Turn on the television in Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second city, on a Friday night and the first nine channels are dominated by el presidente, Hugo Chávez. He is holding his weekly talk show on national television, smartly dressed and surrounded by a willing audience.

The shows often last several hours. Chávez, a 51-year-old burly animated man with close-cropped black hair, rarely stops talking. Venezuela’s president since 1998, Hugo Chávez has a lot to say and he wants you to hear it.

Chávez claims to have been inspired by Simon Bolivar, the country’s revolutionary hero to break free what he sees as the “modern imperialism” of the United States and modern capitalism. Instead, he wants to encourage what he calls 21st century socialism across the region.

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