You and I have our differences but I agree that he was an extremely brilliant person of power. Very uncorrupted and probably one of the best in South American continent for his time in charge.

Lol, he called himself a Socialist and claimed that his policies were socialist.

I will use the ever so famous, anti-socialist, conservative source...Wikipedia to point out how he has been unjustly criticized by the right.

Chávez gained a reputation as a price hawk in OPEC, pushing for stringent enforcement of production quotas and higher target oil prices. The current economic expansion began when the government got control over the national oil company in the first quarter of 2003

Lol, everyone was blaming Obama for higher oil prices. THE FOOLS!

But anyway, Venezuela basically finally started to improve their economic situation when they acted like a corporation. lulz.

Chávez's strategy in response to food shortages consisted mainly of increasing domestic production through nationalizing large parts of the food industry. The price ceilings increased the demand for basic foods while making it difficult for Venezuela to import goods causing increased reliance on domestic production. According to some commentators this policy may have increased shortages.

absolute socialism.

Chávez was strictly enforcing a price control policy, denouncing anyone who sold food products for higher prices as "speculators".[265] In January 2008, Chávez ordered the military to seize 750 tons of food that sellers were illegally trying to smuggle across the border to sell for higher prices than what was legal in Venezuela.[273] In February 2009, Chávez ordered the military to temporarily seize control of all the rice processing plants in the country and force them to produce at full capacity, which he claimed they had been avoiding in response to the price caps.

Militarist State Socialism.

In 2010, after the government nationalized the port at Puerto Cabello, more than 120,000 tons of food sat rotting at the port.[280] In May 2010, during a shortage of beef, at least 40 butchers were detained on charges of speculation for allegedly selling meat above the regulated price; some of them were held at a military base and later strip-searched by police.

Enemy of the small business man... socialism.

In 2010, Amnesty International criticized the Chávez administration for targeting critics following several politically motivated arrests.

Political prisoners.

Following Afiuni's arrest, several groups, including the United Nations, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela, Human Rights Watch, the Law Society of England and Wales, the U.S. Department of State, and the European Union Parliament accused Chávez of "creating a climate of fear" among Venezuela's legal profession.[296][297][2][298][299][300][301][302] The European Parliament called it "an attack on the independence of the judiciary by the President of a nation, who should be its first guarantor".[303] A director of Human Rights Watch said, "Once again the Chávez government has demonstrated its fundamental disregard for the principle of judicial independence."[

Look at all those Conservative propagandists complaining about Chavez's not-so-corrupt manner of scaring his people into obeying his commands.

in 2008, Human Rights Watch criticized Chávez for engaging in "often discriminatory policies that have undercut journalists' freedom of expression."[283] Freedom House listed Venezuela's press as being "Not Free" in its 2011 Map of Press Freedom, noting that "[t]he gradual erosion of press freedom in Venezuela continued in 2010."[304] Reporters Without Borders criticized the Chávez administration for "steadily silencing its critics".[305] In the group's 2009 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders noted that "Venezuela is now among the region’s worst press freedom offenders."

Lol, one of the WORST when it comes to freedom of the press. I'm sure Reporters Without Borders is just some Koch Brothers conspiracy.

In 2006, Chávez announced that the terrestrial broadcast license for RCTV would not be renewed, due to its refusal to pay taxes and fines, and its alleged open support of the 2002 coup attempt against Chávez, and role in helping to instigate the oil strike in 2002–2003.[320] RCTV was transmitted via cable and satellite and was widely viewable in Venezuela until January 2010, when it was excluded by cable companies in response to an order of National Commission of Telecommunications.[321][322][323] The refusal to renew its terrestrial broadcast license was condemned by a multitude of international organizations, many of whom have claimed that the closure was politically motivated, and was intended to silence government critics.

More censorship. Support action against your government? Not under Chavez.

And I suppose ignoring what Conservatives would object to, there's a LOT MORE to object to of Chavez, including his Bush tactic of using Christ to further his tyrannical policies.

However, two things I do agree with is his opposition to "US Imperialism," and how he used Capitalist policies to trade with Iran and industrialize the nation.

But small tyrants are still tyrants, and opposing US Imperialism while oppressing your own people is just not admirable enough.

I bet you like being on top. ;)

Thankfully, they have a long way to go to catch up. Just keep going!

You have a buffer... to take you down I have to go through PrayerFails first and he's always one step ahead of me. ;)

True, true... and I'll be happy to know about yours too.... What? Too harsh? I kid... I kid. ;)

Yeah, but you need to support your country through good and bad times.

No, your the idiot believing that his death is bad for America. He was very hostile to the United States. His country and the United States had cold relations, all due to Chavez. Hopefully, with a new president we can heal things up. We can trade more, especially in oil, and actually start giving more aide to their poor. Frankly, I'm relieved he is dead. If you believe it will hurt the taxpayer, show me.