“Maybe I’ll put up my tent also.” – Jan. 29, 2006, referring to Cindy Sheehan and protesters camped out near President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas
“The hypothesis is not absurd ... that those towers could have been dynamited.” – Sept. 12, 2006, speaking about 9/11 and the possibility that the U.S. government was involved.
\"We have decided to be free. We want to cooperate to build a new world where states' and people's self-determination are respected.\" – Aug. 30, 2006, after a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
“Don’t mess with me, girl.” – Feb. 19, 2006, referring to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a radio address.
“If you continue provoking us, go prepare your bags because I’m going to throw you out of here.” – April 9, 2006, to the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela.
“It is an impotent empire.” – May 16, 2006, referring to the United States, which enacted an arms ban.
“An imperialist invasion of Venezuela will be the start of a 100-year war.” – Nov. 5, 2005, amid protests during the Summit of the Americas.
“You are a donkey, Mr. Danger.” – March 19, 2006, referring to Bush in a diatribe that included labels such as drunkard, genocidal assassin and coward."; HugoChavezFactFile[i++] = new Array("","Biography","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); HugoChavezFactFile[i-1].body = "Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias was born July 28, 1954, to schoolteacher parents in the rural, interior town of Sabaneta in the country’s western region. Raised along with his brother, Adan, by his grandmother, Chavez developed an interest in baseball and arts.
The great-grandson of Venezuelan rebel leader Pedro Perez Delgado, whose nom de guerre was “Maisanta,” Chavez is of indigenous, Spanish and Afro-Venezuelan ancestry.
Chavez became interested in Latin American revolutionary Simon Bolivar and first read about socialism and communism while still a teenager.
Chavez attended the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences. During these formative years, Chavez looked to Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos as a role model, largely due to his populist efforts to wrest control of the Panama Canal from the United States.
He graduated from the academy in 1975, studied political science at Simon Bolivar University in the capital, Caracas, and entered military service."; HugoChavezFactFile[i++] = new Array("","Career ","Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez walks escorted by military intelligence officers after being arrested for trying to overthrow Venezuela's government in a bloody coup Feb. 5, 1992. ","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070208/chavez_young.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "", "AP ", "274", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); HugoChavezFactFile[i-1].body = "Chavez joined the army in 1975, following his graduation from the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences. In the early 1980s, he and fellow military officers founded the secret Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement, named after Chavez’s longtime hero, Latin American revolutionary Simon Bolivar.
As a paratrooper who rose through the ranks, then-Col. Chavez gained national prominence as the leader of a February 1992 coup d’etat against President Carlos Andres Perez during a period of widespread economic hardship. The failed putsch killed 18 people and landed Chavez in prison.
Months later, Chavez’s colleagues again attempted to overthrow the government – unsuccessfully, it turns out, but not before rebels broadcast a video of Chavez announcing the fall of Perez’s regime.
In 1994, a newly pardoned Chavez recast his organization as the Movement of the Fifth Republic. It would serve as his transition to the public arena as a civilian leader."; HugoChavezFactFile[i++] = new Array("","Politics","Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaks with reporters at a news conference at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on Nov. 30, 2006.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070208/chavez_new.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "", "AP", "274", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); HugoChavezFactFile[i-1].body = "Drawn toward revolutionary ideology from an early age, Chavez reportedly became disenchanted with religious institutions early in his life because of what he perceived as their depiction of Jesus as a simple figure instead of “a rebel.”
The great-grandson of Venezuelan rebel leader Pedro Perez Delgado, whose nom de guerre was “Maisanta,” Chavez gravitated toward these types of political figures in his schooling and throughout his military and political career.
Chavez first encountered books on socialism and communism while still a teenager, and later focused on the writings of Latin American revolutionary Simon Bolivar. He admired leaders such as leftist radical Peruvian President Juan Velasco Alvarado, who gave him and other military cadets copies of “The Peruvian National Revolution,” and such figures as Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos, who challenged the United States for control of the Panama Canal.
The effects of Chavez’s influences resulted in a leftist, anti-imperialist doctrine that helped him garner 56 percent of the vote in the 1998 presidential election. Taking office in 1999, Chavez embarked on “Plan Bolivar 2000,” which sought to build roads, embark on government construction projects and health initiatives.";
HugoChavezFactFile[i++] = new Array("","","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
// END editorial data