ Military, although for significantly less time. In 1994 he was elected Governor of Texas and became the first governor to win consecutive terms in office. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001 Bush has spent considerable energy in the initiation and sustention of a “War on Terror,” which has now arrived United States troops in both Afghanistan and most recently Iraq. This ‘War on Terror,” has earned him a reputation for being elitist and audacious. His presidency will most likely be remembered for the events occurring of September 11, 2001, and his response – stretched out over the remainder of his presidency - following those attacks.

The Facts:

Chavez believes the United States government was involved with at least one of the assassination attempts.
On September 21, 2006, Hugo Chavez addressed the General Assembly, the day following George Bush’s address, with a tirade lasting for approximately half an hour against Bush. His rant included “The devil came here yesterday, and it smells of sulfur still today.” – and what he calls American imperialism.
In December 2006 Chavez was re-elected by approximately 60% of the vote.
Currently, Venezuela is the United States’ fourth largest foreign oil provider.
The United States is the largest purchaser of Venezuelan oil.

The Beef:

Hugo Chavez is a liberal radical and a Bolivarian: Bolivarianism was developed from the moral and political platform of Simón Bolivar – a Venezuelan revolutionary who fought for the economic independence and unification of Latin America. As a Bolivarian, Hugo Chavez strongly supports an independent and united Latin American conglomerate. In addition, he supports several of the ideals of socialism, making the United States a perfect rival. In the interest of bolstering this rivalry and a sympathetic alliance, Chavez has sought to build relationships with several of the United States’ enemies – including: Iran, Cuba, Iraq, and Libya. Furthermore, he has constructed a close personal relationship with Fidel Castro, the United States’ most famed adversary. With Castro’s apparent deterioration in health, many of the world’s spectators believe Chavez to be the heir to Castro’s throne as U.S. critic (a position that Chavez seems eager to accept).

While anti-communist sentiments aren’t as strong as they used to be, they are still ever present in the United States. For this reason, while the United States remains polite with communist and socialist supporters, there is an underlying repugnance. The United States government has issued statements indicating that Chavez’s display of disdain for the current American President and his foreign policies are subordinate and do not requite a response. In addition, while Chavez’s antics may have worked on his tour through Harlem, American citizens in Alaska indicated to Chavez that his behavior was inappropriate when they refused the free oil offered by his company, Conoco.

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