Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Venezuela's Chavez celebrates 10 years in power
Mon Feb 2, 2009 8:29pm EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Saul Hudson
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez marked 10 years in power on Monday, declaring a national holiday to celebrate as he seeks to win a referendum this month that could help him govern for another decade or more.
Chavez, an ex-paratrooper who once led a failed coup before winning power at the ballot box, hosted Latin American allies at the anniversary ceremonies, burnishing his credentials as an inspiration for a wave of leftist governments in the region.
Presidents of poor countries that receive cheap oil from the OPEC nation such as Nicaragua, Bolivia and Honduras joined Chavez at a giant rally and at the tomb of Simon Bolivar, his 19th century hero who ejected Spain from the region.
"Ten years ago, Bolivar -- embodied in the will of the people -- came back to life," Chavez said. "Today we celebrate 10 years since the start of a new era in Latin America and the Caribbean."
Large crowds of supporters dressed in signature red shirts thronged to the events, taking advantage of the day off that Chavez declared just hours before the anniversary.
Businesses and schools were closed after scrambling to tell employees and students to stay home. Chavez's decree, and threats to fine companies failing to comply, showed his sometimes arbitrary leadership, but was also popular with many Venezuelan workers.
Chavez has repeatedly won elections in his 10 years in office and has overcome a coup, a national strike and a recall referendum. He remains popular among Venezuela's majority poor for spending oil wealth on clinics and schools and typically draws cheers at rallies for his speeches condemning the "evil empire" of the United States.
COUNTRY POLARIZED
Chavez is a close friend of Cuba's veteran revolutionary, Fidel Castro, although he has not taken Venezuela as far to the left as the communist Caribbean island.
He has scared investors with nationalizations and aggressive rhetoric against capitalism, but the country's oil industry still works with foreign companies.
At a rained-on rally on Monday, Chavez punched the air and yelled, "From here Fidel your sons and daughters salute you."
His rise to power helped blaze the way for a string of left-leaning governments in Latin America to break with Washington-led free market policies.
But many Venezuelans complain that Chavez has amassed so much power he is a dictator-in-the-making.
That sentiment has eroded some of Chavez's appeal. After an overwhelming re-election victory in 2006, he narrowly lost a referendum in 2007 to change the constitution and allow his re-election. In November, he also lost some influential posts in regional elections to the opposition.
Pollsters say public opinion is divided over his attempt in this month's referendum to win the right to stay in power as long as he keeps winning elections. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Cuba has fewer political prisoners, report says
Also on Reuters
Slideshow
Slideshow: Sniffing out the life of a guide dog
Ironies pile up as Clinton sworn in to new post
Video
Video: CEOs feel entitled to perks, say experts
More International News
N.Korea preparing for ballistic missile launch-media
Iran launches first home-made satellite: state TV
Attacks batter Gaza ceasefire
| Video
Militants in Pakistan sever Afghan supply link
U.S. tones down rhetoric on Zimbabwe's Mugabe
More International News...
Related News
FACTBOX: Venezuela's Chavez's main policies 10 years on
02 Feb 2009
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Animal-human clones don't work, U.S. company finds
Japan volcano Mount Asama erupts, ash dusts Tokyo | Video
China treads lightly after shoe protest
Chinese see funny side of financial crisis
Macy's cuts 7,000 jobs, slashes dividend | Video
"Half-price" models tighten their belts
Obama seeks quick Senate action on stimulus bill | Video
GM, Chrysler offer workers cash, cars to leave
REFILE-Small earthquake rattles northern New Jersey-USGS
Sewage yields more gold than top mines
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
CEOs feel "entitled"
Michelle Obama steps out
Obama feels partisan heat
Japan's Mount Asama erupts
Preparing for Carnival
UK to double exports to China
Colombian hostage rescue begins
China's Wen optimistic on UK visit
Groundhog forecasts long winter
Openly gay leader is new Iceland PM
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
The Great Debate
World Affairs:
The Afghan narco-state
Bernd Debusmann
To understand why the war in Afghanistan, now in its eighth year, is not going well for the U.S., take a look at two statistics on corruption and drugs. Commentary
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.