In the Shadow of the Liberator

The spectre of Simon Bolivar hovers once again over Latin America as the aims and ambitions of the Liberator are taken up by Comandante Hugo Chavez, the charismatic and controversial President of Venezuela. Welcomed by the inhabitants of the teeming shanty towns of Caracas as their potential saviour, and greeted by Washington with considerable alarm, this former golpista-turned-democrat has already begun the most wide-ranging transformation of oil-rich Venezuela for 500 years, and has dramatically affected the political debate throughout Latin America. In a first-hand report from Venezuela, correspondent Richard Gott places the Comandante in historical perspective, and examines his plans and programmes. He describes the support and opposition that these attract, and argues that this experiment may prove a new way forward for Latin America.