Chavez is a controversial figure in world politics.

In 1954, the dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez was in power as president of Venezuela. During his dictatorship, there was no development in the poorer states, even though Venezuela was having an economic boom. In this social and political context, Hugo Chávez Friás was born on July 28^th, 1954 into an unprivileged family living in one of the poorest states of Venezuela. Starting in 1971, Chávez actively participated in the army, and this allowed him to obtain a university degree. Later, Chávez decided to form the EBR-200 group, which stands for Bolivarian Revolutionary Army in English.

Simon Bolivar, a major influence in Chavez’s politics, brought independence to Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia from the Spaniards in the late 18^th and early 19^th century. One of Bolivar’s main ideas was promoting the unity of the Latin American countries. These will be the some of the basic principles in Chávez’s Bolivarian politics that he developed later, however there are diverging opinions on whether these ideals have actually been advanced or accomplished.

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